On the Mountain

Parrot-ox

2020-06-28T19:24:00.000-07:00

Paradoxical Post-Pandemic Prognostications

Or: Getting back “going forward”: perhaps just a Conservative oxymoron.

Paradox

A paradox is an impossible entity or statement combining contradictory ideas and characteristics, e.g. “All animals are equal but some are more equal than others”

(George Orwell Animal Farm, 1945). Or, “intelligent voters don’t vote”. But perhaps it is not paradoxical that politicians who lie to the electorate, then, when elected, praise voters’ ability to see through lies.

The parrot-ox

One end squawks (perhaps prophetically), the other produces enriching manure (often odorous). The Parrot-ox is a paradoxical entity combining contradictory qualities that never-the-less refers obliquely to a truth. Its dissonance keeps us alive in the question, without claiming to have an answer.

Consider the paradox of a country (or world) where people make a living by taking in each other’s washing, as being a cipher for a global post-industrial service-dominated economy.

Paradox of perpetual growth

Whether you live here on the Mountain, in the Jordan Valley, the Tibetan Plateau or the Brazilian Rain Forest, there is an inescapable economic trajectory that will lead to major global disruption unless corrected.

In the short-term, post-pandemic, we all want to restore business in order to take care of peoples’ welfare, and it is clear that the benefits of utilising financial capital to raise standards of living in an industrialised economy is understood, even if those benefits are not equally shared. We desire the benefits of an endlessly and exponentially expanding economy, but live in a world of limited resources with globally competing free market economies that in the long-term will exhaust increasingly contested resource advantages leading to conflict. As pointed out by ethnographer Robert Jaulin in his book La Paix blanche (1970), when competitive economies based on accumulation by appropriation exhaust weaker economies they will turn upon each other.

In the words of Robert L Heilbroner, the economist and author of ‘An Inquiry into the Human Prospect’ (1976).There are conditions that “define the life span of our present system, or of its politicised successor, State-dominated capitalism. First, we are leaving an historic epoch in which the expansive drive of capitalism could be accommodated by a rich and vast environment and entering an epoch in which that drive must be blunted and ultimately stopped by the intractable obstacles of nature. The challenge arises because industrial growth, or capitalist expansion, is an exponential process —a process that proceeds like a snowball, requiring continuously increasing quantities of resources and spewing forth continuously increasing quantities of wastes, simply to maintain a constant pace of expansion”.

Papagalophobia (or Psittacophobia) – Fear of Parrots

Why do those with authority not listen to warnings and expert advice, be it bushfires, climate change, pandemics, structural economic weaknesses or financial crises, he squawked, and rule instead with “the insolence of office”?(Hamlet).

The pandemic has been an over due wake-up call for people to listen and learn. It has revealed the cracks in the system. It is through the cracks that light can shine.

But will this opportunity be wasted? There is a looming danger that the rare chance to create a fairer more equitable society, with respect for the natural world, will be ignored.

Are we asleep to reality or in intoxicated torpor with what Fredrich Neitzche described as amor fati – love of fate? An attitude in which one sees everything that happens in one's life, including suffering and loss, as good or, at the very least, necessary.

Will this moment of reflection, redefinition and re-evaluation be drowned out by the booming bombast of empty barrels, the cacophonous chorus of the Murdoch media, the tuneless trumpeting of the tamperers with truth, (the addled assertions of alliteration addicts) and the sly slogans of salvation soothsayers?

Speaking of such: Morrison Mints Marketing Mantra. Or does he.

Building Back Better

Irony:

A new booklet, Build Back Better, has just been released (18^th June) edited by the UK Liberal Democrat MP, Layla Moran. It is a collection of essays advocating ideas such as a universal basic income, free broadband, and a new and more ambitious green investment bank; all heretical ideas to the Morrison government’s ideology.

So we must pose a paradox

What could “better” be? What could be better? What is the question? Which part of to be or not to be do you not understand?

Half a bee, philosophically,
Must, ipso facto, half not be.
But half the bee has got to be
Vis a vis, its entity. D'you see?

But can a bee be said to be
Or not to be an entire bee
When half the bee is not a bee
Due to some ancient injury?

(Eric the Half a Bee. Monty Python)

As with Shakespeare’s Hamlet we are faced with an existential paradox of mutually exclusive being.

To be, or not to be, that is the question:

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles

And by opposing end them.

……………………………………

Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,

And thus the native hue of resolution

Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,

And enterprises of great pitch and moment

With this regard their currents turn awry

And lose the name of action.

On our sea of troubles we must not turn away, be complicit and embrace amor fati, an abrogation

of being, leading to Neitzsche’s concept of eternal recurrence, condemned to repeat the same

historical mistakes over and over.

It is time for action and resolve, if a better future is to be achieved.

Looming over our post-pandemic world is a future predicted in the squawks and droppings of

Robert Heilbroner: State controlled capitalism and centralised economic planning, where, as in

Aldus Huxley’s dystopian Brave new World (1932), people are “designed” and produced to fit the

requirements of the economy. We see this trajectory plotted in the Morrison government’s

proposed changes to university education, downgrading the humanities and creating job-ready

science and technology graduates. Or as Henry Ford said “History is more or less bunk” (1916) .

(“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” George Santayana)

Tell your local politician that you are intelligent, you vote, and demand this pandemic crisis be the

crack that lets light shine on the urgent need for reform, and that leads to action.

Tell them:

A man of words and not of deeds

Is like a garden full of weeds

(A rhyming nursery proverb c.1680)

Strangers in Parrotise

2020-06-28T18:55:00.001-07:00

STRANGERS IN PARROTISE

A Political Pandemic Pantomime

CAST:

A parrot (a Pet Shop Galah)

Dame Minister, Twin sister of Captain Slither and owner of the ship.

Captain Peter Slither, An enabler, ships captain and navigator.

A Fairy.

Jim (narrator).

SCENE 1. Where we started, with a fair wind rising abaft.

Parrot: Ahoy! Stand by to come about! Aawk!

Captain Slither: With a crew of rascally ruffians and rogues, we are on our way back! Look, I have a map!

There be an island with treasure and gold for all!

Jim: Aye Aye Captain! But fools gold me thinks. The map is titled “Narragonia”, (Fools Paradise or the island of fools in Narrenschiff, Ship of Fools, Sebastian Brant 1494).

Do you want to look foolish?

Dame: Not eye. You can fool enough of the people most of the time. When I look in the mirror I see myself leading us on….

Uh, leading us forward to where we were.

Parrot: But you are “driving into the future while looking in the rear-view mirror” (Marshall McLuhan) Aawk!

Captain Slither: On the island all will be as it was. Corporations will surge ahead (though with “unavoidable” collateral damage to the environment and indigenous culture), the sails of industrial relations will be trimmed to keep a compliant crew – everyone will be evaluated in terms of their contribution to the market economy.

Parrot: And will there be pieces of cake? Aawk! Aawk!

Dame: Yes, but the pieces are what you already eight. Plus lots of “bread” for those in the fossil fuel industry, marketing and finance. I will appoint a National Covid-19 Coordination Committee chaired by my mate Nev., ex-Fortescue Metals CEO, and others with no public disclosure of interests, and a national cabinet to replace COAG, the agenda of which I will control. And a tax -payer funded marketing organisation, which I will also control.

Audience: Look out! He’s behind you!

Dame: Mirror, mirror, you have the gall,

To suggest I have a mote at all?

