Australia’s most livable town

Research by social commentator and demographer, Bernard Salt, published in The Australian, has named Kiama as the most liveable town in Australia, with Jamberoo also being counted in the top 36.

“This is a caring, co-operative, highly skilled, highly entrepreneurial, well-to-do community that pops up in a seachange area about one hour and a half south of Sydney. It ticks all the buttons,” he says.

Mayor Neil Reilly has welcomed the news and says he is surprised that it’s taken so long for other people to find out how good it is here.

“This is just further confirmation of what our residents and regular visitors have known for a long time.”

Mr Salt crunched the 2021 Census numbers to look at

752 small towns (of between 1,000 and 50,000 residents) across Australia.

He says that Kiama stands out in the considered 10 metrics which include wellness, above average income, low unemployment, entrepreneurship, a highly skilled workforce, a diverse population with lots of people born overseas, signs that people care about each other such as high volunteer numbers.

Matt Brown, chair of Destination Kiama, says the results confirm what he’s been saying for years.

“I say all the time Kiama is the best place to live. And that’s why we are getting a record number of visitors and we see our population increase.

“The trick is to keep our place special,” he says.

“It is a balancing act and we are getting the balance right. I encourage people to keep volunteering their time, continue to be community spirited and support our events and celebrate our increasingly diverse population.” bar, restaurant with local produce, a range of seating, kids play area and a space for functions – both large and small – with of course the iconic large steel tanks of the brewery operation.

“We plan to have 20 taps. 12 or so beers and the rest would be house made soft drinks, seltzers and ciders. We will also have some guest taps from other local breweries, including Stoic Brewing,” Sam says.

Andrew Prosser of Stoic Brewing is very supportive of another local brewery starting up.

Neil, who owns a farm in Jerrara, says their goal is to keep everything as local as possible including his barley and beef.

The idea has been four years in the making so far, the DA is on exhibition until 13 March.

Construction will start as soon as they get the tick of approval, with hopes a grand opening this time next year.

by Cassandra Zaucer