Emma McBride

POWERING AUSTRALIA AND THE CENTRAL COAST Renewable energy our priority

 EMMA MCBRIDE

THE Central Coast has the potential to be a powerhouse of renewable energy.

We have businesses on the Coast which are leading the way when it comes to Australia’s future energy capacity and local jobs.

We just need a government that will back them in.

That’s why I invited the Shadow Minister for Energy and Climate Change, Chris Bowen MP to the Coast last month so he could see what we have to off er.

We visited Twin Lakes Air and Solar at Toukley, a family-run business that was founded by two brothers back in 1999.

They provide quality solar panels and solar battery solutions up and down the Coast, in Sydney and in Newcastle.

They know Australia’s future lies in renewable technology like solar, and so does Labor.

That’s why we’ve developed an industry-focused plan that will help us transition to renewable energy, while creating more jobs for locals and cutting power bills for families.

These are the three key elements of our Powering Australia plan.

This is a plan that’s good for families, it’s good for businesses, and it’s good for the economy.

It’s also a plan that’s been backed by independent modelling from RepuTex – Australia’s leading energy analyst – and it’s received widespread support from the business community and the Clean Energy Council.

Under this plan, we will create 604,000 new jobs by 2030 in places like the Coast.

We will also train 10,000 new energy apprentices in jobs for the future.

We’ve been left behind

The Powering Australia plan will help reduce power bills for families and businesses on the Coast by up to $275 a year, making energy prices more aff ordable.

Under the plan, we will install 400 community batteries across the country, we will invest up to $43 billion to support renewables manufacturing and low-emissions tech, and we will make electric vehicles cheaper.

We will also adopt a 43 per cent emissions reduction target for 2030. It’s not just about a transition to cleaner, more sustainable energy. It’s a plan that puts businesses at the forefront.

Businesses on the Coast have been struggling for nearly a decade under this government, because of the uncertainty we’ve had around energy policy.

Coasties deserve new job opportunities, and they deserve cheaper low-emissions technology.

But under the Morrison Government we’ve been left behind.

Shadow Minister for Energy and Climate Change, Chris Bowen MP visits the Coast.

Every major economy in the world is currently moving toward renewables, so we need to seize this opportunity and invest in our renewable energy sector.

The worlds energy crisis is Australia’s jobs opportunity.

This is a chance for us to promote growth and investment in regional areas like the Coast.

It’s a chance for us to shape our future.

It’s a chance for Australia to become a powerhouse of renewable energy.

We need to take these opportunities and make sure we power Australia for the future.

Powering Australia

A plan to create jobs, cut power bills and reduce emissions by boosting renewable energy.

Labor’s plan will create 604,000 jobs. Spur $76 billion of investment.

Cut power bills for families and businesses

by $275 a year for homes by 2025. Prioritise growth and investment for the regions that have served as Australia’s engine room for so long – regions that know energy and manufacturing.

Regions like the Central Coast.

alp.org.au/policies/ powering-australia

Airport has 75% support

CENTRAL Coast Council has been delivered a strong mandate to develop the Airport with 75% of respondents to a recent survey supporting the project.

Council will now proceed with a Request for Information from aviation industries for the Central Coast Airport Masterplan

Council has authorised staff to proceed to Gateway 1 and 2 of the Central Coast Airport Development Framework. This includes undertaking a Request for Information (RFI) from the general aviation industry and other interested parties to determine the Airport’s future demand requirements.

Administrator Rik Hart said recent community consultation showed a strong level of community support and understanding of the general objectives behind the development of a Masterplan.

“The recent representative community survey showed 75% of respondents were supportive of the reasons behind the development of a masterplan and saw benefi t in the creation of employment and enhancing business opportunities,” Mr Hart said.

u “It is encouraging to see the community having a greater say towards the development of a Central Coast Airport Masterplan,” Mr Hart said.

Results from the RFI are expected to help support the general aviation sector in NSW and inform the development of the Draft Central Coast Airport Masterplan.

Confi dence the key to trade

Paula Martin. Paula Martin. THE ability to trade safely, to welcome back customers and staff with certainty, and the ability to plan are top priorities for business while quickly rebuilding consumer and trading confidence is central to the state’s peak business organisation, Business NSW’s submission ahead of the upcoming NSW Budget.

The submission has been formally lodged with the NSW Government.

“As we enter the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ability to deploy agile and tailored policy making responses remain key. Blunt instruments such as state-wide lockdowns and national wage subsidies must be avoided at all costs,” said Business NSW Regional Director Paula Martin.