– Not as I see it.

Parrot: “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as I am known. (St Paul, Corinthians13:12) Aawk!

Captain Slither: I will return us to our island paradise.

This be the map, which you can see in the rear-view mirror.

Parrot: “He had bought a large map representing the sea,

Without the least vestige of land:

And the crew were much pleased when they found it to be

A map they could all understand.”

(Lewis Carroll, Hunting of the Snark)

Aawk!

Dame: This Island will be Great Again!

Audience: He’s behind you! He’s behind you!

Fairy; But will it be fair; will it be equitable; will it be just; will it be inclusive; will it be charitable; will it provide opportunities for meaningful and fulfilling work with dignity?

Dame: Just Trust Me

Do the Three

Jobs, jobs, jobs

Placate the mobs

Slogans R-Us (Scott from Marketing)

· Employment, Economy, Stability. (Hong Kong govt. 2020)

· Community Identity, Stability.

(World State, Aldus Huxley, Brave New World 1932)

Captain Slither: Don’t rock the boat! Don't rock the boat! Steady as she goes! Right hand up a bit!

Parrot: “Those who benefit most from the unequal system, they know it’s not sustainable. They’re desperate not to stay locked down too long, so people get used to fresh air, breathing air without carbon in it. People might get ideas of a different kind of world.” (Historian Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz) Aawk!

Jim: We need courage to map a way to a new horizon, a different kind of world. Such maps exist, we need good people to make them the ones to guide us.

Dame: Nonsense! Just a tweek, a twiddle, a squawk and a squabble between our tweedledum and tweedledee political parties will keep us on course to Paradise Island.

Parrot: Its what you might call a political duo-polly! Aawk! Aawk!

Captain Slither: But wait! There’s more!

If you have plenty of cash, we will give you an extra $150,000 to make improvements to your already valuable house.

Parrot: So how can I afford to upgrade my birdcage? Aawk!

Captain Slither: Try higher perches!

And you can go to Centre Link with the rest of the “unfortunates” who don’t try hard enough, and take your chances with Robodebt. This is a plank of our policy – when walking it, please keep social distancing.

Fairy: As St Paul went on to say to the Corinthians “And now stays faith, hope and charity; but the greatest of those is charity.

Dame: Nice slogan, but it doesn’t rhyme with GDP, and that's all that counts.

Jim: Counting for what? A number generated by algorithms worshiped as a sign of our worth? It moves in mysterious ways beyond our understanding. Predicting the number involves what Donald Rumsfeld called the known unknowns and the unknown unknowns. Why should we be slavishly governed by it?

Parrot: And it doesn’t count “the value of volunteering to the Australian economy. That is huge, and growing fast; so fast that it now contributes more to the Australian economy than mining, agriculture, defence and retail industries put together” (Dr. Lisel O’Dwyer, Flinders University). Aawk!!!!!!

Fairy: Who dares in Australia to discus Universal Basic Income, a measure that would provide a shock absorber against future economic impacts. As an idea it is well developed by Rutger Bregman in his 2017 book Utopia For Realists, and is supported by forward-thinking US democrats such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, French President, Emmanuel Macron, the Scottish SNP, the Spanish government, and is a long-term objective of the British Labour Party amongst others.

(John Harris, Guardian, May 2020).

Dame: Are you crazy?

Fairy: You might be right

I may be crazy

But I just might be the lunatic you’re looking for

(Billy Joel, From album “Glass Houses” 1980)

Captain Slither: Move along, nothing to see here. Lets get back to business as usual. Do

not adjust your mind, it is reality that is unstable. See it our way –

(Perceptual Manipulations R-Us).

Parrot: But “If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thro' narrow chinks of his cavern.” (William Blake, The marriage of Heaven and Hell 1793) Aawk!

Jim: So can we map a course to a better place, one more fair, equitable, just, inclusive and charitable, and that will it provide opportunities for meaningful and fulfilling work with dignity? One that recognises the value of culture and education beyond their market contribution?

We have the knowledge. Are we ready?

Parrot: “Fortune favours the prepared mind” (Louis Pasteur) or in its original latin form audentes fortuna iuvat, fortune favours the bold. Aawk!

Dame: Don’t be mistaken

Don’t be misled

Any change made to the system

Will come down upon your head

Trust me. I have everything under control, a slogan for every occasion and a safety net for those who don’t fit in.

You want fairness - I will give you fairness. All that stuff about sports rorts, small grants to exporters going 90% to government held electorates etc. is just fake news.

Money for votes, what could be fairer than that?

Parrot: And your safety net is just a collection of holes held together by red tape. Aawk! Aawk!

Dame: Advance Narragonia Fair!

And of all the people I see in my mirror, I am the fairest of them all.

Audience: Oh, no you’re not!

Dame Minister: Oh, yes I am!

Audience: Oh no you’re not!

Etc.

CURTAIN

Unprecedented – the old normal

2020-06-28T17:50:00.000-07:00

"Snap Back" and other Porkies

Heraclitis of Ephesusus (late 6^th century BCE) is often quoted as saying: “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” Or perhaps it is, as Cratylus says in Aristotles Metaphysics (Book 4 Chapter 5), “you cannot step into the same river even once”.

Every moment is unprecedented.

Yet every state declared “unprecedented crisis”, “exceptional circumstance”, “state of emergency”, “unforeseeable disaster”, “catastrophic threat” etc. masks changes being made to the basic assumptions about society and increased centralising of authority.

“So we see the government, economists and (to paraphrase Paul Keating) every pet-shop galah talking about what is needed to get the economy moving again. The obvious point is that until the health situation returns to some level of normalcy, all talk of snapping back is just pabulum.”

(Guardian 25 April)

Morrison’s approach to economic recovery seems to be to “turn it off and turn it on again” - revert to the default settings – the source of many of our long-term problems.

We are not, and never were, all in this together.

The crisis and disruption caused by Covid-19 is an opportunity for us to create a stronger and more inclusive society.

It was Rahm Emanuel the mayor of Chicago and former Obama chief of staff, who said, “You should never waste a crisis.”

“Far from being the great leveller it is asserted to be, Covid-19 has laid bare – as if it needed further exposition – the structural inequalities that exist in contemporary Australia.” (Guardian 23 April)

Not only in Australia, but globally, there has grown an economic and political culture that has woven inequality into its very fabric. If we ask why this happens, the obvious and inevitable answer is that those who have power and agency in the prevailing paradigm, benefit and profit from its inequalities.

Many now are arguing that the conflation of crises at this time, global heating, species extinction, fragility of global supply chains, rapid changes in geopolitical power relationships, famine, growing social and economic inequality, loss of bio-diversity, viral pandemics, the rise of authoritarian regimes, massive cyber attacks, etc. presage a paradigm shift. (To these add, as does Toby Ord from Oxford’s Future of Humanity Institute, that the Biological Weapons Convention’s annual budget is just €1.4m (£1.2m), a sum less than the turnover of the average McDonald’s restaurant, and that the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty is due to lapse next year. “From what I hear at the moment,” says Ord, “the Russians and Americans have no plan to renew it.)

Has the existing political/economic paradigm, like all others before it, reached its use-by date? People generally don’t question the paradigm of which they are part – or in fact realise that what they perceive as social and economic reality, is in fact an ideological construct.

