Saturday, July 23, 2011
Lake Macquarie Needs a Suburb!
Please follow this Link to download a pdf file of my report and recommendation on creating a suburb named Lake Macquarie.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Barry O'Farrells First Fifty Days
The Telegraph is running a poll on the NSW Government's first 50 days. Fascinating to read some of the responses that pander to the papers view that Barry could change the world in that time. How is he going? Overall I thought that he was doing pretty well. With 69 members in the LA and Labor with 20 (cross bench 4) the dynamic of the Chamber is completely changed and indeed, quite surreal.
I'm sure there's lots of Coalition members that were never expected to win and that having so many backbenchers while at face value might seem great for the Government, will in time produce plenty of problems. Until that occurs though Barry will be able to observe and draw on some new talent, and I think he has plenty there.
The Government has gotten on with making many changes and honouring promises made while in Opposition. One of the first things done was to put a hold on the use of Part 3A of the EP&A Act and forecast a start to reviewing ro rewriting the planning legislation. Long overdue and very welcome.
If there is one thing that they have done wrong it has to be the un-forecast changes to the Solar Bonus Scheme. This change which will see customers under the scheme have their rebate reduced by 20c a kw/hr is a worry not because of the reasonableness of the rate, but because it is a breach of faith and breach of contract with all those people who signed up to the deal. Many of those were people who couldn't possibly have afforded to it without the 60c deal offered and assured by the previous government.
The Labor Party clearly got the scheme badly wrong - it was unaffordable, but how you then deal with it says a lot about the Government. Labor got it wrong in the first place, the Coalition have got the solution badly wrong as well. Tough as it would have been, a contract should be honoured; and to do otherwise diminishes the Coalition. For a Government that was doing well overall it seems like a very bad early decision.
I'm sure there's lots of Coalition members that were never expected to win and that having so many backbenchers while at face value might seem great for the Government, will in time produce plenty of problems. Until that occurs though Barry will be able to observe and draw on some new talent, and I think he has plenty there.
The Government has gotten on with making many changes and honouring promises made while in Opposition. One of the first things done was to put a hold on the use of Part 3A of the EP&A Act and forecast a start to reviewing ro rewriting the planning legislation. Long overdue and very welcome.
If there is one thing that they have done wrong it has to be the un-forecast changes to the Solar Bonus Scheme. This change which will see customers under the scheme have their rebate reduced by 20c a kw/hr is a worry not because of the reasonableness of the rate, but because it is a breach of faith and breach of contract with all those people who signed up to the deal. Many of those were people who couldn't possibly have afforded to it without the 60c deal offered and assured by the previous government.
The Labor Party clearly got the scheme badly wrong - it was unaffordable, but how you then deal with it says a lot about the Government. Labor got it wrong in the first place, the Coalition have got the solution badly wrong as well. Tough as it would have been, a contract should be honoured; and to do otherwise diminishes the Coalition. For a Government that was doing well overall it seems like a very bad early decision.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Labor's Negative Campaign for Lake Macquarie
Labor candidate, Marcus Mariani, themed his election campaign from the start with a vitriolic attack on me on his website. His attack was a based on a mass of demonstrably incorrect statements and "facts". He has been advised by many people, including from his own party, that his material was incorrect.
Not to be deterred, the candidate has issued a newsletter attacking me over what I have achieved in the last four year. He claims that it has been four years of inaction yet on the same page states that Labor has never forgotten Lake Macquarie and that they have invested tens of millions of dollars in Lake Macquarie. It may have been too obvious for Mr Mariani but much of this investment has occurred while I was the Independent member. The fact is that Lake Macquarie maintained its overall share of state funds invested in capital projects and services during this last term. This success during the last four years must be inconvenient for Mr Mariani.
The Labor candidate also falls back to old rhetoric of attacking me for having two roles and in my role of Mayor having lead the Lake Macquarie City Council into millions of dollars of debt and wanting to cut library services. At this point Mr Mariani is showing his desperation and at the same time disqualifying himself as a reasonable person to contest public office in the future. He is either unable to understand the facts or unable to tell the truth on these matters. Council does carry debt, and yes, it has increased. The debt is considered debt and is used to fund property acquisitions and capital projects. The test of what is appropriate is one's ability to pay off the debt, measured by Debt Service Ratio (DSR). LMCC's DSR remains less than 6% (the amount of annual budget needed to service the debt) while conventional wisdom certainly allows this figure to safely reach or exceed 10%. LMCC is financially solid in this regard.
