The Kiama Municipal Council has rolled over like a docile Labrador and won’t ask non-hosted short-term and vacant property owners to provide long-term rental accommodation to families, local workers, and the needy. As the rich get richer from Airbnb and Stayz income and 100’s of Kiama holiday homes lie empty for much of the year; as intergenerational tension rises and rents soar like gulls over the Kiama lighthouse, where is the compassion and self-sacrifice Australians were renowned for? The Council has no legislative power to compel owners to put their properties on the rental market. No government has the power to do that, which is right and proper. But as the writer Anatole France said, “The law, in its majestic equality, forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal their bread.” We need to build more affordable houses but we also need to ask the owners to rent their properties for a couple of years through a reputable agency, so people can live and work locally. Many owners would do so because it’s the right thing to do. The Federal and state governments are spending billions of dollars on housing and social housing off the tax base, while thousands of non-hosted short term rentals and holiday homes lie vacant on the south coast. Non-hosted STRA owners who ignore pleas for help, may find the taxation powers of the Federal government harder to ignore.  M King

To whom it may concernDuring my investigations of Thomas Huxley I noticed a piece in The Bugle of 1 February 2023 concerning Huxley, within which several errors occur.In the interests of correctness, I attach my notes on the subject.RegardsKevin MillsThomas Huxley in the Illawarra – setting the record straight.The name Thomas Huxley (1825-1895) looms large in 19th Century science, while his descendantsfor generations contributed to science and other pursuits in many ways. Huxley arrived in Sydneyon the ship H. M. S. Rattlesnake as Assistant Surgeon in July 1847. A visit by Huxley to theIllawarra and Jamberoo in particular during his Australian stay is sometimes cited.An article in the Sydney Morning Herald of 26 January 1935 about Thomas Huxley includesseveral errors. The piece states “Huxley and his companions remained several weeks in the district[Illawarra], and investigated its resources.” While Thomas Huxley did have a connection withIllawarra as he would later marry a Jamberoo girl, Henrietta Heathorn (1825-1914), he nevervisited the district as far as is known.The Sydney Morning Herald piece is also incorrect in stating that Huxley had “met his bride-to-be at a hotel at Jamberoo”. A paper in the Royal Historical Society Journal by Jervis (1942) againsuggested that they met “at the little inn at Jamberoo.” Beale (1973) and later McCalman (2009)and Bashford (2022), through proper research, correctly point out that they first met at a party inSydney, where Henrietta had lived for several years in the house of her married sister. The pairmet several times at balls in Sydney and Huxley regularly visited Henrietta at her home and soondecided to marry. Further, he married Henrietta Heathorn in London on 21 July 1855 (Bashford2022), not in 1849 as stated by the newspaper, the article going on to contradict itself by stating,correctly, that it was the engagement that occurred in 1849.The following quote is taken from the book Green Meadows – Centenary History of ShellharbourMunicipality New South Wales, by Bayley (1959, p.27) and is attributed to “the eminent scientistProfessor Huxley”.“From Wollongong to Jamberoo the road was a mere dray track through a forest oftropical foliage, gum trees 200 feet or more in height, gigantic Indian rubber trees withbroad shiny dark green leaves, lofty cabbage palms and many another kind of treetowered above us so that their tops made a twilight canopy impenetrable to thesunlight, save for an infrequent clearing in the forest made by the settlers axe. Hugelianas, some as thick as a man’s arm, hung down snake-like from the trees. Magnificentferns, clinging to the fork or trunk and branches were pointed out to me.”The above book by Bayley (1959) did no better with dates. The date of Huxley’s visit to Australiawas 1847, not 