Perhaps pragmatics demand that some economic stability be achieved before more fundamental issues are tackled, but the “new normal” will not be stable. It seems most likely we will see an ongoing struggle between those who want to shore up the existing market driven paradigm, and those who see more equitable, just and democratic possibilities. Are we at the beginning of a paradigm shift?

Thomas Kuhn’s concept of “paradigm shift” has been used to describe a profound change in a fundamental model or perception of events– from cultural beliefs, to economic models and even whole civilizations. He stresses that paradigms are difficult to change because people are committed to the dominant paradigm. Alternative paradigms compete with the prevailing model on their ability to address future problems (see list of crises above)

Like all paradigms, it is inevitable that any prevailing orthodoxy will become unfit due to changed circumstances, or to inherent flaws in its premises. The river has changed and so have we.

These flaws become apparent long before the pressure to change becomes compelling. The current pandemic has shown us the weaknesses in our system and the opportunities to use economic rebuilding to achieve necessary changes, such as a de-carbonised economy and a more inclusive, equitable and compassionate society.

Changes need not be revolutionary. Romer's Rule states: "the initial survival value of a favorable innovation is conservative, in that it renders possible the maintenance of a traditional way of life in the face of changed circumstances”. Followers of Max Planck have said change is generational, “Science advances one funeral at a time.”

But there is no denying that the current paradigm needs urgent attention, or as Hank Williams sang (Setting the Woods on Fire), “The tyres and tubes are doing fine, but the air is showing through”.

“All the intellectual scaffolding of free-market fundamentalism, the ideas that held it up and maintained its sense of its own fairness, centred on the idea that money was its own virtue, that respectable and decent people found a way to get it, that those without it were derelict and feckless. It was never possible to dismantle this piece by piece, with graphs, with case studies, but exploding the whole thing happened pretty fast.” (Zoe Williams – Guardian, April)

John Hewson has written, “The coronavirus pandemic should be seen as a dress rehearsal for what awaits us if we continue to ignore the laws of science, the physical world and the demands of several catastrophic threats such as climate change. To learn from this experience we all must all become proactive, rather than just reactive, anticipating and preparing to address the global risks, and start to develop the policy responses that will maximise the benefits of the opportunities that will flow as a result.

The only limit on our thinking should be the extent of our global imagination.”

ON THE WESTERN FRONT

2020-03-09T18:11:00.002-07:00

If you live in the Mountain Districts, in the hinterland of the Central Coast anywhere from Spencer to Bucketty, and want to see some action on future preparedness and prevention of bushfire crises, read on. Then contact us.

Should we be faced with circumstances (as we have been recently), where we are threatened with catastrophic wildfires, (as we will be again), we need to have a plan in place, (which we do not), and a policy containing measures that will reduce the threat and mitigate the severity of fire and other natural disasters.

By all accounts we were very lucky this time with the Three Mile fire. Lucky that fortunate wind shifts intervened and, with RFS help, stopped the bushfire continuing eastward as it did in 1994.

When fires threaten, the Mountain Districts area is the Front Line - the Western Front. How we manage our area is critical not only for our lives, homes and livelihoods, but also the welfare of all those who live on the Central Coast to our east. We know this from analyses of historic fire patterns.

What matters is that we urgently need a location specific plan (taking into account our unique geography, ecology, population patterns, cultural and heritage assets, infrastructure, soil types etc.) adapted to anticipated climatic conditions. There is an urgent need to get started, as any plan will of necessity be long-term.

To get the process moving, we are setting up a Mountain Area Deliberative Assembly (MADA) – a method to arrive at a locally generated bushfire policy to protect ourselves, our community and assets, and the greater Central Coast.

A Deliberative Assembly, or citizen’s assembly as it is sometimes called, is a tried and effective means of reaching consensus on important public issues. It is a grassroots forum for discussion and decision-making informed by the input of expert information on key considerations.

There seems to be an excellent match between the Deliberative Assembly (or Citizens Assembly) method and our need to take immediate and effective measures to plan for more unprecedented fires as predicted.

People generally like this approach because it is inclusive and participatory, and consensual rather than adversarial. It is non-political, and found to be more effective than the usual round of being consulted and then ignored.

If this appeals to you, put your name forward. We need your input to prepare for the future.

We welcome nominations from all ages, backgrounds, education levels, experience etc. All you need is an interest in making the Mountain a safer place from the threat of wildfires and other natural disasters. Don't leave it to others in the hope they know your thoughts better than you, or are more used to speaking in public, or were elected to do something.

Experts with information on all relevant subjects, at your request, will provide you with the facts you need to come up with a plan. These could include cultural burning practitioners, RFS, local “old-timers”, SES, environmentalists, farmers, fire behaviour experts, local and state government officials, climate scientists etc., in order for the assembly to have the most up-to-date knowledge on which to base its decisions.

Progress towards a plan will be enormously benefited by the support of Graham Swain and John Travers both of whom have decades of expertise and experience with fires. Their report to Gosford Council on bushfire risks to the Mangrove Creek Dam contains thoroughly researched information and vitally relevant knowledge.

In addition, following the recent fires, a considerable amount of information has been collected via calls for ideas in the Mangrove Mountain & Districts Community News and through an on-line survey conducted by the Mountain Districts Association.

A steering group has been formed which will oversee convening the Assembly and setting an initial agenda. The deliberative assembly will be gathered when all your expressions of interest are received. These will be put into a hat and an assembly chosen by random selection.

While this might seem an unusual way to arrive at a group which will make important decisions, as a method of establishing a “deliberative” or “citizens” assembly it has been developed and validated in many countries, states and communities around the world. (Plenty of on-line information)

We need to act now to prepare a long-term plan for our protection and welfare. Past approaches of delegating our voice and making representation to bureaucrats and the various levels of government have not worked. Look around you.

Give this a try. Put yourself forward and nominate others who have a stake in our future, and want to get something done.

Neil Berecry-Brown

Convenor

Future Directions May update

2018-05-26T05:27:00.001-07:00

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

MOUNTAIN DISTRICTS* STRATEGIC PLANNING POLICY

UPDATE

Liesl Tesch MP speaking at the Mangrove Mountain Memorial Club

WHAT IS IT (Some people are still asking)

The Future Directions Project is a loosely affiliated pro-active grassroots consortium of individuals, including members of all community, sporting, business and church groups of the Mountain Districts of the Central Coast of NSW. It was initiated by community members through a desire to co-create an inclusive, integrated vision; to provide a collective voice: and to devise strategies to address any current problems.

In other words, it is us. It is shared conversations about who we are; what we want; what worries us; what we want preserved; what we want to change, and how we can achieve our, sometimes contradictory, objectives.

OUR BRIEF

"To develop a strategic planning policy for the Mountain District to sit alongside relevant local, state and federal government policy by utilising the knowledge base of our people."

WHAT WE ARE DOING

Our second “workshop” meeting was held on Friday 18^thof May and updated research to this point. We were pleased to welcome Liesl Tesch MP, member for Gosford, and Central Coast Councillors Louise Greenaway and Kyle MacGregor. Their support for the Future Directions project is greatly appreciated.

The first phase of research has identified many of the issues that residents consider to have a significant effect on the quality of their lives, their livelihoods and their hopes for future generations. There have been nearly 400 individual data inputs with each contributing from 1 to 12 substantive points. The research is ongoing and the number is expected to rise considerably.

The first draft of a policy is in progress, and will be open for discussion, but gathering further suggestions is important.