“The NSW Government’s leadership and collaboration supporting businesses has again been demonstrated, with the delivery, without Federal Government assistance, of the $1billion business support package including direct payments to businesses of up to $5,000 per week,” Ms Martin said.

“The rebuilding of consumer and business confi dence and tailored support for particular business sectors and localities doing it tough are key priorities for the fi rst months of 2022 and may remain an important part of the public policy risk management tool kit should the pandemic evolve further through new variants or a ‘winter wave’.

“In the medium-term, businesses continue to grapple with how best to meet pent up demand whilst navigating the supply side consequences of the pandemic such as vastly reduced migration, interruptions to supply chains and access to skilled labour.

“Safely removing remaining COVID-related restrictions and getting people moving and spending remain top priorities for business.

“Increased freedom and fl exibility to safely get on with what business does best, and making sure future restrictions are avoided consistently top both the biggest challenges for business as well as action items they would like to see from government.

“We are fully supportive of bringing workers, shoppers and visitors back to Central Coast town centres in a safe and structured way.

“In the medium term, our region needs to focus on developing more aff ordable, liveable residential precincts featuring child-care centres to help accelerate business investment. Ongoing housing shortages across the Central Coast are a contributing factor to labour shortages hampering immediate business growth plans.” Ms Martin said.

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Pacifi c Link fi nishes strong

PACIFIC Link Housing finished 2021 by marking a further increase to social and affordable housing for residents on the Central Coast in greatest need and celebrated a prestigious national award win.

In December 2021, Pacifi c Link Housing celebrated the completion of the $5.5M Adira Development at Woy Woy which provides housing security for older women who are facing the ongoing rental aff ordability and availability crisis. The 12 unit mixed-tenancy complex includes a combination of social, aff ordable and private market rentals.

One of the new residents, Kay moved into the apartments before Christmas and said it was a blessing to have a safe home after being through a diffi cult time in her previous, sub-standard, private market tenancy.

“I believe that everybody deserves a safe and secure home that is aff ordable, and I have found mine here at Adira. I am so grateful to the wonderful staff at Pacifi c Link Housing for the opportunity to live in such a beautiful property where I feel safe and secure,” Kay said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison visits Pacific Link.

A pleasing conclusion to the end of construction was a visit from Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Member for Robertson Lucy Wicks, who applauded the work of Pacifi c Link Housing in completing the development, how it provides a range of options for residents across the housing spectrum.

The Prime Minister announced an increase to the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation’s lending cap by $500M.

“This will create even more opportunities for community housing providers such as Pacifi c Link Housing. I am pleased their latest development will focus especially on getting older women into housing,” Ms Wicks said.

Pacifi c Link Housing’s social enterprise Real Estate Agency, Key2 Realty, had a huge response in leasing the aff ordable and private market rentals. A one-bedroom unit received 75 applications and 1,896 views on realestate.com, highlighting the demand for this type of housing.

Local dams hit record levels

CENTRAL Coast dam levels reached a record high in January–with Mangrove Creek Dam hitting 77.2 percent and topping the previous high of 76 percent achieved six years ago in February 2016.

This milestone for the region demonstrates the value of optimising the capacity of existing water supply sources – a key pillar of the Central Coast Water Security Plan.

Central Coast Council Director Water and Sewer, Jamie Loader said the recent removal of a capacity restriction for Mangrove Creek Dam improves the region’s ability to capitalise on periods of heavy rain.

“It is exciting to see record dam levels on the Central Coast and we are seeking to maintain strong levels across the summer due to the current La Niña* weather pattern,” Mr Loader said.

“Previously Council had to stop transferring water into Mangrove Creek Dam at 75 percent total storage and not let the level within the dam exceed 80 percent.

“The ability to fi ll Mangrove Creek Dam to 100 percent puts us in a signifi cantly stronger position to capitalise on periods of heavy rain and is a key action of Pillar 2 of the Central Coast Water Security Plan, which is focused on optimising the capacity of our existing water sources.

Recent water storage levels

Since November 1, 2021 to February 3, 2022, system operation resulted in: • Mangrove Creek Dam storage increasing by 1.9 percent – 3,340 megalitres or 1,335 Olympic swimming pools. • Total dam storage increasing by 3.4 percent – 6,870 megalitres or 2,750 Olympic swimming pools.

BIG PLANS FOR OLD SYDNEY TOWN New comprehensive attraction

 DALLAS SHERRINGHAM

THE new owners of Old Sydney Town have plans to transform the site into Australia’s first comprehensive tourism precinct, following major trends overseas.

