Central Coast Council chamber at Gosford closed after threats

There will be no more council meetings at Gosford until further notice, after some councillors complained they didn’t feel safe from abuse by people in the public gallery.

Meetings at Gosford chamber have been cancelled until a safety audit is carried out.

Safety concerns have forced the closure of Central Coast Council’s Gosford chamber until further notice.

Councillors voted to cancel meetings at Gosford at Monday night’s council meeting until a safety audit has been conducted. All meetings will be held at the Wyong chamber until the safety audit is complete.

At the heart of the issue are accusations by some councillors that they have been physically threatened and verbally abused.

The Gosford chamber has a railing which divides the councillors from the gallery,

however the public are still within 2m of councillors — too close for comfort it seems.

Councillor Lisa Matthews said she has had concerns for her safety at the Gosford chamber.

“At times there has been some close interactions with members of the public and councillors,” she said.

The public sit very close to the councillors. Picture: Central Coast Council’s webcast

“Clearly, we meet late at night and sometimes into the wee hours of the morning and in my mind there is risks of safety. We have been subjected to heckling from people behind us. I’m no longer wanting to tolerate it. I do not feel safe in that chamber. It’s not an option until we can be given assurances we are safe.”

Cr Kyle MacGregor said he had been physically threatened at Gosford due to the position he has taken on certain issues.

“Two men threatened to punch me and headbutt me,” he said.

Crowds piled into Gosford earlier this year. The only entry and exit is via the elevator.

“When people are making violent threats then we do need to protect staff and councillors.

“Although there is a divider there (between councillors and the public) if some crazy person was to go over the top there’s a high chance someone could get seriously injured.”

Councillor Greg Best highlighted recent violence in Melbourne and “how quickly things can change”.

“We have nowhere to go at Gosford chamber,” he said.

“I think Gosford is outdated in the modern era … there are elevator issues and fire exit issues.”

Cr Lisa Matthews said she feels unsafe at Gosford

Cr Kyle MacGregor said he has been physically threatened at Gosford

However Deputy Mayor Chris Holstein said while people should not feel unsafe in the workplace, the decision would disadvantage people from the south who wish to attend meetings at Gosford.

Cr Troy Marquart said councillors were being a “bit precious”.

‘We are not the rolling stones,” he said.

He said anyone at Wyong council meetings could jump down from the gallery and hurt a councillor.

“There’s no difference,” he said. “This is just going to divide north and south.”

Once the safety audit is complete, council will make up the number of meetings throughout 2019 at Gosford.