"I Fear Politics May Have Played a Part": Councilor Penfold

BY JESSICA ROUSE

The decision by Maitland City Council to vote against investigating two proposals is being questioned by Independent Councillor Philip Penfold.

Councillor Penfold put forward two motions, one being to look into re-fitting the front section of the Walka Water Works pumphouse building to make way for a cafe and toilets and the other idea to investigate a multi level car park in Maitland's CBD.

Deputy Mayor Sally Halliday as well as the other Independent councillors voted for the motions, but Mayor Loretta Baker and others voted no.

"I was disappointed to see that they weren't supported by the mayor and a slim majority of council. I think they're very important to the people of Maitland, they want to have the ability to sit and relax and to eat at the beautiful Walka Water Works. They want to opportunity park conveniently near The Levee that we've just spent $10 million on," said Councillor Penfold.

Proposed site for Maitland car park Image Councillor Philip Penfold Facebook.

He says he didn't agree with the reasons they gave against the motions.

"To be honest I fear politics may have played a part,"

"There was some suggestion that if a cafe is not going to make a motser then it shouldn't be built."

"People didn't like to, for some reason have multi story considered. There seemed to be a strong view that purely single story is what should be considered for Maitland's CBD. I find that odd, Maitland is growing at a very rapid rate. Maitland and the CBD is proving very popular," said Councillor Penfold.

Councillor Penfold says the motions have a lot of support from the local community which he has seen online and head from in-person.

A petition for more parking in the CBD received 529 signatures from the community who agreed there was a lack of parking for business owners, staff and customers.

"It's not rocket science to see that in the future multi story car parking will be requires, people want convenience and the site I spoke of was less than a block away from the Levee," said Councillor Penfold.

Fresh Faces, New Visions and Diversity in Hunter Councils

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Newcastle have a familiar face re-elected into the top job with Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes getting 42 per cent of the vote over at the weekend's council elections.

The big topics like the V8 Supercars race in November didn't appear to make any difference in council getting the votes - they in fact won every ballot box.

Labor Councillor Declan Clausen says it's because the city knows with Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes at the helm, the community will be looked after when it comes to the race.

Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes

"People understand the vision that Labor is bringing. They endorse that broader vision and understand that we are the best people on council to try and do something to mitigate those risks and make sure things run in a fair manner."

Labor's numbers in Newcastle Council are shaping up to be a majority with five Councillors plus the Lord Mayor.

Independent Kath Elliott only received half the votes of the Lord Mayor, but she still made it to council with three other Independents, and is determined to hold them to account during the three year term.

"We will be trying to hold Labor to account to make sure that they represent the interests of the community and make sure they're not representing the interests of party headquarters in Sussex Street in Sydney," said Councillor Elliott.

The Greens and the Liberals look set to claim one seat each in Newcastle.

Meanwhile in Port Stephens, Independent Ryan Palmer has claimed the top job with 35 per cent of the first vote preferences.

The 30-year-old father-of-two takes the reigns from Bruce Mackenzie who decided not to run in this year's election.

"He was a character, but he was a good servant to Port Stephens over a long period of time. He certainly did it his way but it's now time for port Stephens to look to the future and hopefully I can bring a strong, fresh approach to council and really work with the residents over the coming three years," said Mayor Palmer.

A Mayor is still yet to be confirmed in Maitland- the numbers are swinging towards Labor's Loretta Baker, followed closely by Independent Philip Penfold.

Loretta Baker

Maitland Mayor's Job Still Too Close To Call

BY IAN CROUCH

Nuatali Nelmes has been re-elected Lord Mayor of Newcastle following the local government elections at the weekend.

She polled 42 per cent of the vote, double the result of Independent candidate, Kath Elliot.

Labor claimed Six seats - the Independents 4, while the Greens and the Liberals look set to claim one each.

Elsewhere, the race for the Mayor's job at Maitland is still too close to call, although Labor's Loretta  Baker looks set to become the city's first ever female mayor.

However, the final results will go down to preferences, with just a thousand votes separating Loretta Baker and Philip Penfold.

Meanwhile, Ryan Palmer has been elected mayor of Port Stephens and will take the reigns from Bruce MacKenzie.

Labor's Loretta Baker

Independents slam Labor's Special Rate Rise plan for Maitland

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Independent Mayoral candidate for Maitland Philip Penfold has slammed Labor's plan to drop the Special Rate Variation if she's elected into the top job.

Mayoral candidate Loretta Baker has promised to put forward a proposal which will see household rates drop by around $100 a year, but there are fears that could lead to job cuts and a huge loss in funding accumulating to around $10 million dollars over the next council term.


Philip Penfold said it's easy to come and say it now to get some community support, but in the end the plan simply isn't going to work.

"It's very easy to come out and make political statements about rate cuts but show us your calculations, show us who is going to lose their job, show us which roads are not going to be repaired so you can justify why you have a reversal of your decision you moved two months ago."

The decision the mayoral candidate has reportedly flipped on was moved two months ago as the adoption of the Statement of Rating Structure which was stated as:

Council adopt the Statement of Rating Structure, as identified in the Operational Plan 2017/18 (which includes a general rate increase of 7.25%);

Philip Penfold believes if Loretta Baker's plan goes through there will have to be job cuts and a loss of funds to projects because council won't be able to afford it.

"For a lot of the council's expenses they are state government expenses the cost of the street, the cost of the waste levy the Labor party introduced. So it's expensive for council and its expensive for the community and it's important for a council to balance out the wishes and needs of the community and what those costs will be," said Philip Penfold.

"All Councillors I'm sure are open to adjustments in rates but any candidate needs to put forward what is their proposed cut then, if you're going to cut the income please explain where this $10 million dollar shortfall is going to come from and how you are going to account for it."

Mayoral Candidate Phillip Penfold and his team Image Philip Penfold Twitter