Central Coast Council Administrator, Mr Dick Persson AM has terminated the employment of Mr Gary Murphy, Chief Executive Officer of Central Coast Council, in accordance with the provisions of Mr Murphy’s Contract of Employment, effective immediately.

The need for safety vigilance has been amplified as the Central Coast enters what is expected to be the busiest summer season on record.Central Coast Council’s new ‘Coast Summer Safety ’ campaign will highlight messages unique to the upcoming season – COVID-safety, record numbers at local beaches and preparing for extreme La Niña weather – as well as important safety reminders for when ‘out and about’, travelling and celebrating.Council Director Connected Communities, Julie Vaughan said a bumper summer season would deliver a welcome economic boost to the region but also heightened the importance of safety.“This summer is going to be a little different to others – not only are we expecting record numbers of visitors to our beautiful region but we remain in the midst of a global pandemic and a La Niña weather pattern,” Ms Vaughan said.“With more people at our beaches, cafes, restaurants, shops and tourist attractions – we must be vigilant in our COVID-safe practices.“Time in and around water is a big part of summer on the Coast but wherever there is water there is danger and this campaign emphasises what we can do to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.“We are no strangers to extreme weather on the Coast and this summer we need to be ready for bush fires, heatwaves, storms and flooding.“Our roads and pathways will also be very busy and many of us will be travelling for holidays and to visit family and friends – this campaign reminds us what we can do to be safer on and around roads and pathways.”Coast Summer Safety will primarily be delivered via an innovative and targeted digital campaign in December, January and February across the following categories:Be COVID-safeSafety on the beach and around water‘Get Ready’ for extreme weatherSafety out and aboutSafe travelsSafe celebrationsCouncil Administrator, Dick Persson AM said safety needs to be front of mind this summer.“A bumper season means job opportunities on the Coast and a welcome boost to the local economy, particularly to businesses hit hard by COVID,” Mr Persson said.“We all need to be patient and kind and take simple steps to keep ourselves and others safe.”Explore Coast Summer Safety messages by visiting centralcoast.gov.au/CoastSummerSafety

Central Coast Council is giving the community additional opportunities to speak about coastal erosion at Wamberal with virtual sessions added to the program this week.Council’s Environment and Planning Director, Scott Cox said he was pleased with the drop-in sessions completed last week.“The drop-in sessions we held last week were a great opportunity for our community to stop by, have a chat about their ideas and concerns, and for us to hear what is important to them,” said Mr Cox.“I’m pleased to say the sessions were a positive experience with respectful conversations covering a wide range of topics.“We have heard however, some concerns about the timing of the drop-in sessions, and so we have decided to add two opportunities for virtual sessions this week.“These sessions will be held late afternoon and over lunchtime to give people an opportunity to dial in during their lunch break or after work.”More than 90 people took the opportunity to meet with Council staff and representatives from the NSW Government and the Wamberal Taskforce last week.

Sale of assets will help Council’s bottom lineCentral Coast Council’s sale of several properties will deliver a much-needed boost to Council’s financial position and financial sustainability.

Drivers and commuters should avoid the area around Gosford High School and Gosford Hospital for 24 hours from 6pm on Tuesday, 1 December.Traffic at the intersection of Racecourse and Showground Roads will experience major disruptions while a leaking water main under the roadway is repaired.

The Entrance looks to be on track for a record baby boom of the feather kind, with positive signs the threatened Little Tern's are having a bumper year.Monitoring of nesting sites at Karagi Point has revealed 58 nests, with 144 eggs in total, a record since Little Terns starting nesting in the area in 1998.Central Coast Council’s Environmental Management Unit Manager, Luke Sulkowski said he was pleased to see Little Terns return to the Central Coast.“We’re very lucky to have Little Terns visit us from as far away as Indonesia and South-east Asia every summer," Mr Sulkowski said.“Unfortunately, due to habitat loss, human disturbance and predators, the Little Tern is an endangered species, so we are thrilled to have observed record numbers of breeding pairs and eggs this season.“State-wide, numbers of nesting pairs are declining by about 3 percent per year, which makes high-performing nesting sites such as Karagi Point all the more important for the species long-term survival.”Council, in consultation with NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, have installed temporary fencing and signage around the breeding area to protect the nests and chicks."I want to thank the community for being respectful of the nesting sites and urge them to continue to take care and obey the temporary fencing and signage, so that we may get to enjoy these special visitors and their growing families," Mr Sulkowski added.Image credit Andrew Robinson  

Central Coast Council Administrator, Mr Dick Persson AM has today delivered his 30-Day Interim Report at an Extraordinary Meeting of Council. Mr Persson said this report provides the community with a picture into the history of how poor financial decisions and catastrophic budget mismanagement has led Australia’s 6th largest council to the situation they find themselves in today. “The financial crisis confronting the Central Coast Council is very serious.

Central Coast Council Administrator, Mr Dick Persson AM has made a request to the Federal Government to intervene and provide leadership in managing coastal erosion. Mr Persson said current devastating events further north on the east coast highlights the need for the Federal Government to take a lead in managing coastal erosion to deliver a long term solution. “Yesterday I wrote to the Prime Minister The Hon Scott Morrison MP encouraging the Federal Government to provide the necessary leadership on what is clearly becoming a national emergency,” said Mr Persson.“I acknowledge both state and local governments have responsibilities particularly in terms of managing the crises as they are happening however it is now clear that national leadership is required in managing coastal erosion for the long term."Mr Persson states in previous appointments he has dealt with serious coastal erosion problems, in particular the devasting 2016 coastal erosion event at Collaroy NSW, with the famous image of the private swimming pool ending up on the beach.“Wamberal residents on the Central Coast have recently experienced their own devastating erosion event, where we saw images of houses hanging by a thread.“More and more we are seeing our coastlines and communities being severely impacted by coastal erosion events. “While the argument receiving most publicity is over seawalls, whether to have them and who should pay, the expert advice is that the only real long term option for preventing the loss of many of our beaches lies in large-scale sand nourishment sourced from off shore deposits.“These events are occurring in many parts of Australia and are happening more often and with greater intensity.

Young people, disability and community groups, along with The Entrance Men’s Shed have come together with their creative talents to create the Big Chair interactive art installations, which are now set up in five Central Coast town centres for the local community and visitors to enjoy this Summer.Five oversized wooden chairs have been constructed by members of The Entrance Men’s Shed and used as the canvas for artwork created by young people from Gorokan and Terrigal High Schools and The Epicentre Community Centre, plus a team from Fairhaven’s Australian Disability Enterprise Team.

Central Coast Council Administrator, Mr Dick Persson AM said media reports that there was a plan to sell Central Coast water is absolutely untrue. “I suspect this story has been placed by a person trying to deflect from their contribution to the financial disaster which is upon the Central Coast Council” said Mr Persson. “This issue was mentioned in a media interview on ABC with one of the local members of parliament, and a prominent local business man told me it was something that should be looked into.