1843 as stated in Bayley (1959), therefore making it impossible for him to havevisited Illawarra/Jamberoo in 1843. Nor was he with his family and “as a boy ... taken to live ona farm at Jamberoo” as suggested; Huxley grew up in England (Bashford 2022). It was HenriettaHeathorn who came to Jamberoo as a teenager in 1843 with her family; her father took on theWoodstock Mill at Jamberoo.More recently, an article in the Kiama newspaper The Bugle of 1 February 2023 (pre current ownership) repeats themistakes and adds to them. As noted above, the marriage to Henrietta was in 1855 not 1854 asstated in this newspaper piece. That piece also suggests that “Huxley was visiting from Englandwith Charles Darwin”. Darwin had visited Australia in 1836 and never returned to the SouthernHemisphere, let alone with Huxley or anybody else in 1847. The strong connection betweenHuxley and Darwin would occur years later, Huxley becoming known as ‘Darwin’s bulldog’because of his staunch defence of the theory of evolution, which Darwin published in 1859.The truth is that it was Henrietta Huxley who had arrived in Jamberoo in 1843 with her family andwho wrote the above description of the forest seen by the family on the way to Jamberoo. Thequote comes from an article titled Pictures of Australian Life 1843-1844 that appeared in TheCornhill Magazine in 1911. This was many years after she left Australia in 1854 and 16 years afterThomas Huxley died in 1895. The full version of Mrs Thomas Huxley’s description is as follows:“From Wollongong to Jamberoo the road was a mere dray-track through a forest oftropical foliage; gum-trees two hundred feet [61 metres] or more in height, giganticindiarubber trees [Figs Ficus spp.] with broad, shiny, dark-green leaves, lofty cabbage-palms, and many another kind of tree towered above us, so that their tops made atwilight canopy impenetrable to the sunlight, save for an infrequent clearing in theforest made by the settler's axe. Huge lianas, some as thick as a man's arm, hung downsnake-like from the trees. Magnificent ferns, clinging to the fork of trunk and branches,were pointed out to me by my father, as affording water in their sponge-like formsduring times of drought of thirsty wayfarers.”In summary, Thomas Huxley never visited Jamberoo, nor probably even came to the Illawarra, henever met Henrietta in Jamberoo and he married in England not Australia. Mrs Henrietta Huxley(nee Heathorn) should be given full credit for her wonderful description of the rainforest ofJamberoo valley before it was almost completely destroyed in the decades after she had leftJamberoo.ReferencesBashford, A. (2022). An Intimate History of Evolution. The Story of the Huxley Family. TheUniversity of Chicago Press, 576 pp.Bayley, W. A. (1959). Green Meadows – Centenary History of Shellharbour Municipality NewSouth Wales. Shellharbour Municipal Council, Albion Park, Weston & Co., Kiama, 186 pp.Beale, E. (1973). T. H. Huxley and Illawarra – A Note upon a Non-event. Illawarra HistoricalSociety Bulletin, May, 5-6.Huxley, T. H. (Mrs) (1911). Pictures of Australian Life, 1843-1844. The Cornhill Magazine,December, 770-781.Jervis, J. (1942). Illawarra: A Centenary of History: 1788-1888. Royal Australian HistoricalSociety, 28 (3): 129 – 156.McCalman, I. (2009). Darwin’s Armada. How four voyages to Australasia won the battle forevolution and changed the world. Viking/Penguin, Camberwell, Victoria, 423 pp.

In the 9th March 2024 Bugle, we were treated to an excellent column by Lynne Strong headed Community Issues.I thought it succinctly set out every important Community issue that relates to any new Kiama development. Lynne states each issue, what is needed to resolve the issue and all those who have to be consulted for the right answers.It would, no, should be made a compulsory check list for developers, Councils and State Planners ETC.Tragically that won't happen, money, and money from donors to political parties, lobbyists, political agendas, spin doctors, corner cutting and self interested minority groups get in the way of what is right, fair and reasonable. The community, pretty much ultimately has no say. All we can do is hope for the best.Peter 

