Every now and then, life throws flashes of hope your way. My evening with the Centre for Public Integrity in Melbourne last week was one such occasion.

The work of the Centre is becoming increasingly important across all levels of government, and it goes straight to issues Kiama Council has been grappling with for several years.

In Kiama, residents have lived through years of financial stress, closed-door decision-making and state intervention, with real costs to the community.

Since 2023, Kiama Council has settled major property sales totalling approximately $129 million or more in gross proceeds. While asset sales may have been necessary to rebuild financial stability, they represent a once-off loss of community assets.

These include

• Blue Haven Bonaira, revised to around $89 million;
• Akuna Street properties, collectively reported at approximately $28 million; and
• the sale of other council-owned land parcels.

Council’s financial statements show legal expenses have escalated dramatically.

After sitting in the hundreds of thousands earlier in the decade, legal costs jumped into the millions (approximately $3.3 million in 2023–24, and approximately $2.275 million in 2024–25).

These are now material operating expenses for a small council - reflecting the financial impact of prolonged litigation, governance disputes and regulatory intervention.

During this same period, while Council was recording ongoing operating deficits, operating under an extended Performance Improvement Order, and actively selling major assets to stabilise its balance sheet, the CEO’s total remuneration increased significantly.

Annual Reports detail an increase from around $350,000 in 2021–22 to an estimated $428,000 in 2024–25 - an increase of well over 20%.

At the same time, Council’s operational responsibilities reduced substantially, with staffing numbers dropping by an estimated 30% once aged-care operations exited the organisation.

For many in the community, the contrast between rising executive remuneration during a period of contraction, deficit and state oversight goes to the heart of integrity and trust.

It also raises legitimate questions about why Kiama Council still recorded an operating deficit of more than $7 million in the last financial year (2024-25).

The Centre for Public Integrity consistently warns that when transparency is weak and scrutiny is silenced, problems don’t disappear - they compound.

Kiama’s experience reflects this pattern

• issues accumulated quietly
• warnings were not addressed early
• people who raised concerns faced censure (others quickly learn that it is safer to stay silent), and
• by the time action was unavoidable, the costs were far higher - financially and socially.

The Centre also highlights that without strong protections for those who speak up, integrity systems fail - not because problems aren’t visible, but because acknowledging them carries personal risk.

Integrity isn’t about blaming individuals. It’s about rebuilding trust and demonstrating that openness, accountability, fairness - and protection for those acting in the public interest - are once again at the centre of how the Council operates.

Karen Renkema-Lang

Former Kiama Councillor