Mayor McKinna

Mayor Lawrie McKinna was elected as Mayor of Central Coast Council in October 2024 for a term of two years.

He is committed to working hard to ensure council delivers on community priorities.

Persistence, teamwork and community are key themes for Mayor of The Central Coast, Lawrie McKinna.

Lawrie was born in Galston, on the West Coast of Scotland, and when he was two-and-a-half, his family moved to Australia. He lived in Sydney for two years then moved to Auckland, New Zealand, before returning to Scotland when he was five. At school, Lawrie was obsessed with football. He began his sporting career as a striker with Galston United, then was striker with junior side Darvel before signing with local professional club, Kilmarnock, in 1982.

Lawrie moved to Australia in 1986 and went on to play for several clubs in the National Soccer League and state leagues. His coaching career began in 1992 as Assistant Manager with Blacktown City. In 1995 he was a player/manager for Hills United before going on to hold the Assistant Coach role with Sydney Olympic, Sydney United and Parramatta Power Football Clubs.

In 2002, Lawrie’s management career took off with Northern Spirit and he won the National Soccer League ‘Coach of the Year’ Award after taking the team to their first finals campaign in three years. He has also coached Chinese Super League Club Chengdu and China League One side Chongging Lifan. Lawrie is credited with establishing the region’s first A-League sporting team, the Central Coast Mariners, who he coached to two grand finals, as well as winning a minor premiership and pre-season cup. He served as Head Coach from 2005 to 2010 and Director of Football for the Central Coast Mariners, winning the A-League ‘Coach of the Year’ Award during the 2005/2006 season, and became the Mariner’s Ambassador in 2014. In June 2016, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Newcastle Jets and was in the role until 2021. Lawrie is well known in football and business circles. He served as Chair of Regional Development Australia Central Coast from January 2021 to 22 October 2024 and is currently on the Board of Directors at Sydney Olympic Football club, formally the CEO from January 2022 to December 2024.

Lawrie’s political career began when he became a Councillor for the City of Gosford in 2012. He was elected Mayor and served until the amalgamation of Gosford and Wyong in 2016. Lawrie led Team Central Coast in the 2024 Council elections and is now Mayor of The Central Coast for the next two years. He is honoured to have been elected Mayor and is delighted to be serving the community he loves once again.

Lawrie and his wife Christine have been married for 44 years, have two sons and two grandsons and have lived on the Central Coast for 20 years. He describes making the decision to move his wife and two young boys to Australia to play football as one of the toughest, but most fortunate, of his life. Lawrie believes that he’s learned a thing or two about teamwork over his career. He’s keen to use his team-building skills to lead the new Council as they work together to serve the community.

Publications of the Mayor's diary

Mayor McKinna Diary 5 October 2024 - 31 December 2025

Mayor

Hinterland highlights at Harvest Festival

We’re truly fortunate to live in such a beautiful part of the world that stretches from the mountains to the sea.
- 02/06/2025
Mayor

Key to the Coast for Mariners

In a fairy-tale ending to the 2024-25 season, our Central Coast Mariners women’s team became the Ninja A-League champions after an incredible grand final win against Melbourne Victory. I watched the live stream of the game from AAMI Park at Industree Stadium surrounded by excited fans, and the atmosphere was electric! This team has achieved so much after re-joining the competition just two years ago.
- 26/05/2025
Mayor

Our May Community Champion - Paula Hardwick

On behalf of our community, I’d like to recognise Paula Hardwick for her significant efforts in helping others by acknowledging her as a Central Coast Community Champion. Paula is s ‘Super Volunteer’.
- 22/05/2025
Mayor

Volunteers - Connecting Communities

National Volunteer Week runs from 19 to 25 May and celebrates the power of volunteering to bring people together.
- 20/05/2025
Mayor

Drive so others survive

National Road Safety Week 2025, which runs this week, is an important reminder that we all have a role to play in helping to reduce the number of serious injuries and fatalities on our roads.The week also coincides with the United Nations Global Road Safety Week.Every year, approximately 1200 people are killed and another 40,000 are seriously injured on Australian roads.
- 12/05/2025
Mayor

