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POSITIVE MEETING: South Australian Premier Steven Marshall with Whyalla Mayor Lyn Breuer and Council CEO Chris Cowley. Below: The news in April when Mayor Breuer went into bat for Whyalla.
Mayor Lyn Breuer has kept her promise to maintain pressure on the State Government on all matters regarding Whyalla.
The Mayor and Council CEO Chris Cowley have had a private meeting with new South Australian Premier Steven Marshall in Whyalla to outline the issues important to our city. The Mayor’s talks with the new Liberal Premier last week followed a meeting with the State Government treasurer Rob Lucas in Adelaide which also included the Port Augusta and Port Pirie mayors.
Among the issues discussed with the Premier included the importance of developing a deep sea port in Whyalla, the proposed $100m combined high school, a proposal by Council and UniSA for an Innovation Hub in the city, the Cig City plan for a cheap 1 Gigabyte high-speed fibre network and Whyalla’s need for a significant investment in sporting facilities.
Mayor Breuer said the Premier obtained an understanding of the issues surrounding Whyalla and was prepared to listen to Council’s concerns and plans for the city. Importantly, the Mayor said Council was determined to work with the State Government on all matters.
“I explained to the Premier that we have turned the corner, we are out of the woods but we’ve still got some way to go to be completely clear of the forest,” Mayor Breuer said.
“We still need the support of the State Government on a number of issues.
“It was a positive meeting and I believe the Premier was very receptive to everything I outlined during the meeting.”
Having made a stand for Whyalla workers in April this year and declaring Whyalla needed to be the site for any proposed deep sea port on the Eyre Peninsula, Mayor Breuer repeated the message to the Premier during their meeting.
“The port was discussed and we put forward every good reason why it needs to be built in Whyalla,” Mayor Breuer said.
“The industry to support this port is right here in Whyalla and there are many mining projects and other industries opening up in the region that would benefit from the port being in Whyalla.
“It may take a longer jetty to be built in the port area to make it viable but we are, overwhelmingly, the best placed geographically and economically for this port.”
Mayor Breuer said Council’s plans for more education opportunities through a new high school, TAFE and UniSA facilities were also discussed and gained more positive feedback from the Premier.
“The Premier heard what we had to say and appeared to take it all on board in regards to all the issues,” Mayor Breuer said.
“Our overriding message was that we are keen to work with the government to continue this wonderful momentum we are building in Whyalla.
“There was a lot of goodwill during the meeting and we’ll be working hard to grow this with the State Government as we move forward into even more exciting times.”
READ MORE ON WHYALLA'S PUSH FOR A DEEP SEA PORT
http://www.whyalla.sa.gov.au/page.aspx?u=730&c=55678