Fernleigh Track Woes

04 Aug Fernleigh Track Woes

Dear Here to Help,

During the past 2 school holidays, violence and bad behaviour has been increasing along the Fernleigh Track, particularly from kids on e-bikes. Over Easter, you may have seen the petition “a safer Fernleigh Track for all”, as well as extensive local media coverage and a public march. Incidents include physical assaults, firebombs, throwing rocks, dirt and water balloons at passers-by. Numerous people have reported the incidents to police.

As a regular Fernleigh Track user, I have only seen police on there once – over Easter, but they seem to have forgotten to recommence the patrols these school holidays. A man ended up in hospital after having rocks thrown at him! But still, no police on the Fernleigh Track!

Both local Councils spoke to Fernleigh Track users last school holidays about safety concerns and people’s desire for CCTV and increased police presence, but that seems to be where it ended.

How do we get the Councils and police to proactively take seriously the safety issues along the Fernleigh Track during school holidays? Surely, someone doesn’t need to be killed?

Thank you for your query.

It’s awful that people feel unsafe using a public space during school holidays, especially such a wonderful shared space as the Fernleigh Track.

The best way to ensure that the matter is taken seriously is to address the relevant authorities directly. Don’t assume that they know something, just because “everyone knows”.

Bureaucracies, such as Council, State Government and Police, have established ways of receiving information and dealing with issues. To ensure that they log and respond to issues, you should report those issues using the authorities’ reporting systems. And don’t assume that different arms of government talk to each other – yes, they should, but that communication isn’t always effective.

The best way to obtain a response is to contact them directly and clearly state:

• what the problem is AND
• what action you would like to see

I strongly recommend that you include your contact details and ask them to follow up with you. This encourages accountability and transparency from them and means that you can remind them, if they didn’t get back to you.

Contacts:

• Police – ring Belmont station on 4922 8899, Waratah station on 4926 6599 or the Police Assistance Line on 131444. There is an option for online reporting, but some people say their online reports have been lost.
• Newcastle City Council – contact your local Councillor. You can also ring 4974 2000 or lodge an online complaint/service request, but some people say that you need to contact Council multiple times to follow-up online/phone reports.
• Lake Macquarie City Council – contact your local Councillor. You can also ring 4921 0333 or lodge an online complaint/service request.
• NSW Government
  • Legislative Assembly Committee on Law and Safety
  • Safer Cities program
  • Office of Local Government

This article comes from my column entitled “Here to Help” in Hunter Local, August 2025. If you have an everyday problem just begging for a simple, real world solution, send it to “Here to Help” and let’s see what we can achieve.

Elaine Abery has a closet full of great ideas and empowering solutions. She’s also the Director of Unravelling Red Tape, a company dedicated to helping everyday people, not-for-profits and companies change the world through improved decision-making and legislation.