Phone 4342 5333         Email us.

Skip Navigation Links.
Collapse Issue 471 - 10 Jun 2019Issue 471 - 10 Jun 2019
Collapse  NEWS NEWS
Fuel tanks to be replaced to remediate contamination
Council is 'more bureaucratic and less attentive'
Concrete burrows installed for penguin colony
Village resident celebrates 100th birthday
Tesch to continue to campaign for palliative care
Hamper donated to celebrate birthday
Community halls 'not commercial entities'
Peta Colebatch steps down after eight years
Three receive Queens Birthday honours
Small buses not suitable for Phegans Bay, residents told
Marquart attends fewest briefings of ward councillors
Application to construct new warehouse
Submissions to close on proposal next to St Luke's
'No tender' for Correa Bay boat ramp
Two local councillors claim no expenses
Water rates to drop from July
Collapse   NEWS NEWS
Councillors give themselves a pay rise
Collapse  NEWS NEWS
Sea Shepherd to clean Umina Beach
Chamber president welcomes Farnell Rd approval
Geoff Melville steps back from a lifetime of service
Rotary club hears about youth cottage
Bill would prohibit Woy Woy cash loan machine
Residents with stormwater issues invited to tell council
Italian theme day
Special lunch for volunteers at restaurant
Trainee named as finalist
Papua New Guinea lunch at CWA
Collapse  FORUM FORUM
Have efficiency and economies occurred?
Could some councillors up their work rate?
Living next to a weekend party house
Loud minority of older people take selfish attitude
Democratic representatives or government tools?
Decline in non-compliance is deemed to be acceptable
Collapse  HEALTH HEALTH
Defibrillators for Wagstaffe and Killcare
Memory walk for dementia body
Fundraising barbecue
Physiotherapist is outstanding employee finalist
Collapse  ARTS ARTS
Winners of music scholarship announced
Folk club puts on two events
Bays art show is planned for July
Colouring competition for aged care residents
Artist launches art classes for adults
Collapse  EDUCATION EDUCATION
Pretty Beach principal retires
Pacific island group at risk of collapse
Breakfast club to be extended
Three teams in cheer and dance finals
Arts students camp at Cockatoo Island
School reviews both winter and summer uniforms
First debates in debating challenge
Uniform shop seeks donations
Support unit students enjoy arboretum
New lambs at Umina campus
Rotary Club hears about mentoring program
Grant to install bush tucker garden and dreaming trail
Ettalong students take part in simultaneous storytime
Year 2 students visit zoo
Collapse  SPORT SPORT
Under-15s captain celebrates 150 games
Southern and Ettalong loses top spot on women's ladder
Woy Woy defeated by Hornsby in rugby union
Gold medal in vision-impaired games
Selected for junior squad
Soccer camp to be held in Woy Woy
Celebrating 50 years of Buckworth Shield
Basketball returns
Volunteers honoured

Marquart attends fewest briefings of ward councillors

Gosford West ward's Cr Troy Marquart has attended the fewest council briefings of the three councillors who represent the Peninsula.

He has attended 15 briefings of a possible 46.

Cr Chris Holstein and Cr Richard Mehrtens have attended more than double that number - both have attended 36 briefings.

But Cr Marquart, a Liberal, has defended his record, saying modern technology means he can be across all detail garnered at briefings and that he has never and will never shirk his council responsibilities.

"In the year 2019, technology allows many communication outlets and the talented Central Coast Council staff have created instruments to ensure all councillors have all the briefing information," Cr Marquart said.

"All briefing presentations are posted onto the councillor internet cloud hub and we have access to all council team leaders during business hours to ask any viable questions, via our provided council support telephone number.

"This allows all councillors to be fully briefed at all times and allows staff to clear up any ambiguities that may remain after the briefing information is considered, no matter where we may be."

Cr Marquart said residents voted for vast range of individuals to represent them in the local chamber.

"Some councillors work part time, some councillors are unemployed outside the councillor position and some councillors are the managing directors of businesses," he said.

"Some councillors are single. Some are divorced and some are married with three children.

"This absolute diversity offers the differing opinions required to insure all Central Coast residents are represented.

"Personally I am the managing director of a company that employees up to 20 Central Coast residents.

"I have an amazing wife and three perfect sons.

"I offer representation in the chamber for residents that believe in small business and the importance of family.

"I travel extensively to accommodate my company, but I never fail my responsibilities as a councillor, technology and the system implemented by our fine council staff insures that I have briefing information at my fingertips.

"While attending actual briefings physically is important, it is not an imperative and a large briefing attendance number next to a particular councillor's name does not confirm that this individual is a productive councillor.

"It purely notes that they possess more free time than others.

"If the ultimate score card was based upon attendance only, then the chamber would be littered with unemployed or casually employed individuals, with very limited life experience."

For the first year of the new council, no attendance records were kept for 16 briefings held up to September 2018.

But from October 2018, individual attendances at the 46 briefings were recorded.

Cr Kyle MacGregor (ALP) asked in March for the attendance record to be made public.

Cr Marquart said Cr MacGregor's reasons were known only to himself but he assumed his intention was to try to raise his personal profile and denigrate other councillors.

Cr MacGregor told the Peninsula News he asked because he believed it was in the public's interest to know which councillors worked collaboratively with staff and took the time to inform themselves and engage in good governance processes and those who do not.

"The issue has been raised with me by multiple people over the past couple of years and I thought it prudent to ask and reveal the attendances to the public which clearly reveal a pattern of behaviour and explanation for some of the behaviour we see in the chamber on a regular basis from those who choose not to attend our weekly briefings, site inspections and sessions with staff," Cr MacGregor said.

The Mayor, Cr Jane Smith (independent) has attended the most briefings: 44.

Cr Mehrtens (ALP) said he was disappointed by comments made by fellow councillors at the May 27 meeting about their disregard for briefings.

"I think briefings are an important part of being a councillor and provide vital information related to decisions we need to make in the Chamber," he said.

"To disregard briefings so flippantly is a great concern."





Skip Navigation Links.

Skip Navigation Links.
  Copyright © 2019 Peninsula Community Access Newspaper Inc