Have your say on our big plans

We’re seeking your feedback on the big plans that will shape our community. All Councils in NSW must prepare long and short-term plans showing their projects and activities each year and place these draft plans on exhibition for people to have their say. Our draft plans reflect the priorities of residents, ensure people have an active role in shaping their future, assign resources to services and activities, and show how we’ll report progress. The 10-year Community Strategic Plan describes our community’s vision for the future, with goals and actions to guide our planning.The four-year Delivery Program sets out our priorities and the one-year Operational Plan outlines the specific activities and projects to be delivered in the year ahead. Council’s resourcing strategies, including the four-year draft Workforce Management Strategy 2025-2029, 10-year draft Asset Management Strategy 2025-2035 and 10-year draft Long-Term Financial Plan, plus our Fees and Charges for 2025-26, describe how we can achieve the community’s goals through time, money, assets, and people. The development of our draft Long-Term Financial Plan required careful consideration and the plan we’re presenting for your feedback takes a responsible approach to managing our resources and sets us up for a financially sustainable future. It’s been gratifying to produce a Delivery Program with input from Councillors.
- 05/05/2025
Mayor

Community Champions Lachlan Hobman and Elijah Rea

Our community is fortunate to have people who, through perseverance and resilience, inspire others. Lachlan Hobman and Elijah Rea, both winners in our 2025 Central Coast Youth Week Awards, are young men who through their own lived experiences have become mentors and advocates for others. After living in alternative care arrangements since he was 11 years old, Lachlan is now a youth advocate with the Create Foundation and supports other young people through the challenges of living out of home.
- 28/04/2025
Mayor

Have your say on future water & sewer service improvements

We recently asked people about their water and sewer service and learned that quality and reliability are important priorities.Your feedback is now needed to guide the next steps in our water and sewer pricing journey.You are invited to have a say on how we balance future water and sewer service improvements with costs, reliability, and service quality.Your feedback will help shape Council’s submission to the NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) who will set the prices for water and sewerage services that will come into effect from 1 July 2026.You can pop-in to one of our stalls across the Central Coast from now to Sunday 11 May 2025 and have your say.Council staff will be at the Erina Fair (outside Erina Library) on 29 April 2025 from 9am to 2pm, Westfields Tuggerah on 1 May 2025 from 2pm to 7pm, Bateau Bay Square on 3 May 2025 from 9am to 2pm, Deepwater Plaza Woy Woy on 6 May 2025 from 11am to 4pm, and Lake Munmorah Shopping Centre on 8 May 2025 from 1pm to 6pm.To learn more about our future water and sewer service options, visit the Your Voice Our Coast. Mayor Lawrie McKinna
- 22/04/2025
Mayor

Putting our community first

Federal funding is vital for our community and we’re joining Councils across Australia in calling for a greater commitment to increased funding for local government in this year’s federal election.We’re getting behind the Australian Local Government Association’s ‘Put Our Communities First’ campaign that has a goal of securing more federal funds to help local governments deliver national priorities. We’re supporting five national funding priorities.
- 14/04/2025
Mayor

Easter and school holiday activities

The Easter long weekend and school holidays are fast approaching and many of us will enjoy some extra time with friends and family. Autumn is a beautiful time to visit the Central Coast, and we can expect an increase in visitor numbers – which is great for our local tourism industry – as people come to enjoy our stunning coast and natural environment. We have a great school holiday program held across our libraries, an Earth Day community planting event, Movie Nights, and other fun activities happening in our communities.
- 08/04/2025
Mayor

Welcome new citizens

We proudly welcomed 180 of Australia’s newest citizens at a Citizenship Ceremony today at The Art House, Wyong.People originated from 42 different countries including China, the Philippines, the UK, New Zealand, South Africa and many more.Since our nation’s very first citizenship ceremony in 1949, over 6 million people from countries across the globe have been granted Australian citizenship. Becoming an Australian Citizen is a significant milestone in people’s lives, and it was inspiring to be part of the excitement as they pledged their commitment to Australia and to our shared values. Our next citizenship ceremony will take place in June, and I look forward to welcoming more people and celebrating the diversity they bring to our community. On behalf of Council and the community, I’d like to congratulate our newest citizens on this major step in their life journey and wish them a bright future as part of our great nation. Mayor Lawrie McKinna
- 01/04/2025
Mayor

The renewal of local roads is a high priority

We’ve listened to our community, and we understand that renewal of local roads is a high priority.In response to your feedback, Council has produced a 10-Year Road Renewal Program that commits over $400 million to repairing local roads and will inform our four-year Delivery Program and annual Operational Plans.The 10-year plan was developed following a road condition survey to gather the most accurate information on every Council managed road in our network, and an independent review of Council’s practices to ensure the way we prioritise road projects and develop renewal programs uses best practice and innovation.Before the program was finalised, Councillors participated in a strategic workshop that took a detailed, technical approach to identifying the local roads most in need of renewal.
- 27/03/2025
Mayor

