Water & environment · Central Coast Council
POET governance proposal advances as workshop for former members loses 3-2 vote
Central Coast’s Governance and Finance Committee recommended Environment and Planning Committee members form the Protection of the Environment Trust’s clause 22 management committee, while rejecting a proposed workshop with former trust members.
Reporting from public council minutes. How this article was prepared
A proposal to place Environment and Planning Committee members on the Protection of the Environment Trust’s clause 22 management committee has advanced to Central Coast Council, after the Governance and Finance Committee rejected an amendment proposing a workshop with former POET members by three votes to two.
The committee recommended that Council endorse the Environment and Planning Committee members to form the management committee and refer the POET report to the Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee for information. The recommendation does not establish that Council has adopted the arrangement.
Councillors Jane Smith and Helen Crowley proposed recommending that Council invite former POET members to a workshop on the trust’s operations and future, followed by another report. That amendment was lost, with Smith and Crowley voting for it and Councillor Jared Wright, Mayor McNamara and Councillor Doug Eaton OAM voting against it.
The original motion was then carried by the same three-to-two split. The minutes do not state when the proposed management committee would begin operating or identify its members beyond referring to the Environment and Planning Committee members.
What deserves a closer look
The recorded motion recommends that Council take the substantive POET governance actions, so the minutes do not establish a final Council decision.
The workshop proposal was defeated before the original motion was carried, leaving the proposed consultation outside the recorded recommendation.
The minutes identify the proposed management committee by reference to Environment and Planning Committee members but do not provide an operating date or further membership details.
Questions for follow-up reporting
Will Council adopt the committee's recommendation, and when will it consider the POET report?
If Council adopts the recommendation, when would the clause 22 management committee begin operating?
What functions and reporting responsibilities would the proposed management committee have under the Trust Deed?
Will Council undertake any other consultation with former POET members?
What happens next
Council could consider whether to endorse Environment and Planning Committee members to form the clause 22 management committee.
If Council adopts the referral recommendation, the POET management committee report would be referred to the Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee for information.
Check the record
These passages were matched to the source text. Read them in context in the original minutes.
The proposed recommendation called for Council to refer the POET management committee report to the Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee for information and endorse Environment and Planning Committee members to form the management committee referred to in clause 22 of the Trust Deed.
Receives the 'Protection of the Environment Trust – Establishment of a POET Clause 22 Management Committee' report. 2. Recommends that Council: a. Refers the 'Protection of the Environment Trust – Establishment of a POET Clause 22 Management Committee' report to the Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee for information as requested by that Committee. b. Endorses the members of the Environment and Planning Committee to form the Management Committee referred to in clause 22 of the Trust Deed. Central Coast Council Governance and Finance Committee Minutes 10 November 2026 Page 12 OFFICIAL 8:46pm An AMENDMENT was MOVED by Cr Smith and SECONDED by Cr Crowley: That the Committee recommends that Council: 1.
Item 2.9, GFC-26/62, recommendation to Council
Open original minutes ↗An amendment moved by Cr Smith and seconded by Cr Crowley proposed recommending that Council invite former POET members to a workshop on the trust's operations and future and receive a further report after that consultation.
b. Endorses the members of the Environment and Planning Committee to form the Management Committee referred to in clause 22 of the Trust Deed. Central Coast Council Governance and Finance Committee Minutes 10 November 2026 Page 12 OFFICIAL 8:46pm An AMENDMENT was MOVED by Cr Smith and SECONDED by Cr Crowley: That the Committee recommends that Council: 1. Invites the former members of the POET to a workshop to consult on the operations and future of the trust. 2. That Council receives a further report after the consultation via a workshop with former POET members.
Item 2.9, amendment
Open original minutes ↗The amendment was lost by two votes for to three against, with Cr Crowley and Cr Smith voting for it and Cr Wright, Mayor McNamara and Cr Eaton OAM voting against it.
LOST FOR: Cr Crowley and Cr Smith AGAINST: Cr Wright, Mayor McNamara and Cr Eaton OAM The AMENDMENT was put to the vote and declared LOST, debate resumed on the original MOTION. The MOTION was put to the vote and declared CARRIED.
Item 2.9, amendment result
Open original minutes ↗The original motion was declared carried by three votes to two, with Cr Wright, Mayor McNamara and Cr Eaton OAM voting for it and Cr Crowley and Cr Smith voting against it.
LOST FOR: Cr Crowley and Cr Smith AGAINST: Cr Wright, Mayor McNamara and Cr Eaton OAM The AMENDMENT was put to the vote and declared LOST, debate resumed on the original MOTION. The MOTION was put to the vote and declared CARRIED. CARRIED FOR: Cr Wright, Mayor McNamara and Cr Eaton OAM AGAINST: Cr Crowley and Cr Smith 2.10 Proposed New Open Space and Recreation Fees and Charges 2026-27 - for Public Exhibition 8:49pm A MOTION was MOVED by Cr Eaton OAM and SECONDED by Mayor McNamara: GFC-26/63 That the Committee recommends that Council: a.
Item 2.9, GFC-26/62, original motion result
Open original minutes ↗The Governance and Finance Committee meeting was held on 10 November 2026.
OFFICIAL Central Coast Council MINUTES of the Governance and Finance Committee Meeting held in Function Room 2 2 Hely Street, Wyong Tuesday 10 November 2026 Members Status Cr Jared Wright, Chairperson Present Cr Kyle MacGregor, Deputy Chairperson Apology Cr Helen Crowley, Member Present Cr Doug Eaton OAM, Member Present Cr Jane Smith, Member Present (Items 1.1 - 3.2) Mayor McNamara Present Council Officers Status Jamie Loader, Chief Executive Officer Present Marissa Racomelara, Director Corporate Services Present Boris Bolgolf, Director Infrastructure Services Present Phil Cantillon, Acting Director, Community and Recreation Services Present
Meeting heading
Open original minutes ↗Source record
Reporting from the public minutes of Central Coast Council’s Governance and Finance Committee meeting on 10 November 2026.
Key facts from the minutes
- The committee recommended referring the POET management committee report to the Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee for information.
- It recommended that Council endorse Environment and Planning Committee members to form the management committee referred to in clause 22 of the Trust Deed.
- An amendment proposing a workshop with former POET members and a later report was recorded as lost, with two councillors voting for it and three against.
- The original motion was declared carried by three votes to two.
- The committee meeting was held on 10 November 2026.
Why it matters
- The recommendation would shape the proposed oversight of the Protection of the Environment Trust, while the committee’s vote leaves the consultation process proposed for former POET members out of the recorded recommendation.