Coast Community Chronicle 227

24 FEBRUARY 2021

ISSUE 227

REAL INDEPENDENT LOCAL WEEKLY NEWS

Molly Picklum wins her first World Surf League pro series

News

In an exclusive interview with Central Coast Newspapers, former Central Coast Council CEO, Gary Murphy, while accepting responsibility for his actions, says he has been denied “natural justice”...

See page 8

Out&About

The first event in the World Surf League’s (WSL) 2021 Vissla NSW Pro Surf Series came to its conclusion on Friday, February 19, with Shelly Beach resident and newly risen young gun, Molly Picklum, taking out first place.

The Aboriginal story of the Wyong area and Tuggerah Lakes is being told in a huge mural by artist Jodie Freeman at the historic Alison Homestead.

See page 17

Health

See page 39

Labor MPs strengthen their call for an Inquiry into Council problems The four Labor MPs on the Central Coast have individually given notice in State Parliament that they will each be putting Motions at the next sitting of Parliament in March calling for an independent inquiry into the financial collapse of Central Coast Council.

The MPs David Harris, Yasmin Catley, David Mehan and Liesl Tesch want Local Government Minister, Shelley Hancock, to establish an inquiry to examine the financial position of the former Wyong and Gosford Councils pre-merger, factors post-merger and the role of councillors and the executive.

Harris said that we now know why the financial difficulties

happened, but now it is about the structural weaknesses of Council and the problems that it has faced since amalgamation.

Catley said the “triple whammy” of service cuts, staff layoffs and rate increases showed that there was a structural problem underpinning the Liberals’ decision to amalgamate the two councils.

Administrator, Dick Persson, has previously said that amalgamation costs were not one of the major contributing factors to Council’s financial difficulties.

Harris said that one of the causes is because Central Coast is one of the largest councils in the state and the only Council in the Illawarra,

Sydney and Hunter that operates water and sewerage in-house.

“A lot of the cost over run and the debt is actually related to water and sewerage,” he said.

“If you separate the figures for water and sewerage instead of combining them with general operations, it actually paints quite a different picture.

“Most of the $317M debt that was carried over was water and sewerage debt.

“The water and sewer should be set up as a separate business.

“It can still be within Council, but the financials and assets would be separate, like it used to be under the Joint Water Authority,” Harris said.

He said that Wyong used to

have its water department and Gosford had its own, and there was a Joint Water Authority, but when they merged the councils, they brought it all under one roof.

“I’ve written to the Administrator asking some questions about how the water and sewerage fits in with the puzzle because if you go through the financials when they had the overrun it was all water related, such as $1.3M added for a generator at Mooney and the Mardi to Warnervale water pipeline, which were included in the general Council figures.

“They are very major projects, but they’re water and sewerage related, and other councils don’t have those costs in their

books because Sydney Water and Hunter Water do that.

“This isn’t saying that it should be privatised or anything like that, but the general Council accounts and the water and sewerage accounts should be split so that the residents can actually see the two separate operations.

“The Administrator in his report said that Council’s bank account took a hit because of the IPART decision on water and sewerage, a loss to Council of $39M. “Water should pay for itself, so that it’s not a $39M hit to general revenue, and the charges for water should cover that,” Harris said.

Sue Murray

Bateau Bay resident Ben Brown is one of two peer support workers involved with a new...

See page 33

Sport

Charlie Hunter, is setting new heights for Australian middle distance running in the US, he has set three new Australian records.

See page 40

Puzzles page 23

Office: Level 2, 86-88 Mann St, Gosford - Phone: 4325 7369 - editorial@centralcoastnews.net - www.coastcommunitynews.com.au

INFO

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24 February 2021

COAST COMMUNITY CHRONICLE - WWW.COASTCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM.AU

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Coast Community Chronicle includes “source lines” at the end of each article which aim to provide readers with information about where and how we came across the information, so that they might judge for themselves the veracity of what they are reading. playosmo.com and jbhifi.com. au), is an addition and subtraction adventure, where kids brew potions with dragon claws and sparkle dust to master place value, and they continue their quest by counting balloons to help dragons fly! Magical Workshop contains a collection of four games and the box contains: 1 Mixing Mat; 2 Sticker Sheets; 1 Spell Book; 28 Counting Cubes; 6 Counting

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Coast Community Chronicle covers: Alison, Bateau Bay, Berkeley Vale, Blue Bay, Blue Haven, Budgewoi, Budgewoi Peninsula, Buff Point, Bushells Ridge, Canton Beach, Cedar Brush Creek, Chain Valley Bay, Charmhaven, Chittaway Bay, Chittaway Point, Colongra, Crangan Bay, Dooralong, Doyalson, Doyalson North, Durren Durren, Fountaindale, Frazer Park, Freemans, Glenning Valley, Gorokan, Gwandalan, Halekulani, Halloran, Hamlyn Terrace, Jilliby, Kangy Angy, Kanwal, Kiar, Killarney Vale, Kingfisher Shores, Lake Haven, Lake Munmorah, Lemon Tree, Little Jilliby, Long Jetty, Magenta, Mannering Park, Mardi, Moonee, Norah Head, Noraville, Ourimbah, Palmdale, Palmgrove, Point Wolstoncroft, Ravensdale, Rocky Point, San Remo, Shelly Beach, Summerland Point, Tacoma, Tacoma South, The Entrance, The Entrance North, Toowoon Bay, Toukley, Tuggerah, Tuggerawong, Tumbi Umbi, Wadalba, Wallarah, Warnervale, Watanobbi, Woongarrah, Wybung, Wyee, Wyee Point, Wyong, Wyong Creek, Wyongah, Yarramalong

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10 FEBRUARY 2021

ISSUE 225

REAL INDEPENDENT LOCAL WEEKLY NEWS

News

11 FEBRUARY 2021

ISSUE 007

REAL INDEPENDENT LOCAL WEEKLY NEWS

A lifesaving incubator will soon be online at Charmhaven’s SoCares Animal Care Facility, following a highly successful community fundraiser.

See page 17

Health

See page 3

See page 17

Health

Member for Gosford, Liesl Tesch, says the closure will disadvantage the most vulnerable

$70M shortfall for essential services Four Director positions and their departments have been cut from Central Coast Council as part of cost-cutting, but Administrator, Dick Persson, says an extra $70M a year is needed to continue delivering the essential services of roads, rates and rubbish at current levels.

CCN

The Administrator presented his three-month progress report at Council’s meeting on Wednesday, February 3.

The meeting started late as Persson spent about half an hour speaking to protesters who gathered outside the Gosford chambers and were filmed by a television crew chanting “No rate rise”.

He asked how many of them realised that with the rate harmonisation process, former Wyong residents would pay on average $3 a week less.

Some of the protesters said they did not know that.

Persson acknowledged the challenge in communicating to the community the need for a rate rise.

“I can’t get the message to the community strong enough - this is dire,” he said.

Persson said he was happy to talk to residents but warned: “If you come to me with alternatives, we won’t talk if you haven’t read my report.”

The report says that cutting costs would deliver about 70 percent of the $70M per year shortfall needed for essential

services while a rate rise would deliver the rest - if the Independent Pricing and Regularity Tribunal (IPART) agreed to grant one.

Persson said that other services such as libraries, pool hours and sporting field maintenance would be cut back if the proposed rate rise did not get IPART approval.

Council wants a rate rise of 15 percent and its second choice is a 10 percent increase.

The deadline for Council’s submission to IPART was Monday, February 8 and the Council voted on Wednesday February 8 to sent the recommendation to IPART for the 15 per cent increase.

“This need for a rate rise has come out of left field and IPART

is aware of that and is being accommodating,” he said.

Meanwhile, the work of reducing the number of staff at Council continues and Persson said Council was meeting its redundancy target.

Four directors and their directorates – Governance; Innovation and Futures; People and Culture; and Information Management and Technology - have been cut.

The number of senior staff has reduced from nine to five and the business areas that fell under these directorates have been moved elsewhere within the organisation.

The governance director’s position was vacant, as was the IT position, and the director of Innovation and Futures has left.

The Human Resources department has been incorporated into Corporate Services and the Internal Ombudsman is no longer on the executive leadership team.

Also, the next line of managers has been cut from 39 to 26.

These positions will go as staff leave the organisation over the coming months.

“People are willing to go,” Persson said.

The capital works program for this financial year had been cut from $240M to $170M. Persson said the current shortfall of $70M every year was not sustainable and banks wanted evidence of a plan to reduce costs.

Bipartisan calls for cancellation of the PEP11 licence Central Coast Carers Retreat extends its care to wombats.

Member for Gosford, Liesl Tesch, showed solidarity with her Federal Labor colleagues when she joined Federal Opposition, Leader Anthony Albanese, Federal Labor MPs and concerned residents at Terrigal on February 5 to call for the cancellation of the PEP11 licence for exploration and drilling off the Coast.

See page 33

Sport

A second come back win in a row for the Mariners at Central Coast Stadium, this time against Western United, has given the side a slither of first place security.

See page 40

Continued Page 4

Puzzles page 23

Office: Level 2, 86-88 Mann St, Gosford - Phone: 4325 7369 - editorial@centralcoastnews.net - www.coastcommunitynews.com.au

Opposition Leader, Anthony Albanese, discusses the PEP 11 licence with residents

Tesch said any oil spill or gas exploration tower on our horizon was a threat to beaches all along the Coast, including on the Peninsula, as well as tourism, sea life, waterway users, and the integrity of the community.

“I am beyond proud to stand with Labor and Anthony

Albanese in saying no to PEP11 and no to gas exploration off the Central Coast,” she said.

“I have always been passionate about activating and connecting people to our waterways and will continue to work with Labor to stand by our environment and our next generation.”

With the licence up for renewal on February 12, Albanese told a crowd comprising MPs from all along the coastline, representatives of the Save Our Coast Group and Surfrider Foundation Australia, and dozens of concerned residents, that Continued page 3

Peninsula students were among those to benefit from a Back to School initiative organised by Central Coast volunteer-run charity We Care Connect.

See page 34

Sport

A Woy Woy athletics program has been ranked amongst the best in the state following its online success in engaging the community.

See page 40

Puzzles page 22

Office: Level 2, 86-88 Mann St, Gosford & 3 Amy Close, Wyong - Phone: 4325 7369 - editorial@centralcoastnews.net - www.coastcommunitynews.com.au

24 FEBRUARY 2021

News

It’s opening!!

News

ISSUE 227

REAL INDEPENDENT LOCAL WEEKLY NEWS

News

Molly Picklum wins her first World Surf League

Central Coast students can now apply for the 2021 Y NSW Youth Parliament program, designed to empower youth interested in politics.

Central Coast Council decided at its February 8 meeting to formally apply to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) for a 15 percent rate rise.

See page 4

In an exclusive interview with Central Coast Newspapers, former Central Coast Council CEO, Gary Murphy, while accepting responsibility for his actions, says he has been denied “natural justice”...

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Out&About

See page 8

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Out&About

Decision looms for PEP11 extension

Umina actor Samson Alston is set to star in an awardwinning Australian comedy in Sydney from February 17.

See page 4

ISSUE 280

ISSUE 226

REAL INDEPENDENT LOCAL WEEKLY NEWS

Outrigger Canoe regatta at Point Wolstoncroft

Out&About

Out&About

Residents have been blindsided by an announcement that Ettalong Beach’s Centrelink office will close its doors on February 12.

19 FEBRUARY 2021 17 FEBRUARY 2021

Electrical Trades Union (ETU) delegates rallied at Gosford racecourse on February 11 calling on Ausgrid to stop cutting Central Coast jobs.

See page 7

See page 8

Out&About

Local members join calls to block PEP11

ISSUE 279

News

For years flooding on the Peninsula has been a major issue, with heavy rain often seeing homes and businesses threatened as many streets go underwater.

Despite the dozens of disgruntled residents gathered outside Gosford Chambers ahead of Central Coast Council’s February 3 meeting, and widespread community...

Federal Labor Leader, Anthony Albanese with Central Coast ALP members and other protestors against oil and gas drilling

12 FEBRUARY 2021

News

Blindsided by Centrelink closure

The Rhythm Hut’s drumming classes are back, with the year’s first six-week program kicking off on February 23.

Albanese was joined by MPs from all along the coastline, including Member for Dobell Emma McBride, along with representatives of the Save Our Coast Group and Surfrider Foundation Australia and dozens of residents concerned at the possible effects of drilling 5km off Central Coast beaches.

Albanese told the crowd PEP11 had the potential to the entire coastline from Sydney to Port Stephens.

Not only would any drilling impact the way of life on the Central Coast, but it would also have an economic effect on the fishing industry and tourism, which he said was a “vital employer” on the Coast. “(Drilling) would be a disaster even if things went well, but if they didn’t it could be potentially catastrophic,” he said.

Albanese said the Labor Party was not opposed to oil and gas exploration in appropriate areas but drilling along the coastline was “just not on”.

He said the Federal Government needed to ensure an application for renewal of the licence was denied.

McBride said renewing the licence would pose a huge threat to the Coast’s environment, economy and very way of life.

“Critically, this decision won’t be made locally, it won’t be made on the Central Coast, it will be made by two Ministers who don’t live in the area – the Federal Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia, Keith Pitt, and the NSW Deputy Premier, John Barilaro,” she said in Parliament on February 2.

“Nearly 2,000 local people have already contacted me, calling on the Ministers to stop PEP11 and to save our coast.

“It’s not just locals who will be impacted by PEP11.

“In 2019, 1.94 million people visited the Coast, adding $692M to our local economy, and in the pandemic recovery, tourism should be boosted, not threatened by risky proposals like PEP11.”

Save our Coast representative Tim Heffernan said that the Federal Government must now act to cancel PEP11, which “doesn’t make any sense”, once and for all.

“Save Our Coast has been leading the campaign with the community for a number of years to stop seismic testing and drilling off the most populated coastline in NSW, which is also a major whale migratory route,” he said.

“Tens of thousands of people from the Central Coast and beyond have joined actions, signed petitions and contacted their local MPs. “We are opposed to the project because the risk to our precious marine environment, tourism sector and coastal lifestyle far outweighs any benefits, especially in a time when the entire world is moving away from fossil fuels and transitioning toward renewables.”

Surfrider Foundation Australia National Campaign Director Damien Cole said while gas exploration was the main thrust of PEP11, there was also the potential for oil exploration.

“This could lead to oil slicks which could destroy everything we’ve ever known” he said.

After months of refusing to make a public stand on the issue, Member for Robertson Lucy Wicks announced on February 5 that she would oppose extension of the PEP11 licence.

“Extending the PEP11 permit is a decision for the Joint Authority,” she said.

“The first step in this process is for the NSW Deputy Premier, John Barilaro, to make a recommendation on extending the PEP11 permit.

“The second step is for the Federal Minister for Resources, Keith Pitt, to do the same.

“I am urging the NSW Government to listen to the concerns of the Central Coast community and say no to extending the PEP11 permit.

“I stand with my community in raising these serious concerns about the potential impacts of PEP-11 on our ocean.

“Regardless of the NSW Government’s decision, I will be advocating for the Commonwealth to say no to the decision to extend the PEP11 permit.

A spokesperson for Deputy Premier John Barilaro confirmed he will recommend refusal of the extension of the licence.

“In 2017, the NSW government’s position was to refuse further applications to extend the life of PEP 11 – that position has not changed,” the spokesperson said.

Minister for Resources Keith

The Makai Lakes Outrigger Canoe Club have reformed their team spirit in 2021 ahead of their inaugural regatta at Point Wolstoncroft Sport and Recreation Centre on Saturday, March 6.

See page 17

Federal Labor Leader Anthony Albanese discusses PEP11 with concerned residents at Terrigal Beach

With the PEP11 permit for offshore gas drilling up for renewal on February 12, Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese joined fellow Labor MPs and community activists at Terrigal on February 5 to call for its cancellation.

Pitt said he was yet to receive any formal submission or advice from the NSW Minister.

“The National Offshore Titles Administrator (NOPTA) will provide advice to assist with my decision,” Pitt said.

“Any exploration project or petroleum activity will require approval from the independent expert offshore regulator, the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA).

“I will carefully consider all relevant information before making my decision.”

CEO of BPH Energy, David Breeze, is one of the license holders of the PEP11 title.

When asked why $9M was raised by the company even though the decision to extend the licence is still pending, Breeze said he was “certainly committed to continue with the project”.

Under section 265A (1) of the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 (OPGGS Act), the permit continues to be in force until the Joint Authority makes a decision on the current suspension and extension application.

Terry Collins

Business

See page 38

Out&About

Two years after the project was first announced and following a construction phase of more than 12 months, the revamped Leagues Club Field in Gosford is set to officially open on February 27.

Youngsters can now enjoy Storytime in person with the Toukley and Tuggerah libraries bringing back Storytime sessions every Tuesday and Thursday.

A free community event on the day will feature musical presentations by local artists, Aboriginal cultural performances and workshops, food trucks, a discovery trail, face painting and a reptile show.

See page 17 Makai Lakes Outrigger Canoe Club team members at the Pittwater Regatta Photo: Michelle Strang

Despite its financial woes, Central Coast Council is forging ahead with plans for the Gosford Regional Library and is set to lodge a development application...

See page 26

Sport

Central Coast mogul skier, Matt Graham, has found himself ranked number one on the International Ski Federation’s (FIS) World Cup standings after back-to-back podium placements in events held in Deer Valley, USA. See page 40

Puzzles page 22

Office: Level 2, 86-88 Mann St, Gosford - Phone: 4325 7369 - Mail: PO Box 1056, Gosford 2250 - E-mail: editorial@centralcoastnews.net - Website: www.coastcommunitynews.com.au

Central Coast Labor MPs took on Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, when NSW Parliament resumed in February, demanding answers to why the region has been ignored in the Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund.

The Labor MPs David Harris (Wyong), Yasmin Catley (Swansea), David Mehan (The Entrance) and Liesl Tesch (Gosford) say that despite the Central Coast region suffering $163.3M of economic damage in the wake of last Summer’s destructive bushfires, the region did not receive a cent from the bushfire fund.

Impact assessment data and maps released by the NSW Government show that 40 buildings and 144 rural landholders were impacted by the bushfires.

“Instead of distributing

Wyong MP David Harris during Question Time in State Parliament

money from the $177M Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund on the basis of genuine need, the Deputy Premier John Barilaro, and the Berejiklian Government, allocated the vast bulk of the funding to seats held by the

Government, while Labor seats across the Central Coast received nothing,” said Shadow Minister for Central Coast, Wyong MP David Harris.

Deputy Premier, John Barilaro, who is responsible for bushfire recovery, faced a

Parliamentary Inquiry on February 8, which was originally to investigate funding allocations to councils under the Stronger Communities Program but then expanded to include the bushfire fund.

It is understood that Barilaro

See page 17

Business

The first event in the World Surf League’s (WSL) 2021 Vissla NSW Pro Surf Series came to its conclusion on Friday, February 19, with Shelly Beach resident and newly risen young gun, Molly Picklum, taking out first place.

See story page 4

Health

Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund overlooks the Central Coast

Two of the Australia Reptile Park’s koalas, Elsa and her sister Anna, were probably the most loved animals in Australia on Valentine’s Day...

The revamped Leagues Club Field is set to open on February 27

Exclusive

was asked to explain the government maps; which show the worst hit areas in terms of economic impact ($750M) from the fires are Coalitionheld seats on the South Coast; yet other areas such as the Central Coast, which also suffered extensive economic damage, did not receive any financial help.

Three council areas with a total $300M economic impact, according to government data, did not receive any funding and, in contrast, another council with an estimated $16M impact, received $40M in funding.

“Our communities simply got nothing,” Harris said.

“The fires didn’t discriminate on the basis of politics when they roared through our communities and I’m shocked that the recovery effort does.

Continued page 4

Sacked CEO sets the record straight

Swansea MP, Yasmin Catley, is calling for a review of the NSW Government’s “rigid” bus pass policy ...

See page 33

Sport

Northern Power Cricket Club has raised over $20,000 toward the Kelly McGrath Foundation at their annual Pink Stumps Day on Sunday, February 7 See page 40

Puzzles page 23

Office: Level 2, 86-88 Mann St, Gosford - Phone: 4325 7369 - editorial@centralcoastnews.net - www.coastcommunitynews.com.au

In an exclusive interview with Coast News, former Central Coast Council CEO, Gary Murphy, has accepted responsibility for his actions, says he has been denied “natural justice” and has added his voice to calls for a full inquiry into Council’s financial collapse.

Murphy, who has been blamed by Administrator Dick Persson for presiding over the Council’s financial losses, says he blew the whistle as soon as the problem was uncovered.

He says it was thanks to COVID-19 that consultants found the cash flow problem that highlighted the fact restricted funds were being used for operational purposes.

Murphy has added his voice to those calling for an inquiry

Former Central Coast Council CEO, Gary Murphy

in the Council’s finances.

He says that because the impact has been so farreaching, it is important to understand in detail the why and how it could happen.

He said he has been denied natural justice to correct the record before the administrator published his 30-day report.

He tells his side of the story about claims he refused to meet the administrator.

Murphy arrived at Central Coast Council on July 2, 2018, to find the organisation had been without a chief financial officer for almost 12 months.

Within six months, Murphy, the fourth CEO in two years,

organised a review of the books to check the Council was financially stable.

He hired PWC, one of Australia’s “big four” consultancies, which gave the Council the green light when the report was delivered in July, 2019.

“Apart from some improvements to asset management planning and better strategic alignment, there were no real surprises,” Murphy said.

The report stated that in the short term (0-3 years) there was “low financial risk”.

The new Chief Financial Officer was given the report and two key tasks; to improve the budget process and develop a robust long-term financial strategy.

Continued page 12

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See page 38 Avoca Beach Picture Theatre has managed to navigate its way through COVID-19 shutdowns and restrictions, but with JobKeeper set to cease at the end of March...

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Sport

BMX riders will soon be able to rip around on a new track as upgrades speed towards completion at the Terrigal Recreation Precinct.

See page 39

Puzzles page 22

Office: Level 2, 86-88 Mann St, Gosford - Phone: 4325 7369 - Mail: PO Box 1056, Gosford 2250 - E-mail: editorial@centralcoastnews.net - Website: www.coastcommunitynews.com.au

Office: Level 2.01/86-88 Mann Street Gosford Phone: 4325 7369 - Mail: PO Box 1056, Gosford 2250 E-mail: editorial@centralcoastnews.net - Website: www.coastcommunitynews.com.au

The Aboriginal story of the Wyong area and Tuggerah Lakes is being told in a huge mural by artist Jodie Freeman at the historic Alison Homestead.

Health

Labor MPs strengthen their call for an Inquiry into Council problems The four Labor MPs on the Central Coast have individually given notice in State Parliament that they will each be putting Motions at the next sitting of Parliament in March calling for an independent inquiry into the financial collapse of Central Coast Council.

The MPs David Harris, Yasmin Catley, David Mehan and Liesl Tesch want Local Government Minister, Shelley Hancock, to establish an inquiry to examine the financial position of the former Wyong and Gosford Councils pre-merger, factors post-merger and the role of councillors and the executive.

Harris said that we now know why the financial difficulties

happened, but now it is about the structural weaknesses of Council and the problems that it has faced since amalgamation.

Catley said the “triple whammy” of service cuts, staff layoffs and rate increases showed that there was a structural problem underpinning the Liberals’ decision to amalgamate the two councils.

Administrator, Dick Persson, has previously said that amalgamation costs were not one of the major contributing factors to Council’s financial difficulties.

Harris said that one of the causes is because Central Coast is one of the largest councils in the state and the only Council in the Illawarra,

Sydney and Hunter that operates water and sewerage in-house.

“A lot of the cost over run and the debt is actually related to water and sewerage,” he said.

“If you separate the figures for water and sewerage instead of combining them with general operations, it actually paints quite a different picture.

“Most of the $317M debt that was carried over was water and sewerage debt.

“The water and sewer should be set up as a separate business.

“It can still be within Council, but the financials and assets would be separate, like it used to be under the Joint Water Authority,” Harris said.

He said that Wyong used to

have its water department and Gosford had its own, and there was a Joint Water Authority, but when they merged the councils, they brought it all under one roof.

“I’ve written to the Administrator asking some questions about how the water and sewerage fits in with the puzzle because if you go through the financials when they had the overrun it was all water related, such as $1.3M added for a generator at Mooney and the Mardi to Warnervale water pipeline, which were included in the general Council figures.

“They are very major projects, but they’re water and sewerage related, and other councils don’t have those costs in their

books because Sydney Water and Hunter Water do that.

“This isn’t saying that it should be privatised or anything like that, but the general Council accounts and the water and sewerage accounts should be split so that the residents can actually see the two separate operations.

“The Administrator in his report said that Council’s bank account took a hit because of the IPART decision on water and sewerage, a loss to Council of $39M. “Water should pay for itself, so that it’s not a $39M hit to general revenue, and the charges for water should cover that,” Harris said.

Sue Murray

Bateau Bay resident Ben Brown is one of two peer support workers involved with a new...

See page 33

Sport

Charlie Hunter, is setting new heights for Australian middle distance running in the US, he has set three new Australian records.

