Pittwater Life October 2017 Issue

News
‘Hey Pittwater – we need to talk’
The newly sworn-in Northern
Beaches Council is already
shining the spotlight on the
former Pittwater region as it
looks to create harmony across
its 30-kilometre patch from
Palm Beach to Manly.
And better community consultation
sits atop the councillors’
mutual to-do list.
Pittwater ward councillor
Alex McTaggart said his
approach would be to “not
hit the ground running but
hit the ground listening”
while Your Northern Beaches
Independent (YNBI) team head
Michael Regan wants direct
community consultation to
trigger and drive important
projects like the shelved Mona
Vale Place Plan.
“We want transparency and
accountability at a level we
have not seen before in the
former Pittwater area,” said
Mr Regan.
Mr McTaggart was elected
as an independent in Pittwater
ward along with former Pittwater
councillor Ian White (YNBI)
– but only after 24 recounts,
and a dismissed protest from
the Greens – saw them join
former Pittwater deputy mayor
Kylie Ferguson (Liberals) as the
chosen three.
Mr White acknowledged the
need to make Council “more
accessible” to everyone but
added the greater priority was
to get the new Council working.
“It is so much bigger and has
so much more money,” he said.
However, Mr McTaggart
told Pittwater Life that several
philosophical debates were
required between Council and
community.
“Although I was not part of
the Pittwater secession I was
mentored by the early secessionist
community members,”
he said. “Their message was
clear and simple and stays with
me today: Protect the environment,
be fiscally responsible
and ensure good governance.”
He added that through the
1990s he was part of a Council
that paid off the debt for
the purchase of the Warriewood
wetlands, then acquired
and put into public ownership
important environmental
assets such as the Ingleside
escarpment, Winnererremy
Bay, Currawong and the Warriewood
land release creek
line corridors among others.
“In many cases these assets
were funded by environmental
rate levies, a social contract between
council and community
to deliver specific outcomes,”
he said. “This leads me to the
philosophical debates I believe
this Council and community
should have.
“Is public land to be protected
and enhanced for future
generations, or flogged off to
vested interests for short-term
gain? Should the built form
dominate the landscape or are
ridgelines, wildlife corridors
and tree-lined streets worthy
of protection?
“Should we use debt to
acquire or build assets – not
operating expenses – and pass
on some of the costs to the
next generation who will have
the use of that asset?”
He questioned whether the
Council as a wholly owned
subsidiary of state government
should “blindly accept” what
it was given, or should instead
challenge decisions that were
not in community interests.
“Having these and other debates
requires transparent and
respectful consultation that
gives to the community ownership
of the decision-making
process,” he said.
In all, the 15 new Northern
Beaches councillors comprise
nine independents, five Liberals
and one Greens.
YNBI team head Michael
Regan told Pittwater Life he believed
the representation was
well-balanced, adding he was
heartened to hear the Liberals
had said they would not bloc
vote on issues.
“That is encouraging and
bodes well for all our community,”
he said.
Dog policy across the
peninsula was just one of the
projects that needed atten-
6 OCTOBER 2017
The Local Voice Since 1991