🎉 Our 100th newsletter

📌 COMMUNITY NOTICEBOARD

The Kempsey Crescent Head Surf Life Saving Club 220+ men’s crew have brought home a NSW state gold medal.

Over the weekend, more than 100 crews from across the state raced at Swansea Belmont Surf Life Saving Club in tough conditions.

Stewart Henderson, the club’s boat captain, said the Macleay Valley crew had been training hard after winning a bronze medal at last months’ Australian Surf Rowers League competition at Wanda Beach.

Each of the crew members are required to volunteer their time as surf life savers in order to compete.

The crew: Gavin Burke, Joe Notley, Simon Tamblyn, Steve Pellen and Mick Megaloconomos.

They crew is now eyeing off an Aussie’s medal at the national event held on the Gold Coast later this month.

TWO TOP STORIES

🟡 “We can’t do this alone”: Council needs urgent help fixing antisocial behaviour in Kempsey’s CBD

Street furniture ripped out, Wi-Fi killed, and walls fenced off –  Kempsey Shire Council is throwing everything it has at a reported “anti-social crisis” gripping the CBD. Still, the council says it needs urgent help from the state government to make meaningful improvement.

What happened: A mayoral minute was brought to the February council meeting in response to ongoing community concerns about antisocial behaviour in public spaces.

• “This is not a new issue,” Mayor Kinne Ring said during the meeting. “It's not a reaction to a single incident. It's something that I have raised consistently since being elected.” 

Councillor Ben Paix, an emergency responder in Kempsey for 13 years, agreed antisocial behaviour in the area is far from a new occurrence.

• “From midnight to 3am if you go around the streets of our town, it's a different place to what you might see through the daytime,” Paix said.

What’s the difference? The term antisocial behaviour incorporates a range of behaviours, from minor offensive or harmful acts, for example swearing or noisy behaviour, to more serious criminal activity like physical assault and property offences.

• It is hard to define because it depends on what different communities perceive antisocial behaviour to be, however broadly speaking, it means behaviour that disturbs, annoys or interferes with a person's ability to go about their business.

Help needed: Mayor Ring said staff are doing what they can under local government authority but the challenges cannot be solved alone.

• “Issues involving crime, drug use and public safety require coordinated, long term intervention from state agencies,” Ring said. “We are doing what we can, but we also need help. We can't do this on our own, and we need that accountability and that action from those agencies.”

The mayor spoke of increasing frustration at being asked to fix problems the council don’t have the power to solve. 

Coordination key: The motion stated the prevention and management of antisocial behaviour requires coordinated action by state agencies, and that without appropriate state government resourcing and intervention, including policing, health and social support services, council’s capacity to address these issues is extremely limited.

The action: Council requested the CEO write to the local State Member of Parliament seeking stronger and more immediate support and advocacy to address the underlying drivers of antisocial behaviour. The motion was passed unanimously. 

What council has done already: CEO Andrew Meddle listed council’s recent attempts to deter antisocial behaviour in Kempsey's CBD. It has:

• Disconnected the electric point outside the IGA

• Contacted Telstra to ask for the relocation of the pay phone. The WiFi and incoming calls to that phone have been temporarily banned while negotiations continue.

• Removed dumped items and rubbish from public spaces and on private land.

• Erected a temporary fence around the wall in Clyde Street and removed street furniture “so that there is nowhere convenient for people to lay or sit during the day”.

• Increasing alcohol prohibited in the area signage

• Worked with local businesses to reintroduce classical music being played in the area

In January, people experiencing homelessness on Forth Street were moved off the public land and connected with partner agencies New Horizons and Community Housing Limited for support and temporary accommodation.

The root cause: Meddle said local police have included Clyde Street as a daily task for officers, but while Clyde Street is the first area council is tackling, the new patrols have only moved antisocial behaviour to other areas.

• “So we’ll tackle those areas similarly, but at some stage, just removing street furniture or putting up increased signage is not going to solve the issue,” Meddle said. “We need to tackle the root causes which are inextricably linked with health.”

Mayor Ring agreed with Meddle, saying while staff maintain spaces – and council advocates for support – it does not have the legislative authority or funding to address the root causes of the problem.

Drug crisis needs focus: During the meeting, Councillor Arthur Bain said combatting drug issues could help solve the root cause of crime in the area.

• “There's a significant crisis in drug use in our community and I believe there needs to be more resourcing in that health sector of things like the opiate treatment program and peer support services for injecting drug users to try and minimise the harm that it's causing to our community,” Bain said.

State MP weighs in: Member for Oxley, Michael Kemp, said prior to the meeting he contacted council asking them to address antisocial behaviour in the CBD impacting local businesses.

• “I had a lot of businesses in the area complaining to me, saying that it was impacting their trade,” Kemp told the Mid North Coaster. “That people no longer want to go past the toilets and the Clyde Street Mall because of the drug paraphernalia, the drug usage, and the harassment that has come about from people that are loitering in the CBD.”

Kemp said he brought the issue to council and asked them to move those people on so they weren't affecting businesses “who pay taxes and who employ our families” and who continue to struggle after back-to-back floods.

• “I'm willing to advocate for any of those services to happen. There are many state services that provide assistance in areas and I remain open to communicating with council and acting as an intermediary between those services,” Kemp said.

🗞️To read the full article including youth programs on offer in the area, head to the website.

🟡 MidCoast aquatic centres will switch to solar and reduce run costs, emissions and the chance of fee hikes

Manning Aquatic Leisure Centre in Taree and the Great Lakes Aquatic Centre in Forster will have solar panels installed by the end of June, taking the pressure off annual increases to entry fees.

Why it matters: The project was initiated in 2024 following the adoption of MidCoast Council’s Climate Change Strategy.

The strategy identified the installation of solar systems at the two centres as a priority to reduce energy consumption, lower operating costs and contribute to the council's emissions reduction targets.

Cost savings for council: It was noted during the council meeting on Wednesday that “sufficient budget” exists for the project to be funded from the aquatic centre’s reserves.

Council reports the system payback period for both facilities is under three years.

The projected 25-year lifetime cost savings is $3,179,400 for the Manning Aquatic Leisure Centre and $1,967,870 for the Great Lakes Aquatic Centre. 

• Council said any financial savings generated by the solar system installations will benefit MidCoast Council rather than the facility operator.

Council has officially entered into a contract with TSP Energy Pty Ltd (previously Solar Professionals) who are expected to complete the installations before June 30, 2026.

Local impact: Council said improvements in cost efficiency for running the centre, thanks to the solar panels, will mean annual entry fee increases are less likely. 

📹 VIDEO OF THE DAY 

During my most recent visit to Port Macquarie, I asked locals on the street where they go for a cheap meal.

From a bowlo to a “Tight Ass Tuesday” deal, here’s what they had to say…

Where’s your go-to for cheap eats? Reply to this email and let me know.