At last Wednesday night’s council meeting, Cr. Morgan Campbell moved that council develop a strategy for a new Cessnock aquatic centre that will be shovel ready by the 2016/17 budget.

But Cr. James Ryan said the project should be ready by the 2014/15 budget, and has been joined by councillors Ian Olsen and Suellen Wrightson in lodging a rescission motion that will bring the issue back to council for the first meeting of the new year.

“We want council to resolve this issue in this term of council, not wait for another four years,” Cr. Ryan said.

“I urge councillors to make a difference in this four-year term of council.”

Cr. Ryan labelled the move to put off the pool plans until the next term of council “a breach of an election promise”.

“I believe the ALP Councillors acted very cynically by moving that we not develop plans for a new pool until the 2016/17 budget,” Cr. Ryan said.

“The next council elections will be in 2016. The Cessnock ALP have effectively moved that there will be no attempt to build a new Cessnock Aquatic Centre in Cessnock in this term of council.

“What is worse is that by not having any plans ready until the 2016/17 budget Cessnock will miss out on applying for State or Federal funding until those plans are ready.

“Before the election most of the councillors, including the Greens, signed the pool pledge put up by the Cessnock Pool Users Group. The ALP Councillors are failing to honour the spirit of that commitment.”

Cr. Campbell said four years was a more reasonable timeframe that would allow council to “get it right”.

“While it’s important to be urgent, it’s important to be realistic,” Cr. Campbell said.

“During the election campaign Labor councillors and candidates signed a pledge for a four-year strategy to make a new Cessnock pool shovel ready by 2016.

“I have been doorknocking in Cessnock since the election and people are talking to me about the need for this pool, whether they swim for fitness, competition or fun.

“In what should have been a unanimous decision, it is a shame that Green councillor James Ryan and councillor Ian Olsen decided to play politics and propose an unrealistic timeframe that even the pool users group doesn’t wish for.

“We need plenty of time to see what we can do, and what we can afford, not a rushed patch-up job. It will take plenty of planning if we’re going to get this right.

“I suspect Cr Ryan’s sudden urgency is more out of embarrassment than anything else. He’s been around for nine years, where’s his motion?

“When their ridiculous time frame was voted down, councillors Ryan and Olsen then kicked the toys out of the pram by voting against having a pool plan at all. I wouldn’t be surprised if they moved a rescission motion, which would only slow the process down further.”

In confirming Cessnock Labor’s enthusiasm for the pool study, Mayor Bob Pynsent said that previous Labor councils had delivered the Cessnock Sports Ground, Cessnock Performing Arts Centre and the widely used Kurri Aquatic Centre.

“I find it hypocritical in the extreme that councillors Ryan and Olsen, who criticised the previous Labor Council I was a member of for rushing into building Baddeley Park and the Performing Arts Centre, now want the pool study to be rushed through,” Cr. Pynsent said.

“And to top it all, when they didn’t get their way, they actually voted against looking at a pool at all. It seems that unless they’re getting the credit they don’t want to know about it.”

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