The Wyong Ward: stretches as far south as the suburbs of Wyoming, Lisarow, Narara, Niagara Park, North Gosford, Ourimbah, Fountaindale, Tuggerah, Wyong, Tuggerawong, Wadalba, Watanobbi, Kanwal, Warnervale, Jilliby, Wallarah, all the way up to Ravensdale and across to Kulnura and Palm Grove.
There are 16 candidates standing for election broken up into five groups of three and one independent.
Polling places are located at: Chittaway Bay Public School; Erina High School Assembly Hall; Glenvale Special School; Gorokan High School; Gorokan Public School; Gosford East Public School; Gosford Regional Community Services, Wyoming; Henry Kendall High School; Jilliby Public School; Kanwal Public School; Kulnura Public School; Lisarow Public School; Narara Uniting Church; Niagara Park Public School; Ourimbah Public School; Sydney Town Hall; Tacoma Public School; TAFE Gosford Campus Building F; The Entrance Public School; Toukley Public School; Tuggerah Community Hall; Tuggerah Public School; Tuggerawong Public School; Wadalba Community School; Warnervale Public School; Woongarrah Public School; Wyoming Girl Guides Hall; Wyoming Public School; Wyoming Anglican Church; Wyong Christian Community School; Wyong Creek Public School; Wyong Public School; and, Yarramalong Public School.
Running with: Kishen Napier and James Wood
Q. What do you consider to be the most important issue facing the Ward you would be elected to represent?
A. There is no excuse for the present parking crisis.
I propose to make more parking a budget priority for the Central Coast Council.
Wyong has potential to expand on its civil, administrative, residential, commercial and cultural roles, alongside Warnervale which could expand to service new communities.
Q. What do you consider to be the most important issue facing the Central Coast Local Government Area?
A. I have extensive business and Council experience in Gosford Local Government Area, and I want to help work to bring Council rates under control.
I want to ensure that we as residents get real value for our rates.
This includes developing our northern growth corridor.
Q. How would you, if elected to Council, set about addressing that issue for (a) your Ward, (b) the region?
A. I have been a Gosford Councillor for two terms, eight years, and am an active community worker and have a reputation for honesty and integrity.
Put simply this is the most important Council Election in the history of the Central Coast and I will work hard as a strong Liberal representative.
We must understand the community needs, and will work with all levels of Government to fight for our fair share of funding on the Central Coast.
Only a strong conservative Liberal Council will protect and grow our $9.6 billion in assets, and ensure the $204 million Capital Works budget is spent in our Central Coast region.
Source:
Statement, Aug 25
Chris Burke, Liberal Candidate for Wyong Ward
Running with: Troy Stolz and Philip Collis
Q. What do you consider to be the most important issue facing the Ward you would be elected to represent?
A. When elected, Councillors are Councillors for the entire Central Coast.
I don’t think it is productive for the Coast to identify competing priorities for different wards.
The council must come together and work as a team to advance the entire Coast.
Subject to this caveat, a key initial task is to clean up the Gosford mess and to put procedures and controls in place to ensure the mess cannot reoccur.
Q. What do you consider to be the most important issue facing the Central Coast Local Government Area?
A. Subject to fixing the Gosford mess, the major priority must be to complete the merger process.
This will take most of the initial three year term and the outcome must be an efficient, united, progressive council that is achieving for the community.
Q. How would you, if elected to Council, set about addressing that issue for (a) your Ward, (b) the Region?
A. As an experienced Mayor, I have a proven ability to build teams and we need to build a team within the Councillors and between the Councillors and staff.
We need to adopt and then embrace both a community plans and an operational plan and be held accountable to deliver the outcomes required under these plans.
Source:
Statement, Aug 24
Doug Eaton, Independent for Wyong
Running with: Laurie Eyes and John Wiggin
Q. What do you consider to be the most important issue facing the Ward you would be elected to represent?
A. Residents have repeatedly told me that they want decent roads as well as affordable sporting and community facilities.
They also want answers to questions about how certain decisions have been made.
Niagara Park residents are still angry that their community centre and library disappeared.
