10 Libs pick candidates to turn Coast blue WITH A FEDERAL election on the cards in the first months of 2025 the Liberal Party has named its Candidates for the Seats of Robertson and Dobell. Former Member for Robertson Lucy Wicks will contest the seat which she lost to Labor in the 2022 election that ousted the Morrison Government. She had held the seat since the 2013 election. Robertson, considered a bellweather seat, is presently held by Labor with a 2.2% margin. Ms Wicks was instrumental in getting the University of Newcastle Central Coast Clinical School and Research Institute in Gosford and subsequently secured funding for UON’s new Gosford Campus that will be completed in early 2025 offering degrees in law, business and digital transformation. “Our community is doing it tough, with households up and down the Coast struggling with Labor’s cost of living crisis challenges as their budgets are squeezed to nothing by rising grocery and electricity prices, and higher mortgages and rents. There’s so much more to be done for the people of Robertson, but we need a new government because only a Liberal government can build a strong economy that will ease the current burden on our households and small businesses, and help deliver jobs of the future locally in technology, like AI and cybersecurity, health and education.” Meanwhile Liberal Candidate for the Seat of Dobell, Brandan Small who was endorsed in April has been campaigning around the electorate. The Managing Director of a local manufacturing business, he told CCBR, “I’ve been spending a lot of time out in the community each week, meeting with people and families, and all I’m hearing is how they’re being absolutely crushed by their everyday bills. The cost of living crisis is hitting everyone hard, and so many have told me that they’ve never experienced life to be this difficult. It’s heartbreaking to hear these stories, and it really shows just how much people are struggling right now under this out of touch Labor Government. We can’t ignore the reality they’re facing every day.” “Local businesses are also feeling the impact of rising costs, particularly when it comes to energy expenses, which are making it increasingly difficult to operate,” he said. BUSINESS NEWS Lucy Wicks discusses issues affecting the manufacturers on the Central Coast Brendan Small on the campaign trail A pay dispute between the NSW Electrical Trades Union and electricity suppliers Ausgrid and Essential Energy that has been dragging on since the start of this year is costing business millions of dollars. The ETU is using property developers and businesses as hostages in the dispute through Protected Industrial Action (PIA) since August as enterprise agreements are negotiated. On the Central Coast, and elsewhere in Sydney and Newcastle developers, having completed construction of their developments, most of which are residential, are unable to get Occupancy Certificates without the property being connected to the grid. One developer told CCBR that the cost of booking with Ausgrid for a connection is between $20,000 and $30,000 per booking and then at the last minute the booking is cancelled and a fresh booking has to be made costing another $20,000 or $30,000. Developers spoke to CCBR on the strict condition that their comments could not be sheeted home to them. However they all pointed out that NSW is in the middle of a housing crisis and neither the state or federal governments, both being Labor governments, were prepared to intervene. Developers can’t deliver completed homes to families because projects are essentially left on standby waiting for power—it’s a backlog that will grow with every month the dispute drags on. Many developers who are desperate to get connected to the grid, get Occupancy Certificates and get paid are facing bankruptcy. Commenting on the issue, Amy De Lore, Hunter and Central Coast Regional Director for the Property Council said “The Property Council is aware of a number of major projects on the Central Coast that have been affected by this industrial action, which is pushing back project completion dates in some cases by months. “These delays push up costs, which affects project viability and slows the delivery of housing. “Beyond the direct impact on families and developers, delays add to the financial strain across an already stretched sector. With ongoing holding costs and the inability to meet contractual obligations, we’ll see ripple effects on jobs, future projects, and housing affordability.” Coast housing crisis worsens as union pay dispute drags on CENTRAL COAST BUSINESS REVIEW DECEMBER 2024
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