His other reference to wishing to cut library services is also untrue. LMCC is seriously looking at library needs into the future. As the population ages, generations change, technology advances, needs change. Our review is to ensure that we do not continue to have increasing costs while having reduced customers. Labor councillors have also supported this review.
With unsubstantiated allegations about damage to his signs and an appeal for his supporters to use "reasonable force" to apprehend the culprits (noting many of his signs were illegally placed across footpaths), this candidate has shown that he really has nothing of substance to campaign on and that he is willing to say almost anything to advance his cause.
In 2007 my election delivered Lake Macquarie a "swinging seat". While we have done well in the last four years there are "big ticket" items we need. This election is the chance to capitalise on being a "swinging seat"!
Not to be deterred, the candidate has issued a newsletter attacking me over what I have achieved in the last four year. He claims that it has been four years of inaction yet on the same page states that Labor has never forgotten Lake Macquarie and that they have invested tens of millions of dollars in Lake Macquarie. It may have been too obvious for Mr Mariani but much of this investment has occurred while I was the Independent member. The fact is that Lake Macquarie maintained its overall share of state funds invested in capital projects and services during this last term. This success during the last four years must be inconvenient for Mr Mariani.
The Labor candidate also falls back to old rhetoric of attacking me for having two roles and in my role of Mayor having lead the Lake Macquarie City Council into millions of dollars of debt and wanting to cut library services. At this point Mr Mariani is showing his desperation and at the same time disqualifying himself as a reasonable person to contest public office in the future. He is either unable to understand the facts or unable to tell the truth on these matters. Council does carry debt, and yes, it has increased. The debt is considered debt and is used to fund property acquisitions and capital projects. The test of what is appropriate is one's ability to pay off the debt, measured by Debt Service Ratio (DSR). LMCC's DSR remains less than 6% (the amount of annual budget needed to service the debt) while conventional wisdom certainly allows this figure to safely reach or exceed 10%. LMCC is financially solid in this regard.
His other reference to wishing to cut library services is also untrue. LMCC is seriously looking at library needs into the future. As the population ages, generations change, technology advances, needs change. Our review is to ensure that we do not continue to have increasing costs while having reduced customers. Labor councillors have also supported this review.
With unsubstantiated allegations about damage to his signs and an appeal for his supporters to use "reasonable force" to apprehend the culprits (noting many of his signs were illegally placed across footpaths), this candidate has shown that he really has nothing of substance to campaign on and that he is willing to say almost anything to advance his cause.
In 2007 my election delivered Lake Macquarie a "swinging seat". While we have done well in the last four years there are "big ticket" items we need. This election is the chance to capitalise on being a "swinging seat"!
Friday, March 18, 2011
Election Flyer - Policy Items
My Election Policy brochure as shown below can be downloaded as a pdf file from my website under Election 2011. Click here to be directed to the location.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Labor Ads - Is Kristina Believable?
Give credit to NSW Labor for putting together a slick advertising campaign. The "Presidential" style campaign run by Maurice Iemma worked against all odds - Kristina Keneally's new ads which were run back to back were high on style, low on substance.
How can she be believed? The arrogance of a campaign that totally ignores the betrayal perpetrated on NSW by the Labor Government over the last four years is breathtaking. For Kristina Keneally to introduce a fear campaign about the privatization of Hunter Water and Sydney Water is the height of hypocrisy after her Government's incompetent and highly unpopular disposal of publicly owned energy assets. How can we believe anything they say when State Labor also sold off the highly lucrative NSW Lotteries?
These policies weren't part of Labor's policy platform going into the 2007 election and there is no reason to believe that Labor is listening to the people now but rather that they are saying whatever they believe they need to say to cling to power.
