After a tumultuous 12 months of fires, floods and pandemics, NSW Premier Gladys Berejikilian says the Central Coast is poised for growth, not as part of a Greater Sydney, but in its own right.
But, she says, there are still big challenges it needs to address.
The Premier visited the Coast on Tuesday, August 9, accompanied by NSW Health Minister, Brad Hazzard, and Parliamentary Secretary for the Central Coast, Adam Crouch.
First stop was the “topping out” ceremony at Wyong Hospital where she and the Health Minister conducted the ceremony on top of the partly-constructed, six-storey being built as part of a $200M hospital redevelopment.
Topping out is a builder’s rite traditionally held when the last beam is placed atop a structure, or in this case, the top floor is finished.
“The top floor is complete and now we move to the next stage of construction,” the Premier said.
“What I’m looking forward to is construction to finish by the end of 2021 and refurbishment at the beginning of 2022.
“The Wyong hospital redevelopment is a huge boost for health services on the Central Coast, but most importantly, during construction, it’s a huge boost for local jobs.”
It was then on to Warnervale to turn the first sod to mark the beginning of construction on the newly named Porters Creek Public School at 75 Warnervale Rd.
At the last moment, the Premier decided it was more fitting for Gorokan High year 12 student, Jack Clenton, who was on hand with his didgeridoo to welcome the Premier as part of an Aboriginal education group, to do the honours.
“Here Jack, you turn it,” she said.
“I’m proud that the NSW Government is delivering this new school for 500 students and with plenty of room for future growth,” she later said to the media.
After the event, Central Coast Newspapers asked the Premier what exactly she envisaged our “future growth” would look like given the ongoing economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Let’s face it, the Central Coast is one of the most beautiful places in the world,” she said.
“People are going to want to live here, but they are going to want good jobs, good roads, high quality schools and modern health facilities.
“The State government is providing those things.”
With an estimated 800 jobs created on the Wyong Hospital project, many of which are apprentices, Berejiklian pointed out the implications for the building industry of sustainable, long-term growth in the region.
“I was delighted to hear from two of the tradesmen that they lived less than five minutes from the worksite – a year ago, they would have been driving an hour and half down the M1 before dawn to a work site in Sydney,” she said
Crouch said it was forecast that an extra 90,000 people would call the Central Coast home by 2041, making it vital to deliver this type of modern infrastructure.
“The construction phase [for Porters Creek school] alone will deliver 225 jobs and $38M to the local economy, which is a big boost at a difficult time,” he said.
We asked the Premier about perceptions the Central Coast is often forgotten about in the shadow of the “Greater Sydney” area.
“The Central Coast needs to set a course for growth, in its own right, not as part of Sydney, or Newcastle,” she said.
It was clear, however, the Premier was not seeking growth for growth’s sake.
“There are big questions the region needs to confront,” she continued.
“We all want more growth and employment, but this year has shown us how vulnerable the environment can be … and there are very significant social issues including mental health and the level of suicide, which need to be addressed as part of any growth strategy.”
“It needs to be balanced,” she said.
There is resolve in the Premier’s response, even a hint of impatience, almost daring us to pitch her solutions.
It recalled her interview on the doorstep of the Conservatorium of Music earlier in the year where she cut a cheque for a long overdue refurbishment of the Con and promptly directed Central Coast Council to “hop to it.”
Indeed, resolve appears to be something the Premier is not lacking, having stood alongside NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner, Shane Fitzsimmons, during the summer’s catastrophic fires, taken a lead role in the National Cabinet, hastily formed in March this year to tackle COVID-19 and, closer to home, installed a Local Planning Panel to unlock development bottlenecks on the Coast.
Ross Barry