Council’s $ 18.5m flight of fancy all adds up to complete fiasco

AN AIRSTRIP costing $ 30 million. You’re kidding me!

Let’s not forget our local council’s primary responsibility is to provide basic services for its residents and local businesses: decent roads, parks and gardens, sewage management, waste collection and access to water.

This is something that our council seems to be forgetting – and failing us – again, again and again.

Our council’s responsibility is not “jobs”. This rests with the State Government. It is the State Government that receives – and spends – our GST, stamp duty and mining royalties.

Which brings me to our local council’s latest “investment”. Townsville City Council to contribute $ 18.5 million and $ 12 million from Rockhampton Regional Council.

Just for a moment, let’s disregard who should ( or could) pay for Adani’s infrastructure.

Let’s do some simple quick calculations on the back of an envelope.

Since when does it cost $ 30 million to build about 2000m of tarmac?

It’s an airstrip, right? Not an airport. I’m figuring it’ll be on flat ground. It’ll accommodate three, maybe four flights a week. Max. It’s not going to be a commercial airport.

Not four flights an hour. Not 400 flights a week.

It won’t need a “terminal”. A basic, straightforward building, such as Glencore’s hut at McArthur River zinc mine, for example, would be more than enough.

All that aside, let’s look a bit closer at the council’s $ 18.5 million “invest- ment” of ratepayers’ funds. So, if the council’s intent is that “it’s all about jobs” ( which, ultimately rests with the State Govt), then what’s the pay- off?

With $ 18.5 million, our rates could instead fund:

• 105 people three years.

• 100 people on over $ 180k salary for a year ( yes, 100 people).

• 25 people on $ 50/ hour for seven years ( yep, seven years). Just roughly speaking. That’s certainly a lot of local parks, on $ 30/ hour for gardens, roads, waste collection services. No bureaucrats building models and having endless meetings were required. Just 10 minutes, a scrap of paper and a calculator.

So, how does this $ 18.5 million stack up as good use of our rates for basic services?

Or are we just watching Saddles on re- runs?

Please, dear Mayor, please tell us we’ve missed something here. JO SHAW, Townsville. Blazing