A new environmental advisory committee has been formed on the Central Coast to protect the region’s interests as the Six Cities plan proceeds.
The move follows a recent meeting between community groups and Central Coast Cities Commissioner Robyn Parker hosted by Kariong Progress Association in May.
Parker spoke on the Six Cities Region plan under the Greater Cities Commission (GCC) and implications for the Central Coast .
The plan seeks to transform the Central Coast into a Global City and a SMART City.
Group spokesperson Kate Mason said the Central Coast Environmental Advisory Committee had been formed, including members of the National Indigenous Party, Coast Environmental Alliance, Community Voice Australia – Central Coast, Narara EcoVillage and Traditional Custodians of the Central Coast.
“Our group plans on working closely with Ms Parker, whose role is to ensure local concerns are heard and addressed by Local and State Government and Government agencies, to ensure that our precious environment is well represented as this moves forward,” Mason said.
“We are concerned that there are committees formed for various other aspects of the plan such as a First Nations Advisory Panel and a Youth Advisory Panel but nothing set up to ensure our environment is protected.
“So we decided to take that initiative and formed this group.
“While Commissioner Parker told the group that any development would be sustainable, the environmental impact of moving another 88 000 residents into our area needs to be looked at very closely.
“We want to understand what the Greater Cities Commission is referring to as sustainable and resilient housing, exactly what land will be targeted for development, as well as the financial modelling of the Affordable Housing scheme and where profits will go.
“To think that 88 000 new residents won’t have an impact on already strained infrastructure would be naive.
“Our primary objective is to look closely at the environmental impacts of this plan and ensure that the community has a voice in decisions that are being made.
“The way it is currently set up, there are no official channels for the community to be heard and that’s really not acceptable.”
Mason said Chief Commissioner Geoff Roberts had made it clear in the draft GCC Community Participation Plan that there would be a focus on meaningful engagement, accessibility and inclusion and transparent decision making.
“We appreciate this sentiment and are ready to participate,” she said.
“Our next step is to ensure that groups such as ours are officially included in the decision-making processes.
“To this end, we have reached out a number of times to Ms Parker to arrange a meeting.
“She seemed open to the idea at the (meeting) but since hasn’t responded to our attempts at contact.
“We will persevere.”
The group will provide regular updates on the Community Voice Australia – Central Coast Facebook page and can be contacted at communityvoicecentralcoast@tutanota.com
Source:
Central Coast Environmental Advisory Committee