Mayor weighs into jetty debate

Mayor David Smith said the costly, dilapidated timber jetty needed to be demolished but said it was important that a major port city like Bunbury had a public jetty of its own.

Picture by Jon Gellweiler

Speaking to the Bunbury Herald, Mr Smith said ‘‘every little coastal community north of Perth has one and so should Bunbury’’.

‘‘While I agree with demolition of the existing jetty I still strongly believe that as a port city we should not be left without a public jetty that people can fish and crab off and where visitors can go for a stroll and visiting yachts and boats can moor for short periods,’’ he said.

‘‘I believe the consultants and the preservation society’s suggestion of a new, 230m jetty is what is required because it will be new,much shorter and less wide, the maintenance should be very much less and affordable.

‘‘I certainly intend to work hard to that end.’’

Former deputy mayor Brendan Kelly said the State Government should take back ownership of the ailing jetty, which had cost ratepayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Cr Kelly did not believe the jetty should be the responsibility of the City of Bunbury.

‘‘It should never have been our responsibility and it costs too much for our ratepayers,’’ he said.

BunburyMLAJohn Castrilli said Bunbury City Council requested $3.5 million from the Government for the jetty ‘‘and this is exactly what has been allocated by the Government’’.

‘‘Council minutes from January 1997 show council’s request to accept legal responsibility for the jetty and to be paid the $1 million grant to undertake work as required,’’ he said.

‘‘The State’s contribution of $3.5 million towards the demolition/ restoration was committed to in 2009 and I understand the city does not yet have its share of the funding finalised.

‘‘The Government can’t just write an open cheque for the jetty if the council doesn’t know exactly what it wants to do with the jetty.’'