How can she be believed? The arrogance of a campaign that totally ignores the betrayal perpetrated on NSW by the Labor Government over the last four years is breathtaking. For Kristina Keneally to introduce a fear campaign about the privatization of Hunter Water and Sydney Water is the height of hypocrisy after her Government's incompetent and highly unpopular disposal of publicly owned energy assets. How can we believe anything they say when State Labor also sold off the highly lucrative NSW Lotteries?
These policies weren't part of Labor's policy platform going into the 2007 election and there is no reason to believe that Labor is listening to the people now but rather that they are saying whatever they believe they need to say to cling to power.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Development Policy
A real concern for residents of NSW is the changes that have occurred to development matters. With an increasing attack on local planning decisions it should be remembered that the form of our communities has mostly been delivered by local decisions from councillors elected by and answerable to their communities. Most residents agree that we live an enviable lifestyle in one of the best areas in NSW - the arguments against local decision making just don't stack up yet the NSW Labor Government have been ruthless in transferring decisions to unaccountable and unrepresentative bodies.
Development Planning and Approval
I have a long record of supporting appropriate development in Lake Macquarie – balancing the demands of population growth, job creation, community development, and the environment is a complex task that has overall been well delivered in Lake Macquarie. Many of the most controversial proposals and approved developments have been taken from local decision makers at Lake Macquarie City Council as the NSW Labor government has increasingly been influenced by the development industry in their attack on local government across NSW. The NSW Labor government has introduced a variety of ways to centralise decisions away from local communities. This trend must be reversed.
Part 3A
It is rare that many people would know the name of a particular section of any legislation let alone the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act (EP&A Act). Part 3A of the EP&A Act may not be well read but its name is well known and the overwhelming reason for that is that communities across NSW resent the way in which it has been used and abused by a state government increasingly inclined to remove local decision making. Part 3A of the EP&A Act has become so abused it must be removed.
Part 3A was created to deal with development that was truly of State significance. Things such as water and gas pipelines, power stations, mines, port facilities and other major regional infrastructure are appropriately dealt with at this level. The use of these powers for residential subdivisions, shopping centres and the like has removed the decisions on too many matters from local representatives elected by community.
Part 3A must be repealed and replaced with a mechanism that restores decision making on local matters to the local community while allowing the State to refer truly state significant matters to an appropriate forum such as the Planning and Assessment Commission.
Joint Regional Planning Panels (JRPPs)
JRPPs were established by former Planning Minister Frank Sartor following a sustained campaign by many in the Development Industry to remove decision making from Councils. Minister Sartor set a value threshold of $40 million and above for matters to be referred to JRPPS but this was quickly changed to $10 million by his replacement, Kristina Keneally.
Joint Regional Planning Panels have five members of whom only two are nominated by a council. The members are appointed by the Minister and make use of the local council’s resources to assess Development Proposals.
Councils have generally dealt very well with development in their local areas. Councillors are members of the local community and are contactable by and answerable to their local residents. The use of JRPPs to determine applications is inappropriate and says more about the influence the development lobby has wielded with the current state government than it does about the councils that have lost these powers.
Councils cannot be excused from any responsibility to address legitimate concerns about their performance; these need to be addressed in a positive way, not by the process of continual removal of local representatives from decisions about their community. Joint Regional Planning Panels should be disbanded or their role changed to one of an advisory nature.
Local Government Planning Consent Powers
There are times when a particular council is identified as not performing appropriately or well in considering planning matters. A current method of dealing with this is to remove Planning Consent powers from that Council for a period of time and for those decisions to be dealt with by a Planning Panel appointed by the Minister. Current examples include councils at Wagga Wagga and Cessnock.
This process removes responsibility for decision making from elected representatives and further distances local residents from the decision making process – the panel members are not as accessible to residents as Councillors and they are not accountable to the community.
While the appointment of Planning Panels may clear backlogs of Development Applications and associated decisions, their appointment does nothing to improve the originally identified problem with the Council. That is why I have put before the Parliament a Bill which addresses the original concerns and at the same time strengthens the administrative and decision making process within the particular council.
The ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING AND ASSESSMENT AMENDMENT (MAINTENANCE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT DEVELOPMENT CONSENT POWERS) BILL 2010 would enable legislation that strengthens local decision making and is aimed at identifying and remedying problems in a positive way rather than using a method seen as punitive to the Council and alienating to residents. The Bill allows for quick action to be taken on the original concerns yet is positive in building the capacity of local decision makers. The text of my introductory speech on the Bill can be read at: http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LA20101203007
Friday, January 28, 2011
Keneally V Gillard
What an amazing response from the NSW Premier in arguing that Sydney siders should pay a lesser Commonwealth Flood Levy than other residents in NSW and around Australia!
I can accept that there is sentiment by some against the levy but I cannot accept there can be a differential levy. While it is true that the cost of living is overall higher in Sydney, it is also true that the average income in Sydney is higher than most other areas. How can the Premier set the interests of Sydney residents higher than others throughout the state who are also doing it tough?
The Premier perhaps should argue the mechanism for reconstruction funding including borrowing or deficit funding rather than creating another difference between Sydney and Regional NSW. One in, all in.
I can accept that there is sentiment by some against the levy but I cannot accept there can be a differential levy. While it is true that the cost of living is overall higher in Sydney, it is also true that the average income in Sydney is higher than most other areas. How can the Premier set the interests of Sydney residents higher than others throughout the state who are also doing it tough?
The Premier perhaps should argue the mechanism for reconstruction funding including borrowing or deficit funding rather than creating another difference between Sydney and Regional NSW. One in, all in.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Truth First Casualty in Labor Campaign
The Labor campaign for Lake Macquarie has begun with the launch of a website by Marcus Mariani. I have been through many elections over the years and I am disappointed to see the way in which it seems this one will be run by Labor. Even during the 2007 State election against incumbent Jeff Hunter, there were no personal attacks by any candidate. Certainly not by Jeff Hunter or myself.
This website launches a broad-ranging attack on me over many issues, including my representation as a State Member since March 2007 and my record with Lake Macquarie City Council (LMCC). By the very nature of Council decision-making and administration, the attacks are also a sleight on current and former councillors, as well as staff.
It is an unfortunate fact that while the Internet is a wonderful tool in so many ways, it is also a useful tool for misinformation. The issues and conclusions presented by this website are unlikely to have made mainstream media without at least some scrutiny. My Labor opponent is unknown in public life and therefore can rightly claim no responsibility for any decisions that may have been made in past years. I, however, have never shirked taking responsibility and while in some 20 years of public life I may have regretted some decisions, on balance I believe that most have been correct and that Lake Macquarie has advanced for the better over this time.
Let me respond to some claims by Marcus Mariani.
The claim that the performance of Lake Macquarie City Council has been dismal is clearly wrong. Councils in NSW are all facing financial difficulty due largely to imposts from the state government, yet LMCC remains one of the most financial councils in NSW. Yes, there is Council debt – an appropriate way of funding infrastructure that is normal practice for most Councils and other organisations including state and federal governments. It means that facilities are paid for by the beneficiaries over the life of the infrastructure. LMCC typically spends around 6% of its annual budget servicing debt – this figure is currently closer to 5%. This figure is very modest and quite manageable. Based on nearly every comparative figure provided by the Division of Local Government, Lake Macquarie is in overall good financial shape and very lean in its operation compared to similar Councils used for these comparisons.
The claim that Council would not fund the Warners Bay fireworks is simply not true. Council did fund the event with $10,000, but based on a policy introduced by Council and understood by all Chambers of Commerce, it could not justify the additional funding. Why didn’t I approach the Government for this funding? – Because it was not my State electorate! I am pleased that the Member for Charlestown did. The fact remains that Council was a major sponsor.
The proposed open cut mine between Cooranbong and Awaba remained a very real threat until just after I declared my candidacy in 2007. I am certain Jeff Hunter wished that it had been ruled out by then Minister Sartor earlier, but the fact is it wasn’t. The subsequent issue of a proposed auger mine however was not ruled out immediately and I am pleased that the campaign I ran on both these issues with the help of local residents, means it is highly unlikely such a proposal will appear again.
