Marriage Equality Debate Hits Lake Macquarie

BY MATT JOHNSTON

It's expected Labor will put forward a motion to 'Support Marriage Equality' at tonight's city council meeting. But not everyone in favour of marriage equality thinks the motion is a good idea.

 Liberal Cr Nick Jones says his same sex partner "would kill [him]" if he didn't support marriage equality, but this isn't an issue that should be discussed by local council.

"It's not up to council to make this decision on behalf of our residents."

Cr Jones says that upcoming postal vote, which he isn't in favour of, should express how residents feel about the matter, rather than council doing it on their behalf.

What frustrates Cr Jones is that "the issue shouldn't be coming up in front of council at all", and that some Councillors are "just trying to make the most of a political opportunity for themselves."

"They might be genuine about marriage equality- I'm not saying they don't support it- but their intentions here are not to try and persuade the federal government."

"Lake Macquarie Council voting one way or another in this issue doesn't change the federal government's mind, it doesn't change the general public's mind. It's just not up to us to make that decision."

Cr Jones suggests that the best way for Lake Macquarie Council to serve its LGBTI residents is to have inclusive and respectful policies and procedures for staff who deal with their concerns.

"Our staff are fantastic. They're progressive, they're understanding of the social world changing. That's where council need to focus, to make sure they keep their ship in order."

What to do with Wollombi Public?

BY LAUREN FREEMANTLE

The future of the Wollombi Public School premises remains uncertain, as Cessnock Councillor Paul Dunn lobbies to keep ownership of the property in local hands.

The state-owned school was shut down in late 2014 due to insufficient student numbers and is currently being curated by the Wollombi School Community Trust to facilitate community events such as art exhibits, markets and preschool services.

"As far as the Wollombi Community Trust goes, they've stated that in the last 12 months they've had over 300 uses of that land for the local community," Cr Dunn explains.

However, it is unknown whether the state government intends to retain the school property for these community uses or sell it off to a private buyer.

"The community deserve to have that facility kept in their hands," Cr Dunn continues,"If it does go into private ownership, there's no state and federal heritage listings, so there's no guarantee of the structure of the buildings remaining the same.

"I personally would love to see it stay in community hands, but unfortunately Cessnock Council isn't in a position to have the money to do anything for it."

Possible solutions envisioned by Cr Dunn include a 'peppercorn' lease- where land is rented at a minimal amount- between the state government and Council, or a donation of the land from the state government to allow Council to set up a sub-committee to run the Wollombi facilities.

"As long as there's no essential on-going costs folded back to the Council, we are more than happy to run with anything the state government are willing to offer us."

Cessnock Councillor, Paul Dunn.