See page 40

Puzzles page 23

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2021 OFFICIAL

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WWW.COASTCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM.AU - COAST COMMUNITY CHRONICLE 24 February 2021

EPA fines Forestry Corporation of NSW The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has fined Forestry Corporation of NSW (FCNSW) for allegedly failing to mark a protected zone during a logging operation at Olney State Forest.

EPA officers identified the alleged licence breach while inspecting a timber harvest site in the forest.

Olney State Forest, which is west of Lake Macquarie in the Watagan Mountains, is a popular visitor area for its walking trails, swimming in creeks and rock pools, camping, picnics and its natural rainforest vegetation, but also, the forest has been harvested for timber for more than 100 years.

The forests seen there today are regrowth forests, having been harvested for timber many times over and grown back.

Between January 2019 and March 2020, the FCNSW logged a compartment of forest where, in a post-harvest inspection, the EPA found that

FCNSW had failed to mark a riparian exclusion zone boundary.

This was contrary to the requirements of the Integrated Forestry Operations Approval held by FCNSW. EPA Executive Director of Regional Operations, Carmen Dwyer, said riparian zones were important areas directly adjacent to streams and waterways.

“Riparian zones are environmentally sensitive areas which must be marked prior to an operation commencing so that they are identifiable and protected from logging operations,” Dwyer said.

“These zones are vital to protect our waterways, animal habitat and forest biodiversity.

“The degradation or removal of riparian vegetation can impact on aquatic life by polluting streams, eroding stream banks, removing shade and natural water filters, and allowing exotic species to flourish,” Dwyer said.

The alleged failure to mark the exclusion zone resulted in three mature trees being felled

and 2,300sqm of riparian vegetation removed to create a snig transport track.

Surrounding vegetation in the area was also disturbed during the logging.

The EPA has issued FCNSW with a $15,000 penalty for the breach.

Dwyer said the EPA took forestry offences seriously and investigated all alleged breaches.

“The EPA actively monitors forestry operations at all stages of logging operations – pre, post and during harvesting,” she said.

“As the state’s environmental regulator, we are focussed on ensuring that forestry operations adhere to the standards required and will not hesitate to take action if breaches are identified.”

Penalty notices are one of a number of tools the EPA can use to achieve environmental compliance including formal warnings, official cautions, licence conditions, notices and directions, and prosecutions.

Sue Murray

One of the trees felled

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NEWS

Page 4

24 February 2021

COAST COMMUNITY CHRONICLE - WWW.COASTCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM.AU

Council judicial inquiry petition almost reaches its target An E-petition calling for a judicial inquiry into the Central Coast Council is expected to reach its target of 20,000 signatures before Friday, February 26.

Susan Greene (left) and Marianne Hamilton

By 9am Tuesday, February 23, the petition had attracted 18,064 signatures.

By signing, people are asking for an inquiry into the financial crisis facing Council that has seen it argue it needs a rate rise of 15 percent.

If the petition reaches the 20,000 target, it will be debated in State Parliament.

The petition numbers the

Council’s issues and asks the State Government to hold a Judicial Inquiry to investigate how the financial crisis happened and who is responsible and what reforms are needed to the Local Government Act to protect the community in the future.

It asks what impact the amalgamation had on the problems and asks if councillors and senior staff were negligent in their duty to properly manage the council and whether they have been dealt with appropriately.

The petition also requests that the Minister for Local

Government delays any application by the Council to IPART for a Special Rate Variation and any decision on the sale of Council assets until residents can consider the findings of the Judicial Inquiry and its recommendations.

The two women who organised the petition, Susan Greene and Marianne Hamilton, are thrilled with the community’s response.

“I think we are on track to achieve our goal and we are still trying to get people to sign up,” Hamilton said.

“My family and friends have

been overwhelmingly supportive and tried to help with encouragement and my daughter with practical IT skills, she helped me with the flyers we’re distributing around the place.

“Some of the feedback on Facebook is that amalgamation was the problem and the community was never consulted.

“Despite the recent bans, we probably wouldn’t have got as far as we have without the groups on Facebook,’’ she said.

Merilyn Vale

Coast Connect Central Coast Council’s weekly news and community information

From Council The success or otherwise of any Council depends on several key factors.

One is the role of the Chief Executive Officer [or the General Manager].

This person operates under the Local Government Act as the link and buffer between the elected body and the organisation.

Prior to 1994, the Mayor was the CEO. In 1994, most states reformed their legislation to change that, making it clear the new position of General Manager [replacing the old Town Clerk] ran the organisation.

The CEO reports to the elected body which has the role of setting policy, priorities, the annual budget and governing risk.

In my view this separation was not operating effectively after the merger. This led to the organisation falling way short in many respects, particularly in terms of leadership. This has been a major factor in bringing about the financial disaster we are now having to fix, and the loss of confidence in the council generally.

Having terminated the former CEO, I am now well advanced with the recruitment of his replacement.

I am only interviewing people with a proven track record of success in a large council.

I will be making an announcement very soon.

If any of the three short-listed candidates had been at the helm, we would not have today’s problems.

Dick Persson AM Administrator, Central Coast Council

One year on from the storms that impacted us all

February 2020 saw significant rain and abnormally high tides impact residents right across the region.

Teams from SES, NSW Fire & Rescue, RFS and Council assisted with clean-up in flood affected and storm damaged areas.

We focused on making areas safe by clearing debris from roads, footpaths, public spaces, lakes and coastal foreshores, as well as disinfecting all public toilets, sport ground amenities, public buildings, playgrounds and barbeque areas in flood affected areas. We; • distributed 100 food hampers to people in need (working with community outreach) • collected 5,791 tonnes of storm waste • cleared 2,663 tonnes of wrack from foreshores • inspected more than 2,400 trees with the majority requiring removal (responding to over 800 customer requests for storm damaged public trees) • collected over 1,200 tonnes of kelp and debris from beaches • provided free kerbside collections through February • opened facilities for people experiencing power outages: • Leisure Centres and Pools for showers • Libraries for people to recharge phones and other devices and use the computers or Wi-Fi. Umina Beach Library also helped fill flasks of hot water.

To read more about our emergency responses, search ‘community bulletin’ at centralcoast.nsw.gov.au

Development Applications and Consents Development Applications and Consents can be inspected at centralcoast.nsw.gov.au by searching ‘Development Applications’ or in person at Council offices in Gosford and Wyong 8.30am-5pm weekdays.

Under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2019, submissions on Development Applications are required to be published on our website. Submissions lodged using Council’s DA Submission Form or online portal will have personal contact details and signature redacted. All other submissions will be published in full. Your submission may also be reproduced in full in Council reports or in Court proceedings.

Current Actions

Floods - We are working with the Bureau of Meteorology and the State Emergency Service on several initiatives to manage flood risk including land use planning controls; infrastructure planning; entrance management; adaptation planning for foreshore suburbs; flood awareness education; and emergency management planning.

Have Your Say - We are seeking community input into three Floodplain Risk Management Plans and studies - for the Northern Lakes, Woy Woy, and Davistown and Empire Bay catchments. yourvoiceourcoast.com/floodplain Dredging update - Dredging of The Entrance Channel was completed last year - ahead of the busy tourist season and nesting Little Terns - with approximately 25,000 cubic metres of sand removed from the channel. Dredging triggers continue to be monitored.

Ettalong seawall – upgrade works to strengthen the seawall have been completed. Further works to make rock bags and place them along areas of the wall impacted by erosion will be carried out later this month.

Visit centralcoast.nsw.gov.au to find out more.

Council meeting

To find out when the next Council meeting is and to view it online go to centralcoast.nsw.gov.au/ meetings

Council’s financial situation

Council has adopted a Recovery Action Plan that will review all aspects of Council’s operations.

For up-to-date information search ‘news’ at centralcoast.nsw.gov.au

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WWW.COASTCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM.AU - COAST COMMUNITY CHRONICLE 24 February 2021

NEWS

Barilaro recommends PEP11 not be renewed Thousands of Central Coast residents are anxiously awaiting a decision on the renewal or otherwise of the PEP11 permit for oil and gas drilling 5km off the coastline.

The target area, known as the Baleen Prospect, is 30km south east of Newcastle, roughly placing it in ocean waters off Lake Munmorah.

The permit came up for renewal on February 12, with a decision expected soon by the Joint Authority on whether to renew the licence or cancel it.

The final decision on the permit’s fate was to be made by the Deputy Premier John Barilaro and Federal Resources Minister, Keith Pitt, both of the National Party.

Barilaro announced on February 17 that he had written to Pitt, the Federal Member for Hinkler in Queensland, recommending that PEP11 not be renewed.

“Mr Pitt formally wrote to me last week seeking my recommendation and I want to acknowledge the representations made to me by my parliamentary colleagues,”

The red outline shows the PEP11 permit area with pointer to the Baleen Prospect

he said.

“I have listened to their views, and those of the people they represent and it confirms my own position to recommend that PEP11 is not renewed.”

Pitt will now make his decision after receiving Barilaro’s recommendation and considering “all relevant

information”, including advice from the National Offshore Titles Administrator (NOPTA).

The decision looms against a backdrop of discord within the National Party over fossil fuels.

Two weeks ago, senior Nationals rebuked the former Resources Minister, Matt Canavan, and colleague,

Barnaby Joyce, after they had threatened to cross the floor if the Morrison Government moved ahead with its “net zero by 2050” carbon policy.

The Federal Labor Party has also made its opposition to renewal of the lease well known, with Opposition Leader, Anthony Albanese, visiting

Terrigal on February 5 to reaffirm the Party’s position.

But with the licence holders of the PEP11 permit already making plans for exploration, unease is widespread.

When asked why $9M had been raised by the company, even though the decision to extend the licence is still

WYONG SCRAP METAL

pending, BHP Energy CEO, David Breeze, said he was “certainly committed to continue with the project”.

Surfrider Foundation Australia said it “holds grave concerns” that the permit will be renewed.

“The joint venture companies currently holding the exploration permit continue to move forward with their plans to drill off the coast, despite the PEP11 permit lapsing (on February 12),” said Foundation Chair, Sean Doherty.

“What do these gas companies know that the community doesn’t?”

Doherty said the NSW Government and every Federal MP with an electorate adjacent to PEP11 have formally opposed the development of offshore oil and gas rigs.

“No fossil fuel development in Australia has been so broadly opposed by all sides of politics,” he said.

Petroleum Exploration Permit 11 extends between Newcastle in the north and Manly in the south and covers 4,500 square kilometres.

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24 February 2021

Northern Lakes Floodplain Study open for community consultation A draft Northern Lakes Floodplain Risk Management Study and Plan is now open for the final stage of community consultation until March 15.

The Northern Lakes Catchment of 33.5 square kilometres includes the suburbs immediately surrounding Lake Munmorah, Budgewoi Lake and the northern part of Tuggerah Lake, from Tuggerawong and Norah Head in the south to Lake Munmorah in the north.

Council engaged consultants, Manly Hydraulics Laboratory (MHL), and is also working on several initiatives to manage flood risk in collaboration with the Bureau of Meteorology and the State Emergency Service.

These initiatives include land use planning controls, infrastructure planning, management procedure, adaption planning for foreshore suburbs, flood awareness education and emergency management planning.

The study is an assessment of the social, economic, environmental and cultural issues and costs and benefits of all options put forward to manage flood risk.

Council has flood maps for the main waterways which give an indication of areas that will most likely be affected by various flood events, and for a fee, Council can provide flood levels for individual properties.

In the report by Manly Hydraulics flood modification options to make the final short list to be further investigated are: culvert/drainage upgrades at Greenacre Ave, Lake Munmorah; Crossingham St, Canton Beach; Moss Ave, Toukley; Cooranga Rd,

Wyongah; Lett St, Gorokan; as well as an upgrade to a detention basin in Gorokan Park.

Another proposal is channel clearing at Woodland Parkway Reserve, Budgewoi, subject to an environmental impact assessment.

An analysis of benefit-cost ratio shows that work at Lett St, Gorokan, with an estimated cost of $1,085,000, and Woodland Parkway Reserve in Budgewoi ($642,000), both have strong economic merit

and recommended high priority.

Greenacre Ave, Lake Munmorah ($829,000) and Crossingham St, Canton Beach ($1,344,000) had moderate economic merit and medium priority, but Moss Ave, Toukley; Cooranga Rd, Wyongah and a detention basin at Gorokan Park rated poor economic merit.

Many other flood mitigation measures are recommended in the report and include the impact of climate change, an

improved flood warning system, emergency response planning as well as a range of education and awareness programs for residents, schools and businesses.

In previous community consultation in 2018 to identify trouble spots, the key points arising were: kerb and gutter construction, drainage upgrades and maintenance; channel management or a dredging plan; investigation of a secondary lake opening; maintenance of creeks/

wetlands; and, improved development control to prevent over-development.

The comprehensive Northern Lakes Floodplain Risk Management Study and Plan can be viewed online at Council’s website or in print at Toukley Library, and submissions will be accepted until 5pm on March 15.

There will be two drop-in information sessions where staff will be available to answer any questions about the study and plan.

They will be on Tuesday, March 2 from 4pm to 7pm at Blue Haven Community Hall, 1 Apsley Ct and the other on Wednesday, March 3, from 4pm to 7pm, at Halekulani Community Hall on the oval at 107 Scenic Dr, Budgewoi.

For those who can’t attend, one-on-one online sessions can be booked by going to Council’s website.

Following this round of community consultation, the plan will be reviewed and revised if necessary from public feedback, and the final draft of the plan will go to a future Council meeting for consideration of approval.

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WWW.COASTCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM.AU - COAST COMMUNITY CHRONICLE 24 February 2021

NEWS

New six-storey Wyong Hospital building to be completed in July

Redevelopment of Wyong Hospital is powering forward with the new sixstorey building set to be completed and operational in July.

The building will include an expanded emergency department, an intensive care unit, a psychiatric emergency care centre, a paediatric unit, an expanded medical imaging

department and a medical assessment unit as well as additional inpatient beds with future expansion space.

Refurbishment of the existing building will include more operating theatre capacity by construction of one new theatre, three new recovery beds, as well as new office spaces and storage, a medical day unit and an expanded transit lounge.

The refurbishment will be completed by early 2022.

Parliamentary Secretary for Central Coast, Adam Crouch, said the new and expanded facilities would provide first class health care services to the northern suburbs.

“The first sod was turned in October 2019 and work continues to power along with more than 800 construction

jobs created so far,” he said.

“With the Central Coast’s population expected to grow by 95,250 up to 2041, Wyong Hospital is being redeveloped with an eye to the future.

“During the 2019-20 financial year, a total of 69,112 people presented to Wyong Hospital emergency department and this will continue to increase as our population grows.

“Careful consideration has been given to co-locating services in the new Wyong Hospital, such as placing the emergency department and medical imaging side-by-side to ensure that patients are provided with the most efficient and high-quality care.

“The new emergency department has also been planned with additional capacity for growth to meet the

predicted future increase in demand,” Crouch said.

The new building is expected to be completed in July 2021 and the refurbishment of the existing building will be completed by early 2022.

Source: Media release, Feb 22 Parliamentary Secretary for Central Coast, Adam Crouch

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24 February 2021

COAST COMMUNITY CHRONICLE - WWW.COASTCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM.AU

Proposed rate rise is 42 percent for some ratepayers Calculations on how much residents would pay with a proposed 15 percent rate rise rose to 42 percent for some ratepayers, Central Coast Council has conceded, if you include rate harmonisation.

The Council has adjusted the figures by which average rate bills will increase or decrease in its submission to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART).

There are still winners as former Wyong residents will still pay less than they are now, but the average has gone down to $2 a week, from $3 a week.

So instead of paying less by an average of $156, it is now only less by $104.

However, former Gosford residents have also done the sums and worked out that the increase for them is actually more like 42 percent rather than 15 percent when the rate harmonisation is included.

Council agrees and says that it is a difficult message to get across when there are two steps involved.

Step one is the harmonisation of rates between the former Wyong Council area and the former Gosford Council area.

Step two is a 15 percent rate rise added to the harmonised rates.

Step one will mean that on average, Wyong ratepayers will pay an average of 20 per cent less on land valued at 43 per cent less than Gosford land.

For former Gosford area ratepayers, step one sees

Acting Director of Corporate Affairs, Natalia Cowley

them paying an extra 26 percent on average on land valued 43 percent higher than Wyong land.

Then the 15 percent rate rise will be added, if IPART agrees.

So, Gosford area ratepayers will pay on average about 40-42percent more.

Wyong will pay on average about 10 percent less than they do now.

Acting Director of Corporate Affairs, Natalia Cowley, explained the system when she was interviewed by Scott Levi on ABC radio.

Levi also had ratepayer Kevin on the phone who said the figures that Council had submitted to IPART showed the percentages.

“I think most Gosford City ratepayers, like myself, will be shocked and horrified to learn that they are actually being slugged with a massive 42 percent rate hike rather than the 10 percent or 15 percent numbers they heard during the consultation,” Kevin said.

He accused the Administrator of being economical with the truth by not providing the real percentage increases during the consultation.

He said he hid behind sound bites like $7 a week but even that was inaccurate.

“The figures he has lodged with IPART show the average Gosford increase to be significantly more than that at over $420 per year.”

Cowley said Kevin was completely correct.

She agreed the $7 a week was actually just over $8 a week.

She explained that rates had been legally frozen since amalgamation and legally had to be harmonised this year.

She said IPART wanted the council’s Special Rate Variation calculations, not the blended figures of the rate harmonisation with the rate rise, even though the Council’s numbers had to include both.

“We just have not blended the two processes,” she said.

Kevin said he didn’t believe Council was being transparent.

The figures saying former Wyong shire ratepayers will pay less doesn’t match the letter Council sent out, says Allan Benson, Spokesman for Ourimbah Region Residents Assocation.

“It says Wyong residential residents will pay more for both 10 percent and 15 percent.

“The argument for paying less seems to be based on averaging in farm and business and by saying property values are less on average than in former Gosford council areas.

“There is currently a real estate boom driven by Sydney people looking at a postCovid world of working from home so land values will be on the rise, so everyone will

be hit by a double whammy,” Benson said.

Toukley Community Action Group welcomes Council implementing rates harmonisation across the local government area.

Spokesperson, Bronwyn Evans, said residents in the former Wyong Council area had been paying significantly higher rates than residents in the former Gosford area.

“We feel that Council has been primarily focused on improvements and maintenance in the former Gosford area at our expense.

“Not only have we been paying more, we’ve been getting less.

“The next step in the rate adjustment requested from IPART is to cover the financial mismanagement highlighted by several consultant reports and the Administrator.

“It would appear that the blame for the financial mismanagement should be shared across state and local government.

“The NSW Audit Office and the Office of Local Government failed to detect errors in local government reporting and mismanagement.

“Councillors failed to understand the financial reports provided to them and most ignored (and some ridiculed) the concerns raised by their more aware colleagues.

“Senior management failed to competently manage within legislated requirements and the scope of their role,” Evans said.

Merilyn Vale

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NEWS

Page 10

24 February 2021

COAST COMMUNITY CHRONICLE - WWW.COASTCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM.AU

Coast welcomes 105 new nursing and midwifery graduates

New nurses on the Central Coast

Public health care has received a boost with 105 new nursing and midwifery graduates launching their careers at Wyong, Gosford and Woy Woy hospitals.

Director of Nursing and Midwifery at Central Coast Local Health District, Lynne Bickerstaff, said the 99 new

graduate registered nurses would be working in clinical areas including paediatrics, surgery, medicine, aged care, mental health, critical care and rehabilitation.

“Our six new graduate midwives will work across different areas in maternity services at Gosford Hospital,”

she said.

Parliamentary Secretary for Central Coast, Adam Crouch, said he was very pleased to welcome the new nursing and midwifery graduates.

“Around the clock, 365 days a year, our nurses and midwives are on the front line of the NSW public health system,” he said.

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24 February 2021

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Sacked CEO sets Murphy calls for full enquiry In an exclusive interview with Central Coast Newspapers, former Central Coast Council CEO, Gary Murphy, while accepting responsibility for his actions, says he has been denied “natural justice” and has added his voice to calls for a full inquiry into Council’s financial collapse.

Murphy, who has been partially blamed by Administrator, Dick Persson, for presiding over the Council’s financial losses, says that he blew the whistle as soon as the problem was uncovered.

He says it was thanks to COVID-19 that consultants found the cash flow problem that highlighted the fact that restricted funds were being used for operational purposes.

He says that because the impact has been so far reaching, it is important to understand in detail the why and how it could happen.

He said that he had been denied natural justice to correct the record before the administrator published his 30day report, and now tells his side of the story about claims that he refused to meet the administrator.

Murphy arrived at Central

Former Central Coast Council CEO, Gary Murphy

Coast Council on July 2, 2018, to find that the organisation had been without a chief financial officer for almost 12 months.

Within six months, Murphy, the fourth CEO in two years, organised a review of the books to check that Council was financially stable.

He hired PWC, one of Australia’s “big four” consultancies, which gave the Council the green light when the report was delivered in July, 2019.

“Apart from some improvements to asset management planning and better strategic alignment, there were no real surprises,” Murphy said.

The report stated that in the short term (0-3 years) there was “low financial risk”.

The new Chief Financial Officer was given the report and two key tasks, to improve the budget process and develop a robust long term financial strategy.

In May 2019, the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) issued its determination into Council’s water, sewer and stormwater prices and charges.

The impact of this determination was that Council would receive about $39M less revenue each year for the period 2019 to 2022.

Murphy said that hit to income came on top of a population that was growing faster than the rate base.

He advised councillors in February 2020, that Council would be carrying out a service review which is a process that

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looks at all of Council’s services to better understand the cost of delivery, the standard or level of the service and the quality of the service.

This had not been done since the formation of the amalgamated Council in 2016.

“We were required to harmonise rating systems by July 2021, and we knew that this would generate anxiety amongst ratepayers about inequity and value for money,” Murphy said.

“We also knew that our population was growing at about 0.9 per cent per annum, however our rating base (increase in the number of rateable properties) was only growing at about 0.5 per cent per annum.

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“This gap would not be sustainable in the long term.”

In March 2020, COVID-19 made another impact on income and services.

This was off the back of a major flood in February and a series of major bushfires from November 2019 to January 2020.

A Crisis Management Team was established and about 50 per cent of Council staff began to work remotely.

The new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) left in April 2020, taking up another role in the public service.

Another permanent CFO would not arrive until after the eruption of the crisis that was silently working its way to the surface.

Murphy engaged consultants Grant Thornton on April 17, 2020, to review the budget process.

This included an operational review, and potential cost savings and revenue sources.

“We chose Grant Thornton because they had not been engaged previously to provide any financial services and could provide a fresh perspective,” Murphy said.

“We asked Grant Thornton to model the impact of COVID-19 on Council’s finances.”

Grant Thornton developed a range of scenarios with one suggesting that the impact to Council could be as much as $100M. Some budget principles were developed: Continue to deliver essential services; Minimize job losses; Live within our means; and, Stimulate the local economy.

“We also identified a number of budget levers that we could pull such as: freezing recruitment; maximizing the opportunity of pooling developer contributions to reduce the drain on the general fund; increasing revenue; deferring capital works; and, asset sales,” Murphy said.

“We presented this approach to our Audit Risk and Improvement Committee which commended management for a prudent approach.”

On July 16, 2020, a severe storm struck the Central Coast, causing extensive coastal erosion at North Entrance and Wamberal.

It too would mean another hit to Council’s finances as the State Government directed it to take emergency action at the beaches.

Once again, a Crisis Management Team was established to manage this situation on top of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On July 27, Council passed the budget on the Mayor’s casting vote.

Meanwhile, Grant Thornton was surprised to learn during its scenario modelling that Council did not more actively manage and monitor its cash flow.

So, Grant Thornton developed a model.

This was the moment that led to the discovery that would prove so catastrophic.

Grant Thornton identified that Council was “potentially” using internally restricted funds for purposes other than for what they were collected.

“It wasn’t entirely clear, and we needed to do further and deeper investigations,” Murphy said.

“I asked one of the independent Audit Risk and Improvement Committee members for advice on a local government expert who could review the use of restricted funds.

“That led to me engaging DMB Consulting to carry out this review.”

The review took one month and DMB finally found what everybody else had missed for years, the use of restricted funds for operational purposes which is unlawful, and it appeared that nobody recognised that they were restricted funds.

“This review uncovered the extent of the use of not just internally restricted funds but externally restricted funds as well,” Murphy said.

Mistatements in three consecutive years of audited financial statements show consecutive errors of $38M, $89M and $129M. Two of the years were before Murphy was CEO. “It was shocking and alarming,” Murphy said.

“We then reported this to the Councillors, Ministers, the Office of Local Government, the NSW Ombudsman, ICAC and other key stakeholders.”

What happened next is public knowledge.

The Council publicly explained that it had uncovered immediate and serious cash flow problems and the State Government stepped in with an advance so that Council could pay its staff.

Council immediately began work on a recovery plan and also commissioned a forensic audit in order to understand how this had happened, how far back it went and why it happened.

Behind the scenes, Murphy was asked to attend a meeting with the Mayor, Lisa Matthews, on October 9, where he was given an opportunity to resign with full entitlements.

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WWW.COASTCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM.AU - COAST COMMUNITY CHRONICLE 24 February 2021

NEWS

the record straight Three days later he submitted his offer of resignation to the Mayor and went on leave.

