Community backs regional government for Central Coast

Consult Australia convened the Forum to progress the recommendations developed by the Consult Australia Infrastructure Roundtable in the report ‘Sydney Towards Tomorrow.’ The report, published at the end of last year included the proposal that the councils of Gosford and Wyong should form a single Central Coast Regional Council, which would be better able to cope with the growing demand for services. The audience was representative of a broad cross-section of the local community including local school students, councillors, state MP’s as well as leading business and community representatives. The host of SBS Dateline, Mr George Negus, presided over the event.

Participants engaged in a passionate discussion covering a range of issues critical to the long term success of the Central Coast. The Mayor of Gosford, Councillor Chris Holstein, provided a vigorous defence of the current local government boundaries noting the geographic obstacles to effective regional governance, and the substantial collaboration already occurring between Gosford and Wyong Shire Council. Councillor Bob Graham, the Mayor of Wyong outlined the challenges faced by his community, particularly the large percentage of unemployed young people. He emphasised the need for investment in social infrastructure as well as transport infrastructure, and the difficulties created by a lack of coordination between state agencies.

John Asquith, Chair of the Central Coast Community Environment Network put forward a community perspective. He called for: planning and infrastructure investment to support local job creation and economic development; a comprehensive strategy for community consultation informing governance and decision making; and a sustainable approach to planning at all levels of government.

The relatively recent experience of local government amalgamations in Queensland was relayed to the audience by Greg Hoffman, Director of Policy and Representation from the Local Government Association of Queensland. Greg summarised the challenges in moving from 157 local councils to just 73. While many of the benefits may not be realised for 5-10 years, Greg observed that the reform was necessary to help ensure the continued relevance of local government in state and federal decision making.

Responding to the presentations, there was a strong feeling among the audience that the Central Coast should be treated as a single region for planning purposes. This reflected a proud regional identity reflected in the audience discussion. Representatives indicated their support for a regional governance model to build the capacity of the Central Coast to meet increasing population pressures, and realise opportunities for economic growth. Many participants considered amalgamation of local government to be a useful first step, but one that needed to be combined with additional funding by state and federal governments for infrastructure projects critical to the region.

David Stuart-Watt from Parsons Brinkerhoff and a member of the Consult Australia Infrastructure Roundtable presented the Consult Australia position. He summarised the six key areas outlined for reform in Sydney Towards Tomorrow, and called on participants to lead the debate going forward and consider regional governance as part of a broader change required for the future of the region.

In the lead-up to the Forum, Consult Australia launched a school essay competition inviting High School students to debate the amalgamation of Gosford and Wyong Shire Councils. The winning entry was written by Lillian Davis, Natalie Hodgson, and Oscar Wilkie of Gosford High School, who were rewarded with a $1000 shopping spree sponsored by MYER. The students presented their views to the Forum, participated in the final Panel discussion and fielded questions from the audience. Concisely summarising the views of many of the Forum’s participants, Oscar Wilkie challenged the continued defence of the status quo noting: “inaction is worse than action.’’

Presentations from the Forum as well as the winning entry and finalists’ essays are all available on the Consult Australia website: www.consultaustralia.com.au.

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