Cosmetic Remedial Levy

I live in NSW in a 12 Unit complex. Recently we had a remedial report by engineers stating that there were no current structural defects but did advise we start to undertake some remedial work in order to avert future problems such as finding the source of water ingress in the garden beds causing seepage into the garage underneath. Sounds reasonable. However our Strata Committee wants to spend $65,000 on a a small wall which extends around the complex as there are some areas where rust is visible and some render in places is lifting…. They suggest the whole wall needs to have all of the rods replaced and render all- 275sqm. The total cost of remediation is $180,000 (inc $65,000 to render). A Levy will have to be raised. The engineers ranked the render as last on their list.

I asked if the render could be left until next year or a later date as this really hikes up the total cost and is cosmetic. The chairperson is pushing to get the lot done and I am worried that the levy amount will increase especially once the work on the garden beds begin.Some residents including me will be pushed financially and may not be able to meet an increase in a special levy.

What can I do (along with 2 other residents) beside pleading we leave the render work for the time being until items listed higher on the priority list are dealt with first.