The offer was discussed confidentially at the Council meeting on October 12 with no resolution, and again on October 19 and again on October 26, with still no resolution.

Between those (last) two meetings, on October 21, Minister for Local Government, Shelley Hancock, ordered Council to explain why it shouldn’t be suspended.

The Councillors had a week to defend themselves and handed in a report on October 28.

It cut no ice with Hancock.

On October 30, a Friday, the Minister suspended the Councillors and appointed Dick Persson as Administrator.

By Monday, November 2, he

was holding a press conference at Wyong Chambers.

Murphy said that he met with Persson that day, keen to work with him in implementing the recovery plan.

“I was advised that it was ‘not appropriate’ that I remain in the workplace and was advised initially to take personal leave, and then I was advised that I was suspended, but I was not advised of the reasons for my suspension or how long the suspension would last,” Murphy said.

“On November 20, I received an email requesting my attendance at the Council for a meeting with the Administrator.

“It was suggested that I bring my lawyer to this meeting.

“I requested an agenda for the meeting and I received no

“I accept responsibility for my actions” - Gary Murphy response to this request.”

He was then advised by email a week later that his employment had been terminated in accordance with the terms of his contract with no reasons given.

The Administrator has only ever publicly said that Murphy twice refused to meet with him.

MurphysaidtheAdministrator’s 30-day report placed the blame for the situation at his feet, despite noting that there was a “catastrophic error” made at the time of amalgamation in 2016, with the Council not recognising that it only had $5M of unrestricted cash.

The Council had also inherited

$317M worth of debt from the former councils.

“I have since reviewed the report and written to the Administrator pointing out a number of omissions and miss statements,” Murphy said.

He said the Administrator eventually responded on January 29 saying that he would not be responding and that he stood by his statements.

“As the CEO of Central Coast Council, I accept responsibility for my actions and I accept that mistakes were made and things could have been handled differently,” Murphy said.

“Not a day goes by that I don’t

Key points • PWC gave council a short term (0-3 years) low financial risk rating in 2019 • The Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee endorsed a COVID budget approach as “prudent” • The COVID modelling uncovered possible unlawful use of funds • Murphy ordered a deep dive audit which then found the evidence of unlawful use of restricted funds • Murphy revealed the problem as per his lawful duty think about how I could have done things better.

“I am truly sorry that good people will lose their jobs

because of what has happened.

“I am truly sorry that ratepayers will lose some valued services.”

Merilyn Vale

30-day report had key omissions Central Coast Council former CEO, Gary Murphy said that there were a number of omissions from the Administrator’s 30-day report into the Council’s financial crisis and outlined three of them.

The first omission, he said, was historical findings.

“Given that the Administrator states that there was a ‘catastrophic error’ made at the time of the merger where the Council failed to recognise

that it only had $5M of unrestricted cash available at the time, I believe that an enquiry into the actions of the two former councils leading up to the merger should be conducted,” Murphy said.

“We now also know that there were also several misstatements in three audited financial statements.”

Murphy said these were: Audited financial statements in 16/17 had a $38M error; Audited financial statements in

17/18 had a $89M error; and Audited financial statements in 18/19 had a $129M error.

Murphy said the report reflected a lack of procedural fairness and natural justice.

“I was not afforded the opportunity to give any submissions before the draft report was finalised and to share the insights from the work that I instituted to identify the issues and to present the plan developed for corrective actions,” he said.

The third omission, Murphy said, was a root cause analysis.

“I’m not aware that a root cause analysis has been done,” he said.

“No fault tree, no process mapping, and the forensic audit has not been completed to my knowledge.

“I think we need to go back to the financial statements of the two former councils and critically analyse them through the lens of what we now know.

“What we still don’t know is

why and how this happened.

“Like any crisis, it is important to understand what went wrong, how this happened, what are the lessons to be learned from this and how do we prevent this from happening again?

“I believe that the Administrator’s report is a missed opportunity to do this and I have written to the Minister for Local Government requesting that a comprehensive independent

inquiry be carried out from the time of the merger to the time the Administrator was appointed.

“There are a number of parties in this story: the councils before merger; the Administrator and senior staff at the time of merger; the councillors and senior staff that followed; Council’s Audit Risk and Improvement Committee; and, Council’s Auditors.”

Merilyn Vale

NEWS

Page 14

24 February 2021

COAST COMMUNITY CHRONICLE - WWW.COASTCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM.AU

Suggested questions to be covered by the Inquiry Former Central Coast Council CEO, Gary Murphy, has joined the chorus of people calling for a fuller inquiry into how the financial crisis occurred.

In interview, Murphy set out a long list of questions that any such inquiry should cover at a minimum.

1. Given that the stated purpose of the initial Administrator in 2016 was to “undertake the appropriate preparatory work and allocate sufficient resources to ensure that the newly elected Council can meet its statutory planning and reporting responsibilities under the Integrated Planning and Reporting framework and successfully complete the transition process”, was this considered to be adequately done?

2. What was the true position of the amount of restricted and unrestricted funds of the former Gosford and former Wyong Councils immediately prior to merger?

3. Why did the newly merged Central Coast Council not recognise that it only had $5M

Former Central Coast Council CEO, Gary Murphy

of unrestricted cash at the time of merger?

4. What were the delegations, controls and processes in place for the control, usage and reporting of restricted funds in the former councils prior to merger?

5. What were the delegations, controls and processes in place for the control, usage and

reporting of restricted funds upon the formation of Central Coast Council?

6. Did any of these change from May 16, 2016, to the time of the suspension of the Council?

7. What internal audits were conducted since May 2016, into restricted funds?

8. Was the timeliness and

quality of the financial reporting to the elected body since May 12, 2016, considered to be adequate and in line with industry standards?

9. Was the annual budget development and approval process since May 12, 2016, considered to be adequate and in line with industry standards?

10. What was the extent of the debate on the monthly and quarterly budget review statements reported to the elected body since May 12, 2016?

11. Why did the unqualified audited financial statements of 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19 contain material misstatements about restricted funds?

12. What degree of oversight and assurance did the Audit Risk and Improvement Committee provide to the elected body since May 12, 2016?

13. PWC was commissioned in 2019 to provide a review of the Council's financial outlook.

One of the conclusions of the report was that in the short to medium term (0-3 years) there

was a “low risk” from a financial performance perspective. How and why did they reach that conclusion?

14. What impact did the amalgamation have on the ability of the Council to operate effectively and efficiently?

15. What impact did the political decision making of the elected body have on the financial performance of the Council?

16. What impact did the lack of continuity of executive leadership, especially at CEO and CFO level, have on the financial performance of the Council?

17. What impact did external factors such as natural disasters and the IPART determination on Council’s water and sewer fees and charges have on the financial performance of Council?

18. What other factors could have contributed to this crisis?

19. How could this crisis have been avoided?

20. What steps should be put in place to prevent this happening again?

21. What are the lessons

learned that will be of benefit to the local government sector?

“It is accepted that an inquiry will be time-consuming and costly,” Murphy said.

“However I do believe that in the same way that the inquiry into the Glasshouse Project at Port Macquarie-Hastings Council provided some valuable lessons, learnings and recommendations in terms of project management and governance, such an inquiry into Central Coast Council will provide recommendations for improvement into financial management.

“Dismissing me and suspending the councillors are consequences of what has happened, they will not help in understanding what happened and preventing this from happening again .

“I accept responsibility for my actions.

“This is not about me, this is about systems, processes, procedures, controls, checks and balances and oversight that failed.”

Merilyn Vale

Definitive answers on progress not forthcoming The cost of implementing an IT system for the proposed new Central Coast Council was $70M in 2015.

The former Wyong and Gosford Councils prior to merger identified that to bring their IT systems up to an acceptable standard would cost in the order of $70M, according to former CEO, Gary Murphy.

He joined Central Coast Council in July 2018, two years after the amalgamation of Gosford and Wyong Councils.

He says that he was surprised during his incoming briefings that he could not get a definitive answer on the progress of the merger process and how much it had cost.

“The reporting systems were inadequate and it was not possible to get an accurate indication of basic data like the number of staff employed and the basis of the employment, let alone cash management and financial reports,” he said.

“In November 2018, it was identified that there were more than 800,000 known

spreadsheets in the organisation,” he said.

“This was but one indicator of how staff were creating workarounds as a result of inadequate systems.”

A Project Management Office had been established for the merger process, but it was disbanded in late 2017 before he arrived, and he was told that uncompleted projects were to be carried out as part of business-as-usual activities.

“I set up a project office within the Office of the CEO to resume this work and we

reported progress to Council in July 2020,” he said.

“At that stage we estimated that the net cost of amalgamation was in the order of $40M with significant more costs to come, potentially another $60M, taking the cost to around $100M. “To provide some context, an independent report commissioned by the former Wyong and Gosford Councils prior to merger identified that to bring their IT systems up to an acceptable standard would cost in the order of $70M (in

2015 dollars),” he said.

Murphy said Council had spent in the order of $50M, some $20M less than forecast, on the IT system by the time he was sacked in November 2020.

“This investment stood us in good stead to allow us to deploy 1,100 staff remotely within about 48 hours in March 2020, when COVID-19 hit,” he said.

“The majority of the policy and process harmonisation has been completed, with the main outstanding issues being the rating system harmonisation

(due July 2021) and the comprehensive Local Environmental Plan and Development Control Plans,” he said.

The Administrator, Dick Persson, who took over from the suspended councillors in November 2020, said that in his 30-day Interim Report, the expenditure on new IT and financial systems and infrastructure had cost $50M once-off and $8M recurrent, and that the Government had provided $10M. Merilyn Vale

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Carbon dioxide does not influence climate

Don’t be too hard on councillors Amalgamation is seldom easy, just remember your family and your partner’s family when you got married and multiply that saga by at least 1,000.

The amalgamation of councils has had little success and failures are lining up.

History will probably record the event as “Baird’s Folly”.

Unless you have been there, spare your criticism and be doubtful of those in the tent making the most noise.

Regarding the “sack them all” ragers; experience is the best teacher.

FORUM See Page 2 for address and contribution conditions.

Opinions expressed are those of the writer and not necessarily of the newspaper Spare a thought that no councillor intended this to happen.

Consider that most of them were politicking in two smaller

patches and doing okay.

Also, remember that local government is the last call in the democratic food chain and they have never had enough funds to achieve the ambitions set for them.

So, before you toss them all out, consider the experience they have gained that no others have.

They will also be hell bent on clearing their names and there is no better motivation for success than that.

Email, Feb 22 Bob Davies, Buff Point

NSW Government not to blame for Council’s situation FORUM

Kevin Humphrey’s contention (Chronicle Forum p15 Feb 17) that “the present financial condition (of the Council) is a direct result of the amalgamation” of the previous Gosford and Wyong councils and that “the NSW Government must pick up the cost of their (sic) failed experiment” does not stand up to any scrutiny.

The NSW Government did not authorise the illegal expenditure of funds, the NSW Government did not increase the staffing budget of Council, the NSW Government did not direct the maximum payment of mayor and councillors over the life of the Council and the NSW Government did not mismanage the Council affairs so disastrously as to leave us with monstrous debt that we shall be paying off for decades.

All of these things were done by the councillors, presumably with the knowledge of the Audit and Risk Committee, and those

were the councillors that the Central Coast ratepayers elected.

Mr Humphrey would have us believe that the NSW Government forced on us a council that was “too big”, even though Central Coast, at a mere 309,000, isn’t the biggest council in NSW, let alone in Australia where the biggest council has a population of 1.25 million and seems to manage quite well.

Of course, if he means that it was too big for the intellectual pygmies holding office, he might well be right.

The amalgamation was supposed to bring economies of scale, as would happen with any well-run organisation, but our councillors seem to be suffering from delusions of omnipotence and took the opportunity to aggrandise themselves with our money, with no apparent concern for fiscal responsibility or legality.

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The feeble justification that much of this expenditure was on “improvements” that have benefitted the region (although not noticeably, as far as I can see) is insignificant in comparison with the chaos that has been inflicted on us, in order to achieve these improvements.

The call for a full inquiry into the actions of Council should be wholeheartedly supported, but in the meantime, we should strongly emphasise to the Minister that there should be no thought of any present councillor returning to office before September.

If they then wish to submit themselves to the judgement of the ratepayers in a new election, well and good, but who knows what extra damage they could inflict with three months in office and no obvious qualms of conscience about their past standards of behaviour.

Email, Feb 22 Bruce Hyland, Woy Woy

I am bewildered by the lack of rigour in the media over carbon dioxide emissions and its effect on the climate.

Anyone with an ounce of intellect will discover that carbon dioxide does not influence climate.

I see the whole debate as one-sided and liken it to the flat earth belief, if you don’t believe you are a heretic.

Carbon dioxide has only dipped below 400 ppm twice in the past 600 million years.

This is in the current period and 315 million years ago.

Carbon dioxide levels will vary upon factors such as wind speed, time of day that the readings are measured, volcanic degassing or a myriad of other reasons.

There is no correlation

FORUM between carbon dioxide and warming.

There has been a rise in carbon dioxide in the past 100 years but the levels are still nothing like the historical levels which peaked at 7,000 ppm.

There have been 68 changes of climate in the past 600 million years.

Does anyone remember the Little Ice Age, starting in the late 1300s and finishing around 1850?

Just prior to this was the Medieval Warm Period, 1335 to 1360.

Climate does change and for anyone to say they know why is dishonest.

There are many theories and all should be explored and

debated, not shut down as kooky, looney or not fitting in with the convention.

I wonder why such a state of misinformation is peddled.

I actually sat on a committee looking at sea level rise and discovered that sea levels are actually falling.

Despite proving that sea level rise was a myth, the committee still proceeded to draft legislation to enact the State Government’s Sea Level Rise Policy.

When I challenged the members of the committee, they were not willing to go against the flow.

This information is freely available to those who want to know the truth from the Bureau of Meteorology.

Email, Jan 22 Garry Clifford, Glenning Valley

Judicial Inquiry needed There is nothing like an increase in rates to stir up the silent majority, including myself.

More than 10,000 people did the online survey, another 15,000 (so far) have signed the e-petition and social media is abuzz.

Mr Persson and his new management team are pursuing the legal solution to this financial crisis.

However, I believe that there are fundamental principles that are being swept under the carpet and which should be investigated.

The NSW Auditor General, the Office of Local Government and past Administrators, CEOs and DFOs have all had skin the game.

They all knew something was wrong with Council’s official

FORUM financial statements, but they didn’t dig deep enough until it was too late.

In a nutshell, it appears that Council’s financial staff didn’t present the correct totals in past financial statements, preamalgamation.

This resulted in the official bottom line showing $129.5M more than the real figure.

This mistake was carried over in the following years and Council’s new management probably didn’t realise the problem until March 2020, when the Auditor General started asking difficult questions.

According to the Auditor General’s report, the illegal spending of restricted funds goes back to Gosford Council in

2001.

Can someone please explain what was happening?

On top of these mistakes, Council’s management went on an uncontrolled spending spree, increased staff numbers and amalgamation expenses were not properly budgeted from the beginning.

Most of the councillors appear to have been blind to what was happening until the Council could no longer pay wages ($6.2M).

Whilst Mr Persson has done a great job in getting the Council back on track, it appears that ratepayers do not have the full picture.

We need a Judicial Inquiry to make the cohort of public servants accountable.

Email, Feb 19 Graham Hankin, Chittaway Point

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24 February 2021

COAST COMMUNITY CHRONICLE - WWW.COASTCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM.AU

Both Tuggerah Rural Fire Brigade trucks called out to multiple jobs It was a busy Saturday evening on February 20 for Tuggerah Rural Fire Brigade as both trucks were called out to multiple jobs.

Just before 6pm, both Tuggerah fire trucks and multiple other local brigades, including Fire and Rescue NSW, responded to a structure fire in Jilliby.

On arrival, crews in breathing apparatus got to work extinguishing a shed that was well alight.

M1 Service station roof hit by a truck

Crews remained at the scene for hours afterwards to make sure that the fire was completely extiguished.

Then, soon after 10pm, while both fire trucks were returning to the station, a fire call was received for Geoffrey Rd, Chittaway Point.

Crews responded and discovered a recreational fire from a private residence and no further action was required.

Before making it back to the

station, again crews were called out to a reported car accident with people trapped at the corner of the Pacific Highway and Old Tuggerah Rd, Kangy Angy.

On arrival, a vehicle was found on its side and all four occupants had been able to get out of the car themselves and luckily sustained only minor injuries which were attended to

by Ambulance officers at the scene.

Source: Social media, Feb 21 Tuggerah Rural Fire Brigade

Child dies in a single vehicle crash A child died in a single vehicle crash at Lisarow on Saturday, February 20.

Just after 9.15am, emergency services were called to Fagans Rd, Lisarow, after reports that a Nissan X-trail had hit a power pole.

A child in the vehicle died at the scene.

The driver, a man believed to be aged in his 40s, was freed after being trapped.

He was flown to Westmead Hospital in a critical condition

while a second child in the car was airlifted to The Children’s Hospital at Westmead in a serious condition.

A crime scene was established with officers from the Crash Investigation Unit attending.

Fagans Rd was closed between Woodview Ave and The Ridgeway during the investigation and a report will be prepared for the Coroner.

Anyone with information about these incidents should call

Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000

or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page: www.crimestoppers.com.au Information provided will be treated in the strictest of confidence.

Source: Media release, Feb 20 NSW Police

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It took hours for emergency services to clear away debris from a truck crash on Monday night at the northbound service station on the M1, just past Wyong.

A truck being transported on the back of a flat-bed semi-

trailer became wedged under the roof of the truck stop section of the Caltex service station.

A crane was on site to help with the salvage operation and

an exclusion safety zone was set up while emergency services crews removed the truck and the roof was stabilised.

Source: Website, Feb 22 Central Coast Incident Alerts

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Page 17

24 February 2021

OUT & ABOUT

Aboriginal mural unveiled Barry “BJ” Duncan, President of the Historical Society, Greg Denning, and artist, Jodie Freeman

The Aboriginal story of the Wyong area and Tuggerah Lakes is being told in a huge mural by artist Jodie Freeman at the historic Alison Homestead.

Freeman’s spectacular mural was unveiled on Friday, February 19, and takes pride of place on a wall in the outdoor courtyard at the homestead, which is the home of Wyong District Museum and Historical Society.

The artwork tells the story of Gurria the Rainbow Serpent who was awoken from the belly of the Earth, she came to the surface angrily throwing herself in all directions and moving across the lands

CCN

carving the deep valleys, the water holes, the rivers, lakes and ocean beds, and pushed the mountains high to the sky.

“We take a journey with meeting places where all the different people are coming together all across the Central Coast as shown with the circular designs, and flowing through the centre, are the three Tuggerah lakes, with accompanying fish throughout,” Freeman said.

“An important part of the Central Coast is shown as the yam plant which represents Wyong, as the name Wyong means yam.

“I wanted to bring back the cultural aspect to the museum,

what was lost in the fire of December 2011, so this is one way that we can reconnect Darkinjung and the museum as well,” Freeman said.

“I’m very happy that Uncle Gavi (Kevin Duncan) helped me along with the story.”

Freeman is a proud Gamilaroi woman, originally from Narrabri, who started painting about seven years ago, to follow a family tradition of creative people.

“I discovered in my late 20s that my great grandfather drew, my grandfather drew, my mum was into poetry, and then I started painting, and now my daughter is also painting, so the creativity has flowed

through our heritage.

“My artwork is a modern style, combining my Aboriginal heritage with my spiritual beliefs, and each piece tells a story and has a heartfelt meaning behind it,” she said.

Some of Freeman’s achievements include exhibitions in local galleries on the Central Coast, provided artwork for Hunter New England Health, and worked with groups of children through the Sean Lonergan School’s Project.

The mural at Alison Homestead was helped along with funding from Bendigo Bank in Wyong, represented by Mark Cooper and Tia Duncan,

at the unveiling.

For seven years, Wyong MP, David Harris, has also been Shadow Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and he said it was an incredible honour to be a part of, and learning about, the world’s oldest continuous culture.

“I think that as a country, we should be very proud of that and we should celebrate that and seeing things like this mural is part of that celebration of culture,” he said.

“The art and the culture that surrounds this area is just incredible, most people that live here don’t know about it and it’s so important to learn about.

“We thank Jodie for sharing her work with us and the important thing about Aboriginal art is that it always tells a story, and as well as appreciating the visual look, we must also learn about the story, because the story telling is so important.

“In Aboriginal culture it is all about the place and this art talks about the lakes, the mountains and the community and it’s all about our place.”

Harris also thanked all the volunteers who work at and run the museum, saying it was such an important place for our local area and community.

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Sue Murray

CALL 02 4325 7369 OR SEE WWW.COASTCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM.AU

OUT & ABOUT

Page 18

24 February 2021

COAST COMMUNITY CHRONICLE - WWW.COASTCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM.AU

The Entrance voted number 10 tourist destination in Australia The Entrance has ranked number 10 as one the country’s most favourite tourist destinations in the Aussie Town of the Year Awards.

Now in its fourth year, the travel website Wotif’s annual Aussie tourism awards recognise some of the country’s best destinations for the year ahead,to encourageAustralians to hit the road and see more of their own country.

The Entrance is one of only four NSW destinations in the national Top 10, starting with Cairns in Queensland as the number one tourist spot in the country and followed by Pokolbin NSW, Apollo Bay VIC, Mudgee NSW, Lakes Entrance VIC, McLaren Vale SA, Hervey Bay QLD, Exmouth WA, Port Macquarie NSW and The Entrance NSW. This year’s winning destinations have been awarded based on their accommodation quality, affordability and traveller satisfaction.

New to this year’s awards, they have also recognised destinations that have met the changing needs of travellers over the past 12 months during COVID-19, by offering

increased flexibility, goodvalue deals and appealing activities and attractions.

Tourism Central Coast says final numbers are not in yet for Summer, but indicators suggest

that it has been a bumper season and that this has come on the back of great numbers over Winter.

Council Director Connected Communities, Julie Vaughan,

said the region was showing remarkable resilience during the difficulties of the past 12 months, and despite the challenges, there had been a number of new businesses

emerging.

“Our region has moved from one emergency to the next in the past year so it is very heartening to see that the Coast continues to grow as a tourist destination of choice,” she said.

Central Coast Council Director Corporate Affairs, Natalia Cowley, said it was exciting to see The Entrance named as a winner in Wotif’s annual Aussie Town of the Year Awards for 2021.

She said tourism and hospitality was a significant part of the Central Coast economy with visitor expenditure bringing in $900M to the region each year.

“Award recognition further enhances our reputation as a holiday destination of choice and we look forward to welcoming visitors from all around Australia in 2021 to experience first-hand why there’s never been a better time to eat, drink, stay and play on the Coast,” Cowley said.

Sue Murray

COASTAL DIARY A COMPREHENSIVE LISTING OF EVENTS OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS ON THE CENTRAL COAST WEDNESDAY, FEB 24

Retirement Village, 4:30pm - 6:30pm

RSVP - rsvp.therise.com.au Public Exhibition: or call 02 4365 6800 Davistown-Empire Bay Floodplain Risk Management Study and SATURDAY, FEB 27 Plan, Davistown Progress Bouddi Coastal Run, Association Hall, Killcare Beach, 4 - 7pm yourvoiceourcoast.com/ DEBFloodplain

THURSDAY, FEB 25 Public Exhibition: Davistown-Empire Bay Floodplain Risk Management Study and Plan, Empire Bay Progress Association Hall, 2 - 5pm yourvoiceourcoast.com/ DEBFloodplain

FRIDAY, FEB 26

The Rise Twilight: Open day, Wood Glen

Register online, 6am - 6pm

Hall, 4 - 7pm yourvoiceourcoast.com/ northern-lakes-floodplain

Peninsula Lions Club: Car Boot Sale, Dunban Road Car Park on the cnr of Ocean Beach Road, 7am - 1pm

Chemical clean out, Avoca Beachside Markets, Council’s Long Jetty Depot Heazlett Park Foreshore, 9am - 2pm Morris Place, Bateau Bay,27 - 28/02, TUESDAY, MAR 2 9am - 3:30pm

Registrations essential

SUNDAY, MAR 7

FRIDAY, MAR 5 CBWN: International Women’s Day Breakfast, Ticketed, Mercure Waters, 7 - 9am, International Women’s Day Luncheon, Pullman Magenta Shores Resort, Magenta, 12 - 2pm

SATURDAY, MAR 6

Knife in the Boot: Phoenix Collective Tango Quartet, Greenway Chapel, Green Point, Ticketed, 2:30pm www.trybooking.com

Ocean Beach Meditation, Ocean Beach Umina OBSLC if raining, 6:20am - 7:30am International Women’s Day Celebration Breakfast, The Entertainment Grounds Gosford, Ticketed, 7am

Women’s Day Cabaret, Naughty Noodle Fun Haus, Ticketed, 8pm

SUNDAY, MAR 14 Central Coast Mariners V Perth Glory, Central Coast Stadium, 4pm

CCCWHC celebrates Women SATURDAY, MAR 20 #Choose to Challenge, Community Women’s Health Flavours by The Sea, Centre / The Red Tree Theatre Terrigal Memorial Foreshore, Tuggerah, free/booking 10am - 10pm required, 10am - 2pm

SATURDAY, MAR 27 Live streaming of the “All About WEDNESDAY, MAR 10 International Women’s Day Public exhibition: Northern Expo: Women in Art Exhibition & Women” event from the Sydney Troubadour Folk Club Central Coast Mariners V Opera House, Lakes Floodplain Risk Grand opening, Creating Collaborative Housing Artisan Markets, Melbourne Victory, Red Tree Theatre Tuggerah Everglades Club Woy Woy, SolutionsFocus on Older Management Study and The Entrance Gallery, Central Coast Stadium, Free - Booking required, Ticketed event Women: Forum, Plan, Free, 10am - 4pm 7pm 10:45am - 4:30pm The Red Tree Theatre Tuggerah, Exhibition runs till the 17th Blue Haven Community Coal Ash Public Meeting, Ticketed, 9am - 2pm SUNDAY, MAR 28 Hall, 4 - 7pm Clean Up Australia Day, Point Wolstoncroft Sport and Sydney Symphony Orchestra: yourvoiceourcoast.com/ Register online Recreation Centre - Recreation Tribute: Andrew Haveron Performs northern-lakes-floodplain Have you serviced your cleanup.org.au Hall, RSVP to attend, Olivia Newton-John, Bach, inflatable lifejacket?

