Michael Regan MP: Working with, never against

It’s an extraordinary thing to serve your community as Mayor.

It’s incredibly humbling and a role that I accidentally landed in as the first popularly elected Mayor of Warringah back in 2008. To then take on the one Council for the Northern Beaches in 2017 and deliver on its promises and potential has been a huge achievement. To now leave that united Council in such a strong and sound financial shape, transparent and award winning, is a huge credit to our councillors and our staff. It’s something our community can be really proud of.

 Northern Beaches Council is in a very strong financial position, better than any other council in New South Wales. We know exactly where we sit with the status of our assets, the cost and timeline to replace and maintain them. We have a full long term financial plan, one that can sustain shocks like the regular natural disasters we experience. We have paid off the huge debts of Pittwater and Manly. All services of the previous Councils were maintained at the highest level, whilst also realising $30 million in annual savings. I’m very proud of that and have no time for those that talk down our Council. No organisation is perfect, but we can be proud of the services and infrastructure we deliver. 

 What is disappointing is the usual political games now being played by the Liberal Party, making out there is a problem with the budget and that they alone will fix it. The fact is the Liberal Councillors have all the information from staff about what each service costs. They have asked the CEO to cut staff. Any cut to staff reduces service levels. The logical question is then. “Which service do you wish to cut?” Simple.

We are a board of directors, and if you want the CEO to cut stuff, thus reducing costs, then be honest – which services? That is your job as a Councillor. And the community is not asking us to reduce services like childcare, road repairs, libraries or sports fields maintenance. So, it is disingenuous of Liberal Councillors to say they will reduce rates when they won’t say what service they will cut or projects they will abandon.

 As an independent, my attitude has always been to work with others, not against, be it with federal and state ministers of all persuasions, fellow councillors, our amazing staff and of course our awesome community. Together we have achieved so much for the Northern Beaches. We rebuilt trust back into the community and consistently topped the state in customer satisfaction.

 The PCYC project will impact generations for decades to come, as will the delivery of the plans behind the B1 bus route, the completion of the Narrabeen Lagoon trail, the Cromer Park masterplan, the Lionel Watts and War Memorial Playing Fields, the Creative Space in Curl Curl and the new library at Glenrose. We locked in affordable housing into new zonings, we put arts into Council’s DNA as opposed to just sport (which I also love) and ensured the business community was an imbedded part of Council’s future plans. And, of course, our Covid response, supporting the community the way we did, stands as my proudest achievement whilst on Council. 

I look back with a real sense of pride, not personal pride but rather community pride, and I’m excited about the future for Council and for the Northern Beaches.