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The appointment of a new Director of City Planning at Hawkesbury City Council has been broadly welcomed by local businesses and community groups, who say the selection reflects a long-awaited return to merit-based recruitment, but concerns remain about the ongoing trend of appointing senior executives from outside the region.
Council has confirmed that Monica Cologna will commence in the role on 4 May 2026, bringing more than two decades of experience in planning, urban design and local government leadership, most recently as Director of Environment and Planning at the City of Canada Bay.
Local stakeholders have responded positively to the appointment, noting her strong qualifications and extensive experience across strategic and statutory planning.
“This is exactly what the community has been calling for someone with genuine planning credentials, not a political appointment,” one local business leader said.
“There’s a sense of relief that this was a proper, merit-based process. Hawkesbury deserves leadership grounded in expertise, not cronyism.”
Business groups, including those advocating for improved infrastructure and sustainable growth along the Bells Line of Road corridor, say the appointment signals a more professional and accountable direction for Council’s planning function.
“We need capable, experienced people making decisions about our future,” a spokesperson said. “Planning in the Hawkesbury is complex flood risk, bushfire constraints, infrastructure gaps it requires serious expertise.”
However, while the qualifications of the new Director have been welcomed, the appointment has also reignited concerns about a recurring issue: the lack of senior Council executives with lived experience in the Hawkesbury.
Community advocates point out that Council’s top decision-makers continue to reside outside the local government area, often coming from highly urbanised parts of Sydney.
“That disconnect matters,” a community representative said. “Hawkesbury is not the inner west. It’s a unique semi-rural environment with very real constraints flood evacuation, limited road networks, agricultural land, and small village communities.”
“There’s a growing frustration that decisions affecting our future are being made by people who don’t live here and may not fully understand the realities on the ground.”
The concern is not about capability, stakeholders say, but about context.
“There’s no question Monica brings strong experience,” another local business owner said. “But the challenge will be how that experience translates to a place like the Hawkesbury, which operates very differently to dense metropolitan councils.”
The Hawkesbury has long faced tensions between growth pressures, particularly from State housing targets and the physical constraints of the floodplain and surrounding national parks. Local leaders argue that this requires not only technical planning expertise, but a deep understanding of the region’s character and limitations.
Despite these concerns, there is cautious optimism that the new Director’s background in strategic planning and governance could help strengthen Council’s approach.
“This is an opportunity to reset,” one stakeholder said. “If the focus is on genuine community engagement, evidence-based planning, and respecting the unique nature of the Hawkesbury, then this could be a very positive step forward.”
As Ms Cologna prepares to take up the role, many in the community will be watching closely hopeful that her appointment marks both a return to professionalism in Council recruitment, and the beginning of a more balanced approach to growth in one of New South Wales’ most distinctive regions.
For now, the message from the Hawkesbury is clear: merit matters but so does local understanding.
*Comments were given on the basis that names would not be used in this article.
