Central Coast Airport at Warnervale was mentioned when Central Coast councillors debated a motion at the October 29 ordinary Council meeting about creating an Economic Development Committee.
Councillor Doug Eaton introduced the motion, saying the committee was about setting a new direction for Council.
“This is a clear recognition that economic development is important to our region, is critical to our region, and so we don’t get the antics of the last council,” Eaton said.
“In particular I draw everyone’s attention to what went on at Warnervale airport.
“A million dollars was wasted by the last Council in tearing up a lease to Amphibian Aviation.”
Immediately Councillor Kyle MacGregor, who was on the last council, objected to the remark.
MacGregor said the figure Eaton stated was incorrect and asked how Eaton could be discussing confidential business from a council he was not even part of.
Councillor Belinda Neal weighed in, saying it was an obvious breach of security and she wanted Mayor Lawrie McKinna to agree to an Office of Local Government investigation into Eaton’s access to confidential information.
Eaton said it was public information.
McKinna declined to act.
Debate on the committee continued.
Eaton then spoke about the trees that were not cut down at the airport, saying Council effectively all but closed down the airport.
Councillor Jane Smith, also a member of the last council, asked the Mayor to keep Eaton focused on the motion.
The Mayor directed Eaton to stick to the motion, saying nothing could be done about the past.
The past was this: Eaton was mayor when Amphibian Aerospace Industries signed an agreement in October 2016 with the then Wyong Council, to move its headquarters to Central Coast Airport but in October 2017, the newly elected merged council decided to not proceed with the plan.
Eaton suggested the membership for the Economic Development Committee would consist of the mayor as chair and councillors John McNamara, Trent McWaide, John Mouland, Helen Crowley and Corinne Lamont as members.
He said he had approached Labor councillors and no-one had gotten back to him.
This elicited a point of order from Neal who said the Labor councillors had not been approached.
Crowley, a Labor councillor, said she did want to be on the committee.
Councillor Sharon Walsh wanted community members to be added to the list of members.
In the end, the matter was held over and is on the agenda for the next meeting.
After the meeting, McKinna said there were a lot of different thoughts among the councillors.
“Some feel it should have only a handful of councillor members, some want all councillors on it, others think community representatives should be included,” he said.
“This committee would work with staff and would not make decisions, but rather give suggestions.”
McKinna said he thought having more than five councillors on the committee could be unwieldy.
“Most Boards have eight people at most,” he said.
“It’s not a case of the more the merrier.”
Having 15 councillor voices and skillsets and/or involving community members could bog the committee down, he said.
In contrast, Neal said that to work effectively, the committee needed a broader membership and community involvement.
“The important issue is that if you are going to have an economics committee which is really an economic development committee then it needs careful consideration,” she said.
And was Cr Eaton speaking about confidential numbers about the airport?
No; read our story from 2021.https://coastcommunitynews.com.au/central-coast/news/2021/04/airport-broken-lease-cost-less-than-1-5m/
Merilyn Vale
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