The success of fully self-contained developments such as Disney World in Orlando have demonstrated that tourism projects are most successful when they contain all facets of the industry.

The owners of the 120h site will combine a wide range of cultural tourism, recreation and entertainment experiences.

World Culture Tourism Village (WCTV), which purchased the site in 2018, is furthering their vision for the site which would combine 14 tourism elements and could reuse parts of the Old Sydney Town.

This is good news for thousands of Old Sydney Town supporters who were concerned the town would be destroyed.

There is also potential to expand the highly renowned Australian Reptile Park, the region’s premier tourist destination attracting 300,000 visitors annually.

Old Sydney Town precinct has a prime location, an hour’s drive from central Sydney and Western Sydney. it has easy access from the Gosford exit of the M1 at Somersby. Brisbane Water National Park is on its western boundary and the area is a high priority for re-development as identifi ed in the Central Coast Regional Plan 2036.

The Sydney-based consortium WCTV is seeking a rezoning for parts of the site–currently zoned as E4: environmental living–as well as Expressions of Interest

Above and below: diagrams showing plans for the site.

from operators and investors who want to be part of stage one of the precinct’s redevelopment or in its later phases.

Covering around 20% of the site, proposals for the fi rst stage include an artifi cial surf wave attraction, local agricultural-based food and beverage outlets, artist workshops and studios, short-stay accommodation, an Aboriginal Cultural Centre recognising the Indigenous caretakers of the Central Coast and extended car parking facilities for the Australian Reptile Park.

The WCTV executive team have advised that the consortium’s plans for the site aim to provide employment, recreation and tourism opportunities for the region into the future.

A WCTV spokesperson told media: “When we purchased the site, to our knowledge we were the only prospective buyer who considered redevelopment from a tourism perspective, as we had a strong vision for its tourism potential”.

“Our vision is not to deliver a single large attraction like a theme park but to create a unique tourism hub bringing together a range of leisure-time experiences.”

“Given the relatively limited size and spread-out nature of Australia’s population we see the site operating as a hub–with multiple diff erent attractions. While we plan to cater to the local community and Central Coast population, we envisage the majority of visitation will travel from the Sydney catchment.”

Reuse of parts of Old Sydney Town

The concept has grown to 14 potential elements, including the reuse of parts of Old Sydney Town,.

WCTV will provide the framework and infrastructure for operators and investors to develop specifi c parts of the site, and advise there may be fl exibility to adjust the plan according to investor needs.

WCTV believe the location and business model will drive success, saying “we will benefi t from the location, with the site’s proximity to Sydney and the Australian Reptile Park being an established attraction, our precinct-based business model and the diversifi ed elements will attract visitors year-round.”

Beyond its development, WCTV will also create a domestic tourism operating vehicle and is potentially looking for another partner for this venture.

Plans for later stages of this cultural, entertainment and tourism precinct unique in Australia, will see the reuse of the former Old Sydney Town site as a cultural theme park, reusing some of the former heritage attraction’s original buildings as the hub of a key attraction.

The total site includes the former Old Sydney Town at 11ha–which operated on the site between 1975 and 2003, before closing after many years of fi nancial losses; the Australian Reptile Park of 5.4 ha which operates on a long lease, as well as 100ha of land that wraps around both sites and is currently vacant.

There would be a performing arts area, entertainment and attractions, retail and exhibition facilities, further food and beverage outlets, water-based activities, a hotel and short-stay accommodation and residential development.

WCTV undertook a community engagement program in early 2019 and is continuing to work through plans with a wide range of stakeholders for the project.

Engaging with local communities and businesses will see stage one include a creative corner with artist workshops and studios, the sale of local agricultural products and ‘paddock to plate’ outlets and other showcases for local products

Envisaging both global and domestic investment interest, the WCTV consortium has “a proud and extensive history in delivering world-class projects around the globe, including resorts, hotels, offi ce buildings, industrial parks and boutique residential developments.”

As for the consortium’s vision, they said: “the reimagining and redevelopment of this site represents a compelling and unique opportunity for the Central Coast, with signifi cant investment, major new employment opportunities and delivering a major boost to the social and economic infrastructure for the region.

“Importantly, the current proposal seeks to not only maintain but also improve the Australian Reptile Park to create a unique Australian learning and recreational centre with improved amenities, conservation and tourism experiences.”

WCTV is hopeful that it will receive planning approval in the coming months with initial projects to get underway this year.