13 DECEMBER 2019
ISSUE 223
YOUR REAL INDEPENDENT WEEKLY LOCAL NEWS
Fire fighters brace for next heatwave Rural Fire Service (RFS) firefighters will take advantage of cooler weather conditions over the next few days to conduct back burns in an effort to contain the Three Mile fire, ahead of another wave of heat expected from Sunday, December 15. An RFS spokesperson said on Thursday, December 12, that crews were collaborating with Lower Hunter firefighters on a huge back burn near Bucketty and Kulnura as they attempted to hold the blaze at bay. “Residents at the northern end of the Three Mile fire zone can expect to see a lot of smoke and fire in coming days, but this will be from the backburn,” the spokesperson said. Wednesday and Thursday this week saw fire activity ease across the entire fireground, following a horror day on Tuesday, when searing temperatures and strong winds saw homes in the Spencer and Mangrove Mountain areas under threat. “Our plan is to make the most of the favourable conditions while they last and strengthen those containment lines,” the RFS spokesperson said. “With active fire edges still having the potential to spread, we will be concentrating on safeguarding valuable assets.” The spokesperson said firefighters were exhausted, but motivated to protect life and property and to get the situation to a “manageable
Business
A new Gosford CBD Heritage Strategy, adopted by Central Coast Council at its meeting on December 9, will draw on the city’s industrial past and Aboriginal culture, using heritage interpretation, to change the perception of the CBD for residents and visitors. See Page 13
Editorial The fire reached the Raines' Mangrove Mountain property but did not threaten their house. Photo: Elaine Raines
level”. Tuesday saw some tense moments for Coast residents as firefighters expanded their operations following a huge weekend effort to control blazes in the Wollombi and Laguna areas. Robyn Downham of Spencer fled the scene on Tuesday to spend time with friends at Avoca, leaving partner, Mark Hudson, to protect the couple’s property. “It wasn’t as much the fire threat as the emotion which got to me,” Downham said. “I had a bit of a meltdown. “The situation has been horrendous since October, but we have a wonderful community and we all did
everything we could to prepare for the fires. “We are so grateful for the newly finished public wharf and for the wonderful firefighters. “We have seen brigades come to help from far and wide. “We would like to see politicians at all levels do a little more.” Hudson said fires came as close as 10 metres to the couple’s property. “I woke at 3am to see flames to the rear of the property, and a neighbour and I watched the fire approach as we armed ourselves with buckets and so on,” he said. “But the firefighters arrived
before noon and I was very confident when they came with their tankers. “We have a lot of lantana near the property and they set up a backburn but when the wind came up it was a very tense time.” Hudson said firefighters did an amazing job and although embers could still be seen that night, by the next day, they had burnt themselves out. “We’re still on alert and have concerns about running out of drinking water,” he said. Elaine Raines of Mangrove Mountain was relieved to be breathing fresh air on Thursday, after some tense times earlier in the week which saw fires encroach onto the family
property. “It’s nice to have a bit of a break, we’ve had some really tough days,” she said. “We had some fire on the property, but it didn’t come near the buildings or sheds. “While we were prepared and ready to defend our house, sheds and livestock, the wind that was forecast didn’t come, so lit embers didn’t appear. “We just had burnt leaves and ash and we were very grateful.” Even so, the community remains on alert as neighbours work as a team. “To date we have been able to defend our property and we’re hopeful the fire will infill,” Raines said. Continued P3
When would be a good time to talk about climate change? “Climate change isn’t just an “issue” to add to the list of things to worry about like power bills or taxes. It is a civilization wake-up call, a powerful message spoken in the language of fires, floods, drought and extinction, telling us we need a new economic model – telling us we need to evolve.” Naomi Klein, 2014 See Page 12
Extraordinary Council Meeting called over water restrictions Sport Central Coast Councillor Greg Best’s push for tighter water restrictions in the region escalated this week, with an Extraordinary Council Meeting to be held on December 16 to consider his rescission motion on the issue, which was deferred at the December 9 meeting until midFebruary.
Councillor Greg Best is pushing for tighter water restrictions
Cr Best has been advocating for months that the region should skip straight to Level 2 restrictions when Mangrove
Creek Dam reaches the trigger point of 50% capacity, bypassing the more lenient Level One. With the level sitting at 53.3% on December 9, the trigger point could well be reached by mid to late summer. His Water Security Emergency motion called on councillors to abandon their previous resolution to refer the matter to the Water Management Advisory Committee and opt instead to introduce the tighter restrictions, but it was deferred to the first meeting of 2020
when Mayor, Lisa Matthews, closed the December 9 meeting after midnight. Cr Best says a decision on the matter cannot wait until February and lodged a request under the Code of Meeting Practice for an extraordinary meeting, with support from Councillors Jilly Pilon, Bruce McLachlan and Troy Marquart. Council has confirmed that a meeting has been called for 5pm on December 16 at Wyong Council Chambers. “I believe this Council is treating the drinking water
issue with contempt,” Cr Best said. “We must take a more responsible response to conserving our precious dwindling water supplies. “The first time I raised the matter in Council, it was referred to a Water Committee which had not even been formed at that point. “We have catastrophic fires looming from the west and more than 50,000 tourists set to descend on the region over the next few weeks. Continued P5
Tascott high jumper and Sydney Uni Athletics star, Nicola McDermott, has capped off a stellar year by being named Sydney University’s Blue Athlete of 2019. See Page 37
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