Minister for North Coast Janelle Saffin says she was “mortified” by the expenses controversy surrounding her, declaring she has never let her community down and “won’t now”.

Speaking with Ballina News Daily on the sidelines of today’s ceremony marking the official start of work on Ballina’s twin bridge duplication, Ms Saffin said she had been buoyed by an outpouring of community support.

“I’ve felt it and, you know, appreciated it. As I said, I won’t let community down. I don’t, and I don’t do anything wrong. You know, I just don’t.”

The Lismore MP and Small Business Minister acknowledged people were entitled to question how the expenses issue had occurred, but indicated she was not yet ready to provide a full explanation.

Asked how a mistake like this could happen to someone with her experience in politics, Ms Saffin said she would address the community about it later and confirmed she was still getting to the bottom of what happened.

Taking questions: Janelle Saffin (centre) with Richmond MP Justine Elliot and Mayor Sharon Cadwallader

“People have certainly got the right to ask me,” she said.

The controversy followed reports by The Daily Telegraph questioning taxpayer-funded accommodation expenses, including Sydney hotel stays and a night spent in Ballina, less than 30 minutes from Ms Saffin’s Lismore home.

Ms Saffin previously apologised for what she described as an “inadvertent error” involving Sydney accommodation and ordered a rapid review.

Saffin explains Ballina hotel stay

Ms Saffin also provided an explanation for the Ballina accommodation questioned in the Telegraph report, saying it was a single night connected to a national disaster-related event requiring an early start.

“One night, out of a year,” she said.

“It was to do with disasters. It was a national thing, and it was early morning, and I got in (to Ballina) about 10 o’clock (the night before).”

She said the stay occurred before the late Qantas flights had returned to Ballina and pointed to the travel demands associated with her ministerial responsibilities.

Ms Saffin repeatedly stressed she would not let her community down and said she intended to be clear about what had happened.

“I’ll be very clear,” she said.

She also revealed how personally she had taken the controversy.

“I was mortified.”

$85 million Ballina bridge project gets underway

The interview came as Ms Saffin joined Ballina Mayor Sharon Cadwallader and Federal Member for Richmond Justine Elliot to officially mark the start of construction on the biggest infrastructure project ever undertaken by Ballina Shire Council.

The $85 million project will duplicate the Fishery Creek Bridge on River Street and Canal Bridge on Tamarind Drive, with the bridges and approaches expanded from two lanes to four.

The bridges and adjoining roads will also be higher and wider, providing an improved evacuation route from Ballina Island during floods and other emergencies while tackling growing everyday traffic congestion.

Cr Cadwallader said the experience of the devastating 2022 floods had pushed the project to the top of council’s priority list.

How it will look: designs for the completed bridges at the Canal/Tamarind Drive site

“We were very lucky. We dodged a silver bullet during those floods,” she said.

“We could have been in a far worse situation, so it actually told us we needed to do something about that.”

The Federal Government is contributing $48 million towards the project, with Ballina Shire Council contributing the remaining $37 million.

Ms Elliot described the duplication as a “game changer for Ballina”, saying it would improve access and congestion while strengthening the region’s resilience following the 2022 floods.

Ms Saffin said the project demonstrated what could be achieved when different levels of government worked together as partners, with improved evacuation access among its most important benefits.

Who pays if $85m price tag blows out?

But with council already committing $37 million, Cr Cadwallader acknowledged there was little room for further cost increases.

“I’m hoping there’s not going to be any more overruns because you can only loan funds so much,” she said.

Asked by Ballina News Daily who would pick up the bill if unexpected construction problems pushed the project beyond $85 million, Cr Cadwallader said council would seek further state and federal assistance.

Ms Elliot said the governments would continue working in partnership and acknowledged rising building costs could present challenges.

Ms Saffin also left the door open.

“I’m always ready because anyone who knocks on my door, it’s about more money usually,” she said.

“Doors always open, ears are open, and we do what we can to make sure that projects are completed well.”

The difficult ground conditions are already apparent, with Cr Cadwallader saying piles for the project have had to reach about 56 metres into Ballina’s soft soils.

Construction is expected to continue through next year, with completion targeted for the end of 2027.

More bridges and roads on Ballina’s horizon

The twin bridges are part of an extraordinary period of road and bridge construction for Ballina Shire Council as it attempts to keep infrastructure ahead of the demands of a growing shire.

Along with the $85 million Ballina project, council has awarded the tender for the $4.35 million Ross Lane Flood Resilience project at Kinvara, including a new bridge across Deadmans Creek, raising sections of Ross Lane and associated road reconstruction to improve the important east-west route’s resilience to flooding.

Hazell Bros has been awarded the construction contract for $3.19 million, with council opting to close Ross Lane to through traffic for about nine weeks rather than construct a temporary sidetrack. The decision is expected to save more than $500,000.

But even with two major bridge projects now moving ahead, council is already planning another.

The North Creek Bridge route- re-instating the connected Ballina to Lennox Head for most of last century.

Cr Cadwallader confirmed planning had begun for a new North Creek Road bridge, which would ultimately provide another connection between Ballina and Lennox Head.

“We know that’s a really important bridge to bring online for our community to take some of that congestion off the Coast Road, so people can come from Lennox straight to the airport, straight to the industrial estate.”

Cr Cadwallader said the project would deliver significant benefits, but acknowledged the familiar hurdle.

The Mayor said Ballina simply could not deliver infrastructure on that scale without continued assistance from other levels of government.

“Once again, it’s all a funding issue.  We just cannot do what we need to do without state and federal support,” she said.

With the twin bridges now under construction, the Ross Lane bridge and road reconstruction moving ahead and North Creek Road firmly on the drawing board, council faces a continuing challenge to ensure Ballina’s transport network keeps pace with the shire’s growth.