Council forms social issues committee

A Social Issues Committee will be established by Central Coast Council by February but the Peninsula is unlikely to see any immediate benefit.

It will consist of interested councillors and community members to work with the three tiers of government, local service agencies and sector experts to inquire into social issues in the Central Coast Council area, co-ordinate and formulate a collective response and to provide advocacy and solutions for the various social issues affecting our community on the Central Coast.

Cr Kyle MacGregor moved the motion to establish the committee at the December 10 Council meeting.

The committee will consider conducting an inquiry into social issues in the Wyong Ward as a pilot programme for the committee at its initial meeting.

The scope of this committee and issues to be investigated will be initially limited to the Wyong Ward for a period of the initial 12 months, with a view to reviewing the efficacy of the committee and potential success of any of the committee's endeavours.

"The purpose of the committee will be to identify, examine and formulate a collective response to the many social issues that affect our community," Cr MacGregor said in his notice of motion.

"The initial inquiries into the Wyong Ward are to ensure that the committee is focused on achievable and realistic outcomes rather than taking a top-down overarching approach and missing details or potential localised practicable action that is more likely to occur if the committee is focused to one ward initially," he said.

"As councillors, community and staff would be aware, there are a plethora of social issues that affect us on the Central Coast and ... Council should provide leadership, advocacy and action to ensure that we are educating, protecting and supporting our community at the most localised level of government.

"Central Coast Council in itself cannot solely provide the answers and solutions to these problems.

"It is well within our ambit and, I believe, our duty to respond to these crises that face our community.

"We are best placed to work together with community and various bodies that are responsible for responses to social issues to seriously attempt to address issues that are far too often unfortunately swept under a rug."

SOURCE:

Central Coast Council agenda 6.3, 10 Dec 2018