5 minutes to midnight

As we go to press it is exactly six months to the next Local Government Elections.

Saturday 4th September 2021 promises to be a defining day for the Central Coast which has endured four years of infantile petty politics and mismanagement across the board resulting in the appointment of an Administrator on 30th October last year.

Looking at the fifteen councillors that we voted in only two should be considered for re-election if they should choose to run Councillors Greg Best and Bruce McLachlan.

It is now up to the Liberal Party and the ALP to find a group of candidates who have the intelligence, the common good of the region and are prepared to put in the effort to turn this Central Coast Council into an organisation that is not an embarrassment.

At the same time the community needs to find enough independent candidates who are equally qualified as well.

The green activists who have led the destruction of this organisation, with the support of the ALP, in the most shameful way must be eliminated.

CCBR will support Independent candidates who meet these criteria.

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The Administrator, Mr Dick Persson AM has said that he will propose in his final report to the Minister that the number of councillors be reduced to 9 or 10, the Ward system be abolished, and an elected Mayor be introduced. This will require a Referendum however and even if approved will not come into effect until the election of 2025.

The State Government caused untold harm when they gave us this council setup at the time of the amalgamation.  Was it political or bureaucratic bungling?  Doesn't matter it must be changed.

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Meanwhile the good news is that the Administrator has appointed a new CEO, Mr David Farmer who has a long history of running regional councils and large ones at that. 

He is currently CEO at Ipswich Council and before that eleven years at Wollongong Council, 6 years at Cairns Council and 5 years at Mudgee Council. 

The population of Ipswich is around 320,000 and Wollongong 305,000.  Both comparable to the Central Coast at 316,000.

He has to know and understand the importance of economic growth in regional areas.

He has a massive job in front of him bringing order and good governance to an organisation that for the past four years has overseen a stagnating economy.

We welcome him to the Central Coast and look forward to working with him.

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Please read our article on Page 15, Wadalba property owners hung out to dry. This article is a serious indictment on the attitudes of staff in Council's Planning Department, and it goes back to the days of the former Wyong Council.

The treatment of the 40 landowners who were advised by the Minister for Planning and then Wyong Mayor Bob Graham to run the rezoning and approval of their land ready for residential subdivision shows the contempt in which council staff treat ratepayers.

Big corporations walk away and they have. These people simply can't and council knows that.

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Finally, this month we are able to report on the repeal of the Warnervale Airport (Restrictions) Act 2996 which is great news for our region.

Twenty-five lost years all down to a handful of selfish activist individuals aligned to the local tree-hugger community who are against everything from the sinking of the ex-HMAS Adelaide, Winney Bay Cliff Top Walk and most recently the Terrigal Boardwalk anything to do with economic growth and employment.  This mob, all associated with the Community Environment Network (CEN), have infiltrated every aspect of Council.

Edgar Adams
Editor