1pm - 4pm Laycock Street Community The Art House Wyong, WEDNESDAY, MAR 3 MONDAY, MAR 8 Register for a Transport for Theatre, Ticketed, Ticketed, 7pm NSW inflatable lifejacket 11am SUNDAY, FEB 28 Central Coast Mariners V Public exhibition: Northern self-service clinic, Multi Sports Festival, Macarthur FC, Lakes Floodplain Risk Deerubbin Reserve Boat SATURDAY, MAR 13 Point Wolstoncroft Sport and Central Coast Stadium, Management Study and Recreation Centre, Kanangra Dr, Ramp, Mooney Mooney, 7pm Plan, Rayon Riot III - International 10am, 11am & 12pm Gwandalan, 9am - 3pm, Halekulani Community

Basic entries in the Coastal Diary are FREE. Send information to coastaldiary@centralcoastnews.net

ENHANCED entries using bold typeface with an address, phone number and a live link are available for a small fee.

Photographs can also be added for a small fee. All display advertisers are entitled to a free enhanced entry.

WWW.COASTCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM.AU - COAST COMMUNITY CHRONICLE

Page 19

24 February 2021

OUT & ABOUT

Entrepreneurs invited to Social Enterprise Launch Pad Program Residents who have an idea for a business venture which will make a difference to our community, are invited to attend an information session for this year’s Social Enterprise Launch Pad Program.

Sue Bradley, concept founder of SWAMP (Sustainable Wetlands Agriculture Makers Project) Central Coast, in Tuggerah, was one of last year’s participants in the Council-run program.

She says it provided the knowledge and confidence to bring her social enterprise idea to fruition.

SWAMP is a community garden and urban farm, social

enterprise, environmental education space, creative and agricultural hub at Central Coast Wetlands Pioneer Dairy, Tuggerah.

“In addition to the mentoring and support, the program provided a space for networking and connecting with likeminded social entrepreneurs,” Bradley said.

“Through these conversations, I was able to locate a site on crown land for a sustainable community garden.

“The Launch Pad program has been key to the start-up’s success.

“It has given me the confidence to establish lasting relationships with community

organisations, to form partnership programs and to reach out to local MP’s, government and private organisations as well as Council.

“The continued mentoring after the program was to me one of the most helpful resources.

“I highly recommend this program to anyone wishing to bring their social enterprise ideas to life.”

Central Coast Council’s Director of Connected Communities, Julie Vaughan, said the annual program supports the development of innovative new enterprise models within the region and helps to turn community

Roadworks taking place on Tooheys Rd There are changed traffic conditions for roadworks taking place on Tooheys Rd under the M1 at Bushells Ridge.

Transport for NSW started work on Monday, February 22,

which includes culvert maintenance, pressure cleaning, painting and installing height clearance signs.

Work will be done from 7am to 6pm on weekdays and will be completed by late March,

weather permitting.

Lane closures and a 40kmh speed limit will be in place during work hours.

Source: Media release, Feb 18 Transport for NSW

focused business ideas into a reality.

“The free program, which has been running since 2012, provides a step-by-step guide to research, plan, seek funding (for) and establish a social enterprise that benefits our community, whether it be social, environmental or creative,” Vaughan said.

“This year’s development program will be delivered in a partnership between Council, Business Centre and Community Compass as a series of workshops and oneon-one mentoring sessions from April to July.”

Source: Media release, Feb 18 Central Coast Council

Sue Bradley of SWAMP

Clean Up Australia Day to be held on March 7 Registrations are now open for Australia’s largest community based environmental event, Clean Up Australia Day, to be held on Sunday, March 7.

The findings of the Pact Group Community Attitudes to Waste and Recycling Report, July 2020, undertaken by Quantum Market Research, show that more than one in three (34 percent) of Australian households self-identified as producing more packaging waste during Covid lockdown periods in 2020 compared to previous years.

More than half (55 percent) reported that they are now more concerned about product packaging waste than they were in 2019.

Clean Up Australia Chairman, Pip Kiernan, says that now is the time for everyone to Step Up to Clean Up, to help protect and conserve their local environment.

“Last year saw immense disruption to our lives, not least of all to our local environments, which have been impacted by increased uptake of single-use disposable items,” she said.

“We know that people everywhere are itching to get involved and now is their chance to officially register for Clean Up Australia Day 2021.

“Whether you are a first-time volunteer or a more seasoned Clean Up Champion looking to get involved, now is the time to register.”

The Business Clean Up Day will be held on Tuesday, March

2, the Schools Clean Up Day will be on Friday, March 5, and Clean Up Australia Day will be on Sunday, March 7.

More than 18.3 million Australians have participated in a Clean Up activity over the past 30 years, totalling 36 million hours of volunteer time.

Over the past three decades, Clean Up Australia has evolved into an organisation that works with community, government and businesses to provide practical solutions to help us all live more sustainably, and the focus is as much on preventing rubbish entering the environment as it is removing what has already accumulated.

Source: Media release, Feb 8 Clean Up Australia

Training and Volunteer Day

February 27th at 10am - noon All are invited…

We will be back in the saddle in March and are looking for new volunteers to help with the horses and general work around the facility at Kangoo Rd, Somersby.

Training provided, no expertise required, but a love of the outdoors, horses and helping with disabled riders would be a good plus.

Also morning tea and a tour of the wonderful centre Call 0412 393 452 for more info

Page 20

24 February 2021

COAST COMMUNITY CHRONICLE - WWW.COASTCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM.AU

Friday 26 February

Thursday 25 February

Wednesday 24 February

ABC (C20/21)

PRIME (C61/60)

Also see: ABC COMEDY (Channel 22) ABC ME (Channel 23) ABC NEWS (Channel 24)

Also see: 7TWO (Channel 62) 7MATE (Channel 63) 7FLIX (Channel 66)

TEN (C13)

NINE (C81/80)

5:30 Today [s] News Breakfast [s] 6:00 Sunrise [s] 9:00 The Morning Show [s] 9:00 Today Extra [s] ABC News Mornings [s] Foreign Correspondent [s] 11:30 Seven Morning News [s] 11:30 NINE’s Morning News [s] Stan Grant’s One Plus One [s] 12:00 Movie: “Nanny Killer” (M v) (’18) 12:00 Ellen (PG) [s] Running Wild: Australia’s – A student takes a well-paying 1:00 Explore [s] 1:15 Married At First Sight (M) [s] Camels (PG) [s] job as a nanny at a winery to offset tuition expenses. She 3:00 Tipping Point [s] 12:00 ABC News At Noon [s] 12:30 National Press Club Address soon realises something is off 4:00 NINE’s Afternoon News [s] with the children she cares for 5:00 Millionaire Hot Seat [s] 1:35 Media Watch [s] 6:00 NINE News [s] 2:00 Parliament Question Time [s] when their pranks lead to dire 7:00 A Current Affair (PG) [s] consequences. Stars: Morgan 3:15 ABC News Afternoons [s] Obenreder, Danielle Bisutt 7:30 Married At First Sight (M) [s] 4:00 The Heights (PG) [s] 9:15 The Equalizer: Pilot (M v) [s] – 4:30 Silvia’s Italian Table (PG) [s] 2:00 Gold Coast Medical (PG) [s] Robyn McCall, an enigmatic 5:00 Restoration Australia [s] 3:00 The Chase UK [s] former CIA operative, must use 4:00 Seven News At 4 [s] 6:00 The Drum [s] 5:00 The Chase Australia [s] her extensive skills to help a 7:00 ABC News [s] teenager accused of murder 7:30 7.30 (PG) [s] 6:00 Seven News [s] and on the run from the 7:00 Home And Away (PG) [s] 8:00 Hard Quiz (PG) [s] 7:30 Ambulance - Code Red (PG) criminals who framed her.

8:30 The Weekly (PG) [s] 10:15 Chicago Med: 8:30 The Bay (M v,l) [s] 9:00 Aftertaste [s] In The Name Of Love (M) [s] 9:30 Why Are You Like This (M) [s] 9:30 The Latest Seven News [s] 11:15 NINE News Late [s] 9:55 Adam Hills: The Last Leg (M) 11:00 Criminal Confessions: A Killer App (MA15+) [s] 11:45 New Amsterdam: 10:35 Staged: Cachu Hwch (MA15+) The Karman Line (M) [s] 11:00 ABC Late News [s] 12:00 Code Black: 12:35 Tipping Point [s] 11:30 Four Corners [s] Home Stays Home (M) [s] 1:30 Home Shopping 12:35 Wentworth (MA15+) [s] 1:00 Home Shopping 5:30 Today [s] 6:00 Sunrise [s] 6:00 News Breakfast [s] 9:00 Today Extra [s] 9:00 The Morning Show [s] 9:00 ABC News Mornings [s] 11:30 NINE’s Morning News [s] 11:30 Seven Morning News [s] 10:00 Australian Story [s] 12:00 Ellen (PG) [s] 12:00 Movie: “Outlaw Prophet: 10:30 How Deadly World (PG) [s] Warren Jeffs” (M s,v) (’14) – The 1:00 Explore [s] 11:00 Australia Remastered [s] FBI pursues Mormon polygamist 1:15 Married At First Sight (M) [s] 12:00 ABC News At Noon [s] 3:00 Tipping Point [s] Warren Jeffs for arranging the 1:00 Hard Quiz (PG) [s] 4:00 NINE’s Afternoon News [s] marriages of underage girls.

1:30 The Weekly (PG) [s] 5:00 Millionaire Hot Seat [s] Stars: Tony Goldwyn 2:00 Parliament Question Time [s] 2:00 Gold Coast Medical (PG) [s] – 6:00 NINE News [s] 3:15 ABC News Afternoons [s] Tonight, miracle surgery saves 7:00 A Current Affair (PG) [s] 4:00 The Heights (PG) [s] the smallest patient, paramedics 7:30 Married At First Sight (M) [s] 4:30 Silvia’s Italian Table (PG) [s] go off road to control a confused 9:00 The Equalizer: Glory (M) [s] 5:00 Restoration Australia [s] 10:00 Murder For Hire: An Ex-Wife’s man, and Tracy bares all for 6:00 The Drum [s] Revenge (M l) [s] – After a bitter plastic surgeon Raja Sawhney 6:55 Sammy J [s] divorce, an addiction therapist to work his magic.

7:00 ABC News [s] blackmails her patient into 3:00 The Chase UK [s] 7:30 7.30 (PG) [s] helping her find a hitman to kill 4:00 Seven News At 4 [s] 8:00 Back Roads[s] her ex-husband; but what she 5:00 The Chase Australia [s] 8:30 Q&A [s] doesn’t know is the patient 6:00 Seven News [s] 9:35 Aussie Inventions That enlists the help of an 7:00 Home And Away (PG) [s] Changed The World [s] undercover officer.

8:30 Wife Swap Australia (PG) [s] 10:35 ABC Late News [s] 11:00 NINE News Late [s] 11:05 Royal Wives Of Windsor (PG) 9:45 Busted In Bangkok (M) [s] 11:30 The Horn: The Storm (M) [s] 10:45 The Latest Seven News [s] 11:55 Wentworth(MA15+) [s] 12:30 Tipping Point [s] 11:15 Celebrity Obsessed (M) [s] 12:40 Killing Eve(M v) [s] 1:30 Home Shopping 1:25 Parliament Question Time [s] 12:30 Home Shopping 6:00 Today [s] 6:00 Sunrise [s] 6:00 News Breakfast [s] 9:00 Today Extra [s] 9:00 The Morning Show [s] 9:00 ABC News Mornings [s] 11:30 NINE’s Morning News [s] 11:30 Seven Morning News [s] 10:00 Q&A [s] 11:00 The Pacific: In The Wake Of 12:00 Movie: “My Father Must Die” 12:00 Ellen (PG) [s] 1:00 Driving Test: Hai (PG) [s] (aka Killing Daddy) (M v) (’14) Captain Cook With Sam Neill 1:30 Married At First Sight (M) [s] Stars: Elizabeth Gillies (PG) [s] 3:00 Tipping Point [s] 2:00 House Of Wellness [s] 12:00 ABC News At Noon [s] 4:00 NINE’s Afternoon News [s] 3:00 The Chase UK [s] 1:00 Back Roads (PG) [s] 5:00 Millionaire Hot Seat [s] 4:00 Seven News At 4 [s] 1:30 Outback Ringer (PG) [s] 6:00 NINE News [s] 5:00 The Chase Australia [s] 2:00 Rake (M l) [s] 7:00 A Current Affair (PG) [s] 6:00 Seven News [s] 3:00 ABC News Afternoons [s] 7:00 Better Homes And Gardens [s] 7:30 Escape To The Chateau (PG) 4:00 The Heights (PG) [s] 4:30 Silvia’s Italian Table (PG) [s] 8:30 Movie: “John Wick: Chapter 3” 8:30 Movie: “Notting Hill” (M) (’99) – William, a British bookseller, (MA15+) (’19) – John Wick is on 5:00 Restoration Australia [s] meets and falls in love with the run after killing a member of 6:00 The Drum [s] Anna, a high-profile American the international assassins’ 7:00 ABC News [s] actress. However, their guild, and with a $14 million 7:30 Gardening Australia [s] relationship goes through many price tag on his head, he is the 8:30 Vera: Dark Road (M v) [s] problems due to their different target of hit men and women 10:00 Mum: Wednesday (M) [s] social statuses. Stars: Julia everywhere. Stars: Keanu 10:30 State Of The Union (M l) [s] Roberts, Hugh Grant Reeves, Halle Berry 10:45 ABC Late News [s] 11:00 Movie: “In Good Company” 11:30 Movie: “300: Rise Of An 11:00 The Vaccine (PG) [s] (PG) (’04) Stars: Dennis Quaid, Empire” (MA15+) (’14) Stars: 11:15 The Weekly With Charlie Topher Grace Hans Matheson, David Pickering (PG) [s] 1:00 Surfing Australia TV [s] Wenham, Eva Green 11:45 Aftertaste (M) [s] 1:30 Home Shopping 1:00 Home Shopping 12:15 rage (MA15+) [s] 6:00 9:00 10:00 10:30 11:00

Also see: GEM (Channel 82) GO! (Channel 83/88) LIFE (Channel 84)

6:00 8:30 12:00 1:00 2:00 2:30 3:00 3:30 4:00 4:30 5:00 6:00 6:30 7:30 8:30 9:30 10:30 11:30 12:30 1:30 4:30 6:00 8:30 12:00 1:00 2:00 2:30 3:00 3:30 4:00 4:30 5:00 6:30 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:30 10:30 11:30 12:30 1:30 2:30 4:30 6:00 8:30 12:00 1:00 2:00 2:30 3:00 3:30 4:00 4:30 5:00 6:00 6:30 7:30 8:30 9:30 10:30

11:00 12:00 12:30

Also see: 10 PEACH (Channel 11) 10 BOLD (Channel 12)

Classifications: (G) General, (PG) Parental Guidance, (M) Mature Audiences, (MA15+) Mature Audience Over 15 Years, [s] Subtitles Consumer Advice: (d) drug references, (s) sexual references or sex scenes (h) horror, (l) language, (mp) medical procedures, (n) nudity, (v) violence

Advert

SBS (C30)

Headline News [s] 5:00 CGTN English News 5:15 NHK World English News Studio 10 (PG) [s] Dr Phil (PG) [s] 5:30 Worldwatch Jamie’s Easy Meals For 1:00 PBS Newshour 2:00 Destination Flavour China Every Day [s] Entertainment Tonight [s] (In English/ Mandarin) My Market Kitchen [s] 2:05 Luke Nguyen’s Railway Judge Judy (PG) [s] Vietnam (PG) Everyday Gourmet With 2:35 Grave Of The Vikings (PG) Justine Schofield [s] 3:30 Who Do You Think You Are?: Farm To Fork [s] Jane Turner (PG) The Bold And The Beautiful 4:30 Great British Railway (PG) [s] Journeys: Norwich To Brandon 10 News First [s] 5:05 Jeopardy! (PG) WIN News [s] 5:35 Letters And Numbers The Project (PG) [s] 6:00 Mastermind Australia The Cube (PG) [s] 6:30 SBS World News Bull: The Bad Client (M) [s] 7:35 Britain’s Most Historic Towns: Bull: Wrecked (M) [s] Plantagenet (PG) The Project (PG) [s] 8:30 Michael Palin: WIN’s All Australian News [s] Travels Of A Lifetime (PG) The Late Show With Stephen 9:20 Vikings(MA15+) Colbert (PG) [s] 10:15 Romulus (MA15+) Home Shopping (In Old Latin) CBS This Morning [s] 11:25 SBS World News Late 11:55 The Night Manager (M s) 5:00 CGTN English News Headline News [s] 5:15 NHK World English News Studio 10 (PG) [s] 5:30 Worldwatch Dr Phil (PG) [s] 1:00 PBS Newshour Bondi Rescue (PG) [s] 2:00 Destination Flavour China Entertainment Tonight [s] (In English/ Mandarin) My Market Kitchen [s] 2:05 Luke Nguyen’s Railway Judge Judy (PG) [s] Vietnam (PG) Everyday Gourmet With 2:35 King Solomon’s Mines (PG) Justine Schofield [s] 3:30 Who Do You Think You Are?: Farm To Fork [s] John Newcombe (PG) The Bold And The Beautiful 4:30 Great British Railway (PG) [s] Journeys(PG) 10 News First [s] 5:05 Jeopardy! (PG) The Project (PG) [s] Bondi Rescue (PG) [s] 5:35 Letters And Numbers Territory Cops (PG) [s] 6:00 Mastermind Australia Gogglebox (M) [s] 6:30 SBS World News Law & Order: SVU: The Long 7:35 The World’s Greatest Palaces Arm Of The Witness (M) [s] (PG) This Is Us (M) [s] 8:30 Michael Mosley: Trust Me, I’m WIN’s All Australian News [s] A Doctor (M) The Project (PG) [s] 9:25 Cornwall With Simon Reeve The Late Show With Stephen (PG) Colbert (PG) [s] 10:25 SBS World News Late Home Shopping 11:00 24 Hours In Police Custody CBS This Morning [s] (M) 5:00 CGTN English News Headline News [s] 5:15 NHK World English News Studio 10 (PG) [s] Dr Phil (PG) [s] 5:30 Worldwatch 1:00 PBS Newshour Program To Be Advised 2:00 Destination Flavour China Entertainment Tonight [s] My Market Kitchen [s] (In English/ Mandarin) Judge Judy (PG) [s] 2:05 Beasts And The Pharaohs Everyday Gourmet [s] (PG) 3:00 NITV News: Nula Farm To Fork [s] The Bold And The Beautiful 3:30 Who Do You Think You Are?: (PG) [s] Noni Hazlehurst (PG) 4:30 Great British Railway 10 News First [s] Journeys (PG) WIN News [s] The Project (PG) [s] 5:05 Jeopardy! (PG) 5:35 Letters And Numbers The Living Room [s] 6:00 Mastermind Australia The Graham Norton Show (M l,s) [s] 6:30 SBS World News Program To Be Advised 7:30 Who Do You Think You Are Just For Laughs (M) [s] – Just UK? (PG) For Laughs featuring stand-up 9:35 My Grandparents War (PG) comedy from the most famous 10:30 SBS World News Late comedians from Australia and 11:00 Whitney (M l) beyond.

1:10 The Looming Tower (M l,s,v) The Project (PG) [s] (In English/ Arabic) The Late Show (PG) [s] 3:05 Stopping Male Suicide Home Shopping (MA15+)

Also see: SBS VICELAND (Channel 31) SBS MOVIES (Channel 32) SBS FOOD (Channel 33) SBS NITV (Channel 34)

COAST COMMUNITY CHRONICLE - WWW.COASTCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM.AU

Monday 1 March

Sunday 28 February

Saturday 27 February

ABC (C20/21)

6:00 7:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 2:40 3:30 4:00 4:30 5:00 7:00 7:30 8:30 9:30 10:25 11:20 12:20 5:00 6:00 7:00 9:00 10:00 10:30 11:00 11:30 12:00 12:30 1:30 2:30 3:30 4:00 6:00 7:00 7:40 8:30 9:25 10:25 11:10 12:10 1:00 4:10 6:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00 4:30 5:00 6:00 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:15 9:35 10:25

Tuesday 2 March

10:55 11:30 12:25 1:15 6:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00 4:30 5:00 6:00 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:30 10:25 10:55 11:30 12:35 1:20 3:40 4:30 5:30

PRIME (C61/60)

TEN (C13)

NINE (C81/80)

Page 21

24 February 2021

SBS (C30)

6:00 Easy Eats [s] 6:00 6:00 Home Shopping 7:00 Weekend Today [s] 6:30 7:00 Weekend Sunrise [s] 7:00 10:00 The Morning Show - Weekend 10:00 Today Extra [s] 12:00 Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Ironman 7:30 12:00 Motor Racing: 2021 Repco & Ironwoman Series *Live* [s] 8:30 Supercars Championship: Mt 9:30 Panorama 500 - Day 1 *Live* [s] 2:00 My Way [s] 2:30 Witness To Disaster: 12:00 5:00 Seven News At 5 [s] California Mudslide (PG) [s] 12:30 5:30 Border Security - Australia’s 1:00 3:30 Serengeti: Rebirth (PG) [s] Front Line (PG) [s] 1:30 4:30 The Garden Gurus [s] 6:00 Seven News [s] 2:00 7:00 Border Security - Australia’s 5:00 NINE News: First At Five [s] 2:30 5:30 Getaway (PG) [s] Front Line (PG) [s] 3:00 6:00 NINE News Saturday [s] 7:30 Movie: “Guardians Of The 3:30 Galaxy” (PG) (’14) – A group of 7:00 A Current Affair (PG) [s] 4:00 intergalactic criminals are forced 7:30 Space Invaders: Julie And 4:30 Peter (PG) [s] to work together to stop a 5:00 8:30 Movie: “Yesterday” (M l) (’19) fanatical warrior from taking 6:00 Stars: Himesh Patel, Lily control of the universe. Stars: 6:30 James, Sophia Di Martino James Gunn, Chris Pratt 7:00 10:00 Movie: “Clash Of The Titans” 10:50 Movie: “Taking Woodstock” 7:30 (MA15+) (’09) Stars: Henry (M v) (’01) Stars: Mark Goodman, Edward Hibbert 8:30 Wahlberg, Tim Rot 1:00 Witness To Disaster: 10:50 12:00 Motor Racing: 2021 Repco California Mudslide (PG) [s] Supercars Championship: 2:00 Home Shopping 11:30 Bathurst 500: Highlights [s] 5:30 Wesley Impact [s] 12:30 1:00 Home Shopping

Which Car? [s] Entertainment Tonight [s] Escape Fishing With ET [s] 4X4 Adventures [s] The Offroad Adventure Show Studio 10 Saturday (PG) [s] Good Chef Bad Chef [s] Destination Dessert [s] 10 Minute Kitchen [s] Places We Go [s] Three Blue Ducks [s] Australia By Design [s] What’s Up Down Under [s] My Market Kitchen [s] Everyday Gourmet [s] Farm To Fork [s] 10 News First [s] Program To Be Advised Program To Be Advised Three Blue Ducks [s] Program To Be Advised Ambulance UK (M) [s] Inside The Children’s Hospital (PG) [s] Program To Be Advised Home Shopping

5:00 CGTN English News 5:15 NHK World English News 5:30 Worldwatch 1:00 PBS Newshour 2:00 Figure Skating: ISU European Figure Skating Austria 3:30 Black Hole: Universe’s Greatest Mystery Black Hole Hunters 4:40 Lost Viking Army (PG) 5:35 Hitler Youth (PG) (In English/ German) 6:30 SBS World News 7:30 Going Places With Ernie Dingo (PG) 8:00 King Arthur’s Britain: Truth Unearthed King Arthur’s Lost Kingdom (M) 9:10 Movie: “Monty Python And The Holy Grail” (PG) (’75) Stars: John Cleese, Eric Idle 10:45 Movie: “The Broken Circle Breakdown” (MA15+) (’12) Stars: Johan Heldenbergh, Veerle Baetens, Nell Cattrysse (In Flemish/ Danish/ English)

6:00 6:00 Easy Eats [s] 6:00 Home Shopping rage (PG) [s] 7:30 7:00 Weekend Today [s] 7:00 Weekend Sunrise [s] Weekend Breakfast [s] 10:00 The Morning Show - Weekend 10:00 The Xtreme Collxtion (PG) [s] 8:00 Insiders [s] 8:30 11:00 AFL: Women’s Footy (PG) [s] (PG) [s] Offsiders [s] 12:00 Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Ironman 9:00 12:00 Motor Racing: 2021 Repco The World This Week [s] & Ironwoman Series (PG) [s] 9:30 Supercars Championship: Mt Compass (PG) [s] 12:00 Panorama 500 - Day 2 *Live* [s] 2:00 Movie: “Zeus And Roxanne” Songs Of Praise (PG) [s] 1:00 (G) (’97) Stars: Steve 5:00 Seven News At 5 [s] ABC News At Noon [s] 2:00 Guttenberg, Kathleen Quinlan 5:30 Sydney Weekender (PG) [s] Landline [s] 2:30 4:00 David Attenborough’s 6:00 Seven News [s] Gardening Australia [s] Dynasties (PG) [s] Australia Remastered (PG) [s] 7:00 Program To Be Advised 3:00 5:00 NINE News: First At Five [s] 8:30 Program To Be Advised The Mix [s] 3:30 5:30 Territory Cops (PG) [s] Football: W-League: Round 10: 11:00 World’s Deadliest: Days Out 4:00 (PG) [s] – We investigate how a 6:00 NINE News Sunday [s] Melbourne Victory v Canberra couple of hikers handle a deadly 7:00 Married At First Sight (M) [s] – 5:00 United *Live* From Epping The final weddings deliver one 6:00 trip on a helicopter; discover Stadium [s] 6:30 of the experiment’s most how a smashing day out has a Antiques Roadshow [s] 7:30 anticipated matches and a deadly end; learn how one ABC News Sunday [s] historic MAFS first. family do the unthinkable at the Grand Designs NZ [s] 9:00 8:40 60 Minutes (PG) [s] Safari Park.

