How many local government bureaucrats does it take to change a lightbulb?
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And how much will it cost?
The answer to the second question, it seems, is $300,000 - which is the cost of a project to install energy-efficient lighting at the Southern Gateway Centre at Bulli Tops.
Wollongong City Council has announced it will receive $150,000 towards the project from the federal government's Community Energy Efficiency Program. The council will contribute another $150,000.
As for how many people it will take to do the job, the count would not be an easy one.
It would have to include the people who made the funding application, public servants in the Environment Department who considered and approved the applications, a council media officer who distributed a press release announcing the funding, a departmental head to sign off on the wording, the Lord Mayor who commented in that press release, and hardworking staff for the grunt work changing the lights.
These are not just any lights.
The project will include "the interior lighting, outdoor lighting, car park and road lighting".
And how long will this take? The council estimates the work will be complete by July 2014.
These are not uncontroversial lights, of course - the Southern Gateway Centre's lights drew criticism in 2010 for a $24,000 annual power bill, and the fact they were left on all night for what council said were security reasons. The lights were dimmed in response to complaints.
More than three years later, the energy efficiency solution has been found.
The centre has attracted mixed views since opening in 2009 at a cost of $11 million, largely because visitors can easily pass it by before they realise what it is.
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