Coast is already stand-alone region, says Crouch
Central Coast Parliamentary Secretary Mr Adam Crouch appears to have repudiated calls by Federal Liberal Member for Robertson, Ms Lucy Wicks, for the Central Coast to be declared a "stand-alone region".
Mr Crouch said: "The Central Coast's identity as a stand-alone region with Gosford as its capital city has been enshrined in law, thanks to changes in NSW legislation made in 2020."
He said all agencies and departments of the NSW Government now formally recognised the Central Coast as a stand-alone region.
"I've worked hard to ensure our region receives and retains its own Local Health District, a district within the Rural Fire Service, standalone Police Districts, Education Department directorates, and dedicated teams of staff within the departments of Regional NSW and Planning, Industry and Environment," Mr Crouch said.
"Central Coast Council is already reaping the rewards of our regional status having received tens of millions of dollars of grant funding that is not available to metropolitan areas like Newcastle and Wollongong, and on my watch this will continue."
Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Mr Rob Stokes had said the Central Coast region was its own region, separate from the Greater Sydney or Hunter regions, according to Mr Crouch.
He reported Mr Stockes saying: "Last August, I signed a Ministerial Order declaring the NSW Government's nine regional boundaries - including Central Coast as its own region.
"This boundary for the Central Coast is consistent with the boundary used in the Central Coast Regional Plan released in 2016, which also recognises Gosford as the capital of the region."
Mr Crouch said: "To support the region's future, the NSW Government will soon be releasing a first-of-its-kind Central Coast Strategy and the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment is currently developing a new Central Coast Regional Plan."
SOURCE:
Media release, 14 Jul 2021
Adam Crouch, Central Coast PS