Whilst I realise the vaping ‘culture’ is being abused just like many drugs on the market, the benefits for me personally being able to give up smoking a pack a day since 14 years old is priceless. For a 90s baby like myself, I have seen the world change dramatically around me. From the closest thing to an iPhone was having a tamagotchi to nowadays the majority of the public in our country are able to access all kinds of products. I was addicted to many drugs growing up as a result of sexual and physical abuse from a young age. Whilst this doesn’t define me now, it caused me immense shame and self sabotage as a young teen and into my early adult years. I have in the last 4 years turned my life around. I’m now a non smoker, I’m clean from recreational drugs, I have regular physcology to deal with my trauma and I have a weekly support group. On top of this I have been able to rebuild my relationships that matter to me the most. Smoking use to alienate me to the outside tables and the darkest corners of society. I would only be social when drinking and smoking subsequently only engaging with other addicts. After over a decade of smoking as my chosen poison, my only ‘best friend’ as I use to refer to it, I now have a smoke free home. My beautiful daughter was a massive motivation for this as well but the wheels were already in motion before I had her. I’m now 31 years old and I treat vaping as a solution to my long term, chain smoking addiction. I don’t use my vape irresponsibly. I have one vape with 4000 puffs that lasts me up to 3 weeks. At 35 dollars a vape, it’s also cheaper than one pack of cigarettes cost me. I have had many attempts at quitting smoking including many medical interventions. No other solution has ever worked for me. Now don’t get me wrong, if i was the young lost teenager I once was when vaping was invented, I absolutely would have abused it. And by this I mean chain vaping, breathing more capacity than the product intended, sharing my vape with my buddies, leaving it lying around for animals or other people to then intentionally or not misuse the product. I think that the core misconception of vaping is the bad press from focusing on the horrific health consequences from mostly youth that are younger generations. Some are absolutely are not receiving the mental and physical health support they need. In my opinion the problems and risky behaviour I use to engage in all started from my first cigarette. I should have been a statistic in many aspects of my previous life, however I’m one of the few that can now reflect on my trauma and misdemeanours and use it as wisdom in my life. I recently was part of a new design structure being introduced at the hospital I gave birth to my daughter in as a result of the lack of care to my mental and physical health after an emergency caesarean. After not vaping or smoking the majority of my pregnancy, the neglect I received in arguably the most vulnerable time of a women’s life caused me to get a few cigarettes from my friend. I then got someone to buy me a vape that day as I knew I didn’t want to smoke around her but I was also dealing with some of the most intense pain and emotions of my life and I needed a vice again. I needed some familiarity that I know helps ground me in the world sometimes. Whilst I absolutely don’t condone smoking or vaping as it’s a decision that is really up to the individual and their life circumstances, for me it’s been a game changer. I hope to stop vaping one day but it’s the lesser of two evils for me currently. Smoking has always led me down the rabbit hole of going back to drinking and taking drugs. I have a new life and even though I believe through my progress I am strong enough to resist these temptations now, I also don’t want to be in a position where I may be vulnerable and justify it. It’s my body and my choice how I decide to rehabilitate and heal in a way that is a long term alternative for me to kick the smokes for good. Being a mama to the most perfect little girl has changed my life for the better and given me a reason everyday to continue in my sobriety journey. Prue Buckley

I was playing cards tonight and the girls there were all commenting on amazing the Bugle is and what an incredible job u have done with it. They raved about it. So well done you Sandra

Hi All @ the bugle as I visit your awesome town last week which I used to live in before moving to the southern highlands a few years ago, I was very disappointed that I couldn’t find a EV charging point in Kiama I had to go to Shellharbour square to use the roof top Tesla charger bit of a bonus it was free.Come on Kiama get some infrastructure for EV in place so people like me can shop eat and generally enjoy the town , or go shopping in the square if you prefer.Thanks Ian.J.