The issue of the Pasminco Lead Abatement Strategy (LAS) has also been used against me, but the reality is that the matter has always been a State issue with the LAS having been agreed by the State before I was elected to Parliament. That said, an approval was given and recently an amendment was applied for. I immediately secured an extension and widening of the exhibition. This has helped every affected resident understand the impact of the changes on their properties and allowed strong representation to the Department of Planning and the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water.
I have personally been involved in fighting the pollution from Pasminco long before I was elected to Council in 1991. Along with Ken Winning, an LMCC Councillor through the 1990’s, I successfully campaigned alongside the community against all forms of pollution from the smelter. Not trusting government backed EPA figures we moved for council funded carbon dioxide monitors in two locations. These showed Pasminco was well in excess of World Health Organisation standards for CO2. This exposure led to major production cuts and hastened the smelter’s ultimate closure.
This is hardly a record of inaction by Council; in fact it is the exact opposite and such ill-informed comments are a slap in the face to all councillors and staff over this period. For the record, Council opposed the 2007 Lead Abatement Strategy. A State Labor government approved the LAS with a Labor member in office at the time.
Also on something Mr Mariani clearly does not understand, he accuses me of being opposed to the proposed Trinity Point Marina yet using my casting vote to support it. Wrong! The issue of the marina was never before Council, having been taken over by the Minister for Planning through the infamous Part 3A process. What I did use my casting vote for was a question of whether any apartments built, as part of the land component, could be privately owned. The proposal, recommended by planning staff, was that up to 50% of apartments be allowed to be privately owned. I stand by my decision to support the recommendation. My position in relation to the proposed marina has never changed. I believe that it should have been in the order of 60 to 80 berths and that if there was a demonstrated need in years to come for further berths these should be considered on merit at the time.
As to my politics the website states that I have claimed to be “Green leaning”. It also claims I have thrown my lot in with the Liberal party. As a true Independent I make various calls on a multitude of issues and they are always based on merit, not Party politics. Any aspiring politician who cannot balance the environment and development will ultimately fail his electorate. Marcus’s statement on his web site that “Independents can be beneficial to democracy” followed by “the problem is they have their own agenda” graphically illustrates his ignorance of non party politics. Having invested the larger part of my time as a Councillor in environmental matters including the remediation of a Lake Macquarie I think I can fairly claim that balance on policy.
The claim that I have done nothing to advance a community hospital in western Lake Macquarie once again demonstrates the author’s ignorance of the issue. I called the first public meeting on this issue shortly after being elected and have been a member of a committee which has produced a well researched document for a health facility with hospital beds and multiple health services. Along with John Quinlan the hard working committee chairman, we have personally submitted this proposal to the Health Minister. Hunter New England Area Health is currently reviewing its strategic plans and the arguments we have formulated have been a significant contribution to that review. We must await the outcome of that planning but it has always been recognised that a hospital would take some time to deliver. Mr Mariani may care to attend the next public meeting to hear from local residents on the subject.
To attack my social values based on a review of Council libraries is misguided at best. The fact is that during a workshop with 8 councillors in attendance (including 1 Labor) all councillors agreed that our Library service delivery should be reviewed. With Libraries accounting for roughly 4% of our budget and the fact that closing even one or two make minimal difference to the overall budget, it was never put forward as a way to save money. Libraries are changing particularly with new technology and increased and excellent libraries within schools. Library visits are down and our review is looking to make sure that costs don’t continue to rise while usage drops. The Library service has been running without much change for many years. There have been many suggestions as to how the service can be modernized, including a greater educational and research role, new buildings and café facilities.
Halls today are not as relevant as they were for many reasons, but mostly because Council has been replacing them with new and much more functional facilities such as the multi-purpose centres at Toronto, Morisset, Swansea and Cameron Park. Pools are very costly to operate and should be looked at for efficiency and appropriateness for need. Since I have been Mayor we have upgraded a number of pools and acquired the Toronto centre. I don’t know which recommendation will be adopted, but I make no apology for supporting this necessary review. The schedule for any decision has not been set with an election in mind.
The new website makes an unsubstantiated and ludicrous claim that only 18% of the Council budget is spent on ratepayers. This is of course absurd! Council’s entire budget, apart from State levies and taxes, is spent on ratepayers. Staff deliver services and they must be paid.
