The Kangaroo Island Council has called for unity in the island’s push for financial sustainability and warned it might be forced to close roads on the island in the next 20 years.
After being rebuffed by the newly formed KI Discussion Group over a proposed tourist levy, the council’s chief executive officer Carmel Noon said it was important that everyone on Kangaroo Island was “singing from the same sheet”.
The council has resolved to accept a model for its long-term financial plan which includes a 2 per cent rise in rates above CPI, an ongoing alternative income stream (tourist levy) and a greater commitment from the State Government through it taking back management of the so-called “ring route” (Birchmore Rd, South Coast Rd, West End Hwy and Playford Hwy).
As part of the plan, Ms Noon and the Mayor Jayne Bates made a presentation to the KI Discussion Group. SATC chief executive Andrew McEvoy chairs the group and responded under the SATC letterhead. He says the SATC is “philosophically opposed” to a levy on travel to the island to support infrastructure maintenance and instead supports plans to increase the number of visitors using the ferry to help reduce costs for travellers through economies of scale.
“The SATC will continue to support efforts to lobby the Federal Government to have the ferry crossing to the island included as an extension of the national highway… This aside, the SATC considers the most effective means to reduce the cost of transportation is to increase the number of passenger journeys… This will enable a reduction in costs…”.
Ms Noon told councillors last week she had the strong feeling that they didn’t “get it” about the council’s inability to maintain the infrastructure for increasing numbers of visitors.
About 170,000 visitors came to Kangaroo Island last financial year. The SATC has planned multi-million dollar campaigns to further promote Kangaroo Island.
“But it’s no good bringing them here if there’s nowhere to have a wee,” said Councillor Joy Willson.
The council is particularly concerned about its roads.
Finance officer Paul Duka said if the council continued to spend the equivalent of $450,000 a year on roads as currently budgeted, many roads would have to be closed or have use limited or speeds reduced in the next 20 years.
He said the optimum capital renewal budget was $1.1 million a year.
The council is committed to implementing the results of the KI Study, commissioned earlier this year, which included proposals for a tourist levy and handing back major roads to State Government care.
“Basic infrastructure is the basis of all good development. This is not about the council, this is about the survival of the Kangaroo Island community,” Mayor Jayne Bates said. “This council cannot continue to go into the red. Difficult decisions are going to have to be made. We’re talking about campgrounds, libraries and so on.”
“But it’s not all bad news. We do have some good support politically from some areas,” Ms Bates said.
Who is the KI Discussion Group?
The KI Discussion Group has met twice in the past couple of months. It is an informal group initiated by the Transport, Energy and Infrastructure Min-ister Pat Conlon, who asked SA Tourism Commis-sion chief executive Andrew McEvoy to chair it.
Its members include representatives of the Department for Trade and Economic Development (the primary funding body for the KI Development Board), DTEI, Local Government Association and the SATC.
Other members represent non-government and business interests.
Group member KIDB chief executive officer Pierre Gregor said the group was focused on the challenges faced by the island due to the impact of tourism, particularly the cost of travel (Water Gap project), electricity augmentation and roads.
“The council has been invited to participate,” he said. “The group hopes to provide some leverage in brokering solutions at a political level.”
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