A debate and associated resolution in the recent March Council meeting drove home thatthere have been serious challenges to a fully open and transparent approach during thecourse of this Council.Perhaps the most glaring example happened during debate of Clr Larkins’ Notice of Motion(NoM) to establish an “Oversight and Implementation Committee” to oversee Council’sprogress towards meeting the requirements of the newly proposed intention to vary thePerformance Improvement Order (PIO), imposed on Council by the Minister for LocalGovernment.Oversight of progress in meeting the requirements of the PIO is important in determiningCouncil’s long-term existence as an elected body rather than a Council in administration. It isfundamental that any such committee should be the full Council acting as a “committee of thewhole”, as each Councillor bears the same level of responsibility to ensuring the Councilmeets the requirements of the PIO. Such a committee of the whole would also allow thetotality of Councillor skills, qualifications and experiences to be brought to the discussiontable.Clr Larkins proposal was that an existing committee (The CEO’s Performance ReviewCommittee, consisting of himself, the Mayor Clr Reilly, the Deputy Mayor Clr Draisma and ClrCroxford) would also constitute the new PIO Oversight and Implementation Committee. Themembership of the committee would therefore be the same set of Councillors who areresponsible for assessing the CEO’s performance. There is no direct logical connectionbetween the role of these two committees, particularly as the Terms of Reference for the newcommittee had not been established prior to the NoM from Clr Larkins. The principalimplication of this is that the membership is locked in.The approach of Clr Larkins denies membership of the committee to other Councillors whoinclude a Certified Practising Accountant, and others with governance, risk, projectmanagement and extensive local government expertise. Why would Clr Larkins wish toexclude such qualifications and skills? Furthermore, this select committee, by implication, hassuperior capabilities to the major committees of Council such as the Finance AdvisoryCommittee, the Audit Risk and Improvement Committee and the Blue Haven advisorycommittee all of which have major roles to play in assisting Council meet its PIO benchmarksand all of which can and should provide objective advice to all Councillors.The CEO, in her written comments on the NoM, made it quite clear that the full Councilmeeting was the place for the oversight and implementation to be enacted and highlighted thecosts and double dipping into the works of already established advisory committees of councilwhich could provide objective advice to all Councillors equally rather than having that advicefiltered through an undemocratic “clique” of councillors.Clr Larkins argues in his background notes that somehow this “clique” will provide greater“political” discipline in the nomination of budgetary items and decisions as part of the politicalbody of the Council”. The use of the word “political” rather than “elected” goes to the heart ofmy fears that this is a power grab. The extra duplicated and unnecessary costs identified bythe CEO and during the debate by Clr Keast, a Practicing Certified Accountant, bring intoquestion the “discipline” that Clr Larkins is seeking.Having two separate motions, one for the establishment of the committee and another takingnominations for membership, has been the successful and transparent and most democraticprocess used by Council when establishing and fillings Committees for decades. No longer itseems in the “new Council order”.Once the motion was passed to establish the new committee there was no place for furthernominations from Councillors who may have decided to nominate for the new committeegiven that it had then been established. Almost punishment for their point of view ofexpressing concerns about the committee itself. Membership of a committee should be opento all Councillors, irrespective of how they voted regarding the establishment and makeup ofthe committee.People may well say the outcome is the same in terms of who would have been supported formembership, however transparency and democracy must be seen to be done if thecommunity is to trust this council. There is evidence of a lack of trust everywhere and this willnot help recover what has been lost. Recognising and using the full range of skills andexpertise of all Councillors will help develop that trust.It is worth reading the 19th March Supplementary Agenda which details the CEO’s new PIOImplementation Committee and its highly complex agenda to realise that oversite is the role ofthe whole Council not a select few.The Notice of Motion was both arrogant in its intention and simply not needed.Howard R Jones

Thank you for the very interesting article on the Seniors Dancexercise group that meets in the Masonic Hall on Friday’s. This group is organised under the Parkinson’s Support Kiama group and is open to all seniors. Everyone who likes having fun and exercising both mind and body. The article was well written and well researched. Lesley 

Dear 'Woollies'A few questions about your new shopping centre:1. Where's the disability entrance from the street? Do you expect all those elderly people from Blue Haven on their walkers and mobility scooters, to continue to negotiate that narrow footpath alongside the busy driveway and cross the dangerous carpark?2. Where's the safe entry for cyclists? Are we expected to use that narrow, busy carpark driveway?3. And speaking of narrow driveway - how will you manage the traffic entering and exiting three separate car parks all using the one driveway? What's going to happen to traffic at the roundabout?A badly designed exercise all round.KD

