'Meat in the sandwich': back-and-forth about Sonia Hornery derails Wallsend violence debate

The Advertiser

6 hours ago

COUNCILLORS want solutions to combat an "uptick" in anti-social behaviour and violent attacks at Wallsend Library that have made staff and residents feel unsafe.
Newcastle Liberal deputy lord mayor Callum Pull tabled a motion this week urging the state government to increase police patrols and help stop troublemakers in their tracks.
Cr Pull said ratepayers are covering the cost of a security guard at the library, and now, the council is in the "extraordinary" position of considering paying police.
He said library patrons, shoppers and bus users are being "terrorised".
"Policing is the responsibility of the NSW government, and our region pours billions of dollars every year into the state government's coffers," Cr Pull said.
"So I think it's a reasonable expectation of Wallsend residents that they'd be able to feel safe in their own suburb, and that we be given the resources, and police be given the resources, that they need to effectively do their job.
"For the sake of our town and the good name of our town, I think we can expect that."
In May, youths carrying hammers attacked the windows of the library. Two weeks earlier, a group of people blocked the entry and refused to allow people to enter or leave.
That same month, Wallsend Swimming Pool was broken into and trashed for the third time this season.
The council has restricted access to the library, requiring visitors to scan their cards to enter after 3pm on weekdays.
Labor councillor Deahnna Richardson said the majority of bad behaviour in the area is perpetrated by children aged 11 to 17.
She requested targeted diversionary programs for youth and a memo detailing the agencies that have been engaged and those needed beyond police to address the issue.
"I'm incredibly sad staff do not feel safe in their workplace," Cr Richardson said.
"I'm also deeply saddened that we have a group of children ... who are so disengaged ... that they've taken to intimidating other patrons of the library, assaulting Newcastle bus drivers and vandalising our precious community spaces in quite a violent way."
Cr Richardson said there is an opportunity to intervene and put supports in place.
That tack had the support of Greens councillor Joel Pringle, who said policing alone would not address the issue.
He suggested looking at something similar to the Cairns Community Safety Plan, introduced in 2022 to measure behaviour, introduce interventions and evaluates how effective they are.
Council chief executive Jeremy Bath said the council had considered the Cairns strategy, but he had reservations about a mass CCTV rollout.
"The total number of offences in Cairns two years was 6932, it's increased to 7836 in January of this year, so it's having a limited effect," he said.
"I think it's got a lot of PR and a lot of sensationalism to it, but I don't know that it's necessarily the holistic solution that we want to be looking at."
Newcastle police have met with the council to discuss a joint response.
"A user-pays policing response is not being considered by police, as reducing anti-social behaviour and crime at the location sits within the remit of the Newcastle City Police District," a NSW Police spokesman said.
"Police have increased high-visibility patrols of the area in response to those reports and have issued move-on directions to youths at the location on two occasions in recent days."
In the last month, police have received three reports of anti-social behaviour near the library.
The council debate was momentarily derailed over whether or not Mr Bath or independent lord mayor Ross Kerridge had responded to correspondence from Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery on the issue.
Mr Bath claimed there had been no correspondence since Cr Kerridge took office and said Ms Hornery "made a decision in October last year" that she "wanted to communicate exclusively" with the lord mayor on operational issues.
"The only emails that I've received from the state member for Wallsend since the election have been to say that she will not meet with me, she will not meet with council staff, she wants to meet exclusively with you," Mr Bath said.
"I can't allow the council to think that I'm not responding to the state member for Wallsend, because I am bending over backwards to try and communicate with her."
Cr Kerridge described himself as the "meat in the sandwich".
"We need to work on it," he said.
Ms Hornery took to Facebook on Wednesday to blast Mr Bath for claims he made at the council meeting.
"Mr Bath stated that there is no correspondence from me to him relating to the Wallsend Library that has not been responded to," she said.
"I can establish that I did indeed write to Mr Bath on 8 November 2024, and the CEO did not respond."
Ms Hornery said the letter to Mr Bath was a "sincere representation" on behalf of a Wallsend constituent.