Councillor Louise Greenaway, Chrissi Nicholas and Councillor Kyle MacGregor

IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO ATTENDING THE MEETINGS, PLEASE EMAIL YOUR THOUGHTS, SUGGESTIONS, IDEAS ETC. to

musing@iinet.net.au

Action plans are being brought forward where input has indicated a consensus on urgent matters. On the 25^thof May a small focus group met with Adam McKewen Senior Environment Health Officer at Central Coast Public Health and Dr. Kat Taylor (Public Health Physician) Hunter New England Population Health, to discuss public health issues on the Mountain. Information from this session will be brought to the next open meeting.

* Geographically The Mountain Districts is comprised of Somersby, Central Mangrove, Mangrove Mountain, Kulnura, Peats Ridge, Mangrove Creek, Upper Mangrove, Mount White, Calga and Greengrove, as well as contiguous areas with cultural affinity and whose residents identify with it.

Harry Clarke and Kingsford Smith

2018-04-28T17:08:00.001-07:00

Harry and Charles

Charles Kingsford-Smith, flying over the Mountain Districts many years ago, might have looked down and seen the pupils at Somersby School and Headmaster Mr. Prentice, looking up. Perhaps they were waving.

A couple of minutes later, flying south, he might have said, or shouted, to Charles Ulm over the roar of the Southern Cross’s three Wright Whirlwind radial motors, “that must be the Clarke’s place”. “Look there’s Harry near the gate post, pruning his roses”.

Harry Clarke knew a thing or two about roses. He was awarded Champion Rose Grower at the Horticultural Society Exhibition in 1932. He also knew a thing or two about aircraft engines, having worked for the Napier engineering company in England that made aircraft, automobile and powerboat engines. Harry’s son Sid, taught by his father, recounts working on engines for Kingsford–Smith and Ulm, travelling down to Sydney from Somersby in a T Model Ford to do so when required.

When he was not playing a modest part in aviation history, Harry Clarke, with his wife, farmed and ran the post office and telephone exchange at Somersby, receiving in 1954 a gift in appreciation for 30years service. He was also a Trustee of the original Somersby School of Arts, so it is fitting that those gateposts that “Smithy” might have seen, can now be seen by you at the Somersby Hall. They were donated by the present owners of Clarke’s Napier, Roger and Marion Davis

Harry originally came to Australia to work on the Napier taxis in Sydney before taking up farming on The Mountain. He was active in community affairs and his efforts to advance the potential of the Mountain Districts were widely reported in the press, including the Nambucca Chronicle and the Western Mail, Perth.

“Clarke, of 'Napier', Somersby, near Gosford. N.S.W. has devoted a considerable amount of his time to carrying out manurial experiments. These have all been conducted in his orchard under his personal supervision, and include tests on citrus fruits, passion vines, tomatoes, and other vegetables and also green fodder crops.”

Harry Clarke certainly knew a thing or two. You could say he truly knew his onions. When he won first prize at Gosford Show for best collection of onions, he wrote:'I have grown onions on both sides of this old globe, but I have no hesitation in saying that we can grow onions at Somersby equal to anything grown elsewhere.’(Gosford Times 1921)

The Mountain Districts still has great potential. The Future Directions Strategic Planning Project, currently underway, is providing some great “manurial” insights, and attracting the help of many people in the community who “know a thing or two”.

Acknowledgements and thanks:

Somersby School pupils’ story – Beryl Berecry (née Studds)

Clarkes’ connection with Kingsford Smith and the history of the Clarke family – Recorded interview with Sid Clarke by Jim and Dawn Smith

Digitised newspapers – Library of Australia

Donation of gateposts – Roger and Marion Davis

Restoration of broken concrete post – Paul Pearce

Transport of gateposts – Tony Rafelo

Construction and erection of sign – John O’Toole, Paul Pearce and Neil Berecry-Brown

Future Directions Strategic Planning

2018-04-28T17:01:00.001-07:00

Future Directions Project

Strategic Planning Workshop 2

Mangrove Mountain Memorial Club

6.00pm – 18^thMay 2018

The project will be launched by

Liesl Tesch MP (Member for Gosford)

Please join us to welcome Liesl Tesch to the Mountain, to share with her our hopes and concerns about the Districts’ future, and discuss ways we can work together.

Workshop Agenda:

Provide an update for people who could not make it to the first workshop

Reflect upon and fine-tune working processes

Review and aggregate inputs

Add to and evaluate issues emerging so far

Develop themes and topics in preparation for the second phase of community engagement (options for innovative programs, mitigation and connections)

Identify next steps and schedule. Central Coast Community Strategic Plan input

Future Directions is a strategic planning process initiated by the community from a desire to co-create an integrated vision for the future of the Mountain Districts.

Future Directions workshop 1

2018-04-27T22:40:00.002-07:00

Future Directions

A Strategic Planning Project for the Mountain Districts

Report on the first Future Directions workshop held on the 13^thof April.

There was a pleasing number in attendance but many apologies received, due to it being a weekday meeting. A later time was agreed for Workshop 2 (see notice in this issue of CN)

Summary:

· An outline of a design-based planning model and dialogical research methodology was presented.

· There was a review of external factors impacting the future of the Mountain Districts and an update on resources that are being compiled to guide the planning process (a comprehensive inventory of Districts’ assets and an on-line library of documents and reports).

· There was a consensus that we need to move quickly with this project in light of looming decisions by State and local government that could have major impacts on our future way of life.

· We conducted a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) with the usual suspects, water, land-use conflict and infrastructure well represented, but some other surprising factors emerged which will be followed up as well.

· It was agreed that the process should be inclusive so that as many voices as possible can be heard.

Future Directions is a loosely affiliated grassroots consortium of individuals, including members of all community, industry, sporting, business and church groups. Although research has just commenced, we have collected data from over 260 individual sources and are starting to see clear trends emerging.

Only you can truly say which things most concern you about your future way of life here. Come along to Future Directions Strategic Planning Workshop 2 and join the conversation.

Future Directions Workshop 1

2018-04-04T03:00:00.000-07:00

NOTICE

Future Directions Workshop

A series of workshops to consider positive options for the future of “The Mountain” is being organized by a group of local residents. We would like to encompass the widest possible range of local opinion from individuals, groups and businesses.

The first workshop will be held on:

Friday the 13^that the Mangrove Mountain Memorial Club

from 10.30am to 12 noon

Tell your friends and neighbours.

“It is essential that local communities are involved in the discussion on the desired future character of their area before decisions are made. People need to be at the centre of any consideration of local character.” NSW Government Architect Peter Poulet – Department of Planning website.

Also:

“Key strategies to ensure that the places we plan today, become the much–loved places of the future include:

Recognising, and championing the important role communities play in defining existing character and shaping a desired future character for their local area”

Senior planners from Central Coast Council, and staff from the Premiers Department, Department of Primary Industries, Department of Planning and Local Land Services have expressed support for this Future Directions initiative.

musing@iinet.net.au for more information.

Rhetorical Revery

2018-04-01T16:50:00.000-07:00

Do you dream of being on an island, lying in a hammock strung between two palm trees on the beach, reading a book, while a gentle warm breeze…….(choose your own music).

There are many definitions of an island; a land area smaller than a continent surrounded by sea, a pebble in a puddle: Must an island be attached to the bottom, or can it float; must it be surrounded by water, or can it simply be something distinct from its surroundings?

