CCBR Business Review

14 O B I T UA R Y Vale Barry Cohen AM HE WAS THE best local Member of Parliament, state or federal, that the Central Coast ever had with an abiding passion and commitment to his electorate and the Central Coast as a whole. Former Member for Robertson, Barry Cohen MP died on 18th December, 2017 following a battle with Alzheimer’s disease, he was 82. He entered Parliament as the Member for Robertson on 25th October 1969 and retained the seat through its various boundary changes as it became increasing- ly marginal until retiring in February 1990. He was a fierce and passionate advocate for the Central Coast and was renowned for chasing down every available dollar for the whole region.  Early in its life the Old Sydney Town theme park at Somersby had fallen into financial difficulties and was at risk of being closed.  Barry Cohen saw this project as a wonderful opportunity for the Central Coast, portraying Australia’s early history while creating jobs and bringing tourists to the region. He became a staunch advocate which led to the Federal Government tak- ing a substantial financial interest in it and at the time guaranteeing its future. During the recession of the mid 1970’s the Whitlam Government introduced the RED Scheme, a work for the dole initia- tive which saw millions of dollars pumped into regional Australia.  Some say the Barry Cohen ensured that the Central Coast got more than its fair share of the funds and today there remain numerous projects on the Coast that stand monument to his efforts in Canberra. They include youth cen- tres, playing fields, swimming pools, senior citizens centres and surf lifesaving clubs that were either built or refurbished by the RED scheme. Following the Hawke Government elec- tion in 1983 he was Minister for Home Affairs and the Environment from 1983 to 1984 and then Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Environment until 1987. He was also the minister responsible for the Bicentenary and the minister assisting the prime minister for the Bicentenary before he retired. He entered politics because he wanted to make a difference and he certainly did that.  He was an energetic and canny politi- cal campaigner which enabled him to hold the seat of Robertson as it became increas- ingly marginal. After retiring from Parliament 1990 he maintained a small unpretentious office in Wheeler House in Gosford from where he maintained an active interest in local as well as national affairs. Prime Minister John Howard appointed him Deputy Chairman of the Governing Council of Old Parliament House a position he held from 1998 to 2007. He was a regular columnist and contribu- tor to The Australian for many years and at the same time authored many books, all humorous, on those who he encountered during his time in politics, including Life with Gough, From Whitlam to Winston and others. Following Sydney being awarded the 2000 Olympic Games in 1993 Cohen saw an opportunity for the Central Coast to hold an International Garden Festival that would ‘book-end’ the games with such festivals having an initial life of six months and then going on to become major tourist attrac- tions.  Held every six years Cohen had visit- ed many such events while Minister for the Environment and indeed had been respon- sible for Australian participation at the 1990 Osaka Japan Expo.  Such festivals, held since the end of WWII throughout Europe draw millions of tourists and could do the same for the Central Coast and Australia.  The for- mer ‘Boys Home’ at Mt Penang would have been the perfect location. The idea gained enormous local support but the Federal Government refused to provide the Guarantee that was required by the International Horticultural Association. Ultimately the Federal and State Governments paid for a new stadium in Gosford for relocating North Sydney Bears and the state government spent almost $10 million on the Mt Penang Gardens to fend off voter backlash.   Meanwhile Barry Cohen had moved forward on another passion of his that had its genesis in the Warrawong Wildlife Sanctuary in South Australia, established by environmentalist and friend, John Wamsley, which was to be the forerunner of many more around Australia.  Cohen acquired about 73 ha of land at Calga and established the Calga Springs Sanctuary.  He found that setting up an environmental sanctuary for the natural inhabitants of the land would be much more difficult than he thought, not the least because he had to break through government and council environmental regulations that did not allow for such sanctuaries for local native animals.  However, with much persistence, that he was well known for, he got the approvals and the sanctuary was opened in 2003.    He sold it in 2005 and it is now one of Australia’s best known wildlife sanctuar- ies. Born in Griffith on 3rd April 1935 Barry Cohen was educated at Griffith High School, Sydney Grammar School and North Sydney Technical High School and subse- quently received a Bachelor of Arts from the ANU.  He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2007 for services to the parlia- ment. Before entering politics he owned a menswear shop in the upmarket St. Ives Shopping Centre which he maintained long after being elected.  He and his family moved to Matcham where they lived until moving to Bungendore in 2005 to be closer to Canberra where many of his interests lay not the least being his family living there. Mr Cohen is survived by his wife Rae, their sons Stuart, Adam and Martin and their children. Former Member for Robertson and Hawke Government Minister Barry Cohen AM w: bodyfuel.com.au f: bodyfuelcafe3 i: @bodyfuelcafe bodyfuel cafe 7/1 Pioneer Avenue, Tuggerah Business Park 43510834 CENTRAL COAST BUSINESS REVIEW FEBRUARY 2018