Planning for the future

I loved growing up in Kiama – being a part of our close-knit community made me who I am today

But I’m worried that the Government has lost touch with locals and our kids won’t have the same opportunities as I did.

Our region is growing, but after 12 years in office this government has no plan for our future. That’s why I will always work with our community to make sure we get what we need and deserve.

Appliance Repairs

CVC Appliances: Repairs to washing machines, stoves, dishwashers, dryers etc. Phone: 0401 294 810

Bricklaying

Over 40 yrs experience. Small jobs, brick fences, letter boxes & brick repairs. Fully licenced. R77154 Terry 0400 359 790

Concreting

Lay 1 4 U Concreting Services: Slabs, house and sheds, footing, paths and drives, colour stencil, stamp exposed. 40 yr exp. t Ron 0414 724 221. Fully insured.

No job too small! LN139098C

Clean-up Services

Rubbish/Junk removed - Tip runs. We recycle your tip waste. High Pressure cleaning. Call Ian: 0497 042 441

Draftsman/Building Designs

Development Applications. Complying Developments

New houses. Duplexes. Alterations & Additions. Decks. 25+ years experience. Michael Laidler 0410 126 354

Electrical Services

Paul Risby: Residential - Commercial - Industrial 24 Hour Call Out Service. Call 0497 001 175 LN: 109635C

Garden Services

Local Pure Organic Compost delivered and spread. Weekend/evenings $150/m3 $250/2m3 0448 335 586

Handymen

Kiama Property Maintenance & Carpentry: Decks, Pergolas, Windows, Painting, Plaster repairs. All your maintenance needs & carpentry.

John O’Donnell LIC#R77219 t 0401 301 620

Handyman South Coast: Trade qualified for painting, carpentry, plastering, pressure cleaning, all repairs & renovations. 'Fast, fixed, fabulous!'

Danny Fagan: 0407 118 311

Painting

Beasant Painting & Decorating: Interior & Exterior, New Builds, Repaints, Timber & Deck Maintenance

Lic 183642 Steve: 0424325580 Melissa: 0414534990

Col Whitehurst Painting: Qualified, Reliable, Honest, Insured. Interior. Exterior. Heritage. Free quotes. 0400 135 128

Plumbing

RBP: Plumbing, drainage and gas fitting. Blocked drains a specialty! Call Ross 0435 125 750 Lic:262955c

Stonemasonry

BR Stonemasonry & Heritage Services: All aspects of stonemasonry, contact Brad Rimmer at T: 0401 337 629 Lic: 292667C

Window cleaning

Flash Window Cleaning: Window cleaning internal/ external; full gutter service; building washes; pressure cleaning; venetian blinds; and solar panel cleaning. For a free quote, call Jamie 0448 714 374 To advertise your service here, contact Steve: 0428 662 499

If you have ever thought about attending a council meeting, next Tuesday’s extraordinary meeting is the one to see.

At this meeting, the future of our aged care facility and the financial future of the council will be discussed.

Next week on 28 February 2023, councillors will use our influence and voices for change.

Our job is to create a change so that we can leave things better than we’ve found them.

This meeting is important, and I invite the community to witness how this change takes place, either in person (registration is essential, see link below) or via our livestream on the council website.

You’ll discover how we got here and how we’ll have to change to get back on top.

The solutions of the past have really become the problems of the present.

Change is hard to talk about because people may feel personally attacked.

When we talk about the things we want to do better, we talk about the strategies that are no longer OK.

These are strategies council has been actively engaging in, for decades, all with good intentions. With real change, it’s hard not to feel like the proverbial bad guy, when we’ve been existing within, supporting and, in past times, benefiting from the status quo.

Looking at our current situation, I have sometimes felt the need to express my horror. I generally don’t.

Why? Because I know in the past those who developed and worked with those strategic matters were acting on the advice and wisdom available to them, doing their best.

In the past, there were different systems of knowledge and understanding that informed how council operated in decades gone by. People had been doing their jobs, with the best of intentions, inside the policies, processes, knowledge and norms their environment required.

Things change, though. We now know better, and then we do better. We shift the dial as we learn.

It’s no longer OK to have all our financial eggs in the same accounting basket – it may have been convenient,