‘Trust and innovation’ the focus for Coffs City’s new general manager

THE General Manager of Coffs Harbour Council Murray Wood, told the 180 guests at the Chamber of Commerce’s Big Breakfast that his focus for the City is “enabling community”.

Speaking on the importance of having the everyday services – water, sewer, waste – running smoothly, he said, “If you can drink from your tap, and you can flush something away…  you don’t notice them. [But] if we get it wrong, our community hurts really badly.

“So a key focus is long-term thinking and building a reputation of community trust.

“Then we can do nation-leading projects.

“We can’t do everything, so what are we going to choose to be the best at?”

Mr Murray is passionate about building teams and loves local government: “that grassroots level of government where you actually impact the community in a positive way”.

He spoke about the challenge of the City’s waste, the current facility, and next steps to a solution.

“If we just keep chucking everything in the red bin, that’s going to cost you a lot more in the future.

“We’ve got to get to a circular economy, recycling opportunities, and creating industries off the back of that.

“But it’s a wicked challenge and it’s important to explain that to the community.”

The key to Council’s culture is safety.

“Nothing we do in local government is worth someone being seriously injured at work,” he said.

Looking at the City’s performance, Mr Murray spoke of getting the tension balanced between established assets and building new ones.

Development Application (DA) processing is a challenge, as new rules are introduced and the government brings in new planning systems.

Coffs Harbour stands at around 81 days for DA assessment, down from 96 days in FY 23/24.

Mr Wood stressed that the earlier and more honest conversations developers have with Council – pre DAs – the better the outcomes.

He spoke about the Uniting Church development on Gordon Street, which is a state significant development, not a CoCH responsibility.

However, regular meetings are underway to discuss the plans.

When they go live for local comments, Council will help the community understand how they can lodge their comments, concerns – as they would for a DA from Council.

Construction is one of Coffs’ biggest employment areas, and Mr Murray suggests Coffs grows its own skills by attracting young people.

Having excelled in a career in investment attraction, Mr Murray is well placed to support overseas investors to invest in Coffs Harbour.

The idea of investment attraction is to create certainty about why the investor should want to come here.

“Everywhere says the same, ‘great lifestyle, great work opportunities’ but Coffs had not separated itself to showcase its best culture piece.

“So, we’ve got another layer of work to put meat on the bones.

“I’ve got to be able to give them (investors) something more about what the actual investment option is, what are our strengths, and what are our problems that could be the opportunity for investment.

“You need certainty: here’s the plan, here’s the land options.”

Mr Murray cited the berry industry as a strength, a “number one industry” but with challenges.

“That’s great from an investment attraction point of view.

“For every problem that we’re hearing about, there’s an opportunity to resolve it.”

A solution that sounds futuristic today is beginning to materialise: AMSL AERO’s human drone transport.

“It’s got the hydrogen fuel cells, it’s got an amazing range…Quantas Links and the Australian Defense Force have invested in the technology.”

Looking at Intensive Horticulture opportunities, he pointed to increased climate variability driving the need for more controlled climate food production; food tourism experiences; ag-tech as a potential target sector for specific solution providers and to develop Coffs’ reputation as the place for collaboration and innovation.

He closed by saying, “I’d like us to be known as a trusted partner, in innovation, and collaboration.”

By Andrea FERRARI