9 JUNE 2021
ISSUE 242
REAL INDEPENDENT LOCAL WEEKLY NEWS
Harvest Festival to be held over the June long weekend
News
The NSW Government will provide $29,931 to undertake maintenance and plumbing work at the 80-year-old Dooralong Hall, located near Jilliby. See page 6
Business
With nine major events planned across the 2021-22 event calendar, businesses are being invited to be involved and partner with Central Coast Council. See page 18
Foodies, families and fun seekers will be flocking to the Central Coast hinterland over the June long weekend for the return of one of the Coast’s most popular annual events, Harvest Festival.
Health
See page 17
Erosion work ineligible for funding as state government did not certify plan With Central Coast Council still footing a bill of almost $1.9M for erosion mitigation works at The Entrance North and Wamberal, NSW Labor is demanding that the State Government explain why it has short changed councils desperate to fix and improve waterways. Labor says that a $72.7M funding pool was allocated to provide grants under the Coastal and Estuary Grant Program from 2016/17 through to 2020/21, but a Freedom of Information request has revealed that just over $38M was allocated, with the funding period set to expire at the end
of June. The data also revealed that almost 250 funding applications had been lodged, and a quarter of those were rejected, including applications from Central Coast Council. Shadow Minister for Local Government, Greg Warren, said that he couldn’t understand why the government had denied funding to communities that had been impacted by erosion and other serious waterway issues. “Councils like Central Coast and Newcastle have had to beg for funding relief to assist communities that were severely affected by erosion,” he said.
“It beggars belief that funding was there to help these communities yet the government did everything it could to avoid handing over the money. “The Minister for Local Government needs to explain why so many councils have been denied vital funding.” Shadow Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Kate Washington, said the state had coastlines washing away. “We have houses hanging from cliffs, and councils are desperate for more resources,” she said. “The Government has already committed this funding.
“They’ve made the announcement, they’ve asked for the kudos, but then they refuse to spend the money. “The problem hasn’t gone away, if anything, it’s getting worse. “These communities deserve the money they’ve been promised.” A Central Coast Council spokesperson confirmed that Council was required to complete emergency works at The Entrance North and Wamberal beaches at a total cost of $2.9M following severe storms in July 2020, under the direction of the Local Emergency Operations Controller (LEOCON), appointed
by the NSW Government. “As per advice, Council sought reimbursement of costs through the NSW Coast and Estuary Grant program and had submitted grant applications for both The Entrance North and Wamberal, seeking 50 percent reimbursement (the maximum available) in October 2020,” the spokesperson said. “In November 2020, Council received notification that the grant application for Wamberal had been successful with up to $992,501 of funding made available, however, the application for The Entrance North had been unsuccessful.
A strong community of family and friends is rallying around Sarah and James Tarasenko of Chittaway Bay who have a seriously ill newborn baby. See page 33
Sport
The Central Coast Mariners have secured a third place finish and home Elimination Round Final after a thrilling 2-0 win over Western United at Central Coast Stadium on Saturday, June 5. See page 39
Continued page 4
Puzzles page 23
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