A secure home isn’t a luxury - it’s the foundation for work, family and community connection.

Across the Kiama electorate, everyone can feel the squeeze - key workers commuting further, older residents swimming in homes that no longer fit, and young people giving up the dream of raising their families on the coast they grew up in.

We are growing. The question is whether we shape that growth - or have it done to us by a government intent on fast, one-size-fits-all outcomes that override local input.

Let’s drop the euphemisms. This isn’t just about “affordable housing”.

Somewhere along the way, government lost the courage to budget for and build social housing - secure, income-linked homes that give people dignity and stability.

We need more of it here, and we need it in the right places.

Then let’s get moving on key-worker homes, especially in well-located town-centre areas, so nurses, ambos, baristas, apprentices and disability support workers can live where they’re needed.

The state has already shown a credible model with Build-to-Rent in Bomaderry.

That’s durable, non-speculative supply our region can scale and repeat along the rail spine.

Short-term rentals also need a social licence if tourism is to keep working for locals.

The current light-touch approach hasn’t stemmed the drift from permanent rentals.

We need more hotel and motel beds, plus STR registration and data-sharing that allow targeted caps where rental stress is worst - so hospitality can keep humming and staff can live locally.

That’s not anti-tourism; it’s pro-community.

On where we grow, Kiama has a clear mandate: add neighbours near stations, schools and shops - not by pushing pipes and roads into farmland and floodplains.

Transport-oriented development can help, but not if it steamrolls local design choices.

Let’s build the missing-middle - duplexes, terraces and granny flats - that respect village character.

Do it with genuine local input and matching infrastructure sequenced first, not last.

The state sets the “how many”; our job is to insist on the where and how. Yes, Kiama has been handed a 900-home target by 2029. Let’s meet it on our terms.

The costs of getting this wrong are already visible. Flood-prone roads still need basic resilience works.

After ordinary rain, we see sewer overflows from Kendalls to Bombo - a system already stretched.

Housing without rail, road and sewer upgrades isn’t “supply”; it’s backlog.

That’s why greenfield expansion should be the exception, not the reflex.

Look north to Calderwood: thousands of dwellings over decades, with councils warning about unfunded road upgrades and flood and farm impacts unless infrastructure is locked in.

Growth that dumps costs on ratepayers isn’t “affordable” - it’s a future bill.

We also need to be honest about market incentives. Left on autopilot, the private pipeline prioritises the fattest margins, not the greatest need, which is why downsizers and single-person households struggle to find smaller, accessible homes in town.

State leadership should keep approving good infill fast and stop pretending speculative product at the fringes is a civic virtue. That’s not anti-developer; it’s pro-outcomes.

And the regional supply blockers are well known: thin builder markets, rising costs and workforce shortages - which is exactly why public-interest projects and steady pipelines matter.

And yes, tax settings matter. Stamp duty keeps people stuck, especially older locals who’d happily right-size if the transaction penalty weren’t so punishing.

Give residents viable in-town alternatives and a fairer tax path, and you free up family homes while keeping community ties intact.

Finally, let’s talk cost and speed. Traditional delivery alone won’t keep up. Welcome modular and panelised builds, adaptive reuse, and simple, code-compliant add-ons - granny flats, tiny homes and land-lease communities - because the point is to house people faster at a standard we’re proud of.

Across Australia, employers and councils are already doing this to keep towns staffed and services running. It’s not theory, it’s happening - just not enough here.

Kiama doesn’t need to choose between soul and shelter. We should insist the state funds the rails, roads and sewers; that holiday homes don’t take priority; that social and key-worker homes are built in our centres; and that locals keep a real say over how we meet targets we didn’t set.

Growth is coming. The election question is simple: will we be the driver - or the passenger? A strong community-backed independent can ensure that we get to choose.

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