Three former mayors of Kiama – Sandra McCarthy, Brian Petschler and Mark Honey – have released a joint statement providing their thoughts on Blue Haven, saying the situation is "nowhere near as gloomy or desperate as has been made out".

They are calling for the various options for its future to be assessed by independent industry experts and for there to be genuine public consultation before any decision is made.

“There is no doubt the public is a good indicator - if you give them all the facts in an impartial way you will end up with a final rational determination, and that is what we are saying should happen,” says Brian Petschler.

The statement follows in full:

We believe that the community and especially the Blue Haven residents deserve reassurance, respect and the whole story from Kiama Municipal Council’s leaders, instead of the alarm raising and selective release of information in the push to sell off the Council-owned aged care and independent living organisation as the only option available.

Residents of Blue Haven’s aged care nursing home and those living in the independent living units (ILUs) would naturally be frightened by headlines of “missing millions” and claims of millions “unaccounted for”. They would be concerned that Blue Haven might not be able to repay them (or their families) their financial entitlements when they leave.

They would also be concerned by statements that Council is “being honest about it for the first time”.

Those claims are misleading, and do not reflect the reality of Blue Haven or of the aged care sector in Australia more generally, and we note that the Mayor has subsequently confirmed to the residents that their funds are secure.

The comments are also extremely disrespectful to the many officers and elected representative who have been responsible for Blue Haven’s success since it opened in 1979. Transparency with residents has been a hallmark of Blue Haven’s history. Council has always provided publicly available and audited accounts of all its operations.

The reality is that there is no requirement for Blue Haven (or any other provider) to only hold residents’ ILU equity in cash reserves. That equity is historically held in a variety of components – some cash, some near cash investments (such as land) and a majority in the bricks and mortar of Blue Haven’s extremely valuable assets. While it appears that the construction of the Bonaira complex has led to a reduction in the current cash reserves, Council is able to recover that position with the sale of the old nursing home and hostel site adjacent to the Leisure Centre.

Importantly, Blue Haven has always been able to re-pay residents’ entitlements when they leave. If anything, Blue Haven has been an industry leader in its prompt re-payment mechanisms, especially when ILU residents are transitioning to the nursing home.

We are concerned that Blue Haven residents, Kiama councillors and indeed the wider Kiama community are not receiving accurate and transparent information from the current leadership in their haste to attempt to sell off Blue Haven.

There is no doubt that Blue Haven (and indeed Kiama Council) has had a tough period with additional expenses and loss of revenue during the COVID-19 lockdowns, while the findings of the Aged Care Royal Commission have resulted in increased nursing home costs. However, there is certainly light at the end of the tunnel, and even Council’s own projections show that this is a short-term problem from which Blue Haven will recover. Indeed, Council’s forward plans indicate that Blue Haven will be returning an annual surplus – projected to be around half a million dollars - in two years’ time.

Blue Haven will receive additional annual revenue of $1.7 million from October due to a new federal government funding formula, while the incoming Commonwealth Government has indicated it is committed to improving funding for the aged care sector in general.

So, things are nowhere near as gloomy or desperate as has been made out.

Kiama Council has been operating Blue Haven since 1979. In the more than forty years since that time, it has become a wonderful asset of which the community is justifiably proud.

This community, the Blue Haven residents, and indeed our councillors deserve much more than to be provided with only information to justify a sell-off – especially since the councillors have yet to endorse such a significant move. We commend the Councillors who supported the recent resolution for a comprehensive review of the options to be undertaken, not simply a sale.

We all deserve a transparent, respectful and consultative process that properly canvasses and honestly explores those options for Blue Haven’s future.

Such a process may well demonstrate that Kiama Council would be best served by continuing to operate its world-class aged care and seniors living facility, rather than taking the easy option of selling off such a valuable asset.

In our opinion, Kiama Council would be a greatly diminished entity should it sell Blue Haven, and the community would be poorer for that decision.

We respectfully request:

• That Council seek a comprehensive and independent report by industry experts on all options including Council retaining and operating Blue Haven as a financially viable, long-term operation;
• That thereafter, the Council arrange genuine community consultations (public meetings, etc) to ascertain the community’s views on future options, and
• The community be given the opportunity to provide its views on both the report and on options open to Council before any final decision is made.

 (ends)