Residents may get water rebate | Rockhampton News | Local News in Rockhampton

Paterson Street residents used buckets and hoses to protect their homes from the large, fast-moving bushfire last year.

Chris Ison

RESIDENTS who used buckets and garden hoses to defy the worst bushfires in Rockhampton’s history might get a rebate on their water bills after all.

Outraged home owners have sprayed a decision by councillors last week not to cover some of the costs they incurred to protect their houses and property at the height of the city’s great escape last year.

Councillors were attacked as penny-pinching after Fitzroy River Water said it would be too hard to calculate how much to give back to residents who held the fierce flames at bay.

And some people have suggested Mayor Brad Carter had reneged on a promise to ensure they were not out of pocket for playing their part alongside professional and volunteer fire-fighters as fast-moving fires threatened to overwhelm the fringes of the city in Berserker and Frenchville.

Now Mayor Carter has revealed that when it meets tomorrow, the council will reconsider the issue, with a recommendation to create a simple rebate system for those involved in the heroic defence of the city.

He said along with councillors Graeme Brady and Tony Williams he would urge his colleagues to think again.

He said when he met with residents after the fires he made a promise to look at the issue and can understand why some people took that to mean they would get a rebate.

“There will be a notice of motion coming before council on Tuesday with a view to a simple rebate system that applies to both urban and rural residents who used their water to quell flames.”

The motion will be that council offers a rebate to the value of $10 to all property owners affected by the October 2009 bushfires.

This rebate will be deducted from the next water rate notice and property owners need to apply in writing to be eligible.

Cr Carter said there had been concerns that such a rebate would set a precedent but the Premier had declared the fires last year to be a natural disaster.

“As she pointed out there was a significant community effort to protect property.”