A councillor has detailed why he voted in favour of Sunshine Coast Council’s “tough” budget despite his unease about it.
Christian Dickson, who represents parts of Buderim, Mountain Creek, Palmview and Sippy Downs, was among the 11 councillors to unanimously endorse the 2026-2027 budget on Monday.
Mayor Rosanna Natoli said the budget included some “tough decisions”, including a 9.7 per cent rates rise, and she said that the council “will tighten its belt” after years of “beyond its means spending”.
Mr Dickson, who voted against the previous budget because of a 12 per cent rates rise and the removal of local projects from the capital works program, said he had pushed for a rates rise of 5 to 6 per cent in the new budget.
He said he was prepared to vote against it, but changed his mind.
“My debate in council (at the budget meeting on Monday) continued to express my disappointment and non-support for higher rates, the loss of important projects for our area and the need to be careful in not over-committing council’s finances to things that aren’t core business for local government,” he said.
“Whilst I had originally told my colleagues and the mayor that I was not going to support the budget again and that I would vote against the budget process, it dawned on me that I would achieve nothing other than grandstanding and beating my own chest, while my colleagues actively work hard to try and clean up the mess and get our budget back in order.
“So, like the last budget I had an issue with and voted against, this current budget still doesn’t hit the mark or get my full support.
“But it would be remiss of me to forget what I am here to do. That is to ensure the rubbish is collected, street lights turn on, roads are repaired, staff are paid for their efforts, parks are mowed, and the list goes on.
“Voting against the budget would have been easy and justified for me. However, I would have been voting against the good things I want to see in our region too.
“I will be closely watching how things unfold over the next year. I will be advocating strongly for projects in our area. I will be pushing for much lower rates again in the next budget. I will be arguing that we continue to focus on the core objectives of council.”
Cr Dickson also highlighted some “positive” budget news for his area, including funding for multiple projects for clubs, parks, playgrounds, roads and paths.
Meanwhile, another councillor said he would be “happy not to receive a pay increase”, after the budget was delivered.
Taylor Bunnag took to social media to state that he was willing to forego this year’s annual wage increase.
“I’m happy not to receive a pay increase but it’s a matter for each councillor,” he said on his Facebook page.
Sunshine Coast News asked Cr Bunnag if he had declined an increase.
He said he would “be receiving a pay increase determined by the independent renumeration tribunal but, for me, I’d be happy not to”.
Cr Bunnag also expressed his views on the budget.
“This budget received my vote because it will help council be more financially sustainable in the long run for our community.
“Council, for five of the past six budgets, has been running deficit budgets from an operating perspective. By any measure of financial health, that is unsustainable over a prolonged period of time.
“The starting point for this coming financial year was that, without a serious course correction, council was going to be having further significant deficits until at least FY28 and probably beyond if there were serious or unforeseen financial events that arose.
“Instead, in large part because of your financial contributions to this region via rates (but rates aren’t the only revenue source to be clear) and other tough decisions in terms of operating expenses, council will now be delivering a significantly reduced deficit in FY27 of $7.622m.
“From FY28, we are budgeting to be in an operating surplus until two modest deficits in FY2032 and FY2033.”
Do you have an opinion to share? Submit a Letter to the Editor at Sunshine Coast News via news@sunshinecoastnews.com.au. You must include your name and suburb.
Councillor Dickson told Sunshine Coast News he “would take a pay freeze as well”
By majority, councillors can vote to freeze wages for the next financial year.
“It would be the right thing to do,” Cr Dickson said.
Mayor Rosanna Natoli said the budget included “tough decisions with a clear plan for moving forward.”
“This budget reflects a strong commitment to financial responsibility and long-term sustainability – making careful choices today so we can confidently meet the needs of tomorrow.”
Councillor David Law said the rates increase was “difficult and not what I want (but) it is in the face of escalating costs in everything we do.”
Councillor Tim Burns said it was “an incredibly challenging environment to set a budget in”.
“Council made tough decisions to ensure a sustainable financial future while still delivering quality services and critical infrastructure.
“The commitment remains to be a financially sustainable council that delivers quality services and the critical infrastructure our growing community needs and to do this with a clear plan, discipline and significant efforts to reduce the costs of council.”