Community members are urged to report suspicious activity to local police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or call Triple Zero in an emergency.
COUNCILLORS want solutions to combat an "uptick" in anti-social behaviour and violent attacks at Wallsend Library that have made staff and residents feel unsafe.
Newcastle Liberal deputy lord mayor Callum Pull tabled a motion this week urging the state government to increase police patrols and help stop troublemakers in their tracks.
Cr Pull said ratepayers are covering the cost of a security guard at the library, and now, the council is in the "extraordinary" position of considering paying police.
He said library patrons, shoppers and bus users are being "terrorised".
"Policing is the responsibility of the NSW government, and our region pours billions of dollars every year into the state government's coffers," Cr Pull said.
"So I think it's a reasonable expectation of Wallsend residents that they'd be able to feel safe in their own suburb, and that we be given the resources, and police be given the resources, that they need to effectively do their job.
"For the sake of our town and the good name of our town, I think we can expect that."
In May, youths carrying hammers attacked the windows of the library. Two weeks earlier, a group of people blocked the entry and refused to allow people to enter or leave.
That same month, Wallsend Swimming Pool was broken into and trashed for the third time this season.
The council has restricted access to the library, requiring visitors to scan their cards to enter after 3pm on weekdays.
Labor councillor Deahnna Richardson said the majority of bad behaviour in the area is perpetrated by children aged 11 to 17.
She requested targeted diversionary programs for youth and a memo detailing the agencies that have been engaged and those needed beyond police to address the issue.
"I'm incredibly sad staff do not feel safe in their workplace," Cr Richardson said.
"I'm also deeply saddened that we have a group of children ... who are so disengaged ... that they've taken to intimidating other patrons of the library, assaulting Newcastle bus drivers and vandalising our precious community spaces in quite a violent way."
Cr Richardson said there is an opportunity to intervene and put supports in place.
That tack had the support of Greens councillor Joel Pringle, who said policing alone would not address the issue.
He suggested looking at something similar to the Cairns Community Safety Plan, introduced in 2022 to measure behaviour, introduce interventions and evaluates how effective they are.
Council chief executive Jeremy Bath said the council had considered the Cairns strategy, but he had reservations about a mass CCTV rollout.
"The total number of offences in Cairns two years was 6932, it's increased to 7836 in January of this year, so it's having a limited effect," he said.
"I think it's got a lot of PR and a lot of sensationalism to it, but I don't know that it's necessarily the holistic solution that we want to be looking at."
Newcastle police have met with the council to discuss a joint response.
"A user-pays policing response is not being considered by police, as reducing anti-social behaviour and crime at the location sits within the remit of the Newcastle City Police District," a NSW Police spokesman said.
"Police have increased high-visibility patrols of the area in response to those reports and have issued move-on directions to youths at the location on two occasions in recent days."
In the last month, police have received three reports of anti-social behaviour near the library.
The council debate was momentarily derailed over whether or not Mr Bath or independent lord mayor Ross Kerridge had responded to correspondence from Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery on the issue.
Mr Bath claimed there had been no correspondence since Cr Kerridge took office and said Ms Hornery "made a decision in October last year" that she "wanted to communicate exclusively" with the lord mayor on operational issues.
"The only emails that I've received from the state member for Wallsend since the election have been to say that she will not meet with me, she will not meet with council staff, she wants to meet exclusively with you," Mr Bath said.
"I can't allow the council to think that I'm not responding to the state member for Wallsend, because I am bending over backwards to try and communicate with her."
Cr Kerridge described himself as the "meat in the sandwich".
"We need to work on it," he said.
Ms Hornery took to Facebook on Wednesday to blast Mr Bath for claims he made at the council meeting.
"Mr Bath stated that there is no correspondence from me to him relating to the Wallsend Library that has not been responded to," she said.
"I can establish that I did indeed write to Mr Bath on 8 November 2024, and the CEO did not respond."
Ms Hornery said the letter to Mr Bath was a "sincere representation" on behalf of a Wallsend constituent.
