We should stick with 15 councillors

At the September 2024 local government election, every Central Coast voter will be asked to vote for a new group of 15 councillors to represent them.

This will finally re-establish democracy on the Central Coast after four years of dictatorial government by an Administrator, unelected and making all decisions for us, the ratepayers.

No discussions, no challenges, but one single person deciding everything that happens here on the Coast.

At the same election, a referendum will be held to ask all Central Coast residents if the number of councillors should be reduced from 15 to nine (which is, 40 per cent less representation) and to reduce the number of wards from five to only three (also 40 per cent fewer wards).

The suggestion to do so stems from the previous Administrator, Dick Persson, and was made on his belief that “15 councillors is simply too many and does not facilitate collaborative and effective decision making and that has to change”.

Mind you, Mr Persson did also admit at the time that he could not guarantee this.

Central Coast Council is the third-largest council in NSW, with 352,000 residents, and needs adequate representation by councillors.

If we go back from 15 councillors to only nine, the ratio of residents represented by each councillor would increase by 40 per cent – from 23,462 residents per councillor to 39,104.

In my opinion, this would erode effective representation and not be in line with one of the four key ideas of Australian democracy, namely the right of every citizen to have a voice and to be adequately represented.

Comments by the NSW Local Government Boundaries Commission on the Report by the Delegate CEO of the Office of the Local Government (April 2016) clearly stated that after the merger of Wyong Shire Council and Gosford City Council into a large Central Coast Council, with a population more than 330,000 and growing, the maximum number of 15 councillors is supported to ensure effective representation.

No other local government area as large as the Central Coast has fewer than 15 councillors (Northern Beaches Council, City of Parramatta Council, Cumberland City Council all have 15 councillors).

Councils with far fewer residents than the Central Coast have 15 councillors (City of Penrith with 217,664 residents and Sutherland Shire with 230,211 residents).

It is beyond belief that we will be asked to vote to have fewer councillors and wards, because one individual thinks that this would facilitate “collaborative and effective decision making”, whilst not providing any evidence to support this.

It is even more mind-boggling that our current Administrator has adopted this belief and is now forcing us to vote on this in a Constitutional Referendum.

There are valid reasons why 15 councillors are required for such a large council as the Central Coast; the question one could raise now is: Why does the Administrator want significantly fewer councillors?

It is my belief that Central Coast residents need proper representation by having 15 councillors and five wards to guarantee the full democracy on the Central Coast ratepayers deserve.

Email, May 17
Roland de Pree, Hamlyn Terrace