EDITORIAL:
Central Coast Council has spent five of its last eight years under the hand of state-appointed administrators, a period that will be marked by internal stability, yet also increased council rates, reduced services and the sale of significant community assets.
This imposed administration, which has understandably been focused on internal management rather than community-led initiatives, is now a source of growing frustration among residents.
As the tenure of the current administrator, Rik Hart, draws to a close, the urgency to transition back to democratic oversight becomes increasingly clear.
The amalgamation of Gosford and Wyong councils was intended to create a more efficient and responsive local government.
Instead, it resulted in political and financial instability, declining services and administrative turmoil.
The last elected council was removed as it proved incapable of building stable partnerships, both internally and with state and federal government agencies.
Years on, the promise of better efficiency has not yet materialised; instead, the community has witnessed a steady increase in rates and charges while experiencing a decline in the quality of infrastructure and services.
The administration periods, while necessary for a while, have eroded public trust and now underscore the need for accountable, responsible elected leadership.
To illustrate the situation the Administrator’s recent proposal to rezone over 3000 blocks of land, many of which are part of the Coastal Open Space System (COSS), has sparked significant opposition from many residents’ groups.
The COSS represents a long-standing public-private partnership aimed at preserving the region’s bushland and ridgetops.
For decades, local landowners have worked with the council to protect these valuable natural resources, an effort now threatened by the proposed rezoning plan.
The pushback from the community is not merely about land use; it is a call for the restoration of democratic processes.
The NSW Planning Minister, Paul Scully, must heed these concerns and seek guidance from an elected council.
Accepting the rezoning proposal without this due diligence would not only undermine the community’s trust but also potentially violate long-standing agreements designed to safeguard the environment.
The transition from administration to an elected council is now imperative.
It will not only restore democratic oversight but also ensure that decisions impacting the community are made with direct input from those who live here.
The Central Coast will do well with more accountability, transparent leadership and focus on the community’s needs.
To be fair Mr Hart’s tenure as Administrator has been a stabilising factor for the many good staff that work at Council; this must now be built on by all incoming councillors by respecting management and staff.
As we move toward council elections it’s pleasing to see a series of quality councillor candidates put up their hands to provide the responsible democratic oversight the region now requires to move ahead.
David Abrahams – Managing Editor
What another great editorial from CCN. The reporting of the coming election has been excellent, the performance of our council has been explained fairly without bias both from the journalists and the managing editor.
They have certainly tried to get the people of the Central Coast to engage in this very important time of selecting new councillors and to vote on the referendum.
On the Deferred Lands debacle, Paul Scully has no chance of getting it right as too much damage har been done, not to the land but from Council planning, they have got caught up in their own web.
This once rural community has changed from when nearly all land was rural , it was a very rural community, we even had a Rural Bank.
Dividing the land into different zonings should have worked as we know all land is different. Council introduced different zonings like 7a, 7c2, 7c3 etc. with different constraints on each zoning.
Then along came COSS that was a great initiative from very special people, Beryl & Alan Strom who had a vision to prevent the overdevelopment of our lovely rural land. They were ahead of their time.
Unfortunately some developers found ways to get around zoning constraints and we soon had protected land being developed with bonus provisions, land dedications to council and possible other methods that soon broke down the zoning restrictions.
Some rural land that became 7c3, in the early 80’s earmarked for future tourism development and then changed to E4 and now to C4 is a perfect example of this mess with 14 houses approved on a 5 acre block, councils refusal of 12 houses on 60 acres after approval of 9 bungalows on a couple of acres all nearby in the same area with the same zoning,
These 3 blocks of land have been the same for decades. What a mess.
In fairness to Dick Persson & Rik Hart who have tried to resolve this Deferred land debacle may not have received all accurate information as I don’t believe there are many of the 3,400+ blocks of land that are part of the COSS system.
A simple fix would be for Council to purchase any land they want to include in the COSS system as they have done with Katandra Reserve, Rumbalara Reserve and Kincumber Mountain Reserve, keeping in mind that all of this land has to be cared for and maintained. This may be the root of the problem – who pays.
Can our local community afford this as times are pretty tough at present for a big majority of the locals.