Kiama Mayor, Cameron McDonald, today welcomed NSW Premier Chris Minns to the municipality ahead of the upcoming Kiama State By-election.
Premier Minns was in town to formally announce the Labor candidate for the by-election will be Katelin McInerney.
“It was a pleasure to welcome the Premier to our municipality, and it was great to have the chance to share with Mr Minns our draft Advocacy List and discuss our community’s needs,” said Mayor McDonald.
“My office contacted the Premier and NSW Parliament recently to emphasise the importance of local representation, and we thank them for their swift attention and for calling the by-election.”
Voters in the NSW south coast electorate will head to the polls on Saturday September 13 to elect disgraced MP Gareth Ward’s replacement.
Mr Ward was convicted in July of four sex offences relating to incidents against two young men in 2013 and 2015.
“I am extremely proud to announce Kiama local Katelin McInerney as our candidate for the upcoming Kiama by-election,” said Premier Minns.
“This will be a tough seat for Labor to win — but Katelin knows her community, she understands their priorities, and she will work tirelessly to deliver for them.”
During the Premier’s visit, Mayor McDonald took the opportunity to share the Council’s draft Advocacy List with the State Government leader.
“I appreciated the opportunity to speak directly with Premier Minns today, so he can see for himself how in recent years Kiama has not had the level of funding that we’ve seen some of our neighbouring areas receive. In Kiama, we’re desperate for upgraded facilities on a number of fronts, as outlined in our draft Advocacy List, which will be considered by Council next week and is right now publicly available,” he said.
The Advocacy List includes requests for up to $150 million funding for an upgraded Kiama Sports Complex, lifting the restrictive covenant preventing Council developing one of its significant landholdings near Spring Creek and calls for new child care and educational facilities in our LGA.
“Our community has seen significant investment in neighbouring LGAs, such as the Mount Ousley Interchange upgrades, the new Shellharbour Hospital and upgrades to the Shoalhaven Hospital,” Mayor McDonald said.
“The Kiama Sports Complex (including the Leisure Centre) could be a regionally significant sporting facility, but we need substantial State funding to make this happen, along with Federal Government partnerships. There’s no doubt it’s aged and in urgent need of attention, but it’s far beyond our budget and we need every bit of support and assistance we can hope to get.
“Our Advocacy List also spells out what is needed from the NSW Government to help us develop a structure plan for the Kiama Urban Expansion area and it explicitly highlights how much we badly need upgrades to capacity, odour control and overflow at the Bombo Sewerage Treatment plant.
“Our community needs and welcomes the opportunity to partner with the State and Federal Governments to deliver the services, homes and infrastructure that we need and deserve in Kiama. I urge all candidates to listen to what is needed here, and to make sure their pledges and policies resonate with what their local government knows will benefit the whole community,” he said.