Improving Development Assessment

Council is committed to continuously improving services, and one of the key projects we have underway is focussed on improving our development assessment process. We have a growing region and understand that the way we work needs to keep pace with this growth. This is why we’re investing $8M into a program to improve development assessment.We’re working to ensure our people and processes are as effective as they can be, and that development assessment timeframes get better and better.We’re recruiting more people and investing in mentoring and training junior staff to build their skills, create career pathways and increase our planning and assessment capacity for the long term. And we’re improving our customer responsiveness, with more than 80 per cent of enquiries now being answered within target timeframes. I’d like to wholeheartedly thank the 120 people from the development industry who attended our recent ‘Building a Strong Foundation for the Future’ forum.
- 20/03/2025
Mayor

Matthew, Kerry and Adam are local heroes

Selfless actions and quick thinking by Matthew Hindson, Kerry Langdon-Down and Adam Yager helped to save the life of young surfer, Kenzi. Kenzi was surfing at North Shelly Beach with his brother when he was struck by his surfboard and passed out in the water.Matthew, Kerry and Adam worked together to pull him from the water and alert lifeguards Stu Sohier, Ian Stewart, Joel Barry and Toby Cracknell who took over until paramedics arrived.I’m pleased to say that Kenzi is safe and well due to the heroic efforts, care and concern of these everyday heroes. Thanks also to Craig Healy, our Beach Safety Team Leader, for following up to make sure everyone was okay. I’m sure you’ll agree that this was an exceptional effort.
- 06/03/2025
Mayor

Celebrating our seniors

Did you know that more than 40 per cent of people on the Central Coast are aged over 50? Every year, as part of the NSW Seniors Festival, we create a full program of events and activities specially designed for people 50 and over to celebrate their contribution to our community.For 12 days, over multiple locations across the Coast, seniors can enjoy free and discounted entertainment, learn something new, enjoy seminars, workshops, art exhibitions, author talks and much more. Our two Seniors Expos will be a highlight of our festival.
- 06/03/2025
Mayor

Renewing our roads

Maintaining our local roads is a topic of importance for many residents.
- 19/02/2025
Mayor

A trilogy of community champions

Community Champions Catherine Deblaere, Nicole Jackson and Lauren McDonnell from Trilogy Foundation, are dedicated to supporting and improving the lives of vulnerable people and people living with disability in our community. Catherine, through her passion for helping others and experience in health care, identified significant gaps in welfare management and support in the Central Coast and the idea of a Foundation was born to fill those gaps for vulnerable people.Trilogy Disability Services opened in March 2017 and have become known for their excellence in service provision. Catherine’s four children are all involved in the family business of Trilogy and she’s also a nan to six grandchildren. Catherine, Nicole and Lauren are wonderful Community Champions, and their efforts are appreciated by everyone they serve. Mayor Lawrie McKinna
- 18/02/2025
Mayor

Be safe on our beaches and waterways

We’re fortunate to have a beautiful 80km coastline, with more than 40 unique beaches to enjoy year-round. We’re home to bay beaches, open ocean, accessible beaches, dog-friendly beaches, pristine lakes, and lagoons.In the warmer months, the Central Coast becomes a destination of choice for national and international tourists, and our beaches and waterways take centre stage. Fifteen of our beaches are patrolled, and our lifeguards do an incredible job of keeping people safe. Tragically, each year a number of drowning and near-drowning incidents take place despite our best efforts. I urge you to be safe around our waterways by following the advice of Royal Life Saving Australia.
- 10/02/2025
Mayor

Applauding our award winners

It was fantastic to attend this year’s Australia Day Awards ceremony and meet the incredible award nominees and winners.These are people who have gone above and beyond the call to serve the community they love, and it’s fitting they have been acknowledged for their significant contributions.Congratulations to the winner of the Central Coast Citizen of the Year Award for 2025, Happiness Habits, a not-for-profit organisation supporting disadvantaged women.
- 28/01/2025
Mayor

Welcome to 2025!

We’re off to a great start with some exciting projects being delivered in 2025, including the completion and grand opening of the Gosford Regional Library and Community Centre.
- 10/01/2025