To The EditorDeveloper or community driven planningThe Springside Hill land development proposal is the same location as an earlier ‘West Kiama’ proposal in the 1990s which was rejected time by Kiama Council largely because of the land’s high agricultural values and the visual impacts of the development.Regardless of views on the matter we need to ensure that if this proposal is considered by Council it is deferred for consideration to when the next Local Environment Plan (LEP) is undertaken to ensure proper planning and consultation processes are followed.Our LEP is the primary planning document that outlines our community’s planning priorities and vision for the future. It needs to be undertaken in a holistic manner in consultation with the community. We don’t want to see planning where developers drive the process and Council role is simply responsive.    The current LEP 2011 was the outcome of a comprehensive consultation process where various community representatives contributed to a planning vision for Kiama and residents have owned and fiercely defended that LEP ever since.Of course, it’s important to note that if this land is rezoned the current proposal by the developer may not necessarily be the outcome. Once the land is rezoned the land can be sold and a completely different planning proposal submitted.  Howard H JonesSecretary Gerroa Environmental Protection Society

TO THE EDITOR Blow away the ‘affordable housing’ smokescreen put forward by Traders In Purple and you’ll see the Springside Hill rezoning and development proposal for what it is: a manipulative and cynical land grab by money-hungry developers. And at a massive cost to the Kiama community. This proposal would completely change the face and lifestyle of Kiama as we know and love it. It would turn a flourishing seaside tourist town into the biggest coastal development site south of Shell Cove Marina, with 1000 new homes and - at a guess - anything up to 4000 new residents. Calderwood-on-Sea. Imagine the traffic chaos on Jamberoo Road and Terralong Street and on the south side of the development during peak hours, school drop off and school pick up each day. Not to mention the snarls of cars as thousands more attempt to cram into the Leisure Centre for Saturday morning sport. And where would they all park in the town centre? How many new schools and child care facilities would it require at a time of chronic teacher shortages? How many more medical practices would be needed when there's already a glaring lack of GPs in rural areas? Why does Kiama need a fourth retail centre after Terralong Street, Manning Street and the Acuna Street development? Another supermarket? I understand a second is already planned for Acuna Street. What about the notorious lack of sewage facilities to cope with the increased demand? The questions are endless. So far, the answers have involved nothing but vague and vacuous ’trust me’ pleasantries – oh, and the promise of a relatively quick fix to the Council’s development and financial challenges. C’mon Kiama Council, surely you’re smarter and better than to fall for that carrot? Traders In Purple have unleashed a slick – but deceptive - public relations barrage which includes all the clichés developers fall back on when trying to justify their multi-million dollar money making ventures: affordable housing for young families and front line workers ... local jobs ... a new supermarket – 40 per cent of the land set aside for open space. If open space is so important – which I believe it is – let’s hang on to all the 114 hectares of open space which already exists on the site! Don’t be fooled. When you see the statement from Traders In Purple Director George Geagea that this is a ‘once in a generation opportunity’ for Kiama, stop and think: if it sounds too good to be true, chances are it is. In my experience, most developers aren’t motivated by the good of the community - they’re looking for their own once-in-a-generation opportunity ... to line their own pockets. The long-term solution – and long term solutions are the only ones that count – is to develop the still-working Bombo Quarry as a fresh residential hub once it’s closed. Planning should start as soon as possible to shape the future development of the quarry – and, yes, include affordable housing and many of the other sales pitches listed by Traders In Purple - rather than blotting the currently beautiful rural landscape of Kiama with a Sydney-based developer’s self-serving scheme. Patrick Weaver 

