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January 16, 2012
Formerly Gosford Central Community News
New website displays Landing views
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Ph: 4325 7369
Issue 024
Freewater won’t apologise osford Cr Peter Freewater has taken advice from the NSW Council for Civil Liberties and said he would not be apologising for comments he made late last year that allegedly breached the Council’s Code of Conduct.
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What the Gosford Waterfront looks like now
group of local residents have created a website which would be used to demonstrate some of the issues associated with the Landing at Gosford.
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The group has produced some before and after photographs of the Gosford Waterfront which they believe demonstrate to the members of the public just how much of an impact the proposed development will have on the area. “We intend to further develop this website to keep the community advised of the many issues associated with The Landing Project,” said Gosford Waterfront Action Group spokesperson Mr Peter Carstairs. “Recently, the Central Coast Regional Development Corporation only received 200 submissions in respect of The Landing, we believe this is a clear indication that the
majority of the community have not been properly informed about the proposal and its implications on the future of Gosford’s Waterfront.” The Gosford Waterfront Action Group meets regularly on the Gosford waterfront to discuss the various aspects of the proposal. The members of the group represent a number of different community groups and they all have concerns over the proposed development on the Gosford waterfront. Some of the main issues the group are concerned about include the loss of public open space along the waterfront area, the
environmental impact of high rise apartments over the Brisbane Water, the removal and relocation of the Gosford Public school and the Olympic Pool. “We are not against the redevelopment of Gosford CBD; in fact, we believe that is where the redevelopment should commence,” said Mr Carstairs. “Newcastle is a perfect example where millions of dollars have been spent on the waterfront but this investment has failed to provide any form of benefit to the Central Business District of Newcastle city.” Media Release, 22 Dec 2011 Peter Carstairs, Gosford Waterfront Action Group
What the Gosford waterfront would look like if the Landing proposal goes ahead according to the Gosford Waterfront Action Group More Landing stories on Page 4
Gosford Council general manager Mr Peter Wilson engaged the services of a lawyer to investigate the complaint by some Councillors that Cr Freewater had breached the Code of Conduct by making comments in the media that were disrespectful. This lawyer duly advised Council that Cr Freewater’s comments were indeed disrespectful and were therefore considered to be in breach of the Code of Conduct. It was also determined that the number of disrespectful comments made the breach to be of a “very serious nature”. These comments included Cr Freewater’s suggestion that the councillors may be arrogant because they were not listening to the thousands of community submissions calling for a conservation zoning for the Coastal Open Space System (COSS) instead of the recreation zoning they wanted to apply in the new Local Environment Plan. “The recreation zoning would allow our COSS lands, mostly bushland reserves full of endangered or threatened ecological communities, to be developed for sporting fixtures such as golf courses, hotels or other recreational activities,” said Cr Freewater. The other disrespectful comments were regarding the rate-payer funded councillor Weekend Workshop at a 5-star luxury resort. “I objected to this unnecessary waste of money, labelling the weekend as a “junket” and a “rort”. “The basis of these comments was that, while the Council chambers do not have an 18-hole golf course or bottomless wine cellar, it does have meeting rooms and so they wouldn’t need to spend rate-payers’ money to accommodate and pamper councillors and senior management at a luxury resort to discuss policy issues.” On advice from Council’s
senior management, councillors voted to seek a series of apologies from Cr Freewater including a paid advertisement in local papers, formal censorship and suspension from Council. “I was contacted by the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, who believed that Council’s actions sought to suppress my rights to freedom of political speech, which is an implied right within the Australian Constitution,” said Cr Freewater. “They have advised that if I remain steadfast in my determination not to apologise to Council for my statements, that the current proposals for reforming the standard code of conduct would give firm ground to argue my case, both in terms of abuse of the code of conduct and denial of procedural fairness. “The NSW Council for Civil Liberties indicated that my case is ‘a classic manifestation of the problems the proposed reform is aimed at preventing’.” “I understand that my comments may have upset fellow councillors and senior management, however, they were legitimate criticisms of Gosford Council that were both necessary and appropriate.
“Were it not for my public criticism of the proposed COSS zonings, Council would have proceeded with the recreational zoning for our wildlife reserves. “I brought the debate into the public arena and in doing so I forced Council to seek a conservation zoning for COSS. “This action may have saved these lands from development for generations to come and thus saved a myriad of threatened and endangered plants and animals. “As for calling the councillor weekender at a luxury resort a “junket” and a “rort”, I stand by these comments and call on Council to be more responsible with public funds. “Gosford Council has a very poor track record on managing rate-payers’ money, the recent loss of $52 million on foreign investments is still clanging in our ears. “I hope that by refusing to apologise and by exposing Gosford City Council for their abuse of the code of conduct that they will think twice before they waste thousands of dollars on legal fees to try and silence legitimate criticism again. Email, 9 Jan 2012 Peter Freewater, Horsfield Bay