As we lead into an exciting new year for the Central Coast and having a rejuvenated council, there are those amongst us that don’t seem to want to listen to our community.
In my opinion, one such person is Parliamentary Secretary for the Central Coast, Mr Scott Macdonald. After years of opposition from residents, and some 611 written submissions from the public objecting to the latest application for the Wallarah 2 Coal mine near Wyong, this so-called representative, which none of the Central Coast residents appointed, is totally in favour of the mine. It is my understanding that he is doing his best to cover-up, or at least sweep under the carpet, other major impacting environmental issues, such as the PFAS contamination of Lake Munmorah and Colongra Bay. The Central Coast will have to endure the damage this man will create until March 2019, when his term of service expires and hopefully his political party as well.
His Masters of Environmental Management has let him, and us, the residents of the Central Coast, down, yet his membership of the standing committee on state development, and the title of Parliamentary Secretary for Planning says it all. His total failure as a representative of residents of the Central Coast is reflected in his non-response, since 2015, to several issues raised with him by email or letter from me, representing registered charitable organisations on the Coast. The NSW Government’s Central Coast Regional Plan 2036 has earmarked some $180m per annum of mining extractions throughout the northern part of the Central Coast. Possibly sand, gravel, clay, sandstone, coal, gas or petroleum. What beach will be next for sand mining or what farm for gas extraction?
A mooted extra 40,500 residential developments (over 100,000 new residents) mixed with all forms of extractions, this is not very good planning Mr Macdonald. Only he and his Liberal mates know the details, because they are in favour of this and other proposals, including the Wallarah 2 coal mine, and they can’t or won’t answer any of the hard questions. No mining company closes its eyes and points to a site on a map for a mine of any sort. Yet Mr MacDonald has known for some time, where, how big and how much impact will be created by his systematic support of unwelcome developments. Yet, he is willing to go ahead with these developments just because his job demands it, as part of a NSW Planning collective that systematically ticks boxes and then ignores the resident’s wishes. Mr MacDonald, along with his Liberal cohort, Central Coast Coordinator General, Ms Lee Shearer, appointed by the NSW Liberal Government, along with an assortment of faceless bureaucrats, is making sure this Regional Plan 2036 is implemented.
They are making all the crucial development decisions, whether the residents like it or not. Neither has a direct Central Coast connection by living on the Coast. Mr MacDonald lives in Guyra, on the Northern Tablelands, and Ms Shearer lives in either Sydney or Maitland. Over the past decade, there have been at least 14 state members and or candidates from the Central Coast or nearby, mostly Liberal, some Labor, that have either resigned or been sacked, due to the findings of alleged corruption through ICAC. This is an epidemic which should never be forgotten by the Central Coast’s residents. It is my opinion that unless the NSW Liberal Coalition is totally demolished at the next election by Central Coast residents, environmental pillage and human health issues will persist, and it won’t be the exciting start to 2018, as we, the community, thought or expected.
Email, Jan 31 Gary Blaschke, Lake Munmorah