The Mountain Districts is unlikely to become an island surrounded by sea in the near future, climate change notwithstanding, although the region did get pushed up from the bottom of the sea in the mid Tertiary era, roughly 60 million years ago.

But if it were an island, the Mountain Districts would be larger than eighteen countries in the world (at the time of writing), each with its own government, constitution and flag, eligibility for membership of the UN and participation in the Olympic games. It would be larger than fifty three, if you count territories and dependencies.

So what kind of country would we be?

We already share characteristics with many small nations, “overseas” mining companies are active in exploiting our resources such as sand, basalt, and water, and “foreign” corporations are profiting from one-sided partnerships with local people. Many of our businesses rely on foreign workers, and we live in hope that tourism will bring much needed cash to the local economy. The beautiful natural environment and rural lifestyle of “our island home” motivates many to resettle here, hoping to get away from the “foetid air and gritty of the dusty dirty city”. They might at times feel the dusty dirty foetid air is hard to escape.

We already have a floral emblem (Doryanthes excelsa), a “flag”, and plenty of people (unelected) keen to govern. Some say progress is hindered by tribal disputes, and moves towards constitutional rule will be difficult. A former local lad is head of the Australian Republic Movement, a situation that might cause friction with anyone having autocratic and aristocratic delusions. However grassroots democratic movements are gaining momentum.

Islands have long been a way for people to imagine alternative realities; visions of a better society, metaphoric exaggerations of out present failings, or projections of our desires. The list of authors who have used the island as a literary device is extensive.

So, some Desert Island Books to read in your hammock:

Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Thomas Moore’s Utopia, William Golding’s The Lord of the Flies, Aldous Huxley’s Island, Jonathan Swift Gulliver’s Travels, Daniel Defoe’sRobinson Crusoeetc.

If you could dream of being on Mountain Districts Island, what would it be like?

So why live in someone else’s dream………Make yours a waking reality

…………………….(music – High Hopes, To Dream the Impossible Dream, I Did It My Way etc. )

Cocka-who?

2018-03-31T20:36:00.000-07:00

There’s a name for that sort of thing.

Can you think of it?

You might have noticed a Black Cockatoo weathervane at the Mountain Districts Culture and Heritage Centre/Somersby Hall. We need your help to give it a name.

It has been given a few nicknames since it was installed, but we would like to invite you all to nominate its official name. Your suggestions will be put to a vote, and results published in the Community News.

Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoos are frequent visitors to the Hall grounds, and they were the inspiration for the weathervane made by Paul Pearce.

Suggestions can be emailed to somersby.schoolofarts@iinet.net.au, sent to Name the Cockatoo, PO Box 253 Gosford, or placed in our new green tractor mailbox at 830 Wisemans Ferry Road.

Inquire within

2018-03-31T19:56:00.000-07:00

Image - Coast Community News

There is some welcome news at last on the dump front, with a NSW Upper House Parliamentary Inquiry recommending an independent inquiry into the Mangrove Mountain landfill site and operations. Congratulations to all those who have been involved in advancing the matter to this point, particularly the Mountain Districts Association.

Details can be found here:

https://coastcommunitynews.com.au/central-coast/news/2018/03/parliamentary-report-recommends-inquiry-landfill/

The issues are complex and there is still a long way to go. Lets hope the actions of the NSW EPA and other players are fairly and independently assessed. Central Coast Council supports the recommendation.

Soil Workshop 2

2018-03-18T22:57:00.000-07:00

The notice and invitation below, dated the 28th February, was received this afternoon, the 19th of March.

Deadline to RSVP is the 20th of March!

This is an important workshop which will influence land use planning in the Mountain Districts well into the future.

WHY WERE SO FEW PEOPLE NOTIFIED, AND WHY WERE WE GIVEN SO LITTLE TIME TO CONFIRM ATTENDANCE?

The following is information from the Department of Primary Industries:

What is important agricultural land?

Important agricultural land is land that contains a combination of resources that is highly suitable for agricultural industries. The identification of important agricultural land enables the significance of those lands to be recognised and planned.

Important agricultural land may include existing agricultural land or areas that have future agricultural potential. Information from biophysical, infrastructure, socio-economic or agricultural industry sources is used to identify those lands.

Additional information on industry challenges, economic contribution and development prospects can provide the broader context for important agricultural land to assist land use planning for agriculture.

The benefits of mapping important agricultural lands

A map of important agricultural lands enables landholders, land planning agencies, consultants and industry to consider the location and multiple community values that important agricultural lands provide. Knowing where important agricultural land is located and understanding its location, value and contribution will assist in making decisions about current and future agricultural land uses. This information will help government and industry to:

                  provide more certainty for agribusiness to remain, invest and grow

                  reduce land use conflict

                  enable compatible development in zones that permit agriculture

                  choose appropriate zones for non-agricultural development

                  support essential agricultural assets and the agricultural supply chain.

                  identify future opportunities for agricultural industries

NSW Department of Primary Industries

Important agricultural land mapping program

The NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) is undertaking a three year mapping program across nine regions in NSW commencing in August 2017 to assist local government and other organisations map important agricultural land. The program supports the NSW Department of Planning and Environment’s regional planning targets that include actions to map important agricultural lands in NSW.

Identifying important agricultural land guideline

The NSW DPI has produced A guideline to identifying important agricultural land in NSW. The guideline explains the factors that need to be considered when developing mapping, different mapping approaches, data sources and other information. The guideline is available on the DPI Agricultural Land Use Planning website at www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/lup under the heading agricultural industry mapping.

Further information

Information on important agricultural land mapping, the Central West mapping project (undertaken by NSW DPI 2012), sustainable agriculture development, and land use planning is available on the Agricultural Land Use Planning website at www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/lup.

The Agricultural Land Use Planning Unit can also assist with any important agricultural industry mapping enquiries by emailing landuse.ag@dpi.nsw.gov.au.

Rhetorical Reality

2018-03-11T17:20:00.000-07:00

“What would you like this area be in the future?” asked Scott MacDonald, Parliamentary Secretary, Planning, Central Coast and Hunter, when he was here in December. He was meeting to talk about the new SEPP provisions for Agricultural Production and Rural Development, open for comment at the time.

“Would you like to see wall to wall residential development?” he asked rhetorically.

Rhetorical or not, it was not a new idea.

An article in the 11 March 1926 Gosford Times, promoting the opening of the Gosford Hotel (“Visitors are assured of comfort, cleanliness, and interested personal service.”), goes on to say “ in a very, short time we hope to see the Mountain District covered with residences. Where the climate is as stimulating in summer as it is healthful and enjoyable in winter, and where the scenery is second to none in Australia, its easy access to both Sydney and Newcastle, and close proximity to the ocean beaches, make it an ideal place to live in.”

It was not a good idea then, and is not now, but if recent newspaper articles are anything to go by, being covered by wall to wall poultry shed development is the fear of an increasing number of people.

Many local people are involved in the poultry industry. These families are part of the community, contribute to it, and it is hoped, will continue to do so.

But people are concerned by an inexorable expansion of a single industry, the result of incremental and compounding effects of current planning policy.

It was disappointing that “what you would like the area to be in the future” was only a rhetorical question, not the determining factor governing the future of our “ideal place to live in”.

