19 FEBRUARY 2020
ISSUE 183
YOUR REAL INDEPENDENT LOCAL NEWS
Collapse in community confidence results in calls for mayor’s resignation – Notice of Motion C
entral Coast Mayor, Lisa Matthews, is weathering a storm of her own with calls for her to resign. A community campaign brewing on social media to start a legal class action against Council to compensate for damage caused to properties during the flooding of Tuggerah Lakes, which started on February 8. Councillors Bruce McLachlan and Greg Best have issued a Notice of Motion to be heard at the February 24 meeting, calling for the Mayor’s resignation. They say there is an “unprecedented collapse in community confidence in council, resulting in widespread calls for the mayor’s resignation”. The Motion says “in the spirit of acknowledging the community outrage” that Council supports the community’s call for the
mayor to stand down. Mayor Matthews and, indeed, Central Coast Council as a whole, has copped a fierce
community backlash over the delay in excavating The Entrance Channel to release banked-up floodwaters around the Tuggerah Lakes system.
The Mayor said on a radio program that she called upon the CEO, Gary Murphy, on Sunday, February 8, “to come up with a solution”.
“So, the staff actually did start the process of getting permission, you’ve got to remember the lakes are not our (Council’s) lakes, we
don’t own it, therefore, we couldn’t just go and start digging without permission,” she said. “Staff started asking for permission on Monday, February 10, and then had to make sure it was safe, and a low tide, before we started to dig,” the Mayor said. However, NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) Crown Lands issued a statement saying Council contacted DPIE at 8.23am on Tuesday, February 11, seeking approval to widen the lake opening to manage flood risk. The statement said Council was advised at 9.25am on Tuesday, February 11, that it could consider using emergency powers under the Local Government Act for the widening, or do it under the Council’s existing licence. Continued P4
The management of the channel must change - Mehan T he Entrance MP, David Mehan, has accused Central Coast Council of mismanagement of The Entrance Channel and directly contributing to the current flooding around Tuggerah lakes.
He said Council’s decision to end dredging in 2018, before the usual dredging program had been completed, and its failure to maintain an adequate dredging program, had directly contributed to the current situation. “Council has failed to maintain its dredge, which it has not decommissioned, with no
plan in place to replace it,” Mehan said. “I support Mayor Lisa Matthews’ call for State Government funding to maintain The Entrance Channel and reduce flood risks. “I note that an application for extra funding had been sitting on the State Water Minister’s desk since last year.” Mehan had made similar representations to the Minister for Water recently. He wrote to the Premier urging the Central Coast be declared a natural disaster zone because of the flooding event. “Prior to the last State election, the NSW Government committed
$200,000 to establish an expert panel to investigate a clean-up plan for the Tuggerah lakes system,” Mehan said. “The State Government has done nothing to establish this committee. “The management of the channel must change. “We need a permanent dredge and a dredging program which has the confidence of the community,” Mehan said. Mehan welcomed the visit by the NSW Water Minister, Melinda Pavey, to the Central Coast yesterday. “I note my office was not officially advised of the visit even though the Minister visited The Entrance electorate,”
Mehan said. Council’s application for dredge funding took over six months to be agreed to and the Minister must explain. “The Minister needs to outline what steps will be taken to reduce the flood risk management around Tuggerah lakes and the channel. “Will the Minister assure the Coast community that whatever funding is requested by Council to better manage flood risk and The Entrance channel be supported?” Mehan said the Minister had not responded to his concerns being raised since February 2019. Source: Media release, Feb 18 &12 David Mehan, The Entrance MP
David Mehan MP at The Entrance floodwaters
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