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One Northern Beaches Council - submissions close Friday 8 April
Fellow Mountain Bikers,
Normally I am an apathetic participant in life (well to some extent), but as a passionate mountain biker, and having seen the vitriol expressed by some in our community opposing a mega council, I believe apathy will see a once in a life time opportunity missed, to the detriment of our children and future communities that need to maintain the unique northern beaches environment.
Many of us have enjoyed the mountain bike trails on the northern Beaches. Many of us, when referring to our mountain bike trails, we say the trails that we have riden are on the northern Beaches.
Manly Dam, Bare Creek proposal, Serrata and Garnia, Red Hill, Oxford Falls, Terrey Hills are all located within Warringah's local government area and whilst some are located within national parks, imagine the power of a single Council advocating for mountain biking facilities. Maintenance would become significantly more achieveable with a larger single council.
Perhaps the Bare Creek mountain bike proposal might be a more viable prospect for a council with a population of 250,000 vs one of 150,000?
This concept doesnt just apply to mountain bikers, parallels can be drawn on sport field maintenance, beach reserve services, and many other Council services, like waste collection, road maintenance, etc.
If you believe that local government reform is necessary, I would encourage you to make a submission using the link below
Your comment only needs to be short and outline whether or not you support the idea of one northern beaches council (the merging of Warringah Pittwater and Manly.
More detailed submissions should focus on the Boundary Commissions terms of reference which include:
- financial advantages/disadvantages - efficiency of broader services
- community of interest (ie Nobmobers are northern beaches mtbers, not split existing regional centres (hospital, dee why and brookvale between 2), other regional programs, transport lobbying, lagoon catchment management
- the ability of a new council to provide equitable services and facilities
- any other factors impacting on efficient and effective local govt and services
I encourage you all to make a submission, it only takes a minute. You can do it on line with the link below by 5PM ON FRIDAY 8 APRIL TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
Please note that you DO NOT NEED TO BE A RESIDENT OR RATEPAYER to make a submission.
https://www.councilboundaryreview.nsw.gov.au/pro...
Thanks
Steve
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Thanks for the link Steve, but my submission was against a single mega Council for the Northern Beaches.
I simply cannot believe the spin & half-truths that are being pushed about any efficiencies & savings that would potentially result. Since when does creating a lager bureaucracy equate to fast & streamlined services? Telstra? RMS?
In regards to how it affects Mountain Biking - you’re drawing a very long bow if you're expecting that a larger organisation is going to suddenly be interested in funding & supporting in a minority fringe sport.
It's not a minority sport. In terms of participation it beats soccer.
Will amalgamation help cycling (on and off road)?
In Manly, possibly. Getting rid of Henry Wong as General Manager can only be a good thing.
Same also in Warringah. Seeing the back of Rik Hart who tried to close Manly Dam singletrack to MTBs and killed off Council's necessary involvement in Bare Creek Bike Park , causing the project to fail, would make me very happy.
Pittwater on the other hand probably not so much. I gather they've been a lot more sympathetic.
What concerns me is that Mr Hart could end up being GM for the whole shebang.
So while we'd have to deal with one bureaucracy and that might be easier, it also carries higher risks.
The Telstra example is salient. They are such a PITA to deal with, stunningly incompetent. That's what happens when there is no effective competition.
That's my concern, too.
It's extremely likely that in the event of a single Northern Beaches Council, that the senior executive would be dominated by the current Warringah cohorts.
From today's SMH:
"The government has already sought expressions of interest from councillors willing to serve on the mega councils. A willingness to support the merger plans is a key criteria."
I understand that a similar process would follow for the executive positions at GM & Director level, since they are on individual contracts, although general staff have legislated continued employment under the Local Government Act..
Since Warringah have been the only ones supporting the single Northern Beaches Council, it follows that the Manly & Pittwater executive will be excluded - for not supporting the State Liberal's views. Gotta love democracy....