CCBR Business Review

9 FEDERAL MEMBER FOR Robertson Lucy Wicks is renewing calls to make the Central Coast a stand-alone region with Gosford as its capital city. “The Central Coast is not part of the Greater Sydney, Newcastle or Hunter regions,” Ms Wicks said. Ms Wicks, who has been lobbying the NSW Government for change for over 12 months, said the extended COVID-19 lockdown has highlighted the need for the Central Coast region to be excluded from the Greater Sydney catchment definition. However, in response to Ms Wicks the Member for Terrigal and Parliamentary Secretary for the Central Coast, Adam 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. ”All agencies and departments of the NSW Government now formally recognise the Central Coast as a stand-alone region.” However, while the Central Coast Local Health District functions on a regional basis and has done for over ten years, this is not the true picture for many other govern- ment agencies. The people of the Central Coast would tend to agree. Ms Wicks set up an online Petition asking the question: Do you believe the Central Coast should become its own stand- along region. She got over 10,000 signatures. So Ms Wicks is on the right track. However, the issue is highly complex and involves Commonwealth as well as State governments at a bureaucratic level. Politicians have no control over the bureaucracy which sees itself as the long term guardian of the country. At issue is the historical disfunction of the Gosford / Wyong, now Central Coast, coun- cil areas for over fifty years or more where a them-and-us culture was cultivated by both councils. At no point in that time has there been a unified Central Coast voice with a capacity to inform and influence government. The former General Manager of Wyong Council John Dawson, many years ago compared the Central Coast with the Hunter Region (which comprises 13 local government areas) saying, “they hunt in a pack”. And, historically, this has always been the case at community, business and local government level. Even the powerful union movement worked in unison for the benefit of the region. A similar situation also exists in respect to Western Sydney. The fruits of their co- operation are now being seen with a total government focus on that region which is seeing billions of dollars being invested at every level along with Sydney’s second airport. Ms Wicks calls for a common definition for the Central Coast from the NSW Premier however this must be the responsibility of the Central Coast community (See Edgar Adams’ Editorial Page 6) to decide who and what we are. At that point it must be promoted from within the community. In many respects it is about branding. It is the community that has to influ- ence government. Former Chairman of the Central Coast Area Consultative Committee (now Regional Development Australia Central Coast – RDACC) and CEO of the Sydney Olympic Games Committee, one of Australia’s most accomplished bureaucrats, Sandy Hollway, once said of the Central Coast, ‘we (the government) can’t make change, the community has to do it and that takes leadership.” LucyWicks takes a stand - It’s time to make the Central Coast a stand-alone region B U S I N E S S N E W S Following the cancellation of the 5 Lands Walk which coincides with the Winter Solstice in June, which had to be cancelled due to COVID19 outbreak the organisers are now rescheduling the event for 25th September. This year, the Spring Equinox heralds something particularly spe- cial, with the 5 Lands Walk corre- sponding with the southerly whale migration along the Coast. 5 Lands Walk President, Pauline Wright, said “In common with the organisers of many events this year, our Organising Committee was acutely aware of the disappoint- ment the postponement of this year’s celebrations would cause the thousands of registered partici- pants, not to mention the 5 Lands Walk’s 700-plus volunteers and sponsors, who had worked so hard to plan this fantastic free event.” “The decision to postpone was made because of our responsibil- ity to ensure safety for all in these Covid impacted times.” “So, we are delighted to announce that the 5 Lands Walk Weekend 2021 will take place from 24 to 26 September 2021, with the Walk to occur Saturday 25 September after our Opening Ceremony on Friday the 24th,” Ms Wright said. Member for Robertson Lucy Wicks 5 Lands Walk 2021 to be reborn with the Spring Equinox 5 Lands Walk President PaulineWright Central Coast water storage levels Central Coast water storage levels at the end of July were: Dam Capacity (ml) % Full Mangrove Creek 190,000 74.54 Mardi 7,400 68.72 Mooney Mooney 4,600 96.78 Total 202,000 74.84 Total storage levels peaked in March 2016 to April 2017 and then declined through until February 2020 due to the severe drought. CENTRAL COAST BUSINESS REVIEW AUGUST 2021