Community members are urged to report suspicious activity to local police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or call Triple Zero in an emergency.
COUNCILLORS want solutions to combat an "uptick" in anti-social behaviour and violent attacks at Wallsend Library that have made staff and residents feel unsafe.
Newcastle Liberal deputy lord mayor Callum Pull tabled a motion this week urging the state government to increase police patrols and help stop troublemakers in their tracks.
Cr Pull said ratepayers are covering the cost of a security guard at the library, and now, the council is in the "extraordinary" position of considering paying police.
He said library patrons, shoppers and bus users are being "terrorised".
"Policing is the responsibility of the NSW government, and our region pours billions of dollars every year into the state government's coffers," Cr Pull said.
"So I think it's a reasonable expectation of Wallsend residents that they'd be able to feel safe in their own suburb, and that we be given the resources, and police be given the resources, that they need to effectively do their job.
"For the sake of our town and the good name of our town, I think we can expect that."
In May, youths carrying hammers attacked the windows of the library. Two weeks earlier, a group of people blocked the entry and refused to allow people to enter or leave.
That same month, Wallsend Swimming Pool was broken into and trashed for the third time this season.
The council has restricted access to the library, requiring visitors to scan their cards to enter after 3pm on weekdays.
Labor councillor Deahnna Richardson said the majority of bad behaviour in the area is perpetrated by children aged 11 to 17.
She requested targeted diversionary programs for youth and a memo detailing the agencies that have been engaged and those needed beyond police to address the issue.
"I'm incredibly sad staff do not feel safe in their workplace," Cr Richardson said.
"I'm also deeply saddened that we have a group of children ... who are so disengaged ... that they've taken to intimidating other patrons of the library, assaulting Newcastle bus drivers and vandalising our precious community spaces in quite a violent way."
Cr Richardson said there is an opportunity to intervene and put supports in place.
That tack had the support of Greens councillor Joel Pringle, who said policing alone would not address the issue.
He suggested looking at something similar to the Cairns Community Safety Plan, introduced in 2022 to measure behaviour, introduce interventions and evaluates how effective they are.
Council chief executive Jeremy Bath said the council had considered the Cairns strategy, but he had reservations about a mass CCTV rollout.
"The total number of offences in Cairns two years was 6932, it's increased to 7836 in January of this year, so it's having a limited effect," he said.
"I think it's got a lot of PR and a lot of sensationalism to it, but I don't know that it's necessarily the holistic solution that we want to be looking at."
Newcastle police have met with the council to discuss a joint response.
"A user-pays policing response is not being considered by police, as reducing anti-social behaviour and crime at the location sits within the remit of the Newcastle City Police District," a NSW Police spokesman said.
"Police have increased high-visibility patrols of the area in response to those reports and have issued move-on directions to youths at the location on two occasions in recent days."
In the last month, police have received three reports of anti-social behaviour near the library.
The council debate was momentarily derailed over whether or not Mr Bath or independent lord mayor Ross Kerridge had responded to correspondence from Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery on the issue.
Mr Bath claimed there had been no correspondence since Cr Kerridge took office and said Ms Hornery "made a decision in October last year" that she "wanted to communicate exclusively" with the lord mayor on operational issues.
"The only emails that I've received from the state member for Wallsend since the election have been to say that she will not meet with me, she will not meet with council staff, she wants to meet exclusively with you," Mr Bath said.
"I can't allow the council to think that I'm not responding to the state member for Wallsend, because I am bending over backwards to try and communicate with her."
Cr Kerridge described himself as the "meat in the sandwich".
"We need to work on it," he said.
Ms Hornery took to Facebook on Wednesday to blast Mr Bath for claims he made at the council meeting.
"Mr Bath stated that there is no correspondence from me to him relating to the Wallsend Library that has not been responded to," she said.
"I can establish that I did indeed write to Mr Bath on 8 November 2024, and the CEO did not respond."
Ms Hornery said the letter to Mr Bath was a "sincere representation" on behalf of a Wallsend constituent.
Community members are urged to report suspicious activity to local police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or call Triple Zero in an emergency.
