BUGLE VIEW AFFORDABILITY CRISIS

You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure out Kiama is in the middle of a housing affordability crisis.

But the problem in our part of the world is now so bad, according to new research, that you may need to be a rocket scientist just to afford the rent.

Business Illawarra’s Solutions to the Affordable Housing Crisis report – covered by The Bugle’s Donna Portlandshows more than 20,000 essential workers across the Illawarra Shoalhaven region are experiencing housing stress.

In other words, the people that make our community tick – like nurses, labourers, and Aged Care workers – are finding it the hardest to keep a roof over their head.

for families that we fix it, it’s important for small businesses too.

Businesses Illawarra’s report also found 93 per cent of businesses across the region are worried about worker shortages, and 43 per cent of them see “an underlying lack of affordable housing” as the cause.

Of course, much of this won’t come as a surprise to The Bugle’s readership – it is more confirmation than revelation. The important question is: what do we do about it?

A HUGE congratulations to Kiama Leagues Club win in the NSW ‘Your Local Club Perfect Plate Awards’.

These awards celebrate the incredible variety and quality of food available in local clubs!

The public’s votes were counted and the winners of the 2023 Your Local Club advocated the merit of elastic waisted pants whilst tasting dishes at multiple clubs in a day!

The three state-wide winners (small, medium and large clubs) and 13 regional winners were announced at the Perfect Plate Awards Night held at Norths Cammeray and the Kiama the competing chefs and taste their creations!

“I was so impressed with the quality of the Perfect Plate dishes, and as someone who started their own career in a Western Sydney club, it was fantastic to see so many passionate — and in many cases very young — chefs honing their craft in their local club and expressing themselves through their cooking,” he said.

Courtney, who began her career at Putney “bowlo”, equally enjoyed her culinary tour of NSW clubs.

“Club food has come such a long way in the last decade. They still serve up traditional Sunday roasts and the like, but they offer so much more now, from hand-made pastas and dumplings to fresh, locally caught seafood that’s perfectly grilled,” she said.

Courtney said that the Kiama kitchen team really knows their customers and cater to their wants. We are so privileged to have chefs with such passion in our area! Pop into the Club sometime soon to congratulate Sarah and the team!

by Belle Wood

Consider this hypothetical case study included the Judith Stubbs & Associates research which fed into Business Illawarra’s report:

“A child care worker wanting to move out of Sydney to take up a job in Kiama, and earning $772 per week could pay $231 in rent, and could not afford to rent a one-bedroom unit in the cheapest part of the region. They would pay more than half their income to rent a one bedroom unit in Kiama ($400), noting that these are in very short supply”.

It's the Bugle’s View that this is unacceptable, unsustainable, and unfair – and it needs fixing.

It’s not just important

Business Illawarra makes a few common-sense suggestions like identifying more vacant government-owned land for development, expedite approvals for affordable housing developments, and consider upto-date shortfall figures in regional housing targets. They’ve also launched a new campaign to accelerate housing supply, which most people agree is a big part of addressing the crisis.

Perhaps most valuable though is their call for all stakeholders – all levels of government, industry, and community – to act on solutions within their control.

As always, The Bugle supports having a broader public conversation about making Kiama the best place to live, work, and raise a family, but the best way to fix this problem is to get shovels in the ground.

Perfect Plate Awards have been revealed.

Kiama Leagues Club scored the top award in the ‘medium club’ category with their hearty Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder with Cauliflower Puree. A creation by Sarah Rebbeck, the head chef that was destined to win!

Club locals were introduced to the meal over the period of the competition and the club was visited by the celebrity chef Courtney Roulston in the tour across NSW on the quest for the perfect plate. Courtney

Leagues Hospitality team were in attendance to receive their awards.

From Broken Hill toBatemans Bay, 174 eateries from 146 clubs right across NSW created a special competition dish for their menu, with members and patrons invited to score the meals out of five and cast their votes.

An estimated 80,000 Perfect Plate dishes were purchased by diners, with the competition’s ambassadors — celebrity chefs Matt Moran and Courtney Roulston — visiting nearly 50 participating clubs to meet

“I was surprised with how many seafood dishes and vegetarian options clubs had on offer too — there really is something for everyone on the menu at their local club these days! It is great to see all the clubs get together at the awards evening – there was such good camaraderie and they were all in if for the same reason to show off their food. It was such a great, friendly vibe.”

Sarah has been working at the Leagues club for the past five years. It started with a casual lunch with her mum there at the venue and morphed into her current role.

Sarah is widely travelled and previously had a restaurant in Berry prior to being in Kiama. She comes from a long apprenticeship in her craft and has loved living and working in her hometown –she was in total shock at the win when the Bugle saw her the day after.