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

Dear EditorI am writing to suggest we call "Australia Day", "My Country Day" or just "Country Day". This would include everyone:- our indigenous people; our immigrants from overseas and British settlers. We have so many cultures living here now and everyone could celebrate their own feeling for the country of their choice. This would also stop all the discord displayed over "Australia Day"Regards, Elaine Pratt

 Firstly let me say that I am all for a Community Facility for the Gerringong Community and Surf Club What has happened recently is again mismanagement by Council of precious Community facilities  There is a Public Access meeting tonight at 5pm I encourage you to attend There is a $470,000 shortfall already in the Construction and the building is not yet out of the ground. Yes they found asbestos. The Club has acknowledged that with the Builder they have a 1 per cent contingency of $50,000 on a $5-$6m build…normally it’s 5-10 per cent This is very concerning. Did Council get any other alternative building quotes…no is the answer…what happens when there are more cost overruns? Who pays? What steps will be put in place so this doesn’t happen? Council is already under a State Government Performance Review Order due to previous Financial mismanagement  What Asset will be sold next to fund these shortfalls or will our Rates jump 30 per cent for these mistakes  Council Elections are in September come today at 5pm and see the Councillors in action…Will they give the Club the $470,000? Yes probably. At what cost to the Community….Craig Pontey

There seems to be some sort of weird obsession in Kiama with uprooting perfectly nice plants from the garden beds around Terralong street and replacing them. Why is this necessary? I’ve been watching this for a while and it has started to bother me. The time that I really started to notice it was when the garden bed out the front of Stocked and Dominoes was replanted for what appeared to be no good reason! The plants that had previously occupied the bed had been growing for a few months and had started to flower. Then all of a sudden they were being ripped out and stuffed into garbage bags to make way for new (very similar) plants. I don’t get it. This seems like a huge waste of money and resources for a council that is trying desperately to save on both. Maybe other people feel the same? I would be interested in seeing native planting along the Main Street. We could still enjoy flowers when in bloom and save a lot of water. I’m sure the native birds and insects would also appreciate this. Thank you, Alexandria Jones 

I find it interesting that The Bugle runs a story related to Kiama Council and community engagement...new direction or more smoke and mirrors! It has come to light that conversations have evolved into consideration for the future selling of the council's waste services including property and adjacent animal shelter. Council appears intent on reducing the current staffing levels which would result in substantial reductions in community services, one only has to look at the current vacancies for seasonal workers, a sign of change! Of interest in the potential selling of the council property and loss of staff and services is that a potential buyer has been identified as McMahons Transport located in Gerringong. McMahons Transport was also successful in obtaining approval from council for industrial development in Sims Road Gerringong noting that this was the first time such a property was approved west of the highway in Gerringong. During the course of process of approval one of the advocates was then councillor Neil Reilly. The loss of council's animal shelter should not be underestimated as the many companion dog owners would testify to the effectiveness in the Ranger Service in keeping the community safe and secure and providing 7 day service. Maybe the Bugle can take a run on this matter?Dennis Tracey

It is appalling that a new tobacconist has set up across the road from Woolworths on TerralongStreet as smoking kills more than 50 Australians every day – about 20,000 every year.My mother died of lung cancer and now I have a shop 50 metres from my home, dedicated to selling the products which killed her.The shop plans to open one month before Commonwealth Government legislation cracks down on tobacco and e-vaping sales.From 1 April, the only legal way to buy nicotine-containing vapes will be from a pharmacist with a prescription from a doctor.More than 600 additional shops began selling vape products in New South Wales in the first half of2023, which is a drastic increase. Why? What else will these shops sell? Who is monitoring compliance?Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death and disability in Australia, according to the Department of Health and Aged Care.The Government want to reduce the national smoking rate to less than 10 per cent by 2025 and 5 per cent or less by 2030, and to 27 per cent or less by 2030 for First Nations people.Recent raids on around 60 retail stores in Sydney have led to the seizure of approximately 30,000 suspected nicotine containing e-cigarettes, also known as nicotine vapes, as well as tobacco products suspected of being sold without paying tax, with an estimated value of $1.1 million.Malcolm King

The grape vine is alive with rumours that Kiama Council is struggling to find a buyer, or come up with an adequate price for what is arguably a crown jewel in its asset portfolio. Well, isn’t that a surprise! After bagging the business over the last several years, by the Mayor and his councillor supporters, and senior admin staff employed by Council, what did they possibly expect? Imagine if you put your house on the market and your estate agent arranged a series of open days, and you stood at your front gate as prospective buyers turned up to view your property, and you pointed out to them the leaky roof, the windows that don’t quite shut, and the door frames that are out of alignment, would you really expect top dollar to be realised for your property? This is exactly what is happening with the proposed sale of Blue Haven Bonaira – its value has been talked down to blazes by the geniuses tasked with administering the community assets of this LGA. I have attended numerous meetings on the proposed sale of BH Bonaira and heard speaker after speaker warn Council that this is exactly what would happen. Looks like the chooks are about to come home to roost! I just hope the Council staff who have pushed so hard for this to happen, are held to account for their ‘advice’. I won't hold my breath!Allan Holder