Harrow (M v) [s] 9:40 NINE News Late [s] 11:45 Surveillance Oz: Dashcam Silent Witness (M l,s,v) [s] 10:10 The Piketon Family Murders 10:00 (PG) [s] Killing Eve (MA15+) [s] (M) [s] 12:15 Motor Racing: 2021 Repco Line Of Duty (M v) [s] 12:00 Young, Dumb And Banged Up 11:00 Supercars Championship: Wentworth (MA15+) [s] 12:00 In The Sun (MA15+) [s] Bathurst 500: Day 2 Highlights rage (MA15+) 4:30 1:00 My Way (PG) [s] 1:30 Home Shopping Wentworth (MA15+) [s]

Religious Programs [s] Fishing Australia [s] Good Chef Bad Chef [s] Places We Go [s] Luca’s Key Ingredient [s] Studio 10 Sunday [s] All 4 Adventure [s] The Offroad Adventure Show Three Blue Ducks [s] Freshly Picked With Simon Toohey [s] Farm To Fork [s] Roads Less Travelled (PG) [s] Program To Be Advised 10 News First [s] WIN News [s] The Sunday Project (PG) [s] The Amazing Race Australia (M) [s] FBI: Most Wanted: Caesar (M) FBI: Most Wanted: Invisible (M) [s] The Sunday Project (PG) [s] Home Shopping CBS This Morning [s]

5:00 CGTN English News 5:15 NHK World English News 5:30 Worldwatch 1:00 Speedweek 3:00 Bushfire Animal Rescue (PG) 4:00 Great British Railway Journeys: Faversham To Dorking (PG) 4:35 Sportswoman: Ash Barty/ Serena Williams 4:35 Hitler Youth (PG) (In English/ German) 6:30 SBS World News 7:30 Searching For Cleopatra (PG) 9:10 The Queen And The Coup (PG) 10:05 Country Town Pride: Untold Australia (M l) 11:05 24 Hours In Police Custody: Code Of Silence (M l,v) 12:00 Michael Mosley: A History Of Surgery: Into The Brain (PG) 1:00 Michael Mosley: A History Of Surgery: Bleeding Hearts (PG) 2:00 Michael Mosley: A History Of Surgery: Spare Parts (PG)

rage (PG) [s] Weekend Breakfast [s] rage (PG) [s] rage Retro Month (PG) [s] ABC News At Noon [s] Sleeping Beauty [s] Royal Wives Of Windsor: A Royal Marriage [s] Dream Gardens: Alexandria, NSW [s] Ask The Doctor: Ageing Well (PG) [s] Landline [s] Football: A-League: Western Sydney Wanderers v Adelaide United *Live* From Parramatta Stadium [s] ABC News [s] Death In Paradise (PG) [s] Call The Midwife (PG) [s] Harrow: Damnant Quod Non Intellegunt (M v) [s] Apple Tree Yard (MA15+) [s] Press: Pure (M l,s) [s] rage Retro Month (MA15+) [s] rage (MA15+) [s]

1:30 4:30

Headline News [s] 5:00 CGTN English News Studio 10 (PG) [s] 5:15 NHK World English News Dr Phil (PG) [s] 5:30 Worldwatch Program To Be Advised 2:00 Meghan Markle Escaping The Entertainment Tonight [s] Crown (M l) Judge Judy (PG) [s] 2:50 Great British Railway Everyday Gourmet With Journeys: Justine Schofield [s] Brighton To Chichester (PG) Farm To Fork [s] 3:25 Who Do You Think You Are?: The Bold And The Beautiful Charlie Teo (PG) (PG) [s] 4:30 Great British Railway 10 News First [s] Journeys: Letchworth Garden WIN News [s] City To Herne Hill (PG) The Project (PG) [s] 5:05 Jeopardy! (PG) The Amazing Race Australia 5:30 Letters And Numbers (M) [s] 6:00 Mastermind Australia Hughesy, We Have A Problem 6:30 SBS World News (M) [s] 7:35 The Architecture The The Graham Norton Show Railways Built: Swindon (PG) (M s) [s] 8:30 24 Hours In Emergency: The Project (PG) [s] Circle Of Life (M) WIN’s All Australian News [s] 9:25 The Story Of The Songs: The Late Show With Stephen Eric Clapton (M) Colbert (PG) [s] 10:20 SBS World News Late Home Shopping 10:50 Outlander (MA15+) CBS This Morning [s] 11:50 Berlin Station (M l,v)

6:00 5:30 Today [s] 8:30 9:00 Today Extra [s] 12:00 11:30 NINE’s Morning News [s] 1:00 12:00 Ellen (PG) [s] 2:00 1:00 The Garden Gurus [s] 2:30 1:30 Married At First Sight (M) [s] 3:00 Tipping Point [s] 3:00 4:00 NINE’s Afternoon News [s] 3:30 5:00 Millionaire Hot Seat [s] 6:00 NINE News [s] 4:00 7:00 A Current Affair (PG) [s] 4:30 7:30 Married At First Sight (M) [s] 9:00 Framing Britney Spears (M) 5:00 10:30 NINE News Late [s] 6:00 11:30 Labour Of Love: Crazy, Stupid, 6:30 Bear (M) [s] – The men’s 7:30 protective instincts are put to the test during a camping trip in 8:30 the woods.

9:30 12:00 Law & Order: Criminal Intent: Cold Comfort (PG) [s] – When a 10:30 woman is slashed to death, 11:30 detectives learn that she 12:30 wanted her late father to be cryogenically frozen.

1:30 12:50 Explore [s] 4:30

Headline News [s] 5:00 CGTN English News Studio 10 (PG) [s] 5:15 NHK World English News Dr Phil (PG) [s] 5:30 Worldwatch Program To Be Advised 1:00 PBS Newshour Entertainment Tonight [s] 2:00 Destination Flavour China My Market Kitchen [s] (In English/ Mandarin) Judge Judy (PG) [s] 2:15 Charles And Diana: The Truth Everyday Gourmet With Behind Their Wedding (PG) Justine Schofield [s] 3:30 Who Do You Think You Are?: Farm To Fork [s] Natalie Imbruglia (PG) The Bold And The Beautiful 4:30 Great British Railway (PG) [s] Journeys (PG) 10 News First [s] 5:05 Jeopardy! (PG) WIN News [s] 5:30 Letters And Numbers The Project (PG) [s] 6:00 Mastermind Australia The Amazing Race Australia 6:30 SBS World News (M) [s] 7:30 Great Australian Railway NCIS: Fragments (M v) [s] Journeys NCIS: Los Angeles: Can’t 8:40 24 Hours In Emergency: Take My Eyes Off You (M) [s] Great Expectations (M) The Project (PG) [s] 9:35 Michael Portillo’s Abandoned WIN’s All Australian News [s] Britain: Plastic Surgery The Late Show With Stephen Pioneers - Cambridge Military Colbert (PG) [s] Hospital (PG) Home Shopping 10:30 SBS World News Late CBS This Morning [s] 11:00 The Pier (MA15+) (In Spanish)

News Breakfast [s] ABC News Mornings [s] Landline [s] Grand Designs NZ [s] ABC News At Noon [s] Death In Paradise (M v) [s] Rake (M l,v) [s] ABC News Afternoons [s] The Heights (PG) [s] Silvia’s Italian Table (PG) [s] Restoration Australia (PG) [s] The Drum [s] ABC News [s] 7.30 (PG) [s] Australian Story [s] Four Corners [s] Media Watch [s] The Pacific: In The Wake Of Captain Cook With Sam Neill (PG) [s] You Can’t Ask That: HIV Positive (M l) [s] ABC Late News [s] Catalyst (PG) [s] Wentworth (MA15+) [s] rage (MA15+) [s]

5:30 Today [s] 6:00 Sunrise [s] 9:00 Today Extra [s] 10:00 The Morning Show (PG) [s] 11:30 NINE’s Morning News [s] 11:30 Seven Morning News [s] 12:00 Movie: “Romeo Killer: The Chris 12:00 Ellen (PG) [s] 1:00 Getaway [s] Porco Story” (M v) (’13) Stars: 1:30 Married At First Sight (M) [s] Eric McCormack, Matt Barr 3:00 Tipping Point [s] 2:00 Gold Coast Medical (PG) [s] 4:00 NINE’s Afternoon News [s] 3:00 The Chase UK [s] 5:00 Millionaire Hot Seat [s] 4:00 Seven News At 4 [s] 6:00 NINE News [s] 5:00 The Chase Australia [s] 7:00 A Current Affair (PG) [s] 6:00 Seven News [s] 7:30 Married At First Sight (M) [s] 7:00 Home And Away (PG) [s] 9:00 Under Investigation: High 7:30 Program To Be Advised Country Mystery (PG) [s] – 9:00 9-1-1: Buck Begins (M) [s] – The Under Investigation features an 118 race to save the lives of elite and renowned team of workers trapped in a five-alarm story insiders seeking to solve factory fire. crimes and uncover new 10:00 The Rookie: Control (M) [s] – evidence surrounding an Officer Nolan’s relationship with unsolved mystery. his first confidential informant is tested when he discovers her 10:00 Australian Crime Stories: The Dark Side (M) [s] dealing drugs.

11:00 NINE News Late [s] 11:00 The Latest Seven News [s] 11:30 The First 48: (M) [s] 11:30 Station 19: 12:15 Tipping Point [s] Last Day On Earth (M) [s] 1:05 A Current Affair (PG) [s] 12:30 Home Shopping

News Breakfast [s] ABC News Mornings [s] Four Corners [s] Antiques Roadshow [s] ABC News At Noon [s] Call The Midwife (M) [s] Poldark (M v) [s] ABC News Afternoons [s] The Heights (PG) [s] Silvia’s Italian Table (PG) [s] Restoration Australia (PG) [s] The Drum [s] ABC News [s] 7.30 (PG) [s] Foreign Correspondent [s] Catalyst: Mission To Mars: Human [s] Australia Remastered (PG) [s] QI: Parts (M) [s] ABC Late News [s] Q&A (M l,s) [s] Wentworth (MA15+) [s] rage (MA15+) [s] Wentworth (MA15+) [s] The Drum [s] 7.30 (PG) [s]

6:00 Sunrise [s] 9:00 The Morning Show (PG) [s] 11:30 Seven Morning News [s] 12:00 Movie: “The Preacher’s Sin” (M v) (’15) Stars: JR Bourn 2:00 Gold Coast Medical (PG) [s] 3:00 The Chase UK [s] 4:00 Seven News At 4 [s] 5:00 The Chase Australia [s] 6:00 Seven News [s] 7:00 Home And Away (PG) [s] 7:30 Program To Be Advised 8:30 The Good Doctor: Fault (M) [s] – Shaun questions his decision to give the new residents autonomy when one of his intern’s misdiagnosis of a patient has dire consequences.

9:30 The Resident: Home Before Dark (M) [s] 10:30 The Latest Seven News [s] 11:00 Station 19: Weather The Storm (M l) [s] 12:00 Splitting Up Together: Star Of Milo (PG) [s] 12:30 Home Shopping

Also see: ABC COMEDY (Channel 22) ABC ME (Channel 23) ABC NEWS (Channel 24)

Also see: 7TWO (Channel 62) 7MATE (Channel 63) 7FLIX (Channel 66)

Also see: GEM (Channel 82) GO! (Channel 83/88) LIFE (Channel 84)

6:00 8:30 12:00 1:00 2:30 3:00 3:30 4:00 4:30 5:00 6:00 6:30 7:30 8:30 9:30 10:30 11:30 12:30

Also see: 10 PEACH (Channel 11) 10 BOLD (Channel 12)

Programming information correct at time of going to press, changes are at the network’s discretion Prepared by National Typesetting Services

Also see: SBS VICELAND (Channel 31) SBS MOVIES (Channel 32) SBS FOOD (Channel 33) SBS NITV (Channel 34)

Page 22

24 February 2021

CCN

COAST COMMUNITY CHRONICLE - WWW.COASTCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM.AU

NOT FOR PROFIT ORGANISATIONS

ARTS & CULTURE Wyong Writers

Writers meet monthly to encourage and develop their writing skills.We meet on the 4th Saturday of each month – arrive at 1.15pm for a 1.30 start.

Woodbury Community Centre 1 Woolmers Cres, Mardi.

4333 7489

meilingvenning@hotmail.com www.wyongwriters.org

Toukley District Art Society

Painting, drawing groups and classes, demonstarations and workshops. Open 7 days 10am - 4pm, Cafe.

Tues - drawing 10am - 1pm, Wed-painting 9:30am - 12:30pm

4392 4666

toukleyartgallery@gmail.com www.toukleyartgallery.com.au

COMMUNITY GROUPS Berkeley Vale Neighbourhood Centre

Information and referral, energy account assistance, food assistance, no interest loans, computer, printing and internet access, kid’s school holiday activities, parenting program, workshops, drop-in centre, community garden, walking group.

4388 5801 or 0490 538 494 manager@bvnc.org.au https://bvnc.org.au

Central Coast Caravanners Inc

3rd Sun - Jan to Nov Trips away, social outings, friendship with like minded folk Call Geoff 0447 882 150

Central Coast Community Legal Centre Not for profit service providing free legal advice.

Mon - Fri 9am to 5pm

4353 4988

contact@centralcoastclc.org.au

The Creative Compassion Centre

Secondhand shopping, upcycling, minimalism, creativity, community lounge area, free Wifi.

5/22-32 Pacific Hwy Mon-Sat - 9am-4pm

0437 048 815

Country Women’s Association-Toukley

Mthly Market 2nd Sat 9am-3pm 175 Main Rd Books, bric-a-brac, cakes, Devonshire tea, handicrafts, plants, preserves, sausage sizzle, fun, fellowship, fundraising Meet 1st Wed 10am Hall available for hire.

4976 1642

Friendly Travellers Caravan Club

Caravans, tents, mobile homes, all welcome.

Social outings & trips away

Centre

0458 645 979

www.friendlytravellers.com

Lake Munmorah 50s Plus Leisure and Learning Club Computer classes, dancing, exercise, pilates, yoga, craft, carpet bowls and Tai Chi.

4358 8390

Long Jetty Senior Citizens’ Club

Computer classes, line dancing, tai chi and zumba gold Mon - Fri, 9am to 3pm

4332 5522

Supporting disadvantaged, vulnerable and isolated people offering community services, events, projects, workshops, arts programs.

Open community garden.

4353 1750

Wyong Toastmasters’ Club

Improve your public speaking, leadership skills & confidence.

1st, 3rd & 5th Fri 10:30am to 12:30pm Wyong RSL Club

0421 216 952

wyongtoastmasters@gmail.com

Long Jetty Over 50s Club

4332 5522

Wyong Uniting Church Weekly Sunday service 9am Bible Study group 62 Watanobbi Rd, Wyong 4352 1528

RSL Pelican Day Care Killarney Vale

The Lakes Church

Indoor bowls, computers, exercise, yoga, line-dancing, tai chi and more - 9am to 3pm

Friendly social club, various activities, occasional outings, bus pickup Wednesdays 9.30 - 1.30 Phone Betty on

4332 3789

wyonguca@gmail.com www.wyong.uca.org.au

All Welcome! Sundays - 8:30am, 10:30am & 5pm, Kids church, youth group, cafe, wheelchair friendly, 6 Pioneer Ave, Tuggerah

4353 0977 thelakes.net.au

Tuggerah Lakes Toastmasters’ Club

Are you looking to Build your confidence?

Grow as a leader; Improve your communication

0410 238 022

Toukley Neighbourhood Centre

Lakes food care, energy account assistance, no interest loans, free counselling. Childrens’, youth & adult activities. Laundry & hot showers.

Hall & meeting space for hire.

4396 1555 www.tnc.org.au

Toukley Presbyterian Church

Hargraves St & Victoria Ave Family service (Sunday school 9.30am), cafe church 5pm, community activities

4392 9904 toukleypc.org.au

Venue for Hire

Central Coast Wetlands, Tuggerah - several buildings for hire, suitable for weddings, seminars, markets & fund raisers.

0408 271 957

pioneerdairy@bigpond.com

Volunteering Central Coast

COMMUNITY CENTRES CENTRAL COAST MARINE DISCOVERY CENTRE

The revamped CCMDC is open.

Schools and Group bookings welcome by appointment.

Building has special needs access and toilets. Open 7 days 9am – 3pm. Terrigal.

4385 5027

ccmdc@bigpond.com www.ccmdc.org.au

HEALTH GROUPS Alcoholics Anonymous - Someone cares.

Thurs - 12.30pm, Progress Hall Henry Parry & Wells Street East Gosford Better Hearing Australia

Hearing loss management Support and educational groups providing practical experience and confidence.

4329 7122

recruit@volcc.org.au

Liberal Party Ourimbah Branch

Al - Anon Family Groups Health

0468 476 237

We offer hope and friendship for people affected by someone else’s drinking.

Al-anon family groups meet weekly, please contact

1300 252 666 al-anon.org.au

S.A

Is Internet porn destroying your life.

We may be able to help.

We are a 12 step fellowship like AA. Meets every Sat at 7pm on the Central Coast Contact for further details

0473 631 439

newcastlesagroup@gmail.com

Museum & Historical Society, Wyong District Groups/schools welcome Morning tea/lunch for group bookings, wheelchair friendly, Alison Homestead 1 Cape Rd, Wyong Sun-Thur 10am-2pm

4352 1886

www.alisonhomestead.com.au

Wyong Family History Group Inc. Interested in researching your family history in Australia and overseas?

Come along and learn how.

6 Rankens Court, Wyong.

Tues - Thurs at 10am - 3pm.

Bookings essential

4351 2211

secwfhg2@westnet.com.au

MUSIC Coastal a Cappella

Award winning women’s a cappella chorus.

Music education provided.

Rehearsals Tuesday 7pm @ Red Tree Theatre Tuggerah.

Performance opportunities.

Hire us for your next event.

0412 948 450

coastalacappella@gmail.com

POLITICAL GROUPS

Central Coast Prostate Cancer Support Group (Wyong)

Labor Party Ourimbah/ Narara Branch

Last Fri, Terrigal Uniting Church 380 Terrigal Dr, Terrigal 9.30am to 12 noon www.pcfa.org.au

Central Coast Asbestos Diseases Support Group

Support for those suffering with asbestos diseases and others interested in asbestos issues. You are not alone, meet with others who can share their experiences.

Bring a family member or friend.

1pm at Ourimbah RSL on forth

How good is this?

2nd Thurs

PROBUS CLUBS Wyong Probus Club

Wyong Golf Club, 4th Mon, Morning Tea, Guest Speakers, regular monthly outings

4352 3692

probuswyong55090@gmail.com

The Entrance Probus Club

Ladies and gentlemen welcome.

Guest speakers, morning tea and many activities.

9.30am 4th Tues Bateau Bay Bowling Club

0478 228 914

HISTORY GROUPS SERVICE GROUPS

4321 0275

4367 9600

Refer potential volunteers to community organisations and provide support to them.

Training for volunteers and managers of volunteers.

Information sessions

Wed of each month.

Maree 0419 418 190

Discussion/action community Issues – 3 levels of Government Function Room, Grange Hotel, Wyoming 7.30pm 1st. Monday

0410 309 494

Inner Wheel Club Wyong Join a team of dedicated women, sharing fun and friendship and a passion for community service 6.30pm 3rd Wed Wyong Golf Club 4393 2755 iiw.au.wyong@gmail.com

The Lions Club of The Entrance Serve your community make friends, join Lions.

1st and 3rd Wed, North Entrance Surf Club.

The Entrance Markets Sun Mornings, behind The Entrance Cinema.

0488 286 006

theentrancelions@gmail.com

The Lions Club of Gwandalan

Join the Lions, make friends and help your local community Sat Garage Sales and BBQ 7 to 11.30am

4972 5562

secgwandalanlions@gmail.com

The Lions Club of Wyong

50 years supporting local activities - Meet new friends 4th Tues 6:30pm Don Small / Lions Retirement Village Colin 0413 014 266 www.wyong.nsw.lions.org.au

SPECIAL INTEREST Biz Plus Networking Association Grow your business & build worthwhile relationships.

Networking breakfasts every Thur 7:15- 9am Erina Leagues Club Geoff Neilson

Kyle.macgregor@hotmail.com

network@bizplus.com.au

Central Coast Greens

Central Coast Tenants’ Advice and Advocacy Service

Local, state wide, national & international issues & campaigns Council and parliamentary representation - 3rd Thur

Free telephone advice and advocacy for all tenants & residents in residential parks

Tuggerah Lakes U3A The Entrance - cryptic

crosswords, play reading Bateau Bay - Memoirs, Reading Group - Killarney Vale - Talks, Mah Jong - Toukley - Creative Writing Berkley Vale - Music appreciation - Chittaway Bay - Movies

4390 2451

www.tugglakesu3a.info

LEARN TO DANCE

Social ballroom dancing for all ages, all you need is a desire to learn and dance, no partner required. meet every Wed -15 Lorraine Ave Berkeley Vale, 2:00pm Anne - 0409 938 345 anneglazier@y7mail.com

SPORT KI-DO Mingara Judo Academy

Junior boys and girls Mon and Wed Two classes 6-8.30pm from 7yrs, Kangy Angy

0413 237 010

www.kidomingarajudo.com.au

KOWAKAN AIKIDO

Kids from 7yrs and adults, Fri and Sun, East Gosford Scout Hall.

See website for details

0411 725 823

www.kowakanaikidocentralcoast.com

SATO - KAI KARATE - DO Toukley Dojo 7th. Dan Shihan Master Instructor.

0413 456 086

Sato- ha shitoryu karate do australia

Wyong Lakes Australian Rules Football Club Play AFL - Teams for Boys, Girls, Women & Men. No Experience Necessary

0404 257 702

play@wyonglakesafc.com.au

Doyalson Wyee Soccer Club

Football club for the local community, encouraging juniors from under 5 to senior team.

Karen 0410 045 981 president@doylowolves.com.au

Canton Beach Sports Club Lawn Bowls

Come and join us at Canton Beach Sports Club, every Tues 9:30am.

Never played before, don’t worry, all levels welcome. Free coaching available. go on, give us a call on 0415 210 536 for Chris, or 0409 292 086 for Lorraine.

VENUE HIRE

Central Coast Wetlands – Pioneer Dairy

Central Coast Wetlands is located in Tuggerah. We have several buildings for hire.

They would be suitable for weddings, seminars, markets & fund raisers.

Newspapers

Wyong Neighbourhood

centralcoast.nsw.greens.org.au centralcoastgreens@gmail.com

4353 5515

Central Coast

CCN

cctaas@hotmail.com

If you would like your Community Organisation listed here call us on 4325 7369 or see www.coastcommunitynews.com.au

Entries in the Not For Profit Community Organisations Directory are free. However, we require each organisation to subscribe to each newspaper to ensure that someone from that organisation keeps their entry up to date. Subscription rates $75 for 25 editions.

