We all know that slow crawl heading south on a Friday afternoon as the highway knots up around the Kalandar Street intersection. Or the gummed up approaches to the old bridge during the morning peak.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Some days, you feel like you're getting nowhere.
But if you think that's bad, try sitting through a Shoalhaven City Council meeting. I did just that this week, courtesy of the council webcast, and, let me tell you, it was agonisingly slow. Bickering, sniping, interjections, points of order and, worse than all that, endless debates over motions which had nothing to do with improving the lives of residents.
Seems I wasn't the only one watching. Kiama MP Gareth Ward also poked his nose into it and, like me and many others, was appalled at what he saw. So much so, he's written to his friend, Local Government Minister Shelley Hancock, urging the deferred council election be brought foward so voters can hit the reset button.
Mr Ward is furious that as traffic congestion grows, there has been no forward momentum on the East Nowra Sub Arterial Road, which would take a lot of pressure off the highway. Millions of dollars are there for the taking but council seems more intent on debating national issues rather than rolling up the sleeves and addressing local problems.
He says it's all become dysfunctional, a sentiment shared by the mayor, who ripped into councillors during the meeting for being racist, misogynist bullies.
If that's sustained the tone in the chamber, what hope do us long-suffering residents and ratepayers have? Something needs to change and change soon.
