Candidate calls for poll on merger

New Independent candidate Mr Gary Chestnut has called for a poll on the amalgamation of the Gosford and Wyong Councils to be held in conjunction with the 2020 local government election.

Mr Chestnut said the NSW Liberal Government's handling of council amalgamation over the past two years had been "farcical".

He said he believed being part of a mega council would undoubtedly disadvantage the community of the Woy Woy Peninsula.

"The people of the Woy Woy Peninsula did not ask for medium density development," he said.

"That was done with a stroke of a pen by a town planner about 15 years ago.

"It was a rezoning proposal advertised in the local paper in the disguise of a proposal to modernise residential centres.

"It was too obscure for most people to notice but it had drastic effects and now the standard template being used for state-wide zoning means there is even less possibility for zoning to be area-specific or address the needs of an individual, unique community," he said.

"Bigger local government means the application of a policy, like the requirement for 50 substantial objections before a DA is referred to a council meeting, may work well in one area but there is no way that in a community like Patonga or Pearl Beach it would be possible to get 50 objections.

"I find it repugnant this council has gone to 50 objections when we are made up of isolated community centres."

Mr Chestnut said he did not believe a councillor-to-resident ratio of one to 22,200 residents was a recipe for even basic local government representation.

"I find it astonishing and how does that one councillor possibly represent the diversity of viewpoints of those 22,000 people?

"Central Coast residents have had to endure the pain and confusion of what was effectively a forced amalgamation to serve the Liberal government's interests," said Mr Chestnut.

"We have seen chaos within Council over the last 15 months with restructures forcing local staff with local knowledge to lose their jobs and most recently a vote of no confidence in senior council executive by hundreds of council workers," he said.

"Reports of the backflip by NSW Premier, Ms Gladys Berejiklian, on council mergers in Sydney now leave the Central Coast in limbo."

"Council staff morale seems at an all-time low and residents are suffering.

"Since the amalgamation, many residents and community groups have noticed that the level of response and action by Council has often been non-existent.

"We will now have a super council servicing over 330,000 residents with 15 councillors while Hunters Hill Council will serve approximately 14,000 residents with seven councillors.

"It is clear that the amalgamated council results in less representation for the interests of residents and ratepayers and that appears to be exactly what the NSW Liberal government wanted to achieve.

"The majority of former Gosford and Wyong Councillors did nothing to stand up to the State Government decree that Gosford and Wyong Councils should merge," he said.

In fact, the decision taken by both councils to vote in favour of amalgamation means Central Coast Council would not be considered a "forced" merger, Mr Chestnut said.

"Whether or not individuals like Gosford mayor Laurie McKinna and deputy Craig Doyle felt like they were in a shotgun wedding, if either council had said no we would have been in a dispute and we would not have been amalgamated," Mr Chestnut said.

"Our team will call for a rigorous assessment of the pros and cons of the amalgamation and a poll as part of the 2020 Council election," said Mr Chestnut.

SOURCE:

Media release, 30 Jul 2017

Interview, 3 Aug 2017

Gary Chestnut, New Independents

Reporter: Jackie Pearson