0408 271 957

pioneerdairy@bigpond.com

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5 LETTERS Adorn Brick Clash Combs Crowd Desks Drama Eager Entry Fatty Flash Greed Image Mutes Nosed Octet Offer Optic Reset Rhyme

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LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS

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Rural Sacks Shark Sleek Tarot Tatty Teddy Thyme Tides Tinge Tries Wreck

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P LA ULKS UNUSUAL AR E R MU L AGE DEAL SHY ADDY M CHA TAS T E AOR ANNUL FR I S TONE K REGRE S S SEE SEEDY S T R I P

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OUT & ABOUT

Page 24

24 February 2021

COAST COMMUNITY CHRONICLE - WWW.COASTCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM.AU

DOWN IN THE GARDEN: Big Garden or Little Farm

CHERALYN DARCEY

With over 60,000 small hobby farms now operating in Australia, occupying over 20% of farming land and numbers steadily increasing, the only people having problems with the surge in a desire for the semi-rural life are the agents who cannot find enough of this type of property to sell.

WHAT IS ‘LIFESTYLE ACREAGE’?

A handy rule of thumb that I have heard time and time again and it is close to true: If you can mow your property with a standard hand operated mower, it’s a residential block.

If you need to use a ride on mower then you are on lifestyle acreage.

If you require a tractor to mow your land, then you have a rural property.

A legal and generally accepted definition is that if you are not creating your primary income from the land itself, you are on lifestyle acreage.

Most of us of a certain age would probably be more familiar with the term, ‘Hobby Farm’ and my family were inspired enough by the 1970’s ‘Grass Roots’ movement to tree-change us out of the city to what would today be called Lifestyle Acreage.

IS IT FOR YOU? You may have seen ‘Big Little Farm’, a beautifully poetic film about a couple and their move from the big city to a small farm and been inspired to take the leap, or perhaps you just need more plant space, but you are not alone if you are one of countless people around the world who dream of a much larger patch of earth to call home.

Maybe lifestyle acreage is tempting you with dreams of collecting fresh eggs for breakfast while you pass by your recreation of Monet’s Garden, and pumpkins just about ready to take to the local Farmers Market, so let’s look at the reality of moving you, your family and plans onto a Lifestyle Acreage Property.

Whether you grow anything on your property or not, more land means more work.

No land is ‘set and forget’, you will need to control growth, weeds, pests and disease on a grand scale.

That means not only work, but also money.

Speaking of pests, most people cite being closer to nature as one of the top reasons for a tree-change.

Nature is not all singing lorikeets and cute wallabies bounding by at dawn, it means snakes, ticks, leeches and other facets of the Australian bush that you may find challenging.

The possibility of bushfires and storms and how you plan to manage for these are a high

priority and should factor into your decision making when looking at properties.

Water supply, power, sewage and waste management are all equally vital elements that need careful consideration as well.

Along with countless books on the subject, these two local webpages are brilliant resources to give you grass roots advice: farmstyle.com.au and nswfarmers.org.au GARDENING ON A GRAND SCALE My favourite piece of advice for gardeners facing a new patch of earth of any size, is to start small and build as your skills increase and your understanding of the environment you find yourself in deepens.

With acreage, it may be tempting to grow hundreds of every single thing straight away because you now have the space, but you will probably not be able to attend to the upkeep.

Things to consider include what you are going to do with all the produce, larger scale peat and disease control, fertilisation and watering.

Starting small means not only area but also the amount you are planting and the types of plants that you are growing.

Research is always the key to successful gardening, so find out what is growing well in your area already and what is possible.

Soil testing for contaminates would be strongly advised before you begin, and you can obtain a deep analysis with advice of what to do should a problem be indicated from Macquarie University research.science.mq.adu.au/vegsafe for a $20 donation.

The good news is that the demand for market garden produce from local small farms is booming, so this is easily an area that can bring in additional income for your family.

Again, research is the key, so find out what is selling well in your area, what is missing and what is in demand.

Your customers will not only be those visiting the local farmers market where you could set up a stall, but local cafes, restaurants and specialty local food stores, so go and talk with them.

Find out what they might like to have a supply of and how you could fill that need.

Selling from your front gate is as old as farming, so a sign and local advertising could bring in the customers you need, but another increasingly popular way of selling produce is via the internet.

Setting up an online shop where local people can purchase and then pick up from your farm, a central meeting place on a set day, or have it delivered, are all ways to encourage and keep regular customers.

Down on the ground, succession planting will give you a steady stream of produce over a harvest season to sell.

This means putting in crops over their advised planting season every week.

Although the dedicated market garden customer is used to variations in supply, consistent and longer availability of your produce will build your reputation.

A CENTRAL COAST LIFESTYLE ACREAGE HAVEN Clare Thornley and her husband Paul made the move from Sydney to a lifestyle acreage property of 2.5 acres in Jilliby on the NSW Central Coast nearly 7 years ago, looking for a better lifestyle.

Although their home is now in a rural area, it is still rather close to all the amenities that the family uses.

Schools, shops and even a major shopping centre are all close by.

A benefit of having all that extra land, Paul’s parents reside in a separate cottage upon the

land with their own gardens and privacy, yet with the family close by.

This is an arrangement that many tree-change acreage seekers are looking for.

The Thornley family have made a successful transition after leaving their Sydney Upper North Shore life behind and now say that apart from occasional loss of water and electricity in storms, they are very happy.

Their sons have lots of room to explore and grow, they have been able to run a successful home business, their extended family is close, and they are thriving in a natural, peaceful pocket of the NSW Central Coast amongst the gumtrees, wildlife and their own lovely gardens.

ON THE GARDEN GRAPEVINE Gwandalan & Summerland Point Community Garden Market 7.30am - 12pm. Sat. 20th February. 32 Dulkara St. Gwandalan. There will be the usual jams and pickles. Choko Pickles are back again and also strawberry jam and Lilly Pilli Jelly. Also, some craft and odds and ends, and a little from the garden.

COASTFM963 Gardening Gang On the Road 11am - 1pm Sat. 27th Feb. East Gosford Community Garden, Newman Memorial Park, 10 Wells St, East Gosford. Local Radio hosts Pete Little & Cheralyn Darcey, will be visiting this gorgeous community garden. Cheralyn will be talking ‘Small Space Gardening’ and giving you lots of advice, answering your questions and Pete will be there to keep her on her toes!

THIS WEEK YOU COULD PLANT Asian greens, dwarf beans, beetroot, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chicory, cress, endive, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, mustard greens, parsnips, climbing peas, potato tubers, radish, rhubarb, salsify, shallots, spring onions, silverbeet, spinach, swede, turnip, alyssum, calendula, candytuft, Canterbury bells, cineraria, cornflower, everlasting daisy, foxglove, grevillea, hollyhock, larkspur, lobelia, nemesia, polyanthus, statice,

chives, coriander, garlic, marjoram, oregano, parsley, rocket, winter tarragon DOWN IN THE GARDEN MAIL: WONGA WONGA VINE Lovely readers, thank you so much for your emails with suggestions, kind words and of course your gardening questions. This week I have a query about cuttings.

Louise writes: “Following on from your column of 27 January, would you please give me some guidance on the best way to strike a Wonga Wonga vine (Pandorea pandorana). I took 6 cuttings around 6 weeks ago and they are in water but look the same to me as they did when I started! Thank you” Dear Louise, I’m sure some people might have had luck with Wonga water propagation, but this Australian Native does a lot better with soil propagation methods. Take cuttings from Wonga Wonga Vine any time of the year each in winter.

They need to be about 6 to 8am in length and taken from semi-hardwood (young growth that is beginning to harden) when the plant is not flowering. Roots will grow from nodes so cut the ends just below a node and cut on an angle for maximum bark layer revel and remove all the lower leaves. Dip the bottom up and over the bottom nod in either honey or a hormone rooting mix. Plant them into a seed/cutting raising mix or cutting sand and keep moist. They do take a while but should grow roots in about 4 to 6 weeks.

Good luck Louise!

Cheralyn Darcey is a gardening author, community garden coordinator and along with Pete Little, hosts ‘At Home with The Gardening Gang’ 8 - 10am every Saturday on CoastFM96.3 a live home and gardening lifestyle radio show: www.coastfmgardeninggang.com Send your gardening questions, events and news to: gardeningcentralcoast@gmail.com Cheralyn continues the gardening conversation at facebook.com/coastfmgardeninggang

WWW.COASTCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM.AU - COAST COMMUNITY CHRONICLE

Page 25

24 February 2021

OUT & ABOUT

Chance for youth to have their voices heard Central Coast students can now apply for the 2021 Y NSW Youth Parliament program, designed to empower youth interested in politics.

Those in Years 10, 11, 12, or of the equivalent age, can apply to the program which consists of a four-day training camp where participants are split into committees to develop policy positions ahead of a day of debate on the floor of NSW Parliament.

Following the event, passed bills are formally presented to the NSW Government.

Ella Avni was a Y NSW Youth Parliament representative in 2019 while she was in Year 11 at Kincumber High School.

She said her decision to recently enrol in a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Advanced Studies (Politics and International Relations) at the University of Sydney was influenced by her time in the program.

"It really was the start for me getting into politics," Avni said.

"After that, I met my friend Abby at Youth Parliament, and she got me into the group, School Strike 4 Climate.

"I did a lot of advocacy with them for a while.

"I think it really improved my political engagement, not only on the Central Coast but statewide as well; it was like a gateway to everything else."

Since its beginning in 2002,

Ella Avni at Y NSW Youth Parliament

approximately six Y NSW Youth Parliament youth legislations have been passed into NSW law, including the recent Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme.

"The first camp (training) was really good for learning how state parliament worked, what the processes are, and they taught us all about writing bills," Avni said.

"We had a schedule that each day we would debate a few different bills.

"I was on the Women's Affairs committee, so we wrote our bill about equal access to sanitary products for homeless women.

"The residential camp was really amazing for me as I learnt how to improve my public speaking.

"I noticed my confidence shot up so much after that camp.

"It was a really good environment, and everyone was so accepting and everyone is there to improve themselves."

Avni said her interest in

politics has come from wanting to have a voice in her community.

"I saw an ad on Facebook for Youth Parliament, and I thought it would be an awesome opportunity to have a voice in my community and on what goes on in politics," Avni said.

"Because it affects us the younger generation and we don't have much of a voice, I thought it would be a really good chance to get my voice out there and have a say."

The Y NSW is seeking representatives from all 93 NSW State Electorates to participate.

Y NSW CEO, Susannah Le Bron, said it was exciting to be back following the program's suspension in 2020 due to the pandemic.

"COVID-19 has brought the direct impact of political decisions on young people's lives and futures sharply into focus," Le Bron said.

"There's never been a more

important time for young people to stand up and be heard, and the Y is incredibly proud as an organisation to bring these voices directly to the seat of power in NSW." Applications are open now and will close on March 12 at 5 pm.

For more information, or to apply, visit: www.ymcansw. org.au/community-services/ youth/youth-parliament/.

Jacinta Counihan

GoFundMe campaign for 12 year old with bone cancer What was initially thought of as growing pains, has proved to be a bigger challenge for the sweet and bubbly 12-year-old, Cohan Daly of Wadalba.

On December 31, 2020, he was diagnosed with a bone cancer called Osteosarcoma, and now his parents are asking for financial assistance to help pay for his treatment.

Cohan currently has over 15 tumours, both behind his knee and across his lungs, requiring him to undergo chemotherapy in Sydney for the next six months.

Cohan’s aunt, Tammy Fardell, has started a GoFundMe page to assist Cohan’s parents, Ellicia and Michael Daly, in

CCN

paying for treatment after they recently dropped to a single wage.

Ellicia lost her job due to her inability to provide stable work hours because of the chemotherapy’s rotating schedule and her refusal to leave Cohan during this time.

Cohen’s father, Michael, is working full time as a mechanic to pay the bills to the best of his abilities.

However, expenses have started to stack up, and the loss of income is being felt.

As Elliicia’s older sister, Fardell said she had always been able to fix everything, but this was different.

“I have always thought, I’ll fix it, but when she told me, I

thought, I don’t know how to fix that,” Fardell said.

“Every little bit helps because it means my sister and brotherin-law don’t have to worry about how the mortgage is going to be paid.”

The Daly’s also have another son called Cooper, who has autism.

He is required to travel down to Westmead Children’s Hospital each week.

“Cooper understands what is going on, but at the same time, he is quite blasé about it which has helped Cohan a little bit because he is not treating him any differently,” Fardell said.

Cohan has recently started Year 7, which Fardell said he would continue to the best of

his ability.

“We have all tried to take a leaf out of Cohan’s book as he is an amazingly strong child,” she said.

“Helping him to not focus on [his diagnosis] is where we are at the moment.”

The campaign already has $20,000, and Cohan has maintained his smiles and positivity, but Fardell said the treatment and events have been unimaginably hard for him and his family and they would be grateful for any support.

Donate at www.gofundme. com/f/cohen-daly-tumorfight-journey-of-a-superstar Jacinta Counihan

Cohan Daly

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BUSINESS & PROPERTY

Page 26

24 February 2021

COAST COMMUNITY CHRONICLE - WWW.COASTCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM.AU

Business & Property Planning Panel to decide on development recommended for refusal

Plans for two retail premises and nine residential flats on a narrow block at Toukley, which is strongly opposed by the local community, will go before the Central Coast Local Planning Panel.

The Panel meets on Thursday, February 25, and the proposal has been recommended for refusal by Central Coast Council.

It’s a $5M proposal on the 619sqm site at 139 Main Rd, Toukley, for a three-storey building comprising six studio flats, three one-bedroom units, nine car parking spaces on a basement level and two retail premises on the ground level.

Vehicles coming and going from the proposed development will be from a neighbouring property, number 141, directly on to Main Rd, which residents say is a major concern, considering the already congested and heavy traffic flow on Main Rd. Plans are to have the community housing provider, Compass Housing, manage the residential accommodation.

The development application (420/2019) was submitted by BACAD Design on behalf of the owners N and M Mamanidis.

It has gone to the Local Planning Panel for a decision as the proposal seeks a variation to the development standard that exceeds 10 percent.

The site is zoned B4 Mixed

A perspective drawing of the affordable housing project at Toukley

Use under Wyong Local Environmental Plan (LEP) 2013 which makes provisions for residential flat building and commercial premises, and it has a height limit of 8.5m.

A Council staff report says this proposal has a maximum height of 11.3m to the lift overrun and feature parapet and 10.44m to the remainder of the parapet.

“The proposal does not comply with the building height provisions of the LEP,” the report says.

“Planning controls do not anticipate development of

three storeys in this location.”

Apart from the height, the bulk and scale of the building are not compatible with the area, the report says.

The report to the Panel says that the proposal does not impede neighbouring amenity in regard to solar access, privacy or views, but it does have an impact because of its visual bulk and its incongruous relationship to existing and future development of adjoining sites.

It says in the report that the applicant hasn’t provided sufficient grounds to justify the

variation in height limit which is not consistent with the objectives of the development standards and therefore not in the public interest.

Also, the proposal does not meet the minimum residential car parking requirements, with only five, but complies for the retail component with four spaces provided.

The report says there is no parking for a variety of modes of transport and plans do not demonstrate function and safety of the vehicle access to and from the development.

Transport for NSW has

recommended that vehicles be restricted to left in entry and left out exit and a concrete median to be constructed on Main Rd to prevent right turns into and out of the property.

The site has been vacant for many years after demolition of an old house and more recently used as an unofficial unpaved car park.

It is adjacent to a site now used as a car washing business that was once a service station and there is a risk of aged migrated contaminants from underground petroleum storage tanks.

Sampling taken as part of an environmental site assessment detected asbestos and hydrocarbons, therefore, remediation and site validation are required to make the site suitable for the proposed use.

There also is potential that the site contains acid sulfate soil which would require treatment.

The applicant has submitted a Remediation Action Plan including excavation and offsite disposal of the contaminated layer located in the soil up to one metre below ground level.

Council’s report said there were no other contamination concerns that would prevent the site from being utilised for its intended use, subject to instigation of the Remediation Action Plan and appropriate validation by a suitably qualified contaminated land professional.

The report says the development was likely to have positive economic and social impacts through suitable small business premises, affordable housing, jobs during construction and a well serviced location, however, the excessive height of the building and its unacceptable bulk within the existing streetscape led to a recommendation to the Local Planning Panel to refuse the development application.

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Page 27

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BUSINESS & PROPERTY

Detached dwelling approvals increased by 15 percent in 2020 Latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on hew home building approvals indicate that home activity across the Central Coast and Hunter regions performed strongly in 2020, despite the impact of the global pandemic and a recession.

Housing Industry Association (HIA) Central Coast/Hunter Executive Director, Craig Jennion, said that in 2020, detached dwelling approvals increased 15 percent on the Central Coast and 21 percent in the Hunter, compared to the 2019 calendar year.

He said that detached homes increasingly remained the preference for home buyers locally, accounting for 64.7 percent on the Central Coast and 72.1 percent of all approvals in the Hunter.

“Over the same period multiunit approvals decreased by 28 percent on the Coast and by 45

percent in the Hunter compared to the year earlier,” Jennion said.

“As has occurred elsewhere in the country, there appears to be structural changes in the demand for multi-unit housing as a result of a change in consumer preferences.

“In total 5,896 approvals were issued for new dwellings across the HIA Central Coast/ Hunter region during 2020, a decrease of eight percent from the previous year.”

Central Coast approvals decreased by five percent while in the Hunter the fall was nine percent.

“Despite the slight deterioration in new home approvals in 2020, it was a solid result considering the head winds that the industry faced,” Jennion said.

“Much of the heavy lifting for the residential sector continues to occur in the Lower Hunter, with the local government areas of Lake Macquarie,

Maitland and Newcastle continuing to be the top three locations for approvals, accounting for 58.9 percent of total approvals.

“Cessnock local government area took out the title of ‘biggest mover’ with total housing approvals increasing by 28 percent, with detached dwelling increasing 32 percent and multi-unit approvals increased by 134 percent.

“Looking ahead, we are forecasting residential building activity to remain solid on the back of the HomeBuilder stimulus, low interest rates, rising house prices and a demographic shift in demand towards detached housing and regional areas.

“Together this should ensure ongoing demand for new homes, albeit at a level below that observed in recent years,” Jennion said.

Source: Media release, Feb 17 Housing Industry Association

NSW Government commits to move more public service roles to regional areas Business NSW Central Coast has praised the NSW Government for its commitment to move more public service roles to regional areas across the State.

Non-frontline NSW public

sector roles will now be advertised with “regional location encouraged”, with a commitment to increase the proportion of senior government roles in the regions by 2023.

“In our Back on Track report, we called for greater support

for jobs, including hubs in regional areas, as part of our recommendations to build a seamless state economy,” Regional Director, Paula Martin, said.

“Staff working in government departments provide a huge

boost to surrounding small business.

“When departments from the NSW Government and the ATO moved to Gosford, not only did local trade increase but the city gained a sense of vibrancy.

“As we recover from COVID,

it’s people that will reinvigorate our city centre and our town centres by working, living and playing in the area.

“The fastest way to achieve this is with large organisations regionalising and in turn stimulating small business.

“The Central Coast is a prime destination for regionally located jobs,” Regional Director, Paula Martin, said.

Source: Media release, Feb 5 Business NSW Central Coast

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24 February 2021

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Brought to you by moneymag.com.au

CREATING FINANCIAL FREEDOM

Ditch those bad old habits that cost you money WITH

Julia NEWBOULD Editor-at-large • Money magazine When it comes to personal finance, there is usually a cost. In some cases it’s the cost of doing nothing.

For example, a 2020 survey showed people continue to buy brands they distrust as long as they personally gain from the relationship – whether that’s because of loyalty, status or inertia.

People know they can get cheaper loans or better returns elsewhere, but they stay with their provider through inertia or a perception that it’s too difficult to change. And they are not totally wrong, particularly with mortgages.

While brokers can help you find a better mortgage, there are forms to complete and information to provide. You may need to change direct debits and or credit card limits – it can be hard work.

Start by checking how much you’re paying. That will help you decide whether it’s time to look elsewhere.

According to Mortgage Choice, apathy is increasing, with fewer Australians knowing their rate in 2020 compared with previous research (61.5% in 2018 and 71% in 2016). In fact, only 46.5% of respondents knew their interest rate.

AMP research from late 2020 found almost half of all Australians are feeling financial stress, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic.

Mortgage Choice chief executive Susan Mitchell says research shows Australians are more focused than ever on their finances, yet many are complacent about their biggest expense and potentially biggest saving.

“In the past year alone, the cash rate has dropped by 0.65% and many lenders are

open to negotiating on rate reductions,” she says.

“Let’s say your principal and interest rate is 3.99%, and shopping around with the help of a mortgage broker enables

you to drop by 0.5% to 3.49%.

On a 30-year home loan of $600,000, the savings could be around $170 a month.”

Homeowners aged 30 to 39 were the most likely to not

know their interest rate (64.5%) while those aged 50-59 were close behind at 56.4%.

As for reviewing their home loan, 13.7% said they never did, while 44.4% said they reviewed

it every couple of years. Only 41.9% checked it annually.

This is a good time to think about your financial habits, and checking your mortgage could be a good habit to pick up. M

Consolidate your ‘lost’ superannuation – it’s easy and free Australians have around $20 billion stashed away in lost superannuation accounts and billions more sitting in inactive accounts that they are no longer contributing money to.

If any of this is your money you should find and consolidate it into your current “active” superannuation account.

What is lost super?

Your super fund will report you as a lost member if either: • It has lost contact with you; or • You have more than $6000 in your account and it has not received any contributions from you in the past five years.

Super funds are required to report to the Australian Taxation Office twice each year how

much they estimate is held in accounts held by lost members and they must transfer the unclaimed super money to the tax office.

This money remains in the ATO’s superannuation holding account until the fund member reclaims it. Money in this account receives interest equivalent to the inflation rate.

Are you inactive?

Purchase the latest copy of Money magazine in all good newsagents on the Central Coast PURCHASE YOUR COPY AT: East Gosford Newsagency • 53-55 Victoria Street, East Gosford Gosford Newsagency • Shop 152/118 Mann Street, Gosford Centreway Newsagency • 59 Wyong Street, Keilor East

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If you have less than $6000 in your account and you haven’t made a contribution in 16 months or you are not signed up for your super fund’s insurance offer, your fund considers you to be inactive.

If you are in-

active your fund is required to transfer your account balance to the ATO, in the same way that it handles lost super.

Under new laws that came into effect in July 2019, the tax office will try to contact you, and if you have other active super accounts, it will transfer this money into the account that you currently use (your active account).

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WHERE DO YOU GET IT?