COUNCILLORS want solutions to combat an "uptick" in anti-social behaviour and violent attacks at Wallsend Library that have made staff and residents feel unsafe.
Newcastle Liberal deputy lord mayor Callum Pull tabled a motion this week urging the state government to increase police patrols and help stop troublemakers in their tracks.
Cr Pull said ratepayers are covering the cost of a security guard at the library, and now, the council is in the "extraordinary" position of considering paying police.
He said library patrons, shoppers and bus users are being "terrorised".
"Policing is the responsibility of the NSW government, and our region pours billions of dollars every year into the state government's coffers," Cr Pull said.
"So I think it's a reasonable expectation of Wallsend residents that they'd be able to feel safe in their own suburb, and that we be given the resources, and police be given the resources, that they need to effectively do their job.
"For the sake of our town and the good name of our town, I think we can expect that."
In May, youths carrying hammers attacked the windows of the library. Two weeks earlier, a group of people blocked the entry and refused to allow people to enter or leave.
That same month, Wallsend Swimming Pool was broken into and trashed for the third time this season.
The council has restricted access to the library, requiring visitors to scan their cards to enter after 3pm on weekdays.
Labor councillor Deahnna Richardson said the majority of bad behaviour in the area is perpetrated by children aged 11 to 17.
She requested targeted diversionary programs for youth and a memo detailing the agencies that have been engaged and those needed beyond police to address the issue.
"I'm incredibly sad staff do not feel safe in their workplace," Cr Richardson said.
"I'm also deeply saddened that we have a group of children ... who are so disengaged ... that they've taken to intimidating other patrons of the library, assaulting Newcastle bus drivers and vandalising our precious community spaces in quite a violent way."
Cr Richardson said there is an opportunity to intervene and put supports in place.
That tack had the support of Greens councillor Joel Pringle, who said policing alone would not address the issue.
He suggested looking at something similar to the Cairns Community Safety Plan, introduced in 2022 to measure behaviour, introduce interventions and evaluates how effective they are.
Council chief executive Jeremy Bath said the council had considered the Cairns strategy, but he had reservations about a mass CCTV rollout.
"The total number of offences in Cairns two years was 6932, it's increased to 7836 in January of this year, so it's having a limited effect," he said.
"I think it's got a lot of PR and a lot of sensationalism to it, but I don't know that it's necessarily the holistic solution that we want to be looking at."
Newcastle police have met with the council to discuss a joint response.
"A user-pays policing response is not being considered by police, as reducing anti-social behaviour and crime at the location sits within the remit of the Newcastle City Police District," a NSW Police spokesman said.
"Police have increased high-visibility patrols of the area in response to those reports and have issued move-on directions to youths at the location on two occasions in recent days."
In the last month, police have received three reports of anti-social behaviour near the library.
The council debate was momentarily derailed over whether or not Mr Bath or independent lord mayor Ross Kerridge had responded to correspondence from Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery on the issue.
Mr Bath claimed there had been no correspondence since Cr Kerridge took office and said Ms Hornery "made a decision in October last year" that she "wanted to communicate exclusively" with the lord mayor on operational issues.
"The only emails that I've received from the state member for Wallsend since the election have been to say that she will not meet with me, she will not meet with council staff, she wants to meet exclusively with you," Mr Bath said.
"I can't allow the council to think that I'm not responding to the state member for Wallsend, because I am bending over backwards to try and communicate with her."
Cr Kerridge described himself as the "meat in the sandwich".
"We need to work on it," he said.
Ms Hornery took to Facebook on Wednesday to blast Mr Bath for claims he made at the council meeting.
"Mr Bath stated that there is no correspondence from me to him relating to the Wallsend Library that has not been responded to," she said.
"I can establish that I did indeed write to Mr Bath on 8 November 2024, and the CEO did not respond."
Ms Hornery said the letter to Mr Bath was a "sincere representation" on behalf of a Wallsend constituent.
Community members are urged to report suspicious activity to local police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or call Triple Zero in an emergency.