The policy and politics impacting everyone.
Council
by Cat Holloway / Shoalhaven ratepayers will pay 12% more from July 1, 2025. But that might not be enough to save the Council from administration. Weeks of community consultation and workshopping didn't increase Shoalhaven’s appetite for a rate rise. Nevertheless, at the Council meeting on Tuesday, December
Community
😉 Just a little fun in response to the motion (below) before Shoalhaven Council this Tuesday. The assertions were too astonishing to ignore. DATELINE: Tuesday, December 10, Nowra Monsters in the Shrubbery by Poppy Koch Forget summertime rips and sunburn, Shoalhaven Councillors have vowed to fight the root cause of community
Council
by Cat Holloway / Just when you thought it was safe to wander through the park to your local cafe by the beach...in swoops the new Shoalhaven Council to reverse yet another community-led initiative and make life easier for property developers. Serious questions now surround the details and instigators of
Council
by Cat Holloway / Shoalhaven Council's Finance Review Committee may be keen to light a fire under the asset management strategy. But the committee's induction, probity checks and Terms of Reference are yet to be smoked out. While we (the rate-paying public) wait, there's much
Council
by Cat Holloway and Morgan Reade / Mayor Patricia White has used her executive powers to personally appoint five private citizens to a Finance Review Committee (FRC) to investigate Shoalhaven Council’s books and strategise a way for the organisation to escape its deep debt. But the move has intensified calls
Council
Just before tonight‘s ordinary meeting, Shoalhaven City Council CEO, Robyn Stevens resigned from the position she has held for only nine months. A Council statement was released: At tonight's Council meeting, Councillors appointed Director of City Development, James Ruprai to act in the role while recruitment is
Council
by Cat Holloway / Shoalhaven City Council CEO, Robyn Stevens, faces an imminent threat of losing the top job she has held only since February, as covert moves by Mayor Patricia White to oust Stevens become harder to contain. Mayor Patricia White, Clr Bob Proudfoot and the (now) Deputy Mayor Peter
Community
A Letter From the Editor / Journalists know, you're probably doing your job well if you're upsetting someone. But it’s important to have contacts and collaborators - even nicer to have friends. Much SPARK traffic comes from Facebook shares and thanks to those who have linked
Council
by Cat Holloway / I settled in yesterday evening for a bit of escapist TV but ended up watching two nights’ worth of local council debate over rate rises from back in January. Actually, it was more enlightening than you might think! Although I admit to skipping some bits. Remember January?
Conversations
Triple U Radio's Col Hesse examines this week's Council meeting with Clr. Jemma Tribe who had a notably busy and confronting session last Monday. Tough topics included a hard-won motion for an Affordable Housing Taskforce, an impending rate rise and the ethics of Mayoral finance committee
Council
The first Shoalhaven City Council meeting was a dress rehearsal to iron out procedural wrinkles. This Monday, the curtain should open on a brand new season of the big-budget drama. But who will star in the show? And will the rate-paying audience be watching a gripping political thriller or B-grade
Council
Unforeseen drama already has Shoalhaven's newly elected councillors on their toes just a week into the term. Behind the scenes, councillors and staff are asking, when does influence become interference? by Cat Holloway /Â In summary: * The shock early resignation of Ward 3 Shoalhaven Independents Group (SIG) candidate Mitchell