Scenic Rim's challenges highlighted in submission to federal government inquiry

Limited funding opportunities and increasing demands for services and infrastructure are among key issues raised by Scenic Rim Regional Council in its submission to the Australian Government's inquiry into local government sustainability. 

The submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Regional Development, Infrastructure and Transport's inquiry, which was endorsed at Wednesday's Ordinary Meeting, outlines Council's growing challenges in meeting increased community needs for services and infrastructure in one of the fastest growing states in Australia. 

Scenic Rim Mayor Tom Sharp said other levels of government were well overdue in recognising their responsibilities for providing funding to address years of neglect and to support the expected growth and development in the Scenic Rim. 

A large and diverse region that includes 98 localities, the Scenic Rim is bordered by three of Queensland's largest growing local government areas in Queensland and its population of some 44,000 residents is expected to increase by more than 25 per cent by 2041. 

Cr Sharp said that, as an identified growth area, most of the Scenic Rim's population is projected to increase in the major towns of Beaudesert and Boonah and, to a lesser extent, Tamborine Mountain, which has no reticulated water or sewerage. 

Balancing population growth and preserving high-quality agricultural land while creating employment opportunities in small, medium and large businesses will be priorities for Council in the next 10 years. 

Council will prioritise attracting investment in compatible industries such as food processing, tourism, defence, aeronautical, environmental science, technology, and education sectors, which will further support the Scenic Rim's major economic driver, agriculture. 

Securing this investment would require support from other levels of government to recognise and fulfil their obligations of providing the necessary infrastructure of roads, energy and water, so that we can attract these types of industries to our region.  

"Rather than focusing on population growth, it is high time that both the state and federal governments recognised their responsibilities for investment in infrastructure and the huge return that this would create, not only for South East Queensland but also the state and the nation," Cr Sharp said. 

"In the next decade, Council will allocate funds for the renewal, replacement maintenance and construction of more than $1 billion of community infrastructure. 

"Meeting the needs of current and future residents without creating a financial legacy for future generations requires better planning and delivery of capital works which depend on increased funding. 

"Currently, Council receives 70 per cent of its income from rates, with grants, fees and charges and external funding accounting for the remaining 30 per cent. 

"Council believes that a review of funding from other levels of government is key to long-term financial sustainability as the infrastructure and services required cannot continue to be supported solely through rates." 

Scenic Rim Regional Council's vast network of community infrastructure includes more than 1,750 kilometres of local roads and 130 bridges, of which more than half are traditional timber structures that require ongoing maintenance or replacement to meet the needs of industry as well as residents and the increasing number of visitors to the region. 

The Council road network stretches from Cunningham's Gap and the Great Dividing Range in the west to Numinbah Gap and the Gold Coast hinterland in the east, south to the New South Wales border and north to neighbouring council areas of Logan and Ipswich. 

"The maintenance and continued improvement of the Scenic Rim's civil infrastructure are a core priority for Council," Cr Sharp said. 

"Our submission to the federal government's inquiry into the sustainability of local government is part of our advocacy strategy that will be highly visible over the next four years. 

"The Scenic Rim is the green heart of South East Queensland and it's the backyard to a population approaching five million people from Gold Coast, Logan, Brisbane, Ipswich and Toowoomba," he said. 

"We are this population's backyard and the shift from neglect to maintenance requires funding from other levels of government moving forward."