Posted in Editorial

Six months to go for new council – but will it be out of the fat into the fire   In case you haven’t noticed our Central Coast Council is setting us up for some pretty big rate hikes in the years to come with forecast deficits from 2026-27 (see Page 15). This month we are fortunate to have a highly credentialled former UK local government councillor and former senior banking executive and Central Coast resident, Kevin Brooks, write an analysis of how he sees this Council p...

This month’s Central Coast Industry Festival will be a must see for all businesses that have a remote connection with our region’s manufacturing industries. Because manufacturers hide out in industrial areas well away from residential and shopping areas they fly under the radar. This is particularly the case on the Central Coast where there are just over 1,000 manufacturing businesses.  But they employ almost 9,000 people and they also depend on local suppliers and services...

Few people in small and medium sized businesses understand what is about to descend upon them with Federal Labor’s new 500 page plus Industrial Relations Loophole Bill. Under this Bill employing subcontractors becomes close to illegal and, for the first time, a union can walk into a business that has only one employee and issue dictatorial orders. Unions now have the power to tell you how to run your business. While the Government claims to be targeting big business it is all encompa...

This time of the year is the season for Awards, all the business and industry associations hold their annual awards recognising excellence and achievement. Some are popularity contests run by organisations for their own self-interest. Others are genuine in that they engage people who know what they are talking about as judges. In recent months the Hunter division of the Housing Industry Association ran their awards with Umina based builder, Evolving Construction taking out the Hunter Home o...

The history of tourism on the Central Coast goes back more than 80 years.  To a time when Sydney’s blue-collar workers packed up their tents, hooked up their caravans and spent the summer school holidays across the whole of the region. Camping areas and caravan parks dotted the coastline from Umina to Budgewoi. The people who came here on holiday were not wealthy, so it was a cheap way to get away and spend the Christmas and Easter holidays.  Although most camping areas and...