It would be nice to think that the Mountain Districts will be what we would like it to be, but naïve to think that development will be free from the influence of deep-pocketed vested interests (no news there). One piece of news though, the next Central Coast Council LEP, which will be formulated under the SEPP, and Ministerial direction, may not be happening for another five years. Those who attended the recent agricultural soil-mapping workshop were told there would first be a “consolidated” LEP combining the Gosford City and Wyong Shire LEPs, and a new Central Coast Council LEP following in perhaps five years time.

That being said, our opportunity, now, is to take Scott MacDonald’s question at face value, decide what would be the “ideal place to live in” and proactively work to make the Mountain Districts that reality. Make no mistake, if we don’t do it, someone will decide for us, in their own interests.

Landfill Committee

2018-01-25T19:50:00.000-08:00

Mangrove Mountain landfill

committee members announced

All 11 community members who put in expressions of Interest have been appointed to the Committee to advise Council on actions, and to address issues, relating to the Mangrove Mountain landfill and alleged dumping at Spencer

Mr John Asquith, Mr Gary Chestnut, Mr Stephen Goodwin, Mr Wolfgang Koerner, Ms Margaret Pontifex, Ms Marilyn Steiner, Mr Danny Willmott, Mr Stephen Rickards, Ms Pam O'Sullivan, Ms Joy Cooper and Ms Lillias Bovell are the appointed community members.

The Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Councillors Marquart, MacGregor and Mehrtens, as well as the Chief Executive Officer, General Counsel, other relevant staff and independent experts will also form the committee.

Central Coast Mayor, Clr. Jane Smith, said that with confirmation of the community appointments, the Committee can now get on with the job of helping to resolve issues relating to waste management in the best interests of the community and the Central Coast.

"We want to ensure that we have everyone at the table with the expertise, knowledge and interest to ensure that these issues are investigated thoroughly and the appropriate action taken, as that is what our community wants to see."

"I look forward to the first meeting of this Committee and in continuing to keep the community updated on the progress of these important matters."

Media release, Nov 27
Central Coast Council media

Source:
Central Coast Community News 18 January 2018

Join the Resolution

2018-01-15T21:01:00.000-08:00

A New Year’s Resolution!

If you need one for 2018, here is one prepared a little earlier – in 2012.

From 26 June Minutes of Gosford City Council:

“Council discontinue the use of the term “plateau” when referring to the Somersby, Mangrove Mountain, Calga, Peats Ridge, Central Mangrove, Mount White and Kulnura areas.”

This resolution was passed following a Report to Council:

“Council has previously considered this issue at its meeting held on 4 August 2009. In that report it was noted that many residents of Somersby, Mangrove Mountain, Calga, Peats Ridge, Central Mangrove, Mount White and Kulnura identify themselves with the term Mountains district. At that meeting Council resolved in part:

A Council not support the proposed district name of “Central Coast Plateau” for the identified areas being Somersby, Mangrove Mountain, Calga, Peats Ridge, Central Mangrove, Mount White and Kulnura.”

The report included advice to Council from the Geographic Names Board that “As a geographical / topographical feature, it would be inappropriate use of the term "plateau"”.

Council staff members were advised accordingly by the then General Manager Peter Wilson.

Officers of Central Coast Council advise us that those past resolutions of Gosford Council apply to the amalgamated council.

So why does a campaign to impose a new name continue? This can only be divisive and counterproductive.

The future of our region, preserving its environmental values, and enhancing its rural and farming potential, is vitally important to us, but those objectives can best be achieved by supporting the name we already have, and working together to promote it.

Why do a few individuals want to take our name, our heritage, from us? Is it about “branding”?

“If the attribution of a name, which is never a neutral gesture, conceals endemically coercive aspects, these become much more evident in those cases where the object of the denomination already possesses a name. The original name thus becomes a battlefield, an area of conflict between the culture that generated it and the agents wanting to remove it from history.”*

At a meeting regarding the new SEPP with Scot MacDonald Parliamentary Secretary for Planning, Hunter and Central Coast, just last month, those agents were vigorously pushing their agenda still, despite having lost the argument in 2009 and 2012.

Would it not be better for us to make a New Years Resolution to respect the name that has been established through 120 years of experience living here (attested by its use in newspapers), and to honour those who made the Mountain Districts a place to celebrate and be proud of.

Notwithstanding any good intentions of those wanting to change our name, “branding” is not the same as belonging, except in the sense of establishing ownership.

The naming of a place goes beyond topography. It is a story of place, and one that needs retelling. Perhaps this is what we test for in our awareness of place, a feeling of being at home, of belonging, of communion.

In the Mountain Districts we have a name for that place, and we would like to be known by our name.

Lets work together to promote it.

* See Power/Knowledge Michel Foucault 1980

(French philosopher, historian of ideas, social theorist and literary critic.)

Your Future Now

2017-12-24T21:13:00.000-08:00

Hidden at the bottom of your Christmas stocking this year is a little present from the government. Don’t overlook it!

NSW Planning is undertaking a review of SREP8 suggesting it will be cancelled and incorporated into a new Primary Production & Rural Development SEPP (State Environment Planning Policy).

This will have significant effect on the future of the Mountain Districts, as it will guide the development of the next Central Coast Council LEP (Local Environment Plan). So, zoning, what is and is not permitted in our region, and the procedures that will be in place to manage land use conflict and compliance, are in the balance. As the drafting of the next LEP will also be under Ministerial Directive, the minister will have considerable power to prioritise developments permitted in the SEPP.

As Scott MacDonald, Secretary for Planning, Hunter and Central Coast, said at a recent meeting, we must make it clear what we want the future of the Mountain Districts to be. It already is clear what some interested parties have in mind, make sure your voice is heard.

Deadline for comment on the draft SEPP is the 15^th of January.

Draft policy information:

http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/Policy-and-Legislation/State-Environmental-Planning-Policies-Review/Draft-Primary-Production-SEPP

Happy Christmas!

Local Community Forums

2017-10-06T18:51:00.000-07:00

We would like to endorse the urgent calls being made by many people to activate grass root processes for engagement by residents of Central Coast districts and suburbs with the new Central Coast Council.

The new Council it will need to find new ways to be responsive to local concerns and aspirations, given the changed ratio of residents to Councillors. Local communities and individuals will need means to express their concerns and aspirations, and to enhance and invigorate local conversations that enfranchise the individual voice.

The following is an extract from a message sent to all candidates before the Council election, (who made their email address available).

“We ask for your support in “keeping the local in local government” through “the establishment and operation of arrangements for 'sub-council' entities such as neighbourhood committees, parish councils, and local or community boards” in the new Central Coast Council area.”

Quoting from the Research Report on Community-Level Governance by McKinlay Douglas Limited commissioned jointly by the NSW Panel, the Local Government Association of South Australia and Local Government New Zealand:

“The research makes it clear that a modern local government system should include provision for some form of effective sub-council governance:

Experience from all the jurisdictions considered in this report suggests doing this requires some form of community governance mechanism - not just good engagement mechanisms operated by a council, but some form of infrastructure at the community level capable of delivering an ongoing involvement and involving individual communities in decisions about their preferred futures, including local place shaping. It's important, finally, to highlight the virtual certainty that effective sub-council governance arrangements will be a prerequisite to local government being able to act on behalf of its communities in bringing together state (national) agencies and other stakeholders, and its communities, in seeking their preferred outcomes”

“It is important to re-emphasise that in canvassing the idea of elected 'local boards' the Panel:

• Highlighted the importance of 'keeping the local in local government' and was looking for the best way of doing that in a variety of situations

• Did NOT propose a one-size-fits-all approach”

This request to candidates for their support for keeping the local in Local Government was made on behalf of the members of LocoLocus Inc., following a long period of research and consultation.

