Request for Council to Reverse the Full Cost Recovery Policy for Moreton Bay Marine Facilities
Principal Petitioner: Bill Wight
Closing Date: 4:30pm, Tuesday 12 November 2024
At 10 signatures, this petition will be considered properly made.
Petition Request:
The residents of Coochiemudlo Island respectfully request the Council to reverse its decision to levy landing fees on jetties and landing facilities for Moreton Bay Islands.
These fees, under the Council’s full cost recovery policy, unfairly burden island residents who are simply trying to access their homes. A jetty is essentially a marine bus terminal, and a barge ramp is no different from a road access point to reach another road on the island.
The Council’s full cost recovery policy aims to follow the user-pays principle, but a key aspect was overlooked. Three elements must be considered:
- Identify a special benefit for a privileged group: There is no special benefit. Jetties and barge ramps are like bus terminals and roads, which mainland residents use without targeted fees.
- Identify the costs of the benefit: This can be done via financial systems.
- Identify recipients of the benefit: Easily done; Coochiemudlo has two facilities, and SMBI has five.
Unlike mainland residents, island residents face a targeted levy for basic transport facilities, which is discriminatory. Although fees are positioned as levies on operators, these costs are passed to residents through ticket sales, resulting in additional charges on top of their rates.
Currently, Coochiemudlo residents pay the equivalent of $500 per household, while SMBI residents pay $150, creating an imbalance between the burden on different island communities on the basis of population size. This approach is unjust, and we urge the Council to reconsider the levies imposed on island access.