Trawling through those Service Delivery Statements (SDS’s) to summarise what is good and what is not so good is always a challenge, and this year is no different.
For Noosa, no surprises, as our big ticket items, such as the next stages of the Tewantin Bypass, are under business case development or independent assessment review. With Noosa Hospital being private and funded by state government for contracted services, the expansion on the emergency department is currently under negotiation, and I would hope to have an update before end of year, as this has been a long, frustrating journey.
Overall, for across Queensland, there was good news. In the health sector, there was a substantial increase of funding to hospitals and mental health services, which included a mental health co-responder via Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) to be based on the Sunshine Coast and a QAS Clinical Hub, which aims to reduce ambulance delays through triaging.
However, in amongst this, I have not yet found any allocations to address our long surgery wait lists, nor adequate funding models for our palliative care hospices, which I spoke about, in among a number of other concerns, during my Budget in Reply speech, which you can view via my Facebook Page – facebook.com/SandyBoltonNoosa
Small business has secured cuts to payroll tax, however, tourism has less funding than previous years. Even though it has been reassuring to find that the Tourism Recovery strategy for the next 10 years will be funded, there was nothing to address the current inequity of programs, such as Work in Paradise, that precludes Noosa based on its proximity to Brisbane.
On a really good news front, after advocating for three years to address the antiquated School Transport Assistant Subsidy Scheme (STAS), over $18m has been allocated to get it sorted, ensuring that shared care arrangement families are treated equitably. Thank you to all who worked with me on this, and for your patience.
One of the greatest disappointments of this year’s budget was the lack of an appropriate level of funding to address the housing crisis that is gripping not only our electorate, but the whole of Queensland. That such a catastrophic and far-reaching issue which impacts so many, including our mental health and domestic violence statistics, is not considered an urgent priority still leaves me quite dumbfounded, and I can only hope that the pleas I put forward are heard, as this does not meet community expectations in anyway.
As I continue investigating the SDSs in preparation for Estimates 2022, below is what I have found so far for Noosa that are new inclusions, with items that are continuations, such as Six Mile Creek Bridge #7, listed via Noosa 360 at sandybolton.com/budget-2022-23-update/
Additionally, there are two items which I have requested be brought forward to next year’s considerations, as the pre-determined allocation of 2023/24 is just not acceptable when it comes to safety on our roads.
All budget papers, including the SDSs, are available at budget.qld.gov.au/budget-papers/, where you are welcome to trawl through the pages, as I will be over the next fortnight.
Transport and Main Roads:
• $837,838 – Tewantin Bypass (Beckmans Road) business case for next stages – $86,606 of $837,838.
• $1,071,726 – Weyba Road, Reef Street and Mary Street roundabout Noosaville, upgrade roundabout – $535,863 of $1.071 million.
• $984,964 – Cooroy Noosa Road and Sivyers Road intersection, improve channelisation – $260,000 of $984,964.
• $6,000,000 Kin Kin Road Strengthening and widening project continuation to upgrade approximately 800m section of Kin Kin Road adjacent to the section of road that was widened in 2012.
• $5,000,000 – Kin Kin Road, Sallwood Court to Turnball Road, strengthen and widen pavement –survey, design and investigation works 23/24.
• $8,000,000 – Kin Kin Road, Williams Road to Western Branch Road, strengthen and widen pavement – survey, design and investigation works in 2023/24.
• $1,071,726 – Eumundi-Noosa Road, Lake Entrance Boulevard to roundabout, rehabilitate pavement 23/24
Education.
• $443,000 across eight schools for maintenance.
• $165,000 across eight schools for minor works.
State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning:
• $4,080,000 South East Queensland Community Stimulus Program 2021-24 Noosa Shire Council for investment in new infrastructure and community assets that create jobs and deliver economic stimulus – $816,000 of $4.08 million.
SEQWATER:
• $127,278,000 Lake Macdonald Dam improvement project planning – $687,000 of $127.278 million.
Communities and Housing, Digital Economy and the Arts:
• $250,000 for Pomona and District Community House (an increase of $126,220 per annum) for the next four years.
• $3964 for Pomona and District Meals on Wheels for 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2024.
• $6284 for Tewantin/Noosa Meals on Wheels for 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2024.
