Opinions were divided and vigorous debate was stirred up amongst councillors as the City of Bunbury moved to allocate $115,000 in funds to support the development and implementation of the Withers Youth Strategy.
Organising after school activities for unoccupied and restless youth was listed as a priority by the Withers Advisory Committee in a bid to combat a myriad of antisocial and welfare issues.
The strategy, funded by the City’s Withers Reserve, seeks to tackle issues such as drug and alcohol use, antisocial behavior, unsupervised children and child welfare and safety.
Councillor Michelle Steck said the Withers community had been “screaming out” for help because they live amidst an “absolute war zone”.
Cr Hayward who has thrown his support behind the committee, said the motivation to develop and implement the strategy was to make a particular difference to the Withers community.
But Deputy Mayor Brendan Kelly said an alternative long-term sustainable and holistic approach was required to tackle social issues across all suburbs in Bunbury - not just Withers.
"Unfortunately the money is not a solution, it's just a sugar hit and it'll be gone very quickly," Cr Kelly argued.
"I don't think it will be a long-term sustainable solution for Withers and the money can be spent better."
Cr Judy Jones also argued against funding the strategy and said council making the expenditure would be "dreaming" and unfair to the ratepayer.
"We're taking ratepayers money and we don't even know what we're getting," she said.
Cr Betty McCleary said the proposal was non-inclusive and she couldn't support dishing out funds only to have it wasted on administrative expenses.
"This money is going down the drain and not on the ground," she said.
"We are one community - warts and all."
Following the debate, council voted 9-4 in favour of funding the strategy.
Expressions of Interest are expected to be opened soon in search of a suitable agency or service provider interested in turning the strategy to a reality.