Everyone gets caught short sometimes. But if you end up in the men’s toilets in the main street of Kiama they might leave you wondering where the Council spends all its money.“I was in town last month and discovered the amenities were a disgrace,” local resident Richard Norval told The Bugle. The urinal clearly hasn’t been properly cleaned for a very long time. “Considering the millions being spent on Hindmarsh Park, I thought I’d give the Council time to clean up the facilities. But a month later nothing has been done. “Kiama is a major tourist attraction. If you are going to invite people in, you have to clean up your house. “There’s a cleaning crew that works all the public toilets from Minnamurra down to Gerringong. Why are they only missing the one in the main street of Kiama? “The Council really needs to get on top of this right away. It’s not the face of Kiama we want to put forward.”Richard Norval

Here we go again, big financial decisions being made without Councillors being fully informed of the issues and risks. The proposed Gerringong Surf Clubhouse is located in the area rated by Kiama’s own Coastal Management Program (CMP) as having “extreme risk” of coastal Inundation and “high risk” of beach erosion.Some older residents may remember when South Pacific Avenue in front of the clubhouse was badly damaged by coastal inundation and erosion in 1974 (picture attached). Sea levels are at least 100mm higher now and the CMP advises they are rising at more than 3mm a year. The DA for the Surf Club was approved before this Coastal Management Plan was finalised and unfortunately its findings weren’t considered by Council in the DA assessment. While the Coastal Management Plan indicates that sea level impacts on the clubhouse itself may be more than 50 years off, Council assets like the southern end Pacific Avenue will most probably need protection before then. The CMP proposes that Council develop a medium-term plan and obtain permits for coastal protection works at South Werri including, but not limited to seawalls, revetments and groynes.While the permits for these works would sit on the shelf until needed, the inevitability of such engineering works raises important questions for the community and surf club members, because they would ultimately impact on the surf break and will almost certainly destroy the beach itself. The clubhouse could become stranded without its beach. A softer environmental response would be to enable natural beach retreat, which is possible in this location so long as we don’t place infrastructure there. This would require relocation of the road but would save the beach. Kiama’s new Coastal Management Program was developed to inform decision making. No matter what your thoughts on the matter are, we need to have an informed discussion NOW before hundreds of thousands of ratepayer’s dollars are unwisely spent and options for natural beach retreat closed off. Howard H Jones secretary Gerroa Environmental Protection Society

While profiling what seems to be a number of successful small businesses, John Stapleton, rants about the government "determined to destroy every sign of local character and initiative". "Like thousands of other small businesses the entire sector is facing a government-created crisis." The reason for this according to Mr Stapleton is tax. It would be useful to inject some facts to tell the true story. Australia is ranked 30th out of 38 OECD countries in tax to GDP ratio. This is before the latest tax cuts. According to the latest industry statistics the market size of craft beer production grew by 4.9% in 2023. The rapid growth and therefore competition in craft brewing is a major reason why some brewers fail but the industry itself is in a very healthy state with more growth expected. But let's look at the bigger picture. There is hardly a page in the latest printed edition of the Bugle that doesn't involve some form of government assistance through taxation. Gerringong Surf Life Saving Club, all public and private schools, grant funding, Hindmarsh Park, Seniors Festival, CWA, Mens Shed, Gerringong Museum and the list goes on. Taxes play an important role in providing community services and in many cases helping small businesses get a start. Andrew Morgan

Hi. Having read the article regarding Kiama Council's donation of $370,000 to help build Gerringong Surf Club, I find it strange that a full pre demolition check of the old surf club did not find there was a significant amount of hazardous waste in a building of that era. Worse still, during the demolition, members of the public were drinking coffee only 5-10 meters away totally unaware they were in danger. Now Kiama Council has come up with a bail-out payment. The Council have their priorities wrong. Back in August 2020 Gerringong experienced a significant flood where a number of homes were inundated and uninhabitable. A flood mitigation study was undertaken by Council in 2022 which found major work needed to be done to alleviate the problem. When residents try to get answers from Council as to when the work will be undertaken, we are met with " it's not in the budget ". There are family homes in danger every time we have a significant rain event. Yet Council can find $370,000 to help build a new surf club. I ask you which is more important? Regards David Mouat Gerringong resident and rate payer

