“It’s very important for tourism for the entire city.”

He said the cost of the service would be about $28,000.

“The northern councillors told me that if I wanted the service, it would be up to me to find the funds.

“I’m determined to find that money before the beginning of December.”

Cr Miller has lodged a rescission motion which will go before November’s full council meeting calling for the service to be reinstated and funded by council.

He hopes to gain the support of mayor Paul Green who was absent during last week’s debate.

Cr Miller said he was shocked that fellow ward three councillor Amanda Findley had sided with northern councilors and also voted to dump the service.

Decision a ‘slap in the face’

SHOALHAVEN City Council last week found $2 million to extend its ailing entertainment centre, $1.6 million to build a boat ramp at Currarong that has been deemed unsafe by authorities and has approved a grand entrance gateway to Nowra, but it could not scrape together $28,000 to save lives at Mollymook Beach.

Northern councillors went on a spending spree at last week’s council meeting, with representatives from the south eventually walking out in frustration.

Councillor Robert Miller said debate went on well past 11pm and he decided to leave the meeting feeling sick to the stomach.

“They were carrying on and on,” he said of the northern based councillors.

“The southern councillors had no say in anything – we just don’t have the numbers down here.”

He said the decision to dump an extension to the paid lifeguard service at Molllymook Beach, at a cost of $28,000 was unexpected and an “absolute slap in the face” for the people of Ulladulla.

“I can’t believe the councillors decided not to fund this essential service that is crucial for the safety of swimmers and also very important for tourism for the entire city.

“They couldn’t find $28,000 for a lifeguard but they will borrow $2 million for extensions to the entertainment centre and spend $1.6 million on a boat ramp that council staff and the State Government has said is in a dangerous location.

“The northern councillors also approved the mayor’s dream for a gateway park for Nowra that will be like a botanic garden.

“Where are their priorities?

“It’s outrageous,” he said.

Mollymook Surf Life Saving Club president Rod Austin said the decision was “very disappointing”.

He said surf club volunteers provide the best service they can at three beaches and described the proposed extension to the paid lifeguard service as “the icing on the cake”.

“This is terrible news,” he said.

“If someone drowns on Mollymook Beach, will the northern councillors take responsibility?

“I certainly hope the mayor will throw his support behind the service and that the northern councillors will rethink their decision.

“This service is about 10 years overdue and we are living in the dark ages really, compared with other coastal councils.”

Mr Austin said last month’s news that the lifeguard service was to be extended was “fantastic”.

“I thought it was too good to be true.

“To be told you have something, then have it taken away from you is disappointing.

“We were thinking how it good it was and getting the wheels in motion.”

He said the community needs to lobby for the service to be reinstated for the benefit of safety and tourism.

“We want people to come and enjoy our district, but if we can’t provide them with safe beaches, they might go elsewhere.”

It all comes down to dollars and cents

THE axing of an extension to Mollymook’s paid life guard service has come down to dollars and cents.

Shoalhaven mayor Paul Green, while not at last week’s meeting where the decision was made, said he supports the outcome.

Councillor Robert Miller has called for the mayor to reinstate the service for three months and for it to be funded out of council’s general revenue, however Cr Green is not expected to support a rescission motion at the November council meeting.

Cr Green said he supports a life guard service in principal, but is not prepared for council to borrow $28,000 to pay for something that was not included in council’s budget.

“This is something that should have been belted out before the budget.

“Cr Miller has to realize that council doesn’t have an open cheque book.

“If he wants something additional for ward three, he’ll have to find the funds from another project.”

Cr Green said he would like to see life guard services stepped up in the Shoalhaven, but said council must plan ahead in order to fund an ongoing service.

“I’m 100 per cent behind having a life guard service for the entire season at all the city’s beaches and it something that this council will have to look at.

“We do promote our beaches as a tourist attraction and I want to provide safe swimming areas for our kids and our visitors.

“It’s going to be a matter of changing council’s priorities to see how we can help our life saving organizations in the future.

“I intend to ask staff about any savings on other jobs throughout the organisation that may be able to secure an extension of the l life guard service at South Mollymook Beach,” Cr Green said.

He said, despite an extension of the Mollymook service gaining unanimous councillor support last month, when it came down to dollars he wasn’t surprised by the final outcome.

“When an argument comes down to dollars, you tend to lose the debate.”

Cr Green said, in contrast, the $2 million extension to the Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre and $1.6 million Currarong boat ramp approved at last week’s meeting were both budgeted for.

“The changes to the entertainment centre should’ve been included in the original budget.

“But we have to go back now and retrofit the centre.

“If we leave it as it is, it will be like a sardine can and will reflect badly on the Shoalhaven – and we don’t want that.

“The extension will pay for itself in one go if we can attract the Local Government Conference,” he said.

The Nowra gateway garden, he said, was a concept that has been around since 1994 and put back onto council’s agenda, but no money has been allocated to the project.

“A botanical garden will attract busloads of older tourists.

“With an aging population, we need to be creating a market for them.”

Ward Three Councillor Amanda Findley also voted against funding the service out of general funds.

“I like to stick to policy and, although I fully support the service, spending funds that aren’t allocated in council’s management plan goes against my principals.

“While Robert Miller and I have talked about this for a long time, on the face of it, to the northern councilors, it looks like we’re pulling a rabbit out of a hat.

“It’s something that I would like to see discussed before the next management plan and included in council’s budget.”

Cr Findley said she does not agree with funds being allocated to the entertainment centre or the Currarong boat ramp.

“I don’t agree and I didn’t vote for either of those projects,” she said.