Council seeks to unlock $4.7m p3
New art space opening
Tourism strategy out for comment p3
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Soiree on Terralong St
KISS Arts Fest program p13
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9 APRIL 2022
Official: We’re a childcare desert The Kiama region has been declared a childcare desert in a new study conducted by the Mitchell Institute at Victoria University. The findings define a childcare desert as an area where there are more than three children per childcare place, or less than 0.333 places per child aged four or under. In Kiama, between 3.6 and 7.2 children compete for each childcare place, depending on the neighbourhood. In Gerringong, the figures are even worse. Between 5.4 and 9.2 children fight for each spot. Kiama Downs resident Lucy Abood has spent the last 12 months applying for childcare for her two year old son. “The situation here is lacking, everyone is booked up. The great quality providers are in huge demand, and you’ve got no chance of getting in. Even the less sought-after providers with the lower accreditation scores, they’re completely full,” says Lucy. “I think there’s been a demographic change in Kiama over the last ten years. It’s traditionally been a retirement area, but it seems that a lot more young families are moving here, particularly post-pandemic.”
Kiama joins calls for more climate change support
Kiama’s Mayor Neil Reilly has joined with 28 other mayors and councillors from across the country – including those in some of the nation’s most flood damaged regions – to call on the The study examined the years long,” says Carissa Federal Government to do relationship between the Hudson of Kiama Academy more to protect communities availability of childcare and of Early Learning. relative socio-economic “For the under twos, we’re from the effects of worsening climate change. measures. Researchers forever getting phone calls. “Recent events in Queensfound that areas with lower It’s sad because this affects land and northern NSW show socio-economic indicators everybody.” face the worst conditions. Another childcare provider, in sharp relief how much a role local government plays However, despite being in a who wished to remain in mitigating and managing relatively high socio-econom- anonymous, said that they ic percentile, the Kiama area have spots available, but not some of the weather events that we have been having,” he has an absence of service for under twos, and that it said, in the presence of Mayor that’s on par with far more is often hard to match the Amanda Finlay of Shoalhaven disadvantaged regions. vacancies with the parents’ Council and Chris Homer, The Bugle spoke to childrequirements. care providers and parents A Gerringong mother who Mayor of Shellharbour Counin the area and heard from didn’t wish to be named told cil. The Lord Mayor of Wolthem about the shortages us she has also experienced longong is also a signatory. “And we understand from that are making parents des- difficulty securing child care climate science that these perate, particularly for the for her son. events are going to become under two years bracket. “I have serious problems “We don’t have any vacanwith the hours of childcare in more intense and frequent. “We are doing our best cies and our waitlist is two continued p20
here in Kiama, Shellharbour and Shoalhaven, but we lack the resources to do it effectively on our own. “We are calling on the Federal Government to provide a coordinated approach to all councils in this position – to help us financially, and to help us with their leadership in providing the support that we need to manage these extreme and extraordinary
weather events.” The joint statement – also supported by Better Futures Australia, the Cities Power Partnership, the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy and ICLEI Oceania – is calling on the Federal Government to: • lead the country in delivering on an ambitious emissions reduction target
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Shoalhaven Mayor, Amanda Finlay, and Shellharbour Mayor, Chris Homer have joined Mayor Neil Reilly as signatories