Community representatives, councillors and council staff met for the first time on 30 August 2023 with the new Kiama Council committee members.

Mayor Neil Reilly welcomed the eight community representatives who will work on the Sustainable Communities Advisory Committee as well as the Infrastructure and Liveability Advisory Committee.

The work done by Council’s committees is mostly unseen, but a fundamental part of Council says Mayor Neil Reilly. “Our committees tackle all sorts of issues using their combined experience and expertise in an amazing range of areas, drawing upon additional advice where necessary.”

These two new committees will underpin Council’s work over the next decade as outlined in the Kiama Community Strategic Plan 2022 – 2032.”

Introducing the four community representatives on the Sustainable Communities Advisory Committee:

Liam Pettigrew is a data scientist and environmental engineer specialising in water and wastewater. He holds a PhD and a Master's in Life Science Engineering from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany, and a Bachelor’s in environmental engineering from the University of Wollongong. He has hands-on experience in Aboriginal community and urban development projects in the Northern Territory and NSW. As part of a young family who love living in Kiama, he wants to be more involved in the decisions being made in the area and ensure that new initiatives have their demographic in mind.

Alan Smith is a Jamberoo farmer with a passion for sustainability and community. He relocated his family from Sydney to Jamberoo to lead a sustainable life in 2011 and has since been busy engaging with his community. He has spent his corporate life consulting to large corporates, managing their major IT infrastructure programs before running his own renewable energy and sustainability business. Socially, Alan enjoys playing and refereeing local soccer and is currently President of the Jamberoo Football Club. 

Michael Bowden has lived in Kiama for over 13 years and is actively engaged in our community. He was secretary of the founding committee of The Man Walk established here in Kiama and Dads Group Leader that helped establish The Fathering Project at Kiama Public School. He is also involved in Kiama Junior Football Club, currently coaching the under 13s, a volunteer for local organisation Habitus, which runs youth programs and camps, and is the founder of Rockstar Dads that hosts small speaking events for dads in our community.

Narreda Grimley is a senior executive with over 30 years in corporate leadership and experience in insurance and claims litigation management. She is a local resident with a strong interest in supporting local regional businesses, promoting Kiama tourism and enjoying the magnificent South Coast beaches. Narreda is keen to provide her experience in assisting with the decisions being made in the local Kiama area to ensure the very best for all Kiama residents.

These community representatives join Cllr. Imogen Draisma and Mayor Neil Reilly on the Sustainable Communities Advisory Committee, along with Director Planning, Environment and Communities Jessica Rippon.

Introducing the four community representatives on the Infrastructure and Liveability Advisory Committee: 

Jennifer Wulff arrived in Kiama in 2005 and currently three generations of her family live in town which raised her awareness of aged care, housing, youth employment, education and infrastructure matters. Her professional experience includes a decade as an IT programmer/system analyst followed by years in the higher education sector. This included the University of Wollongong where she focused on organisational strategy, planning and performance monitoring as Chief Operating Officer for the Australian Institute for Innovative Materials. Jennifer is currently Director of Bombo Research & Consulting.

Roy Rogers is a 40-year resident of Kiama who is excited to contribute his skills and knowledge to help shape and enhance the infrastructure and liveability of our region. As CEO he has positioned the Flagstaff Group as the region’s leading social enterprise providing skills and secure employment for people with disabilities. An engineer by trade, Roy has extensive construction, design and management experience and continues to practice as a Civil-Structural Engineer.

Dr Fiona Mackie has spent 23 years as a kidney specialist at Sydney Children's Hospital Randwick, with extensive developing policy and participating in and chairing committees. As such she has considerable understanding of health and its infrastructure requirements and what makes a healthy liveable thriving community. Fiona is a passionate advocate for the needs of women and children as an essential aspect of liveability and connectedness. She is the Directory of Advocacy and on the Board of Zonta, Berry. Fiona also has a strong background in education as the conjoint Associate Professor at the University of NSW and has been involved in teaching programs nationally and internationally.

Dr Tony Gilmour is an affordable housing researcher, historian and advocate. Originally working in banking, in 2009 his PhD from University of Sydney reviewed ways to build the community housing sector in Australia, the UK and the US. He established a specialist social housing consulting firm in 2012, was President of the Australasian Housing Institute and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Tony’s books include Sustaining heritage, giving the past a future (2007), A history of Compass Housing (2015), Shelter NSW, community activism and transforming NSW's housing system (2018), and An Aboriginal voice in housing (2023, forthcoming).

These community representatives join Cllr. Mark Croxford and Cllr. Stuart Larkins on the Infrastructure and Liveability Advisory Committee, along with Director Infrastructure and Liveability Michael Malone. 

The two new committees round out Council’s new committee structure: • Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee (legislated) • Traffic Committee (legislated) • Performance Review Committee • Finance Advisory Committee • Tourism and Economic Advisory Committee (Destination Kiama) • Sustainable Communities Advisory Committee • Infrastructure and Liveability Advisory Committee • Blue Haven Advisory Committee This committee structure will be reviewed after 12 months to allow for any necessary changes to be made.