The website also makes incorrect statements and assertions about the Coalition and myself. At the 2007 election I declined to give preferences to any Party. The Liberals chose to preference me without any conditions attached. The fact that the Liberal Party is reported to be not contesting Lake Macquarie in 2011 has surprised me but that is a matter for them. At this stage I have heard no confirmation that this is the case but if they do run I have no intention of any preference deal.
If there were a “hung parliament” it would be my intention to support the Party with the most number of seats - or given an equality of seats, the most primary votes. The record of the NSW ALP over the last years or so says that is more than they deserve, however I believe it is the only method of respecting the wishes of the majority.
This Labor campaign is strong on the attack, including claiming that it is hard to know what I stand for. I think that most people do know what I stand for and they know that I stand accountable – something I have never hidden from. The irony is that while I am so accused, the author of this website is unaccountable for the misinformation and the half-truths that it presents.
This website launches a broad-ranging attack on me over many issues, including my representation as a State Member since March 2007 and my record with Lake Macquarie City Council (LMCC). By the very nature of Council decision-making and administration, the attacks are also a sleight on current and former councillors, as well as staff.
It is an unfortunate fact that while the Internet is a wonderful tool in so many ways, it is also a useful tool for misinformation. The issues and conclusions presented by this website are unlikely to have made mainstream media without at least some scrutiny. My Labor opponent is unknown in public life and therefore can rightly claim no responsibility for any decisions that may have been made in past years. I, however, have never shirked taking responsibility and while in some 20 years of public life I may have regretted some decisions, on balance I believe that most have been correct and that Lake Macquarie has advanced for the better over this time.
Let me respond to some claims by Marcus Mariani.
The claim that the performance of Lake Macquarie City Council has been dismal is clearly wrong. Councils in NSW are all facing financial difficulty due largely to imposts from the state government, yet LMCC remains one of the most financial councils in NSW. Yes, there is Council debt – an appropriate way of funding infrastructure that is normal practice for most Councils and other organisations including state and federal governments. It means that facilities are paid for by the beneficiaries over the life of the infrastructure. LMCC typically spends around 6% of its annual budget servicing debt – this figure is currently closer to 5%. This figure is very modest and quite manageable. Based on nearly every comparative figure provided by the Division of Local Government, Lake Macquarie is in overall good financial shape and very lean in its operation compared to similar Councils used for these comparisons.
The claim that Council would not fund the Warners Bay fireworks is simply not true. Council did fund the event with $10,000, but based on a policy introduced by Council and understood by all Chambers of Commerce, it could not justify the additional funding. Why didn’t I approach the Government for this funding? – Because it was not my State electorate! I am pleased that the Member for Charlestown did. The fact remains that Council was a major sponsor.
The proposed open cut mine between Cooranbong and Awaba remained a very real threat until just after I declared my candidacy in 2007. I am certain Jeff Hunter wished that it had been ruled out by then Minister Sartor earlier, but the fact is it wasn’t. The subsequent issue of a proposed auger mine however was not ruled out immediately and I am pleased that the campaign I ran on both these issues with the help of local residents, means it is highly unlikely such a proposal will appear again.
The issue of the Pasminco Lead Abatement Strategy (LAS) has also been used against me, but the reality is that the matter has always been a State issue with the LAS having been agreed by the State before I was elected to Parliament. That said, an approval was given and recently an amendment was applied for. I immediately secured an extension and widening of the exhibition. This has helped every affected resident understand the impact of the changes on their properties and allowed strong representation to the Department of Planning and the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water.
I have personally been involved in fighting the pollution from Pasminco long before I was elected to Council in 1991. Along with Ken Winning, an LMCC Councillor through the 1990’s, I successfully campaigned alongside the community against all forms of pollution from the smelter. Not trusting government backed EPA figures we moved for council funded carbon dioxide monitors in two locations. These showed Pasminco was well in excess of World Health Organisation standards for CO2. This exposure led to major production cuts and hastened the smelter’s ultimate closure.
This is hardly a record of inaction by Council; in fact it is the exact opposite and such ill-informed comments are a slap in the face to all councillors and staff over this period. For the record, Council opposed the 2007 Lead Abatement Strategy. A State Labor government approved the LAS with a Labor member in office at the time.
