Council general manager ordered to find $6 million to start Cronulla mall upgrade

Councillors issued the direction after a staff report advised there was no money in the long-term budget for the proposed $28.5 million project.

Liberal councillor and former mayor Kent Johns, a long-time antagonist of council administrators, moved Mr Phillips provide within three months a costed proposal and project plan to commence initial upgrades in the 2018 calendar year, up to $6 million.

The motion received bipartisan support although Labor councillor Ray Plibersek was initially sceptical, saying, “It’s not going to happen councillors – you are dreaming”.

Cr Johns said he had identified at confidential meetings with staff where the $6 million could be sourced.

“I have found on this council that unless you ride and you ride and you ride, you don’t get the results you are seeking,” he said.

Cr Johns said there had been numerous studies and reports on the mall.

“We need to bite the bullet, not defer it for five years, as the staff advise,” he said.

“Even if it’s a bad decision, we live with that at the polling booth.”

Deputy mayor Peter Scaysbrook (Labor) agreed the money had to be found.

“This is not a competition between wards – Cronulla is an iconic part of the shire and requires special consideration,” he said.

Cr Michael Forshaw (Labor) said he was shocked when he saw the staff report.

“Then, when it was reported in the Leader, it was a shock to many others in the community, in particular the Cronulla Chamber of Commerce,” he said.

“They have written to the council asking that we keep working on it.”

Cr Forshaw said Cronulla businesses paid a levy above their normal rates that provided more than half a million dollars a year.

Cr Carol Provan (Liberal), who was shire president (mayor) when the mall was completed in 1988, urged councillors to work together.

“It needs more than Botox,” she said.

“The mall is for everyone in the shire and it’s a beautiful place, but we have created a monster.”