CCN

FOLLOWING IS A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF COAST COMMUNITY CHRONICLE PICKUP LOCATIONS, PAPERS ARE DELIVERED TO ALL OF THESE LOCATIONS EVERY WEDNESDAY Halekulani Bowling Club BATEAU BAY 50 Natuna Ave Ritchies IGA Cresthaven Shopping Centre Leader Pet Supplies 17 Lake St Bateau Bay Bowling Club 5 Bias Ave Coast Hotel The Entrance Leagues Club 169 Budgewoi Rd 3 Bay Village Rd Tenth Avenue Pharmacy Tuggerah Lakes Community 56 Tenth Ave Centre BUFF POINT 1 Bay Village Rd Budgewoi Soccer Club Bateau Bay Men’s Shed 1 Millington Way 1 Bay Village Rd CANTON BEACH Bateau Bay Square Heritage Village Toukley 12 Bay Village Rd 2 Evans Rd

1/74 Wallarah Rd

Coles The Entrance Rd

Lakefront Village 1-91 Village Way

Woolworths 12 Bay Village Rd

GWANDALAN Gwandalan Public School Kanangra Dr

CHAIN VALLEY BAY Valhalla by Gateway Lifestyle Gwandalan Bowling Club 25 Mulloway Rd Gamban Rd

Sun Valley Tourist Park 2 Bateau Bay Rd Blue Lagoon Beach Resort 10 Bateau Bay Rd Uniting Nareen Gardens Bateau Bay 19 Bias Ave Bupa Aged Care Bateau Bay 17 Bias Ave Elderslee Retirement Community 15 Bias Ave Southern Cross Care Reynolds Court Residential Aged Care 7 Bias Ave Kiah Lodge Retirement Community 15 Anne Findlay Pl BERKELEY VALE Berkeley Vale Public School 6 Pindarri Ave Tuggerah Lakes Secondary College - Berkeley Vale Campus 5-25 Berkeley Rd BP 1 Blade Cl Berkeley Vale Private Hospital Lorraine Ave Opal Berkeley Village 8 Lorraine Ave Medical Centre 3/10 Lorraine Ave Berkeley Vale Cellars 258 Lakedge Ave Berkeley Vale Neighbourhood Centre 3 Heather Ave

Central Coast Leagues Club 1 Dane Dr Masonic Centre 86 Mann Street

Wyong Public Hospital Pacific Hwy

CHARMHAVEN Charmhaven Tennis Centre Parkside Dr Northlakes Tavern 17-33 Pacific Hwy Supanews Westfield Northlakes CHITTAWAY BAY Chittaway Centre Pharmacy Chittaway Shopping Centre DOYALSON Macquarie Shores Home Village 150 Tall Timbers Rd Doyalson Wyee RSL Club Pacific Hwy FOUNTAINDALE Happy Belly Takeaway 9 Catamaran Rd FORRESTER’S BEACH Celebrations Shops 6&7, 15 Forrester’s Beach Rd Brown Sugar Bakery 15 Forrester’s Beach Rd Forries Café 970 The Entrance Rd, Forrester’s Beach Di Matteos 27 Forrester’s Beach Rd

Liquorland 72 Wallarah Rd

Coles 11 Parsons Rd

Coles Express 102-106 Wyong Rd

The Orchards Retirement Village 15 The Ridgeway

The Bottle-O Shop 2/120 Wyong Rd Killarney Vale Bakery & Café 122 Wyong Rd

LONG JETTY Caltex Long Jetty 431 The Entrance Rd

Killarney Vale Newsagency 112 Wyong Rd

Bridge Club 415 The Entrance Rd

Central Coast Cycles 118 Wyong Rd

CUT Computers 421 The Entrance Rd

Red Prawn & Seafood Takeaway 118 Wyong Rd

Diggers at The Entrance 315 The Entrance Rd

KULNURA General Store, Indian Restaurant & Cafe 4 Greta Rd LAKE HAVEN Lake Haven Castle Cottage 8 Kylie Cl Metro Cinemas Lake Haven Forrow Dr

The Dam Hotel Cnr Minnesota Rd & Pacific Hwy

Arcare Kanwal Aged Care 2 Pearce Rd

Oasis Caratel Caravan Park 207/209 Wallarah Rd Wyong Rugby League Club 40 Lake Haven Dr Fill & Carry Fruit Market 258 Wallarah Rd BYO Cellars 260 Wallarah Rd

Central Coast Fresh & Cooked Seafood 74 Wallarah Rd

KILLARNEY VALE Opal Killarney Vale 1 Daniel Cl

TSG Gorokan

Central Coast Community

Lakeside Leisure Village 51 Kamilaroo Ave Lake Munmorah Residential Resort 2 Saliena Ave LISAROW Lisarow Takeaway Shop 2/1 Parsons Rd Lisarow Newsagency Shop 13/1 Parsons Rd McDonald’s 2 Parsons Road Woolworths 3 Parsons Rd

Corner Park Road & Warrigal 149-157 Main Rd Street TUGGERAH 7-Eleven The Entrance Westfield (service desk) Gosford Ave 50 Wyong Rd

WYEE Wyee Mini Market Shop 5 Wyee Shopping Village

KFC 16 The Entrance Road

WYONG Wyong Neighbourhood Centre Inc Building 2/8 Rankens Ct

Jimbo’s Quality Seafoods 109 The Entrance Rd Subway 35/37 Coral St Dunleith Tourist Park 2 Hutton Rd Tuggerah Lakes Secondary College The Entrance Rd

Kaino’s Seafood And Burgers David Mehan MP - The Entrance Electorate Office 324 The Entrance Rd 24 The Entrance Rd MAGENTA Smoking Dragon Magenta Shores Golf & 173 The Entrance Rd Country Club 1 Magenta Dr TOOWOON BAY MANNERING PARK The Bottle-O Mannering Park Cellars 68 Vales Rd

Lake Haven Shopping Centre NORAH HEAD (service desk) Norah Head Bowling & Lake Haven Drive & Sports Club Goobarabah Avenue Bottlemart Victoria St 181-187 Minnesota Rd Lake Haven Library and NORAVILLE Council Services Palm Springs Home Village Vietnam Veterans Keith Lake Haven Shopping Centre 181 Minnesota Rd Payne VC Hostel LTD 1 Evans Rd Catholic Healthcare Wellness RFBI Lake Haven Masonic Village Centre OURIMBAH Christopher Cres 1 Minnesota Rd Ourimbah Lisarow RSL Club Subway 6/20 Pacific Hwy Warnervale Public School Warnervale Rd & Minnesota 2/14 Bannister Dr Coastal Rural Traders Rd McDonald’s 10 Ourimbah St Goobarabah Ave Uniting Nareen Terrace TAFE Ourimbah Campus Hamlyn Terrace LAKE MUNMORAH Q-10, Loop Rd & The lot 1/35 Louisiana Rd Lake Munmorah Public Boulevarde School Uniting Starrett Lodge Pacific Highway Carters Rd The Preview 1/35 Louisiana Rd The Boulevarde Jamaica Blue Anglican Care Warnervale The Millery 275 Pacific Hwy Gardens 10 Chittaway Rd 171 Mataram Rd Woolworths Lee Rowan’s Garden world 1 Tall Timbers Rd KANWAL 72 Pacific Hwy Amcal+ Pharmacy Kanwal Parktrees Village Village SAN REMO 750 Pacific Hwy Shop 1/260 Wallarah Rd Coles Lake Munmorah Senior Northlakes Shopping Centre Kanwal Medical Centre, Citizens Club k2/654 Pacific Hwy Neighbourhood Centre 1 Acacia Ave 28 Brava Ave Tuggerah Lakes Private Munmorah United Bowling Hospital the Lott Club 645 Pacific Hwy 21 Pacific Hwy Acacia Ave

Forrester’s Beach Retirement William Cape Gardens Village 40 Pearce Rd 1001 The Entrance Rd

GOROKAN Guardian Pharmacy 70 Wallarah Rd

Discount Drug Store 73 Scenic Dr

GOSFORD Imperial centre 171 Mann St

The Lakeside Lifestyle Community 132 Finlay Ave

Blue Haven Public School 37 Colorado Dr

United Petroleum 67-71 Scenic Dr

6 Wallarah Rd

HAMLYN TERRACE Hakea Grove Aged Care 102 Louisiana Rd

Caltex service station The Entrance Rd Cnr Bellevue Rd

Coles Noela Pl

Toukley & Districts Art Society

Teraglin Lakeshore Home Village 2 Mulloway Rd

BLUE HAVEN Blue Haven Community Centre 1 Apsley Ct

BUDGEWOI

Wallarah Bay Recreation Club 40 Wallarah Rd

Care Association Cnr Cornish Avenue & Wyong Rd

San Remo Pharmacy 123 Marine Parade THE ENTRANCE The Entrance Visitor Information Centre 46 Marine Parade Nesuto The Entrance Apartments 18 Coral St

The Greens The Entrance

Supanews Westfield Tuggerah Terry White Chemmart Westfield Tuggerah Tuggerah Library and Council Services Westfield Tuggerah

Wyong Family History Group 6 Rankens Ct Village Central Wyong 18/34 Alison Rd Plaza Newsagency 6/18-34 Alison Rd

Shingle Inn Tuggerah Westfield Tuggerah

The Art House Theatre 19-21 Margaret St

Meals on Wheels 6/10 Pioneer Ave

Club Wyong RSL 15 Margaret St

Emma McBride MP Mariners Centre of Excellence, Suite 204

Central Coast Mobile Village 1A Cutler Dr IGA North Wyong Shop 2/34-38 Cutler Drive North

Bay Takeaway 205 Bay Rd

TUMBI UMBI Tuggerah Lakes Secondary College, Tumbi Umbi Campus 150 Bellevue Rd

Toowoon Bay Cellars 153-155 Bay Rd

Glengara Retirement Village 220 Hansen’s Rd

Australia Post 145 Bay Rd

Mingara Recreation Club 12-14 Mingara Dr

Toowoon Bay Seafood & Take Away 92 Toowoon Bay Rd

Chemist Outlet Tumbi Umbi Discount Chemist 7 Mingara Dr

Amcal+ Pharmacy Toowoon Bay 96 Toowoon Bay Rd

Domino’s Pizza Mingara 8 Mingara Dr

United Petroleum 359 Pacific Highway North

McDonald’s Mingara Mingara Dr

Mr David Harris MP - Wyong Electorate Office 142 Pacific Hwy

Toowoon Bay Holiday Park 1 Koongara St

Family Bean 90 Toowoon Bay Rd Flour & Co. 88 Toowoon Bay Rd TOUKLEY Toukley50 Plus Leisure & Learning Centre 1 Hargraves St

3 Mingara Dr Subway Restaurant Lot 9 Mingara Dr &, Wyong Rd WADALBA McDonald’s London Dr

The Salvation Army 28 Canton Beach Rd

Woolworths 1 Figtree Blvd

NewsXpress Toukley Shop 1/30 Canton Beach Rd

Coles Orchid Way

Coastal Health Medical Centre 213-217 Main Rd

The Lott 2 Edward Stinson Avenue

Toukley Golf Club 54 Ninth Ave Opal Norah Head 63 Palomar Parade Toukley Public School Main Rd Canton Beach Sports Club 11 Hibbard St PRP Diagnostic Imaging 54 Victoria Ave

Coles 781/17-21Yaralla St Wallarah Point Care Community

Wyong High School 53 Alison Rd TAFE NSW – Wyong Porter St Wyong Milk Factory Café 141 Alison Rd All Sorts Fitness Wyong 141 Alison Rd Alison Homestead 1 Cape Rd

Hungry Jack’s Mingara Recreation Complex KFC 300 Pacific Hwy KFC Mingara

Seabreeze Seafoods 10 Hargraves St

Lakeside Shopping Centre The Entrance Rd & Dening St Toukley Library Main Rd Coles The Entrance Rd &, Dening St

Coles Westfield Tuggerah

Nargis Gourmet Food Indian & kebab 6/2 Edward Stinson Ave WAMBERAL Pacific Garden Hotel 871 The Entrance Rd WARNERVALE ChemistCare 3 Mary Mackillop Drv Warnies Café 1/13 Warnervale Rd WOONGARRAH Warnervale Gardens 171 Mataram Rd St. Mary Mackillop Catholic Church Warnervale 91 Sparks Rd

Subway 250/300 Pacific Hwy Nexus Smart Hub 3 Amy Cl JAY-C 60/1-10 Amy Cl Kidz Hq 2c Amy Cl Wyong Golf Club 319 Pacific Hwy St James Anglican Church 25-27 Byron St Wyong Bowling Club 3 Panonia Rd Meander Village 18 Boyce Ave Kooindah Waters Golf Club 40 Kooindah Blvd Wyong Men Shed Incorporated 175 Pollock Ave Bendigo Bank 88 Pacific Hwy Oliver’s Real Food Caltex Stopover, Pacific Hwy Cafe F3 Northbound F3 Northbound Freeway

IF YOU WOULD LIKE YOUR LOCATION ADDED TO THIS LIST FOR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC TO ACCESS, PLEASE LET US KNOW.

Page 30

COAST COMMUNITY CHRONICLE - WWW.COASTCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM.AU

24 February 2021

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Page 31

WWW.COASTCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM.AU - COAST COMMUNITY CHRONICLE 24 February 2021

HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

CareFlight unveils the first aeromedical aircraft of its kind in Australia Patients on the Central Coast will have improved access to lifesaving medical treatment with the addition of one of the world’s most advanced aeromedical aircraft to CareFlight’s fleet.

Over the past 12 months, CareFlight conducted 70 missions in the region.

The helicopter was officially launched when it landed for a public unveiling at the Sydney Opera House on February 19.

The Airbus H145 joins CareFlight’s Rapid Response Helicopter service which reaches patients across Greater Sydney, Nepean/Blue Mountains and the Central Coast.

Since 2017, CareFlight has been tasked to respond to more than 1,300 medical incidents.

Over 200 of these were on the Central Coast.

“As part of our funding agreement with NSW Health, CareFlight committed to upgrading our helicopter capability,” CEO, Mick Frewen, said.

CareFlight’s new Airbus H145 helicopter

“This helicopter is internationally recognised to be one of the safest and most advanced aeromedical helicopters in the world.

“This will save lives and deliver to the community, an outstanding aeromedical service.

“CareFlight was founded on innovation and we continue to strive to push ourselves, and the service, to ensure that we get to patients fast so our

doctors and NSW Ambulance intensive care paramedics can start lifesaving clinical interventions as soon as they arrive at the scene.”

The H145, the first aeromedical aircraft of its kind in Australia, can be airborne within three minutes of activation and with a flight speed of up to 250kmh, can reach patients in Sydney, the Blue Mountains and on the Central Coast within 15 minutes.

“We know that the sooner we reach patients and start clinical interventions, the better the outcome for patients,” said CareFlight’s National Medical Director, Dr Toby Fogg.

“CareFlight flies our specialist doctor and NSW Ambulance intensive care paramedic to the scene of trauma so they can immediately assess and commence clinical treatment.

“For patients who are critically injured or ill, we know

this gives patients the best chance of survival, and with this new aircraft online, we will be able to arrive and commence treatment sooner.”

Reaching patients rapidly is further enhanced by H145’s safety features which allow it to land on small and uneven landing sites, as close to the incident as possible.

These safety features include a small diameter high main rotor and a fully enclosed

Fenestron tail rotor which together contribute to its ability to land safely in small spaces.

The rear clamshell doors allow for faster loading and unloading of patients saving critical minutes.

The cabin is designed to mimic the internal space of a road ambulance and is specially configured with the most upto-date medical equipment including a mobile intensive care unit and advanced radio and intercom systems which allows patients to be closely monitored throughout their transportation.

The aircraft can carry a crew of three highly skilled and experienced medical staff and one patient, but can also be reconfigured to carry two patients and two medical staff if required.

CareFlight’s Rapid Response Helicopter is tasked directly by NSW Ambulance for 250-300 missions a year covering Greater Sydney, Central Coast and Blue Mountains regions.

Source: Media release, Feb 19 CareFlight

Share the Dignity to launch Period Pride campaign This International Women’s Day, March 8, Share the Dignity will launch its biggest campaign to date, Period Pride, to remove the shame clouding periods, spark discussion and gain insight into the issue of

period poverty.

Simply distributing period products to those in need puts a band-aid on period poverty, it doesn’t solve it, says Rochelle Courtenay, who is Founder and Managing Director of Share the Dignity.

That’s why, alongside the biannual March Dignity Drive, Share the Dignity will also be encouraging those who menstruate to complete a survey.

To make an on-the-ground difference in ending period

poverty, Share the Dignity requires data to prove the social, personal and financial impacts of menstruation.

This is a necessary step in a three-pronged approach to ending period poverty: distribution of products to

those in need, education around menstruation and reducing the shame and stigma surrounding menstruation.

Share the Dignity will continue its bi-annual Dignity Drive throughout March to collect and distribute much needed

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Supporters can drop off donations at all local Woolworths stores.

Source: Media release, Feb 19 Share the Dignity

HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

Page 32

24 February 2021

COAST COMMUNITY CHRONICLE - WWW.COASTCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM.AU

The untold benefits of seasonal eating

GEORGIA LIENEMANN

A

s we move into Autumn, I thought it might be nice to take this, my second favourite seasonal transition of the year (nothing beats Winter to Spring!), as an opportunity to explore the untold benefits of seasonal eating.

Once upon a time, I had no idea where my food came from, other than knowing the location of the supermarket and the shelf I found it on. The concept of seasonal eating was merely a romantic notion that conjured up visions of pumpkin or apple pie in Autumn.

When I started on my journey to get closer to the source of where my food came from, I had no way to fathom the transformation that lay ahead. It’s been life-changing, let me tell you!

Seasonal and local eating has become one of the most important pieces of health advice that I can offer people. It’s central to everything I teach about food and nutrition. If you were to focus solely on this one idea, striving to eat seasonally, sourcing from local producers, it has the power to transform not only your health, but your lifestyle and mindset as well.

If you’re new to the idea, all this probably seems exaggerated or farfetched, however if you talk to anyone who has mastered seasonal eating (and in the interest of full transparency, it can take years of baby steps to get there), I assure you they’ll speak the same language.

There’s a beautiful metamorphosis that invariably takes place.

So, what’s all the fuss about? And why would you want to spend years expanding your awareness and honing your skills in this area?

The benefits of seasonal eating Let’s talk about some of the more immediate and tangible benefits of eating seasonally and locally. And remember, this process is more a rekindling of forgotten wisdom than a new trend.

Prior to the development of such efficient global transportation systems, eating this way was the norm!

1. Cost: There are huge savings to be had by

focusing on foods that are in season, right where you are. Think about it, there’s less transportation and storage in the equation because when food is in season, suppliers will generally be purchasing locally to save on their own costs.

There’s a huge mark-up on foods purchased out of season, often because they’re hauled in from a different state or country. With seasonal produce, the opposite is true and very there’s often a glut of certain fruit and vegetables that are marked down even further to move the produce. When you master the art of buying seasonal foods in bulk and transforming them in to jams and pickles to be eaten later, you can drastically reduce your food bill!

2. Nutrition: Seasonal produce is far, far superior from a nutritional standpoint for several key reasons. First, it naturally ripens in the sun rather than being picked prematurely. This alone results in a radically different nutritional profile. Secondly, freshness dictates the level of phytonutrients and antioxidant activity.

Vegetables like broccoli and kale, which I assume many of us are striving to consume solely for health reasons, have often lost around half of their antioxidants within two to three days of harvest, making the supermarket vegetables pretty worthless in terms of phytonutrients (most have been stored for three to six weeks and some are in cold storage for up to twelve months)!

3. Flavour: When you go to the store and pick up a nice orange out of season in the warmer months or a tomato in Winter, you often can’t see the difference, but you can certainly taste it. And flavour is one of the key indicators of freshness and therefore, nutrition. Your taste buds are genetically engineered to detect nutritional complexity.

4. Nutritional requirements: Trouble always abounds when we underestimate the sophisticated genius that is Mother Nature.

Eating seasonally is a great way to provide our bodies with optimal nutrition all year round – by design. Citrus, with its ample vitamin C, is the perfect fruit to be eating throughout flu season and Summer fruits like berries are packed with phytonutrients that specifically protect against sun damage.

5. Diversity and creativity: Another great perk of eating seasonally is that you often find yourself exposed to a wider selection of foods.

This tends to have you cooking out of your comfort zone and exposes you to dishes you may not have discovered otherwise. Long term, you learn so much about regional cuisines and have a much greater repertoire of recipes.

There are also significant health benefits to eating a diverse range of fresh produce, especially for those wanting to improve gut health.

6. Food miles: The average Australian food basket travels over 70,000 kilometres to reach us. Opting for seasonal, local produce is by far the most environmentally friendly way to eat. It’s not only less transport, but less storage and refrigeration, as well.

7. Community: Nothing beats the satisfaction of dealing directly with the people responsible for nourishing you – to know by name the people who grow your food. And it works both ways. By supporting local farmers, you also give them the opportunity to relate to the people they’re growing for. Having spoken to many small-scale farmers, this is without doubt the most rewarding part of their job!

Building community is extremely beneficial for mental health and general wellbeing – a missing link for many people, as loneliness is now a modern epidemic in our seemingly hyperconnected world. Truly connecting with other like-minded folk is one of the highlights of shopping directly at markets, co-ops and the farmgate.

8. Food system: There’s a huge social and economic impact on small-scale farmers when we opt for out of season produce shipped from afar. By choosing to buy predominantly from local farmers either directly, or via a market or co-op, we’re supporting local families and our local economy.

The industrial food system is riddled with flaws and idiosyncracies that negatively affect virtually every link in the chain. Many large-scale farmers who supply the big supermarkets are forced to take shortcuts at the expense of food quality and consumer health. Shopping locally is a way to create a more robust local food system which benefits the soil, the animals, the farmers and of course the consumers.

Having a thriving local food system requires a bit of a commitment to seasonal eating and most people have no idea where to start. Next week I’ll be expanding on some simple ideas to help get you started.

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WWW.COASTCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM.AU - COAST COMMUNITY CHRONICLE 24 February 2021

HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

New advocacy service to support people with intellectual disability Bateau Bay resident Ben Brown is one of two peer support workers involved with a new advocacy service to support people on the Central Coast with intellectual disability.

While the service operates from Gosford, it is looking for people with a disability from all over the Coast.

The not-for-profit organisation, Self Advocacy, has been helping Sydney people with a disability speak up for themselves and support one another in Sydney since 1986.

It has spread its services, first to the Blue Mountains, and now to the Central Coast, with two programs on offer, Peer Support and New Leaders.

Brown, who himself suffers from cerebral palsy and associated disabilities, has worked at Self Advocacy for

three months and has been a part of both the Peer Support and New Leaders programs for five months.

He is an active member of Rotary Social Impact Network e-club and is an Honorary Member of the Rotary Club of Terrigal.

He has also been involved on a voluntary basis with Central Coast Rotaract and Bateau Bay PCYC. His fellow support worker, qualified high school teacher, Yvonne Berry-Porter, has a Cert IV in training and assessment, along with teaching and tutoring experience and previous work in the social sector, and says her skills complement those of Brown.

“The services are completely free to people with a disability and are aimed at helping them realise that disability does not disqualify them from living the

best life that they can live,” Berry-Porter said.

“The Peer Support program provides topical discussion sessions led by the participants themselves.”

Brown said the sessions provided a safe space where participants can feel free to speak in an environment where they feel supported by others with similar issues.

“We can offer support from Gosford or in the community near people with disability,” he said.

“As a local with a disability myself, these programs have been of tremendous personal benefit.

“They have improved my confidence and independence.

“We like to think that we offer more than just training as our programs are ongoing and the focus is on long-term support.

“We encourage people who

New Family Connect and Support program on offer A new Family Connect and Support program is being offered by The Benevolent Society with improved early intervention support and practical assistance to prevent family issues from escalating.

The Benevolent Society has centres at The Entrance, Kanwal and Gosford, where families can receive a range of practical assistance, advice and information to help them break the cycle of disadvantage and provide a safe home for children.

It also involves increased outreach to schools and hospitals with a focus on Aboriginal families, children aged up to five years old, families with children and young people affected by mental illness.

The Benevolent Society’s Manager of Child, Youth and Family Services, Melissa

Parliamentary Secretary for Central Coast, Adam Crouch, with staff at The Benevolent Society

Brown, said bushfires, floods and COVID-19 had added to the complexity of family life.

“The Family Connect and Support program has been modelled on the Family Referral Service which we have delivered to the region for 12 years,” she said.

“We are excited about bringing new elements of support to families on the Coast via the new program which includes family group conferencing to bring family members together with one of our impartial facilitators to decide and plan for the safety

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and wellbeing of their children.

“We focus on early intervention, providing support as soon as challenges are presenting to stop them from escalating to a crisis point.

“We encourage families needing extra support to call our experienced team to access the support and assistance they need,” Brown said.

NSW Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services, Gareth Ward, said the program aligned with the Government’s commitment to reduce the number of children and young people entering outof-home care.

“The new program streamlines existing services and support with the aim of helping families to build better relationships, improve general health and wellbeing and to live independently in secure housing,” Ward said.

Sue Murray

are part of our programs to reach out and help each other, strengthening connection in their local community and giving them a voice of their own.”

Video conferencing will also play a big part in the programs, for the benefit of people who have trouble travelling or are isolating because of COVID-19.

“These sessions aim to enable people with a disability to become advocates not just for themselves, but for others in the community,” she said.

“They will help them develop an action plan and give them guidance on such subjects as good leadership, planning, team-leading and people skills.

Self Advocacy is completely free to people with disability and funded through the Department of Social Services.

Terry Collins

Self Advocacy support officers Ben Brown and Yvonne Berry-Porter

EDUCATION & SCIENCE

Page 34

24 February 2021

COAST COMMUNITY CHRONICLE - WWW.COASTCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM.AU

Funds raised from The Entrance Lions Sunday market support local schools The Entrance Public School and Tuggerah Lakes Secondary College have shared $8,000 from the Lions Club of The Entrance for a range of academic programs.

For 64 years, the club has supported young people through a range of educational programs, made possible by funds raised from The Entrance Lions Sunday market.

Club Treasurer, Bob Dunne, said Lions was an organisation committed to, among other things, the five major areas of disaster relief, medical research, helping the environment, community and youth projects.

“Our club ensures that money is given to all those five key areas but is always mindful that the community and youth of The Entrance area are our first priority,” he said.

“It does this by funding The Entrance Public School for its School Book Reading Program, its Public Speaking program and providing student academic scholarships.

“The Lions Club also helps Tuggerah Lakes Secondary

Kayleigh and Michelle in Year 5 at The Entrance Public School

College by funding student scholarships at both Tumbi Umbi Campus and Berkeley Vale Campus, four ongoing university scholarships for students from the senior campus at The Entrance as well as sports scholarships.

“We also contribute to The Entrance Senior Campus Leadership Program through the Lions Youth Exchange Program and Lions Youth of The Year Program.

“All of these programs are ongoing,” Dunne said.

Principal of The Entrance Public School, Dave Stitt, said that for more than six years, the Lions Club has supported the school by donating funds to purchase books.

“Over 1,000 children have received over 2,000 books in

that time,” he said.

“Often these children have not had the opportunity to have their own books inside their homes and the joy and happiness the children show when they receive their book is amazing.

“It is wonderful to see that once every child gets their own book, they return to class and immediately want to read.

“Reading is knowledge and knowledge is power,” Stitt said. “’It is nice how they give the books because some books are expensive,” said Year 5 pupil, Michelle.

“It is good for our brains to read different books.”

Another Year 5 student, Kayleigh, said they all appreciated getting the books.

“It is good how they give children free books because some children cannot afford books,” she said.

“You can choose your own books and it is interesting to see all of the different books.”

Principal Stitt said results at the school had been improving year on year.

Although he believed that many things contributed to this, the link with the Lions Club of The Entrance and the programs they assisted with, went a long way to helping the school support their students.

