As a tax paying citizen of the Central Coast I find it amazing how outside, politically-appointed bureaucrats are making all the decisions on the future of the Central Coast while those who have invested their life savings and made the Coast their home are restricted to a three minute Public Forum after a rigorous application process.
Addressing Central Coast Council’s Administrator is simply no guarantee that he and others are listening.
Ignoring submissions from the general public has become common place, no matter how good the argument.
Politically appointed and faceless Planning Panels make decisions that suit their political requirements and simply ignore the community’s concerns.
The proposal to engulf the Central Coast into the newly created Six Cities Regional concept and having another politically appointed Commissioner to lead the charge, without any scope for public participation in any manner, is a total disgrace.
The former Central Coast Co-ordinator General, also politically appointed to implement the Central Coast Regional Plan 2036 and now the 2041 Plan, has set an agenda that the Central Coast cannot afford without major improvements to all forms of infrastructure.
As residents travel around our region, all they see is the continued destruction of their bushlands for more and more housing developments which have dramatic impacts on local infrastructure, regional ecologies and everyday life.
The reported solution by Business NSW Central Coast Director to the housing crisis is for a projected increase of more than 400,000 new residents, whilst the Public Health Units of the Central Coast and Hunter New England regions, plus NSW Planning and Ministry of Health have failed to identify why the Central Coast has major health issues.
Many of our suburbs have persons with three or more chronic health conditions quickly reaching 17 percent of their populations and asthma being not far behind, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures.
The Coast cannot afford to increase any new residents until government recommendations from the Coal Ash Inquiry for Epidemiological, Exposure or Health Risk Assessments are completed and findings released.
The reality is that it can take weeks for an appointment with our local doctors or years in some cases to find places for our children in pre-school.
Increasing the population for the sake of increasing council coffers or simply because the NSW Government wishes to drive their own agenda is not the answer.
The answer is with the community having more input into our future and what we want for the Central Coast, not some political decision.
The only way we can accomplish this without elected representatives, is by having a People’s Tribunal or Citizens Inquiry.
This is the answer to ensuring the Central Coast becomes a safe, healthy and desirable place to live, work and play.
Email, Sept 14
Gary Blaschk
Lake Munmorah
I totally agree with all in above email from Gary Blaschk. There has been no plans put forward for more infrastructure to support the NSW Governments plan.
We need a People’s Tribunal to ensure our Citizens are heard and our concerns are dealt with in a fair and equitable manner!
It’s not just about the infrastructure, it’s about what the “Six Cities” plan entails.
It will turn the whole region into a “spy city”, where everything will be monitored. Think of what China has done. A form of Social Credit system (part of a “digital identity”) coming to you.
It is 100% about the bureaucrats having control, with the public being treated like slaves.