Not surprisingly the majority of candidates endorsed the idea of listening and paying greater attention to voters. However it became obvious that there were stark differences in how this should be done. While some of our elected councillors would like to see sub-council social processes of representation established, at least one has said he is quite opposed.

It would be safe to suppose that amongst the candidates, successful and otherwise, there would be a spectrum of opinion ranging from favouring a system totally controlled by Council, to one (or many) devised by and controlled by the local community.

One issue that emerged was concern that any system devised should minimise domination by Council, or by the major political parties – a difficult task in the circumstances.

Local communities on the Central Coast differ greatly. A sub-council committee; Advisory Committee, Community Board, Precinct Committee,

Consultative Panel, District Forum, etc., if it were to truly reflect the locality, would need to be devised and co-ordinated by residents of that locality.

What might be best for the Mountain Districts, might be unsuitable for Pearl Beach, Watanobbi, Mooney Mooney or East Gosford etc. Devising a democratic grass root process to articulate a local community’s aspirations, concerns and visions to Council, and minimise political interference, will be a slow and demanding project, but that is now our challenge.

Before the negotiation to end the war in Viet Nam could begin, there was a long process of reaching agreement on the design of the negotiating table.* Our models for processes of sub-council engagement, like the table, are things we must agree upon ourselves. If we wait for Council approval, we will either not get anything, or perhaps end up with a one size fits all committee controlled from above.

A well designed forum would not only funnel concerns and issues to council, and allow council to test propositions with residents (problem/issue emphasis), but could provide a context where ideas, possibilities and visions could be generated through an exchange of knowledge (positive/generative approach).

Many Councils have already implemented variations on the citizen’s forum model, but too often they follow the problem/issue approach, are essentially an arm of Council, and fail to embrace the potential such entities have to activate communities in envisioning their future. They run the danger of being centralising and controlling rather than encouraging the outlier voices from where some of the most provocative and innovative ideas might come.

The off-the-shelf Council Precinct Committee has been adopted by many councils such as Randwick, Waverly, North Sydney, Leichhardt, Mannering Park (The Mannering Park Precinct Committee became an incorporated association in March 2014 following Wyong Council's decision to abolish the Precinct concept), and Kurnell, and as with Randwick, comes with a highly formalised set of rules and procedures.

However, a good argument could be made for a range of locally invented models being trialled to refine innovations in the field, so that district forums could become creative processes and collaborative laboratories; not simply gatherings to air gripes, inflate egos and be an extension of council. The diversity of communities on the Central Coast would suggest that a diversity of sub-council processes of local engagement would be appropriate and produce an enhanced sense of local ownership.

“Community”, “Locality” or “District” Forums, in different forms, have been successfully functioning in many places such as Melville, Bicton, Western Sydney, Docklands, Gold Coast, Noble Park, Sussex Inlet, and many localities in the UK.

Fortunately we have people who have been developing concepts already “in this space”, as they say. Some of the Independent Councillors, the Greens and other public voices have useful ideas to share.

It is to be hoped that the new council will embrace the opportunity to work creatively with local communities to design systems of sub-council social and political activism to effectively provide a voice for all, and a real influence in decisions that shape our lives.

Neil Berecry-Brown

LocoLocus Inc.

Mangrove Mountain

ménage à lot

2017-10-06T04:55:00.001-07:00

Unstable relationships and marriages of inconvenience.

The dust is now settling following the 2017 election of councillors for the new Central Coast Council which resulted from the amalgamation of Gosford City and Wyong Shire Councils.

In 1906 the dust was settling on the election of councillors to serve on the new Erina Shire Council, which included Gosford and Wyong regions (Gosford Muninicipality was not included until1908).*

Under the Local Government (Shires) Act of 1905, NSW was divided into 134 shires. A Temporary Council was appointed to each in June 1906, with duties that included the organising of elections to be held in November that year.

Extract from the Government Gazette:

“The following is the official list of gentlemen who have been appointed temporary councillors:—

Erina

John Bourke, jun., John Martin Moroney, Harold Stanley Robinson, Manasseh Ward, Alexander Wilkinson.”

At the first meeting of the Temporary Council, held at Gosford Courthouse on the 13 June, Harold Robinson (from Somersby) was appointed returning officer with the responsibility of organising the election.

Erina Shire was divided into three ridings, with the Mountain Districts being part of Riding ‘C’. The settled dust in December 1906 revealed Riding ‘C’ had elected Conolly and Tange (from Mangrove Mountain); Riding ‘B’, Ward and Lilly and Riding ‘A’, Goldsmith and Woodbury.

At the first meeting of the Permanent Council, Charles Tange was elected Deputy President.

So although the Gosford West Ward of Central Coast Council does not have a councillor from the Mountain Districts in 2017, Harold Robinson and Charles Tange took up the baton of civic leadership from the outset. The names of other Mountain Districts residents who also took on the role include Bushell, Pemberton, Pinkstone, Lillicrapp, Downes, Hunt, Humphries, Houston and Morris.

Not a bad record for the Mountain, but unless there are some changes to electoral arrangements, hopes of returning to that level of local civic engagement for the Mountain will turn to dust.

· Woy Woy Shire was separated from Erina Shire in 1928.
· Gosford Municipality was separated from Erina Shire in 1936.
· An additional area of Erina Shire was added to the Municipality of Gosford in 1940.
· Erina Shire, Woy Woy Shire and Gosford Municipality were dissolved and replaced by Wyong Shire and Gosford Shire (later Gosford City), and Erina Shire ceased to exist, in 1946.
· Gosford City and Wyong Shire were amalgamated in 2016. (Back to 1908)
· (Watch this Space) in ?

Brenda Genge

2017-10-06T02:18:00.000-07:00

The Mountain Districts has lost a friend and very valued member of the community.

Our condolences and best wishes to her family in this difficult time.

New Council, New Councillors

2017-09-07T04:54:00.000-07:00

A New Era in Local Government Awaits

(we hope)

It is heartening to see the number of female candidates standing for election to the new Central Coast Council.

Gosford East has a very able and strong candidate in Jane Smith leading an Independent team, and in Gosford West we have Kate Da Costa heading the Greens and Gaby Greyem leading an Independent team of three women. Of course we also have Vicki Scott, who is well respected for her principled approach to serving in Local Government, although she does not head the Labor ticket this time.

Regardless of the gender balance, it is hoped the new Council can live up to the high expectations the community has for it.

Old habits die hard though, as was seen at a Candidates Forum called by Mountain Districts Association at Central Mangrove.

All question had to be submitted to MDA for vetting before being forwarded to the candidates in advance of the forum, so that answers could be prepared.

This was done for a question on behalf of a number of residents, who wanted candidates to commit, if elected, to uphold a past resolution by Gosford City Council rejecting a bid to officially change the name of the Mountain Districts to Central Coast Plateau.

Unfortunately the Holstein/Wilson team pre-empted the question by circulating to everyone at the forum a lengthy printout reiterating the arguments in favour of the change, as presented to, and rejected, by Gosford City Council. Not only was this disrespectful of the democratic process, but it did not allow rebuttal of the claims made, given the format of the forum. In addition supporters of the Holstein/Wilson team then shouted down the question when it was being put.