Source: Media release, Feb 17 Lions Club of The Entrance

More places and more courses available at Ourimbah campus More places are set to open up at Newcastle University’s Ourimbah campus with the Federal Government providing new funding.

The university will receive $15.3M this year to deliver student places and $9.9M to

deliver short courses.

Minister for Education and Youth, Alan Tudge, said the additional funding built on the Government’s significant reductions to the cost of study in priority areas.

“We’ve created up to 30,000 additional university places for

Australian students through our budget funding and Jobready Graduates package,” he said.

“There are more university places for Australians to study in areas like teaching, engineering, health, languages and agriculture, and we are also making it cheaper to study

those subjects.

“The cost of studying teaching and nursing is 42 percent less under the Job-ready Graduates package.”

The Ourimbah campus will share in $25M over four years and having more students studying at the university will

help boost local jobs and businesses, said Member for Robertson, Lucy Wicks.

University of Newcastle Vice Chancellor, Professor Alex Zelinsky, welcomed the announcement.

“The additional places provide the perfect opportunity

for our Central Coast students to develop the relevant skills for a career in industries that already exist on the Coast,” he said.

Source: Media release, Feb 2 Member for Robertson, Lucy Wicks

Take 3 for the Sea youth leadership program available Wyong High School is one of the first schools in NSW to show interest in a youth leadership program run by Take 3 for the Sea. The free program aims to develop young people into

passionate, educated and selfdetermined young leaders who have the tools and knowledge they need to spark environmental change.

“The core idea behind the program is to encourage young

people to be involved and engaged in awareness of the issue of plastic pollution, and through the course of the program, they are encouraged to invent, innovate and campaign for change,” said

Newspapers

Take 3 CEO, Sarah Beard.

It is an extension of the online learning program and will be open to high school students to attend eight inspirational weekly workshops with Take 3 for the Sea education staff and

mentors.

Two high school youth leadership courses are on offer, one in term two and the other in term three.

Following significant interest from primary schools, a

leadership program is also being created for class teachers to deliver to select students in Years 5 and 6 during term three.

Sue Murray

Central Coast

CCN

WWW.COASTCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM.AU

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EDUCATION & SCIENCE

Supporting youth through the pandemic With the Covid pandemic came challenges for our youth and as schools start up again for 2021, many are hoping the year will be a little less disruptive.

One of those optimistic about this school year is Central Coast Council of P&Cs President, Sharryn Brownlee, who said that schools were now more equipped to deal with the struggles of the pandemic.

“I think schools are in a much better position this year to look after students from an online learning platform and around the disruption at home with family and work,” Brownlee said.

“There is a deeper understanding of the impact of COVID-19 and the fear it has in the community and families.

“Schools are better placed now; there is more training in place for them, and there is better mental health first aid through schools as mandatory training, so that will help teachers identify children that are frightened or worried.”

According to Mission Australia’s 2020 annual Youth Survey of 25,800 young people aged 15 to 19, COVID-19 and mental health were in the top three concerns of young

Helen Isenhour

people.

Almost 40 percent of those concerned about COVID-19 said that their biggest worry was on the pandemic’s impact on education.

Brownlee said the biggest concern she has for this year’s academic year is how schools will monitor at-home online learning.

“What we are concerned about is the inequality between the digital and in-school learning platforms, and if we go into another situation, we want to make sure that children are not left behind, such as those students who don’t have access to the internet or a quiet place to study,” she said.

Brownlee said schools

needed to try and not put too much pressure on families at home.

“Schools are a place for learning and schools need to take responsibility for that burden and not push too much back home to the families,” she said.

A disturbance in education has not been the only issue to

5@5

come out of the pandemic.

Headspace Lake Haven and Gosford Manager, Helen Isenhour, said anxiety and depression were still the top presenting needs for young people, however, loneliness has been an increasing concern.

“Now you have things like

loneliness that are creeping in, which had never even touched the sides before,” Isenhour said.

“Generally, it has often been quoted that young people are among some of the most affected people, because of the disruption in education, poignant issues that have arisen out of Covid and also social isolation.

“Also, I think a lot of young people also see the future quite differently and are quite unsure about the future.

“There have been constant changes which are out of their control, and they have high volumes of information coming at them, which can change daily or numerous times a day.

“The other thing that I have noticed is a lot of young people generally are starting to feel that this world is fairly unpredictable.

“On top of other things which are happening around the world, the world is starting to feel quite unsafe.”

Isenhour said it was important for young people to stay connected with friends and a support network, sleep well, eat well, have a routine and get out and about.

Jacinta Counihan

CCN

WEEKLY NEWS BRIEF

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CENTRAL COAST NEWSPAPERS has a very liberal credit policy

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However, some people, businesses and organisations take advantage of this generosity they use advertising but simply don’t pay their account after several months and need to be taken to court to do so. From time to time, as necessary, we will name these people, businesses or organisations as a warning to our readers so that they will be wary when dealing with them.

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SPORT

Wamberal Express Boardriders Tag Team Classic held BOARDRIDING The Wamberal Express Boardriders took to the surf at their home beach on Saturday, February 20, for their annual Tag Team Classic.

In a unique format, the Tag Team Classic groups competitors from the Boardriders’ different divisions into teams of five surfers with wave scores combining over hour-long heats that progress up to a final.

With an unusually high number of competitors and time per round, the format intends to provide unique challenges, including time management and a restricted wave count.

The swells aligned to form strong left-hand waves, producing infamous conditions at the break known as the ‘Wamberal Express’.

Competitors performed in the hollow surf with an exciting combination of both tube riding and high-performance manoeuvres.

Competitors at the Wamberal Express Boardriders Tag Team Classic

A stand-out, individual performance was conducted by local surfboard shaper, Jai Baker, who scored highly with a combination of tube riding and carving manoeuvres.

His team, ‘The Meat’, advanced up to the semi-final,

wherein Baker was unable to finish off a thrilling ride, losing control in the barrel.

Renowned local tube aficionado, Peter ‘the Huntsman’ Hayse, was also a standout, performing a critical floater to produce the highest

scoring wave of the event, bringing his team, ‘Hayze’s Hedges and Edges’ to victory against ‘The Red Devils’ in the final.

“The older guys came up with a good strategy,” said Immogen Balfour on her team’s final

winning performance.

“We made sure that we didn’t get too ahead of ourselves and finished our waves.”

Alongside giving surfers the opportunity to cement themselves in the local folklore of the ever-growing club, as

well as earn prizes supplied by local surf shops, Ocean Haus and Slimes Boardstore, the competition is also used as training for external events.

The Boardriders have a history of success in inter-club competitions which use similar formats, such as their qualifying for the 2017 Surftag National Titles.

“It’s about giving the kids a different spin on competition and gives them good experience if they want to start surfing in external contests like state titles or pro-juniors,” said event organizer, Daniel Ross.

“It’s good preparation and development and gives them a path to getting involved in regular contests as well as giving them a different idea of competing.”

Source: Media Release, Kieran O’Doherty, Wamberal Express Boardriders

Sand Crabs’ 2021 squad selected

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Central Coast Surf Life Saving has selected their 2021 Representative team to face off against the other regions of NSW in the Interbranch Championships, to be held at Shelly Beach in late March.

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In captaincy, Opens’ competitors, Ella Beere from Avoca and Hayden Smith from Terrigal will both bring many years of experience in surf lifesaving to their team.

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“It's an honour and a privilege to have been selected for this year's Central Coast Interbranch team, a.k.a. the Sand Crabs,” said Beere.

“We have always had a special culture and it will be rewarding to get to lead such a talented and energetic group of young athletes.”

Smith also commented on the honour of representing his home after 32 years as a lifesaver.

“To be a captain for the team is a huge honour and I'm looking forward to giving my best efforts not only in the competition but in my leadership of the team.”

In the Under 14’s, Bree Josling of Avoca and Jacob Falconner of Ocean Beach will represent the junior divisions as captains and both commented on what they hope to bring to the role.

“Being provided the opportunity to encourage and mentor our younger athletes is an amazing opportunity,” said Bree.

“I am looking forward to giving 100% and encouraging my teammates to do their very best and have a ton of fun!”

Jacob also took note of the importance of mentorship in his role as captain and of his excitement ahead of March.

“The weekend of competition will be intense but I'm looking forward to it and excited to be competing on Coast sand at Shelly Beach.

“It will be a top way to end a

very different surf season.”

As well as showing years of experience, the team includes some new rising stars eager for their success at the regional level to lead into further success in the State competition.

Chelsea Barry of the Lakes, North Entrance’s Bodi Bone and Shelly Beach’s Tahlia Goy will all make their Interbranch debuts in the Under 12’s and have a lot more talented athletes to look up to.

Just above them isWamberal’s Matilda Lisle in the Under 13’s, who is looking forward to competing in the water events for her second year in a row.

The Sand Crabs will seek to be strong in the team events with Wamberal Under 15’s Noah Nakagawa making his third appearance at the Interbranch and setting his sights on the Taplin relay.

Also in the Under 15’s, second time rep team member, Lizzy Sheerer of Shelly Beach will seek to add to her State medal collection which she launched in last year’s Interbranch as well as in the individual NSW State finals where she earned third place in the board race.

Also from Shelly Beach is Bryan Gaha,who has dominated in the Under 19’s age group this season and will now step up to compete in the Opens.

For Assistant Beach Coach, David Smith of Shelly Beach, the Interbranch represents a great opportunity to showcase

both the talent of the Northern Central Coast region surf lifesaving clubs and the quality of his home club who will host the event.

“Shelly Beach has had a tremendous season in competition this season and this has been rewarded with five participants included in the squad, the largest number in memory.

“We've had a brief training session where our sand team showed great promise.

“Last year, the interbranch squad gained a record number of points in the sand events and we believe this team is up to the task of keeping up the trend.”

With the Interbranch scheduled for March 27-28, the team have added one more training session a week to their already busy surf club schedules, which they will use to concentrate on developing their co-ordination in the team events.

The first of these was on Saturday, February 20, at Shelly Beach.

With one month to go before the Interbranch begins, the team will have ample time to come together, develop their skills and make the most of their enjoyment for surf lifesaving sports.

Source: Media releases, Feb 15-22 February Surf Life Saving Central Coast Haakon Barry

SPORT

Page 38

24 February 2021

COAST COMMUNITY CHRONICLE - WWW.COASTCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM.AU

Roosters suffer first defeat this season RUGBY LEAGUE Round Three of the Harold Matthews Cup has brought with it the first defeat this season for the Under 17’s Central Coast Roosters in a bitterly close contest against the Western Suburbs Magpies, 14-12.

The game was played at Campbelltown Sports Stadium on Saturday, February 20, where the league’s two top teams on the table competed for 60 minutes of playing time, with the travelling Roosters unfortunate to come away without a draw.

An inspired come back by the Roosters levelled out their opposition’s early 12 point lead, before a successful 56th minute penalty shot gave a winning two-point lead to the Magpies.

In the warm and humid conditions, the Roosters found

themselves behind by three unconverted tries by the end of the first 20 minutes.

The turn-around began shortly after, off the labour of The Entrance Tigers halves duo, Ethan Strange and Hayden Ritchie, when Ritchie split open the Magpie defence and fed Strange in for the try.

Less than four minutes later, former Queensland U15’s rep player, Robert Toia, scored the second try for the Roosters when he finished off a spread right to score in the south eastern corner.

Two successful conversions

by Ritchie levelled up the score so that the teams entered the sheds at half time at 12-12.

The second half was an exerting tussle with neither tram giving much more than an inch, both intent on remaining perched upon the competition ladder’s lofty rungs.

Play ebbed and flowed as the Magpies and Roosters strove for an advantage.

The game was ultimately decided by a Magpie penalty goal, converted by Faaletino Tavana, with five minutes remaining on the clock.

The plucky Roosters were best served by light stepping five eight, Hayden Ritchie, who was easily the most dangerous attacking player on the park.

Despite their best efforts, the loss has seen the Central Coast Roosters slip to fifth in the standings with a big clash against seventh placed Sydney Roosters now becoming the centre of the team’s focus.

This game will be played on Saturday, February 27, at Morrie Breen Oval, Kanwal.

Source: Media Release, Andrew Stark, Magpie Memoir Magazine

Mariners defeated by three penalties FOOTBALL The A-League perpetuated a legacy of VAR-dictated results and rewarded dives in a farcical game between the Central Coast Mariners and Adelaide United at Hindmarsh Stadium.

After being dominated by the Mariners throughout much of the game, Adelaide was gifted a 3-2 win despite having just one clear shot on goal in the whole match.

All three Adelaide goals were penalties.

The first two came from what appeared to be dives by United players, while the third came via an intervention by the VAR for a hand ball in the 80th minute after a United player struck the ball into Kye Rowles at point blank range inside the box.

At the time, the Mariners were about to take a free kick of their own at the other end of the field after Kuol was deliberately fouled in front of

goal.

The loss brings the Mariners’ three game winning streak to an end.

Despite their poor form this year, Adelaide went into the game having lost only one of their last 10 A-League games against the Mariners.

For Mariners’ defender, Jack Clisby, the game also had special significance, being his 150th game for the Central Coast.

In the 15th minute, the lead came to the Mariners off the back of a defensive mishap by Jordan Elsey, with a soft back pass to the keeper that gifted Daniel De Silva a one-on-one single touch shot at goal.

Delianov tried desperately to close the space, but the sleight, outside-foot touch by De Silva spun the ball on its axis and curled it slowly into the net.

The next big game moment came in the 32nd minute, with a penalty against Mariners’ defender, Ruon Tongyik, after an apparent dive by an Adelaide

FORT DENISON

Times are in local standard time (UTC +10:00) or daylight savings time (UTC +11:00) when in effect.

player.

The penalty was upheld after a VAR check.

Adelaide’s Tomi Juric stood up to do the damage and slid the ball into the bottom corner.

The Mariners had two more shots on goal prior to half time, including one near miss by Mariners’ captain, Oliver Bozanic.

The second half continued in similar fashion, with Adelaide growing in confidence, but most of the chances at goal were coming from the Mariners.

A yellow card for Stefan Nigro in the 62nd minute was immediately preceded by the Mariners’ scoring their second goal.

It was a goal no ordinary human being had a right to score.

But super-sub Kuol is no ordinary human being.

After Matt Simon caught the hosts napping and fired a throw-in to Kuol advancing into the box, the star striker was immediately challenged by

Elsey on his inside, with Delianov looking to have the narrow goal opening well and truly covered.

But the magic right boot of Kuol curled the ball around Elsey, past the glove of Delianov, grazed the inside of the post and nestled it safely into the back of the net.

The goal brought Kuol back to the top of the A-League goal scoring tally this season with six.

The hosts rallied however and it was Adelaide Captain, Stefan Mauk, who earning United’s second penalty, once again seeming to have come down without contact in the box.

Once again, the VAR bizarrely upheld the decision, suggesting the players’ arms had momentarily crossed.

Juric then made the Mariners pay, sending Birighitti the wrong way before netting the ball in the back right corner.

In the 78th minute, a kerfuffle of swinging legs (and arms as it turns out) was seen in the

TIDE CHART

Mariners’ defensive box as Adelaide peppered the goal.

Upon clearing the ball, Kuol broke free at the other end, ending in a free kick after a reckless challenge by United’s, George Timotheou.

But the visitors didn’t get a chance to capitalise.

For the third time, and some two minutes after the event, a VAR check resulted in Adelaide being awarded their third penalty back at the other end of the field.

The video showed the ball catching Kye Rowles’ hand at point blank range off a strike by Paciifique Niyongabire.

International football rules state that, even if a handball is not deliberate, it is still a penalty if the player has raised their arm to make their “playing silhouette” larger.

The rules also say however, that if a player is falling and the ball touches their hand/arm but it has not been extended to make their silhouette larger, it is not an offence.

While angles can be deceptive, slow motion replays suggest Rowles’ hand was in front of his own face.

For the third time, Juric found the back of the net to give Adelaide their first lead of the night with five minutes left.

Deep in penalty time, the Mariners created a final opportunity to equalise with a missed header by Bozanic directly in front.

Even keeper Birighitti left his goal to join his team-mates in attack for the final minute, but to no avail.

Referee, Daniel Elder, signed off his night by awarding a red card to Kye Rowles for some ill-conceived words after the whistle.

The Mariners were left bemused after another highquality performance.

Rowles will miss the Mariners’ next match against Perth Glory, scheduled at HBF Park on Tuesday, 2nd March.

Ross Barry

LAT 33° 51’ S - LONG 151° 14’ E - TIME ZONE - 1000

24

25

26

27

28

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Times and Heights(m) of high and low waters

0030 0.66 0117 0.58 0247 0.42 0332 0.36 0511 0.34 0202 0.50 0420 0.33 0700 1.64 0745 1.74 0829 1.83 0912 1.90 0955 1.92 1040 1.89 1126 1.81 WED 1348 0.48 THU 1429 0.39 FRI 1507 0.30 SAT 1545 0.25 SUN 1623 0.22 MON 1703 0.23 TUE 1744 0.28 1945 1.29 2025 1.37 2145 1.53 2228 1.60 2357 1.68 2105 1.45 2311 1.65 0112 1.51 0205 1.53 0305 1.56 0410 1.60 0516 1.66 0621 1.73 0042 0.55 0708 0.51 0812 0.56 0926 0.59 1048 0.57 1208 0.51 1315 0.43 0719 1.80 WED 1318 1.62 THU 1415 1.47 FRI 1522 1.34 SAT 1642 1.26 SUN 1801 1.25 MON 1909 1.28 TUE 1410 0.35 1942 0.40 2233 0.58 2004 1.33 2032 0.47 2130 0.54 2340 0.58

APPROX. TIME LAG AFTER FORT DENISON Ettalong 40 min, Rip Bridge 2hrs - Wisemans Ferry 2 hrs 30 min, Koolewong 2 hrs 10 min

In view of the variations caused by local conditions and meteorological effects, these times are approximate and must be considered as a guide only. They are not to be relied on for critical depth calculations for safe navigation. Actual times of High and Low Water may occur before or after the times indicated

Page 39

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SPORT

Molly Picklum wins her first World Surf League pro series

Molly Picklum (blue rash-top) accepting her winner’s trophy alongside runner-up, Sophie McCulloch.

SURFING The first event in the World Surf League’s (WSL) 2021 Vissla NSW Pro Surf Series came to its conclusion on Friday, February 19, with Shelly Beach resident and newly risen young gun, Molly Picklum, taking out first place.

The Great Lakes Pro was the first Qualifying Series (QS) 1000 rated event in the Vissla series, and was hosted at Boomerang Beach over four days, beginning on Tuesday, February 16, with a round of 56 in the women’s division and a round of 120 in the men’s.

Throughout a week of wind, rain and a location change to Tuncurry Breakwall on Day Three,the women’s competition came down to Picklum and Sunshine Coast’s, Sophie

CCN

McCulloch.

Reaching this point took no easy measure on the part of Molly, who sliced through the Round of 32 with a winning wave in the last five seconds of the matchup.

“Surfing heats are always more stressful when conditions are like this,” Picklum said.

“There’s no one spot to sit, or waves to look for, so there’s a lot of luck involved.

“I just paddled in to find a reform and ended up getting that last one at the end.”

From here, Picklum had another close encounter in the Round of 16, where surfer, India Robinson’s, final 6.70 point wave placed her only 0.

80 behind, but it was Molly who proceeded to Heat Three of the Quarterfinals.

In the Quarter and Semi

Finals, it was Picklum, along with McCulloch, who scored the highest totals, leading everyone to expect heavy competition for the Grand Final.

Throughout this 30 minute final, Picklum was able to hold her early lead with a 7.75 opener until her second biggest wave, a 7.25 pointer around the half-way mark, shot her up to an unbeaten 15 points.

In the end, her win was convincing, with a 5.9 point lead over McCulloch’s 9.10.

“This feels amazing and something I’ll remember forever,” Picklum reported at the end of the contest.

“I’ve been dreaming of taking out a QS event since finishing runner-up in the Maroubra QS in 2018 and to win this feels like I’ve achieved a personal goal.

“I’ve been staying here with my coach Micro [Glenn Hall] and working really hard on my strategies and heat game plan while I’ve been here, and it really helped having him here alongside me.

“I can’t wait for the rest of the series over the coming weeks.”

In the Men’s division, Reef Heazlewood placed first in the final against Jordan Lawler after a convincing run throughout the whole series.

In the Round of 64, Heazlewood came up against Bateau Bay local, Joel Vaughan, wherein these two moved through to the next round with respective scores of 14.66 and 10.87.

Vaughan maintained a strong bout of momentum into the Round of 32 with a score of 16.46 that was launched by a

near-perfect 9.43 first wave score.

Next, in the Round of 16, Vaughan was eliminated in his second match up against Heazlewood, as well as Matt Banting, who both topped his 13.87 score with a 17.36 and 16.46.

“My game plan was to just find a wave that had a steep section on it,” said Vaughan.

“My goal in this event was just to continue to improve on my comp surfing and just focus on my own surfing.”

For Picklum, the win did not affect her qualification for the upcoming Challenger Series, which she already earned her place due to her performances in 2020.

The Challenger Series is itself a qualifying event for the top echelon Championship Tour,

where the world’s best surfers compete for the World Title.

Nonetheless, Picklum expressed her excitement at taking out her first ever WSL QS 1,000 event win.

Picklum will have more opportunities to increase her competition experience over the next couple of weeks as the Vissla Series travels along the NSW coast.

The Port Stephens Pro was held from Sunday to Tuesday, February 21 – 23, with the Mad Mex Maroubra Pro scheduled for Friday to Sunday, February 26 – 28, and the Series conclusion, the Central Coast Pro, scheduled for Avoca Beach, from Tuesday to Sunday, March 2 – 7.

Source: Media Releases, Feb 16-19 WSL Surfing NSW

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SPORT

Page 40

24 February 2021

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Charlie Hunter breaks two senior National track records

ATHLETICS FIELD

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TRACK

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Central Coast Grammar School 2014 graduate, Charlie Hunter, is setting new heights for Australian middle distance running in the US, where over the past month, he has set three new Australian records.

Running for the University of Oregon track team as part of his college scholarship, the 24 year old caught global attention at the Razorback Invitational, hosted by the University of Arkansas at the Randal Tyson Track Center, when he broke his first Australian record in winning the indoor 1 mile.

His 3:54:54 run shaved 0.23 seconds off the previous record that was set by Mark Fountain in 2005.

Two weeks later, Hunter

CCN

competed at the Tyson Invitational, also held at the Randal Tyson Track, where he re-broke his previously set record by more than a second, shaving it down to 3:53.49.

Less than 24 hours later, Hunter broke his third record, this time in the indoor 800m, running a winning time of 1:45.59.

For Hunter, growing up on the Central Coast has been integral in developing his athletic prowess, ever since he began with Terrigal Wamberal Little Athletics from age nine.

“I was always very athletically motivated, growing up in a very athletic house,” said Hunter.

“I grew up near the beach so surfing was always a big part of my upbringing, as was soccer, rugby, triathlons and cross-country.”

Charlie Hunter next to his record breaking 800m time

At age 14, Hunter was competing at the state and national level, culminating years later in winning the Australian U20 1,500m title and gaining selection in the Australian team for the International Association of Athletics Federation’s (IAAF) World Cross Country Championships in 2015.

In March 2018, Hunter left Australia to start his Business Administration Degree and run with the track team at the University of Oregon.

Since then, he has pushed himself to reach new heights, setting his sights on the highest level of world competition.

“In the lead up to the Razorback Invitational, I thought I had a really good shot at breaking the Australian record and I was elated with my end result” Hunter said.

“Two weeks layer at the Tyson Invitational, I had put even higher expectations on myself for the 1 mile.

“I knew that if I ran my hardest and left it all on the track, I would probably be rewarded with another Australian record, and that’s all she wrote!

“However, winning the 800m the following day was a bit of a surprise.

“I went into the Tyson meet to run the mile and the 800m was more of a consolation prize that the Oregon team were going to run as training.

“I was exhausted after the mile, they had to scrape me off the track!

“The night of the mile I felt terrible, but in a call home, my dad was adamant that I should run the 800m, so in the end I decided to give it a red hot

crack.

“The plan was to sit in and be competitive towards the end of the race and it turned out to be an almost perfect run.

“I sat in, made a strong move with my team mate at the end, and it felt fantastic.

“It was night and day compared to the race the night before.

“I was shocked when I saw the time, although I wish I knew I was running so quick because as it turned out I missed the Olympic standard by about 0.2 of a second.

“Nonetheless, I think there’s definitely potential for me there in the future.”

Moving forward, Hunter is adamant about matching his efforts in the 1 mile in the 800m, and is looking to the upcoming National Collegiate

Athletic Association’s (NCAA) Athletics Indoor Championships on March 11-13, where he will again represent the University of Oregon.

“First and foremost, my goal is to win the 800m and Distance Medley Relay (DMR), and put some fast times up.

“Long term, my goal is to chase these quick times and see if I can get selected for the Olympic squad,” concluded Hunter.

With the immediate future of the Olympics still shrouded in uncertainty due to the Coronavirus pandemic, here is one athlete preparing himself in all the right ways for the resumption of international sporting competition.

Source: Interview with Charlie Hunter, Feb 19

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