This morning I released my submission-in-reply to the Commissioner leading the Public Inquiry into Central Coast Council, following the conclusion of the public hearings. My submission makes eight recommendations for the Commissioner’s consideration.

From listening to testimonies, I feel it's imperative the Commissioner, and the community, understand the sheer magnitude of what we were dealing with, particularly in the first two months of Administration, and the timeline in my submission clearly indicates this.

Mapping out this timeline and providing additional evidence, is not to gain sympathy from the community, but rather an appreciation and understanding of the fast-paced environment we were working within, the constraints placed on us, and the hard decisions required.  

Over the 12-month period at Council, experience to date appears to show that none of the state government agencies had any experience in dealing with a local government entity being placed into receivership and being required to seek commercial solutions. I am of the view the state government did not fully understand the consequences of the initial decision to request that we seek commercial funding to support the business. This decision further complicated Council’s ability to financial recover.

The submission also corrects key information and inaccuracies made throughout the public hearings.

The full submission can now be found on Council’s website under Administrator.

Rik Hart, Administrator