This kind of bullying behaviour is not what we want on the new Council. As the question was put to all candidates in advance, to give them time to prepare a response, it was telling that the tactics caused many of the candidates to duck the question. A notable exception was Gaby Greyem who expressed her view clearly and honestly. Skyla Wagstaff also responded, as did Richard Mehrtens (Labor), who had a bob each way.

Many people see this Council election as an opportunity to create a new culture within Council, and to put behind them what they perceive as a legacy of opaque political shenanigans and cronyism.

We will see

People with power do not give it up easily

PREFERENCES

2017-09-04T23:58:00.001-07:00

Who do you really want representing you on Council?

How well do you understand preferential voting?

Do you know what deals have been done between the major parties and the Independents on preferences, and on competing for seats in Wards?

How do you distinguish an Independent from an “Independent”?

From talking with candidates at pre-poll centres, it is clear that a large number of voters do not fully understand how “preferences” work. Therefore many votes cast will have consequences unanticipated by the voter, particularly if voting above the line.

Vote with care. We have a chance to bring new vision and culture to Local Government. Old dogs and their old tricks must make way for this to happen.

The following might be helpful. It includes an animation and comes from:

http://www.elections.nsw.gov.au/about_elections/community_education_resources/animations/how_votes_are_counted_for_the_nsw_legislative_assembly

“The distribution of preferences in any Councillor election cannot commence until after 6.00pm on Monday following Election Day to ensure that all postal votes are included following the deadline for receipt of postal votes at 6.00pm on the Monday following Election Day.

To be elected a candidate generally must gain a quota of the formal votes. The quota cannot be worked out until the total number of formal first preference votes is known. Once the first preference count has taken place, the quota is calculated. The informal votes do not form part of the quota.

Quota = (total number of formal votes ÷ one more than the number of vacancies) + 1

For example, if there are 12,000 formal votes and 5 vacancies to be filled, the quota is:

12,000 formal votes ÷ 6 = 2,000 + 1 = 2001.

Therefore, in this example, a candidate needs at least 2001 votes to get elected.

The count is conducted by distributing votes according to the preferences shown on the ballot paper. When candidates reach a quota and are elected, their surplus or extra votes above the quota are distributed to the remaining candidates.

Candidates with the lowest number of votes are then excluded and their ballot papers are redistributed according to the next valid preference shown. This process continues until all the vacancies are filled.

Candidates can also be elected if the remaining number of candidates in the count equals the number of vacant positions still to be filled.

Good Luck!

The Local in Local Government

2017-09-02T18:45:00.000-07:00

The following was sent to candidates in all five Wards seeking election in the upcoming Central Coast Council (whose email addresses were available on the government web-site). It elicited wide spread and genuine support, with many respondents showing detailed consideration of the issue.

"Circumstances at the Central Mangrove Candidates Forum (Gosford West Ward) held on the 30th August did not allow for an additional question to be put.

As it is pertinent to candidates in all wards, I would like to send it to you, and would welcome your responses.

All candidates spoke in favour of “listening to the people”, but revealed significantly different ways of understanding how best this might be achieved.

Most voters are wanting to create a new culture in the new Council, so your views on this issue are important."

KEEPING THE LOCAL IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT

We ask for your support in “keeping the local in local government” through “the establishment and operation of arrangements for 'sub-council' entities such as neighbourhood committees, parish councils, and local or community boards” in the new Central Coast Council area.

This has become imperative to counter cynicism about the democratic process and disillusionment with the current rhetoric of consultation, and politics in general, as well as assisting elected representatives to best serve residents.

People are asking for a change from manipulation by the same old consortium of politicians and their cronies, and backers, who want to continue throwing their weight around.

“The research makes it clear that a modern local government system should include provision for some form of effective sub-council governance:

This request for your support to keep the Local in Local Government is made on behalf of the members of LocoLocus Inc., following a long period of research and community consultation.

Neil Berecry-Brown

President

locolocus@iint.net.au

LocoLocus Inc. (An amalgamation of Mountain Districts Forum and Gosford Art Flux Forum Inc.) One of its objectives is to investigate issues pertinent to the interests of the Mangrove Mountain Districts and to be proactive in formulating a vision for the region.

The form that "district forums" would take, and the way in which they would operate, would need to be decided by the district's residents themselves. There are many models which would serve as starting points for discussion.

Trashed

2017-08-04T17:21:00.000-07:00

Apropos Mangrove Mountain Landfill

Exposé of the waste industry to be aired next Monday 7^th August at 8.30 pm.

Image from ABC website 4 Corners promo

“On Monday night Four Corners investigates the big business of rubbish and where it ends up.”

“The program reveals how the lucrative trade in our rubbish has attracted unscrupulous operators who are gaming the system and making a fortune in the process.”

“Four Corners' cameras have captured eye-opening footage of the flourishing trade in our rubbish.”

“Senior members of the industry say they're taking a big risk by speaking out but believe the need for reform is too great to remain silent.”

“Trashed, reported by Caro Meldrum-Hanna and presented by Sarah Ferguson, goes to air on Monday 7th August at 8.30pm. It is replayed on Tuesday 8th August at 10.00am and Wednesday 9th at 11pm. It can also be seen on ABC NEWS channel on Saturday at 8.00pm AEST, ABC iview and at abc.net.au/4corners”.

ABC Central Coast radio will run this story in their news bulletins, and on the Scott Levi show, on Tuesday morning following the Four Corners program.

Connected with the world

2017-07-28T16:27:00.000-07:00

Cento Bell Canto

Once again the Mountain Districts was on the world map for the international One Month Festival, a global event held every July, which this year featured 400 performances in 30 countries. Local venues included Somersby School of Arts Hall, a cattle farm at Mangrove Mountain and the Mangrove Trig Station at Somersby.

Michelle Urquhart and friends at the Mangrove Trig Station

Our local “One Month” art events and music performances had a global audience via Facebook and websites.

The principle behind the festival, as the organizer, Chang Soo Park, of House Concert says, “is that culture and arts should be lived on a daily basis, not only on special occasions or once in a while. It should be ‘a festival every day’ and can take place in any location. One Month festival covers all kinds of content and expression, including classical music, jazz, traditional music, poetry readings, experimental music, performance art, dance, plays, lectures, exhibitions, and everyday experiences. It welcomes both professionals and amateurs.”

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Cento Bell Canto our program for One Month Festival 2017, was organised by LocoLocus, directed by Neil Berecry-Brown and Jieon Berecry-Brown. It comprised of a number of “movements” in different locations, echoing themes of movement, migration, evolution, fluidity, cultural mutation and distribution.

Different improvised movements featured ensemble singing, viola playing, poetry readings, musical storytelling, video, photography, bird song, animal voices and bells.

Amongst the participants were Dr. Noelene Lucas and Juliet Fowler-Smith, both Sydney based artists who used the Somersby School of Arts Hall as a venue for their separate projects on bird song and migration respectively, and Michelle Urquhart (just returned from two international concert tours), who played in an improvised viola performance with an ensemble featuring variously tuned cow bells and duck calls.

Also taking to the world stage was the Somersby CWA. Participation in One Month Festival coincided with their International Culture Day, when members read poetry, sang songs reflecting the culture of the Country Women’s Association of Australia and performed a highly entertaining musical historical narrative. There is clearly more to the CWA than just tea and scones.

Pictured are:

Somersby CWA members performing in their play; and CWA member Shirley Templeton reading poetry at the School of Arts Hall.