I wanted to raise a concern regarding the recent rhetoric coming from Katelin McInerney and Paul Scully — specifically the repeated claim that “the community is clear it wants central development over greenfields”.

With respect, this has never been explicitly tested or consulted on.

For Paul to state publicly that Kiama Council or the NSW Government has consulted the community on this point is simply incorrect.

And for both of them to rely on that untested claim to advance the Kiama Depot and Akuna Street proposals is, at best, ignorantly misleading and, at worst, wilfully manipulative.

If anything, the lack of proper consultation on this question is exactly why a staged approach makes sense.

A genuine, place-based Heritage & Place strategy is needed, which would finally give the government the opportunity to ask the community what it actually values and wants for its future across its LGA.

Speaking personally as a young Dad to two children in the area, I would love the chance for the Government to ask people like me - and my network of families who'll be living here for the next 40 to 50 years - whether we’d like more 500–800 sqm blocks to raise our families on.

We’ve simply never been asked.

Yet our views are being publicly assumed, packaged, and used to justify a controversial and universally opposed proposal.

The politicians' job is to represent us, not to misrepresent our views.

I’m asking Katelin and Paul to please ensure any public statements reflect what has genuinely been consulted on — and what hasn’t — and to support a process that actually seeks out the community’s aspirations before drawing conclusions.

Glenn Holland,

Kiama