Why is it so hard to get things done on the Central Coast?

But first things first!

While the State Government is busy mortgaging the future to pay for this pandemic, our younger generations will be paying for it for the rest of their lives, important day to day decisions are being put on the back burner.

It is now twelve months since the Premier and Minister for the Central Coast, Adam Crouch made their famous statement that the Greater Sydney Commission had been appointed to develop a “Strategy” “to identify new opportunities for economic and employment growth in the region”.

And by the end of the year they had come up with some recommendations.  However, COVID got in the way and because the Premier and the Minister were concerned they would not have got enough media coverage the announcement has been forgotten about.

Meanwhile, it appears that among the recommendations that the GSC have come up with is a university campus in Gosford and development of the Warnervale Airport.

But neither of these are important enough to announce so that the people of the Central Coast, young ones in particular, have something to look forward to.

Central Coast Council is supposed to be working on the Airport as Administrator Dick Perrson prior to leaving moved that the CEO  be instructed to move ahead with that.

Meanwhile, the Premier and the Minister continue to prevaricate over the Gosford Campus except for a stunt in May that a university campus would anchor an “Education and Employment Precent” which the Premier had announced just prior to the State Elections in 2019.

The University of Newcastle is ready to move and the Federal Government in 2018 allocated the funds for their contribution.

It is a disgrace and the Premier must be held to account.

OOO

We are fortunate that the Labor Government in the years prior to 2011 took an interest in the region to the extent that they went ahead with the sinking of the former HMAS Adelaide off Terrigal in spite on entrenched opposition by a handful of activists who did all they could to stop it.

This dive site has proved to be a very valuable tourism asset for our region.

Of course this was not the only project that a litany of activists have opposed over the past 30 years.

First, there was the Warnervale Airport which a small group of activists opposed and were supported by the local Labor Member for Wyong.

Then there was a multi-million redevelopment project at Terrigal in 2000 which a hand full of activists with the support of the Liberal Party opposed and killed off.

A similar mob about the same time opposed the development of a coal mine at Wyong.

In Gosford the Liberal Party controlled Council opposed every development that would have brought the place into the 21^st century. 

Their power within Gosford Council ensured that the 18-level Spurbest development on the Frogy’s site would be killed off too.  That was in 2003 and Gosford has declined ever since.

Then, of course  there are the greenies who opposed all forms of development anyway and get plenty of local support.  It is this lot who have stopped most industrial development projects at Somersby and Warnervale.

The point of all this is that the Central Coast economy has been held back for 30 years.

Getting things done on the Central Coast isn’t easy.

But we must never ever give up. We are in this boat due to a lack of leadership.  It is time for business and community leaders to step up and put the case for economic growth on the Central Coast.