Tuesday 6 August, 2024
SPECIAL INTEREST MATTERS
Central Coast Voice – Accolades
[11.56 a.m.]
Mrs HISCUTT (Montgomery – Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council) –
Mr President, today I will talk about a couple of community-minded people in my electorate.
Ms Forrest – It is the day for it.
Mrs HISCUTT – It is the day for it, and I too should have invited them along. I never thought.
Ms Forrest – You can provide the video.
Mrs HISCUTT – I will. Lesley and Doug Begg. The first edition of The Central Coast Voice community newspaper was published in October 2015 with the mission to provide a valued voice for businesses, local organisations, groups, clubs and residents of the Central Coast. It was hoped the publication would support the community to thrive and prosper, be a way for businesses to be easily found by local customers and provide new residents with a way to find out what is happening in their hometown and what support and services are available.
I checked its website and The Central Coast Voice has grown considerably, now reaching over 20,000 readers each month. What’s more, it is circulated completely free of charge. This fabulous publication is thanks to the tireless work of the establishing editors Lesley and Doug Begg of Sheffield.
As founding members of sister publication The Kentish Voice in 2013, Lesley and Doug are no strangers to the intricacies of establishing and running a community newspaper. They had come to the challenge of running The Kentish Voice in their 60s, with no background in print production, but Leslie was determined. She taught herself to design adverts, lay out pages and find the best program to invoice advertising clients. Lesley soon had things in hand and is as efficient as any newspaper editor I have ever dealt with.
Lesley and Doug took their dedication even further, investing their own funds in a printing press and establishing their own printing business, Kentish Print. To this day, however, they have only two clients, The Kentish Voice and The Central Coast Voice, thus ensuring both publications are delivered on time and no commercial interest interferes with production.
Last year, Lesley and Doug Begg were awarded Kentish Council’s Citizen of the Year award for their dedication to keeping people informed. A well-deserved award for two people who have selflessly dedicated so much of themselves to the betterment of the community that they love, and I sincerely thank them for that.
However, at the beginning of this year, after almost a decade at the helm, Lesley and Doug began an earnest search for new caretakers to The Central Coast Voice as they looked to move to semi-retirement. As luck would have it, a young couple from Ulverstone, David Robinson and Jennifer Hamilton stepped forward. The pair, who have a background in IT and a passion for sustainability, have established the new not-for-profit entity, Northwest Tasmania Community Media and Culture Incorporated, which will continue to provide the community with an independent and unbiased source of local news.
Also part of the team is Editor Jillie Ball, a born-and-bred North-West Coaster with a special interest in the history, fauna and flora and geography of North-West Tasmania. The team shares a passion for our community and a desire to connect us with each other and local news in our region. Each brings a skill set that complements the others, and I can see that The Central Coast Voice is in good hands as it evolves and grows with this new chapter.
In her final editorial of the June edition, Lesley stated that her greatest wish for The Central Coast Voice has come true: local, not-for-profit ownership by locals for locals. To see this made me very happy. I am proud to be a supporter of this publication. I sincerely wish The Central Coast Voice team all the best for the future and extend my heartfelt wishes to Lesley and Doug as they relax into a well-earned semi-retirement. Well done to them.