With Easter approaching, The Salvation Army would like to extend an invitation to all and ask you to join us for one of our special upcoming Easter services. With more than 300 local Salvo churches throughout Australia, we welcome you to connect with your local Salvos and experience the community and hope that The Salvation Army offers.The Salvos are passionate about caring for people. Each year, across our services, we help over 250,000 people. As we serve our community, we help people in financial hardship, those experiencing homelessness or living in unsafe homes, people struggling with addiction and mental illness, and people feeling lonely, abandoned and hurt.Ultimately, we help people looking for hope and peace.Our passion for helping others comes from the heart of what Easter is all about – Jesus.On Good Friday, we commemorate the death of Jesus Christ. It was the most incredible sacrifice for all humankind. But the story didn’t end there. God had a wonderful plan: to bring salvation and hope to the world. On Easter Sunday, we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection, and the new life He offers to those who believe in Him.Before His death, Jesus promised his followers that they would have peace. In the Bible, John chapter 14, verse 27 says, “I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart! And the peace I give isn’t fragile like the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”So, what does the peace of Jesus look like? It comes in the form of hope – even when times are tough. We all face challenges in life – hardship, injustice, pain, sorrow – but Jesus can turn your life around through the hope He brings.Let me encourage you to find peace, hope and an authentic faith community at the Salvos this Easter.To find your local Salvos, visit salvationarmy.org.au/easter   God bless you,Commissioner Miriam GluyasTerritorial CommanderThe Salvation ArmyAustralia

Dear Bugle,Thanks for the opportunity to voice my opinions, and thanks for your fabulous publication for which I am very grateful. As someone who regularly attends the KCP meetings in an effort to be informed of the local goings on, I would like to comment on several of the current topics of interest. There has been for months discussion about the value of 'community engagement' by Council. Can I say that I think the Council is being disingenuous about this. They 'publish' all sorts of things on the Council Website, but many people don't have access to that, or can't find their way around it even if they have the time and inclination. If Council really wants people involved, they need to do what KCP did last month to get such a roll up to the meeting. People heard about it, so they turned up. While I acknowledge that development is needed and is inevitable for Kiama , I think that the local residents need to be actually listened to, because we are those who would protect our town from overdevelopment, by those whose only motivation is profit. We need good design, open space, updated infrastructure, etc etc. Regarding Akuna St, how anyone can even think about cutting down the trees there is absolutely beyond me, and will someone tell me, if there are to be two supermarkets? (why two)? Can someone tell me when the trucks that would need to stock the supermarkets are going to come into town and how? Are those who pay huge money for their prime location going to be woken every night by trucks that have trundled over the roundabouts to service supermarkets, or will there be more traffic chaos during the day? Don't even start me on the 6 storey issue. Thanks for listening! Helen Lawson

Hi there. We always consider The Bugle to report on important local issues, good or bad. A recent story has come up on Facebook about farm animal cruelty at Jamberoo through Jamberoo Valley Milk which I think needs to be publicised to make people aware about what happens in their local area. I am just a regular local - not a vegan nor activist - but I think the truth needs to be told to stop such practices and make the world a better place. Could you please consider writing something about this in whatever way you can to at least bring attention to the issue? Things like this don't stop until they are outed. Thank you G BayleyEditors note: We are following through on this

I don't think a growing community (as in the building of more residences and the according infrastructure) would be anything to worry about. The problem is: the growth in Kiama is neither a growth of, nor for the community. Any new development here has been and is creating investment opportunities that supply mainly empty houses or STR, not a growth of housing stock, let alone truly affordable housing. The newest proposal supplies 15% of "affordable" housing. "Affordable" means rent can only be max. 30% of the median income of that area. Such regulations look good on paper and do nothing. How is the max rent going to be controlled and who is responsible for such control? (not regulated in the law, hence control is not going to happen) and even if it would happen, the median Kiama income according to census is sky high, so how is 30% of that going to be "affordable" for the "very low income" bracket? It's a joke...Annette Pust