Sparks fly over Greens push for pool cash splash

An urgent motion to Ballina Shire Council for discount pool entry fees for the summer holiday period has been defeated amid claims of blatant politicking by the Greens for the upcoming Federal election.
The motion by the Greens was defeated after the meeting heard the proposal for a flat $2 entry fee would add substantially to an existing $200,000 annual operating deficient for Ballina and Alstonville pools.
Moving the motion, Greens Councillor Kiri Dicker described is as “a great PR move”.
“The public will love us for this, it probably won’t cost us very much. We don’t have to do it again if it doesn’t work it’s not likely to cost us a great deal of money if anything.” Cr Dicker said.
The Greens took exception to subsequent comments from independent Councillor Philip Meahan suggesting the party was playing politics to try and win votes for the upcoming Federal election.
Cr Meahan said pool income would be reduced by one-third and some 50,000 extra people would have to enter to make up the costs. This would not be possible as staff confirmed the pool is already close to capacity some days.

Cr Meahan pointed out that there were plenty of free swimming options including Shaws Bay and various beaches.  He said Brisbane City Council’s revenue was many times more than Ballina.  In fact it is 150 times more, over $3 billion, compared to around $200 million for Ballina.