Residents throughout Wyong Ward are furious that they are still funding Warnervale Airport which cost ratepayers over $6m last year.
So, the most important issue for Wyong Ward is making sure residents are served by an open, efficient and community-focussed council.
Q. What do you consider to be the most important issue facing the Central Coast Local Government Area?
A. The most important issue facing the Central Coast LGA is getting all Councillors to seize the unique opportunity to set a new direction for the region. Residents can vote to keep the old Gosford and Wyong Council factions and vested interests OFF the new Council. Some councillors have been on Council for decades. The new Central Coast Council is a great opportunity for positive change, fresh ideas and new partnerships.
Q. How would you, if elected to Council, set about addressing that issue for (a) your Ward, (b) the region?
A. I will use my legal qualifications and training to try to find out who was behind certain decisions and why both Councils have given some projects priority over community needs. If elected, I will have a greater network of people to work with, which will help me to address community concerns. My Sustainable Resource Management qualifications and experience enable me to bring an informed and practical approach to environmental management and planning. I am relating well to other potential councillors and consider there is great potential for the open council that residents are seeking.
Source:
Statement, Aug 24
Louise Greenaway, Independent candidate Wyong Ward
Running with: Ruth Punch and Narelle Rich
Q. What do you consider to be the most important issue facing the Ward you would be elected to represent?
A. The most important issue in my ward is the lack of investment and funding for our community.
Funding has traditionally favoured the east of the Council area at the detriment of parts of the Coast that make up Wyong ward.
The privatisation and fire sales of council assets and services are extremely unpopular and in my mind entirely unjustified.
Residents and rate payers have lost faith in the Council and believe that it is prioritising developers and big business over the interests of our local community.
This has only been possible through the deconstruction of genuine democratic structures.
Q. What do you consider to be the most important issue facing the Central Coast Local Government Area?
A. The commuter crisis is the most important issue facing the Central Coast Local Government Area.
The lack of local jobs and investment in our local community is crippling us, we have huge unemployment problems (particularly for youth), you basically cannot find full time employment locally unless you work in the health, education or the aged care industry.
We are suffering from the lack of a vibrant and diversified local economy that our region deserves.
Q. How would you, if elected to Council, set about addressing that issue for (a) your Ward, (b) the region?
A. I see the role of the councillor to be an advocate for the region and to act as a conduit for residents’ views on the major decisions made by council in the chamber and outside of it.
I have a vision for the Central Coast to diversify our local economy and to focus on our council’s best two assets: our natural environment and our people.
Council must work together with other layers of government and the private sector to invest and incubate, plan for and promote the establishment of new and advanced small businesses and co-operatives for our future.
Source:
Statement, Aug 25
Kyle MacGregor, Labor candidate Wyong Ward
Running with: Kaylene Troy and Amber Davis
Q. What do you consider to be the most important issue facing the Ward you would be elected to represent?
A. I have been told by the ratepayers they want the basic services made the first priority, they want their rates spent on proper road surfacing not patching up, they want affordable services that don’t keep escalating.
They want Council to live within its means and save ratepayer money, it is my mission to ensure the ratepayers are not taken for granted by Council.
Q. What do you consider to be the most important issue facing the Central Coast Local Government Area?
A. Catering for the residents who live here now, encouraging employment here on the Coast; 30,000 commuters daily go to Sydney and Newcastle, let’s try to get more jobs closer to home.
This means being bold leaders of the community and making sure the future is sustainable, let’s sidestep the main Political Parties and just do it for the ratepayers for a change, that’s what STL wants.
Q. How would you, if elected to Council, set about addressing that issue for (a) your Ward, (b) the region?
I will lobby the NSW State Government with my fellow Councillors for the funding we have been missing out on for decades.
They made this new Council, now they must help out with the money to make it work.
We must work as a team and lead by example, just get it done.
That’s why people ask me to do the difficult jobs, STL prefer to just get it done and leave the others to talk.
Source:
Statement, Aug 24
Adam Troy, Save Tuggerah Lakes candidate Wyong Ward