Council did not apply for dredging funds, says MP

Parliamentary Secretary for the Central Coast, Mr Scot MacDonald, has accused Gosford Council of failing to apply for funding that could have facilitated the dredging of the Brisbane Water channel.

His comments follow Gosford deputy mayor Cr Craig Doyle saying that the council had no jurisdiction and no funds to fix the ongoing narrowing and shallowing of the channel.

Mr MacDonald's office sent the following media statement which they asked Peninsula News to attribute to a spokesperson from the NSW Department of Primary Industry, Lands:

"Costs for the last dredging campaign at Brisbane Water were previously shared between the State Government and the Council.

"Gosford Council was eligible, but did not apply, for funding under the most recent round of the Rescuing Our Waterways program managed by the Department of Primary Industries - Lands, which offers funding to councils that agree to match the amount offered."

Media statement, 1 Apr 2016

Mitchell Cutting, Office of Scot MacDonald