Also on something Mr Mariani clearly does not understand, he accuses me of being opposed to the proposed Trinity Point Marina yet using my casting vote to support it. Wrong! The issue of the marina was never before Council, having been taken over by the Minister for Planning through the infamous Part 3A process. What I did use my casting vote for was a question of whether any apartments built, as part of the land component, could be privately owned. The proposal, recommended by planning staff, was that up to 50% of apartments be allowed to be privately owned. I stand by my decision to support the recommendation. My position in relation to the proposed marina has never changed. I believe that it should have been in the order of 60 to 80 berths and that if there was a demonstrated need in years to come for further berths these should be considered on merit at the time.
As to my politics the website states that I have claimed to be “Green leaning”. It also claims I have thrown my lot in with the Liberal party. As a true Independent I make various calls on a multitude of issues and they are always based on merit, not Party politics. Any aspiring politician who cannot balance the environment and development will ultimately fail his electorate. Marcus’s statement on his web site that “Independents can be beneficial to democracy” followed by “the problem is they have their own agenda” graphically illustrates his ignorance of non party politics. Having invested the larger part of my time as a Councillor in environmental matters including the remediation of a Lake Macquarie I think I can fairly claim that balance on policy.
The claim that I have done nothing to advance a community hospital in western Lake Macquarie once again demonstrates the author’s ignorance of the issue. I called the first public meeting on this issue shortly after being elected and have been a member of a committee which has produced a well researched document for a health facility with hospital beds and multiple health services. Along with John Quinlan the hard working committee chairman, we have personally submitted this proposal to the Health Minister. Hunter New England Area Health is currently reviewing its strategic plans and the arguments we have formulated have been a significant contribution to that review. We must await the outcome of that planning but it has always been recognised that a hospital would take some time to deliver. Mr Mariani may care to attend the next public meeting to hear from local residents on the subject.
To attack my social values based on a review of Council libraries is misguided at best. The fact is that during a workshop with 8 councillors in attendance (including 1 Labor) all councillors agreed that our Library service delivery should be reviewed. With Libraries accounting for roughly 4% of our budget and the fact that closing even one or two make minimal difference to the overall budget, it was never put forward as a way to save money. Libraries are changing particularly with new technology and increased and excellent libraries within schools. Library visits are down and our review is looking to make sure that costs don’t continue to rise while usage drops. The Library service has been running without much change for many years. There have been many suggestions as to how the service can be modernized, including a greater educational and research role, new buildings and café facilities.
Halls today are not as relevant as they were for many reasons, but mostly because Council has been replacing them with new and much more functional facilities such as the multi-purpose centres at Toronto, Morisset, Swansea and Cameron Park. Pools are very costly to operate and should be looked at for efficiency and appropriateness for need. Since I have been Mayor we have upgraded a number of pools and acquired the Toronto centre. I don’t know which recommendation will be adopted, but I make no apology for supporting this necessary review. The schedule for any decision has not been set with an election in mind.
The new website makes an unsubstantiated and ludicrous claim that only 18% of the Council budget is spent on ratepayers. This is of course absurd! Council’s entire budget, apart from State levies and taxes, is spent on ratepayers. Staff deliver services and they must be paid.
The website also makes incorrect statements and assertions about the Coalition and myself. At the 2007 election I declined to give preferences to any Party. The Liberals chose to preference me without any conditions attached. The fact that the Liberal Party is reported to be not contesting Lake Macquarie in 2011 has surprised me but that is a matter for them. At this stage I have heard no confirmation that this is the case but if they do run I have no intention of any preference deal.
If there were a “hung parliament” it would be my intention to support the Party with the most number of seats - or given an equality of seats, the most primary votes. The record of the NSW ALP over the last years or so says that is more than they deserve, however I believe it is the only method of respecting the wishes of the majority.
This Labor campaign is strong on the attack, including claiming that it is hard to know what I stand for. I think that most people do know what I stand for and they know that I stand accountable – something I have never hidden from. The irony is that while I am so accused, the author of this website is unaccountable for the misinformation and the half-truths that it presents.
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