8 MAY 2020
ISSUE 241
YOUR REAL INDEPENDENT WEEKLY LOCAL NEWS
News
Local firefighters honoured Spencer Brigade’s Captain William “Jock” Ross and Senior Deputy Captain, Alison Wade, have each received the Commissioner’s Commendation for Bravery while retired Group Captain, Warwick Teasdale (pictured), of the Killcare/ Wagstaff Brigade, received the Commissioner’s Commendation for Service.
Captain Warwick Teasdale with a colleague at Killcare Wagstaffe brigade
Three Central Coast firefighters have been honoured in the NSW Rural Fire Service’s annual bravery and service awards. Captain William “Jock” Ross and Senior Deputy Captain, Alison Wade of Spencer Brigade, each receiving bravery
awards, and Retired Group Captain, Warwick Teasdale, of the Killcare/Wagstaff Brigade, was honoured for more than 40 years of service. What started as a “pile burn” alert at Spencer on April 1, 2019, quickly escalated, and resulted in the heroic rescue of a resident and his dog from a house consumed by toxic
flames, by Captain Ross and Senior Deputy Captain Wade. “I was first on the scene, with a fellow firefighter, and the first thing I did was make the house secure by ensuring gas and electricity were turned off,” Wade said. “Then, as I approached the house, I could see that there was a man inside and I knew
he had a dog in there, so we started calling for him to come out.” But attempts to alert the resident inside the locked building, who appeared to have impaired cognitive ability, were unsuccessful. By the time Captain Ross arrived on the scene, the corner of the structure was well alight,
with flames extending internally to the roof and toxic smoke building up inside. With the next closest backup at least 15 minutes away and the risk that the fire would engulf the building, Wade and Ross decided that forced entry was the only option.
The planning panel will rule on development types which are contentious or contravene development standards by more than 10 per cent, developments of more than three storeys, and sensitive applications. Smaller applications will be dealt with by council staff with delegated authority, so councillors will no longer decide on any development applications, given that the State Government had already taken away their power to
Chair of the new planning panel, Donna Rygate
decide regionally or Statesignificant developments. “This is a free kick for developers and a means to silence our residents and councillors who represent the voices of the community,” Cr Gillian Hogan said. Cr Hogan said the local
planning policy shifted the powers of councillors to make local decisions on behalf of residents into the hands of a ‘selected’ panel”. “Council had the opportunity to ‘opt in’ and we did not, and so now, the state has intervened through a regulatory
amendment which has in effect directed Council to establish Local Planning Panels,”’ she said. “In general, controversial DAs are brought to the chamber for determination for reasons highlighted by the community, for example, traffic and parking issues, amenity of a development and compliance issues. “The LPP structure does not allow a public voice nor residents to strongly lobby against a proposed development like we see in the Chamber.” Councillors must decide to constitute the planning panel and appoint the panel members, or risk the Minister for Planning doing it for them. The panel is made up of: one
See pages 5
Editorial
How long does it take to change a light bulb in a modern CBD building? Answer: Much longer than it needs to. The case for an NBN 2.0 See page 12
Out&About
Continued page 4
Council to vote to establish Local Planning Panel Central Coast councillors will vote on Monday, May 11, on a State Government directive to implement a local planning panel (LPP) to decide on development applications.
One thing the coronavirus won’t stop is the annual migration of humpback whales as they make their way through waters off the Central Coast headed for warmer climes.
chairman and two in reserve, selected by the State Minister for Planning, Rob Stokes; two professionals, rotated from a pool of six, with expertise in urban planning or related fields; and, one community representative rotated from a pool of five. Council selected the six experts from a pool of 220 approved candidates provided by the Department of Planning Industry & Environment. They are Gregory Flynn, Sue Francis, Stephen Leathley, Linda McClure, Grant Christmas and Garry Fielding. The local community representatives were selected after expressions of interest were advertised locally. Continued page 7
Despite an aggressive push by some fathers to cancel Mother’s Day this year, and have two Father’s Days in September instead, mother’s have held fast, COVID-19 notwithstanding. See page 13
Business
Businesses on the Central Coast are being urged to support each other as they struggle with the impacts of the coronavirus. See page 21
Puzzles page 19
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