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Will keeping submissions private serve the public interest?

From page 1

“I understand that the commitment from the government, the Minister, was to have a full and thorough public hearing, that would be a chance for the issues to get a thorough public airing,” Warren said.

“I think it is the least the government can do for the people of the Coast, who are sick and tired of the lack of transparency, when it is the government who are ultimately responsible for many of the problems that have occurred through their forced amalgamation,” he said.

According to Warren, there is nothing stopping local groups and individuals who made submissions from making them public.

“I quite often as a Shadow Minister and local member, get people to put submissions in and they send them to me so people are certainly entitled to do that they can make their submissions public themselves,” he said.

Member for Gosford, Liesl Tesch, said transparency must be paramount if the public is going to trust the inquiry’s findings.

“I am disappointed that the Commissioner has decided not to disclose the submissions regarding the financial collapse and failure of Central Coast Council,” Tesch said.

“Since the beginning our community has cried out for a public inquiry.

“Our petition for a public inquiry garnered more than 20,000 signatures.

“At the time, the NSW Government and Adam Crouch promised that there was no difference between a public or judicial inquiry and that the commission would be transparent in its investigation.

“Obviously some comments amongst the submissions must be redacted to protect witnesses and ensure against defamation.

“I respect the Commissioner as someone who has a difficult task of trying to ascertain where it all went wrong and how to put the pieces back together.

“I urge her to understand that without bringing the community along with the Inquiry’s findings it will be difficult for us all to believe that the collapse of Central Coast Council will be investigated thoroughly and guarded against failure in the future.”

Council’s Administrator, Rik Hart, said he would have no problems with releasing his submission after the event.

“I won’t at this stage as I wouldn’t want to go against the Commissioner’s decision prior to talking to people,” he said.

“Because I don’t understand what her strategy is and I don’t want to second guess her, I will abide by her rules.”

He said he thought it particularly applied to him as he was in the unique position of understanding what went on in the early days of the crisis.

Hart arrived at Central Coast Council in November 2020, brought in as acting CEO by acting Administrator Dick Persson days after Persson accepted the position.

The councillors were suspended on October 28.

“I won’t compromise her approach,” Hart said, explaining it could put pressure on her to release other submissions.

“After the event, no problem,” he said.

CEO David Farmer would not commit to releasing his submission.

“As the Public Inquiry into Central Coast Council is being undertaken by Commissioner Roslyn McCulloch, it is a matter for the Commissioner to determine the public release of submissions to the Inquiry,” he said.

“At this point in time, the Commissioner has elected not to release submissions.

“Therefore it would be premature for me to comment further about my own submission now.

“I will consider the release of my submission following the Inquiry,” he said.

Jackie Pearson and Merilyn Vale

Holiday home loophole to be closed

A new permit system to be introduced by the NSW Government will require people to receive approval before travelling from Sydney to the Central Coast for particular reasons.

Parliamentary Secretary for the Central Coast, Adam Crouch, said the permit system would limit people from travelling between a Sydneybased primary residence and a Central Coast-based holiday home.

“There have been too many Sydneysiders exploiting this loophole and potentially putting our region’s health and safety at risk,” Crouch said.

“We are in the most critical phase of fighting COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

“Now is not the time for Sydneysiders to treat our community as a holiday destination.

“The permits will take effect this Saturday, August 21, and anyone who does not comply with the system or lies to authorities will cop a $5,000 on-the-spot fine.”

Permits will be accessible through Service NSW and will be required for three key reasons: owners of second homes, inspecting real estate, and authorised workers.

Travelling from the Coast to Sydney to a second home will only be allowed if the home is being used for work accommodation or if the home requires urgent maintenance and repairs, with only one person allowed to travel.

Travelling from Sydney to inspect a property will only be allowed if a person genuinely needs a home to live in, with inspections of prospective investment properties prohibited.

Authorised workers from the Sydney LGAs of concern will also now require a permit to travel to the Central Coast.

“The police presence on arterial roads and backroads will be enhanced with the creation of random vehicle checkpoints, manned by 1,400 additional officers deployed to enforce the permit system as part of Operation Stay At Home,” Crouch said.

“Any non-compliance will not be tolerated because it only takes one person doing the wrong thing for COVID-19 to rapidly spread.”

Crouch said he wanted to remind Central Coast residents that they can anonymously report suspected breaches of the Public Health Orders to Crime Stoppers at: https://nsw. crimestoppers.com.au.

Source: Media release, Aug 17 Parliamentary Secretary for the Central Coast

Tougher rules to break Delta spread

Increased fines of up to $5,000 for COVID breaches and a heightened police presence will be introduced on the Coast as NSW continues to battle the COVID-19 Delta variant outbreak.

The joint NSW Police Force and ADF operation – Operation Stay At Home – commenced on Monday, August 16 and was employed across the state.

NSW Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, said the vast majority of people are doing the right thing but there are a handful of people who are wilfully breaking the rules and putting the rest of the community at risk.

“The increased fines and heightened police presence are about ensuring people who are doing the wrong thing are caught and punished appropriately,” Berejiklian said.

The changes include increased fines for Public Health Order breaches, a permit system to enter regional NSW and tightened rules for people in LGAs of concern.

On-the-spot $5,000 fines will be issued for breaching selfisolation rules, or for lying on a permit or to a contact tracer, and a $3,000 on-the-spot-fine for breaching the two-person outdoor exercise and recreation rule.

A $3,000 on the spot fine has also been introduced for breaching rules around entry into regional NSW for authorised work, inspecting real estate and travelling to a second home.

Minister for Police and Emergency Services, David Elliott, said the NSW Police Force would have an increased and more visible presence across Greater Sydney, backed up by 500 additional Australian Defence Force personnel.

“We’ve had to tighten the current public health orders because of the minority who exploited them,” Elliott said.

“Residents across Greater Sydney and lockdown areas can expect to see enhanced random police checkpoints on roads, to ensure people are complying with the stay-athome rules aimed to protect the community.”

The 10km rule for shopping, exercise and outdoor recreation has also been clarified with activities to be done in a person’s local government area (LGA) or, if outside their LGA, within five kilometres of home.

For Central Coast residents, this means that you can travel within the entire Central Coast LGA for shopping, exercise and outdoor recreation.

If you live near the border of the Central Coast LGA, you are permitted to travel into the adjacent LGA for essential shopping, exercise and outdoor recreation but cannot travel further than five kilometres from your home into that LGA.

Source: Media release, Aug 14 Premier Gladys Berejiklian Minister for Police and Emergency Services, David Elliot