In the end, there was a sense of inevitability about it all.

Katelin McInerney has won the opportunity to represent the seat of Kiama.

She has also won the responsibility to secure better outcomes, better funding, and better recognition for our community. We hope it is not a responsibility she treats lightly, because politics is a fickle thing.

Historically, a by-election is a chance for the community to tell the Government of the day exactly what they think, and more often than not, the feedback is not positive.

This is not a Kiama, or New South Wales or even an Australian phenomenon.

It is a symptom of western democracy whereby we, the people, generally just like to “stick it to the man” every opportunity we get.

So much so that not since 1996 has a NSW Government gained a seat through a by-election that was previously held by the opposition or an independent.

While history was against the Minns Labor Government, this was no ordinary by-election. When talking heads say “all politics is local”, they generally refer to local issues.

What is being done about local transport? Housing affordability for our locals? Further investment in roads and traffic improvements for our local commuters?

But this time around, the politics was not about local issues at all. It was purely about the fact that our former representative is now in jail, a fact that some in the community still cannot believe or accept.

The election may well be an accurate reflection of how the electorate views the competence of both major parties, but for McInerney and Premier Minns to interpret the results this way, and take the result for granted, would be a grave mistake.

Clearly, our electorate could not, would not, and did not disassociate the Liberal Party from Gareth Ward.

Serena Copley conducted a valiant campaign, but even she would have understood the inevitability of it all.

Campaigning under a party platform which had been completely tainted was always going to be difficult.

Having to make by-election commitments knowing they could not be delivered unless the Liberals were voted into Government in 2027 made the task of convincing the masses impossible.

As vote counting continues, Copley and the Liberal Party might retain a skerrick of hope in the fact that McInerney’s first preference vote is hovering around 36% - an improvement of only around 2% from her 2023 result.

Nevertheless, it is a great achievement for McInerney, who has wrested back Kiama from what was ultimately Liberal Party control for the last 15 years, and becomes the first woman to represent the seat (perhaps the most refreshing outcome to come out of this entire political process).

As with most things these days, we and McInerney are probably thinking – what’s next?

How does she shore up her vote ahead of March 2027?

Premier Chris Minns is saying all the right things and preparing his Government and McInerney for an 18-month battle.

“(The result) was not a pat on the back from the electors of Kiama.

“I think that the clear message from the electorate was that they expect us to work even harder.

“It’s not a gift or a permanent situation. We’ve got to keep working on behalf of the people of NSW, particularly the South Coast”.

Touché Premier.

The Bugle’s View is that we expect Minns and McInerney to work tirelessly over the next 18 months for our community.

We expect serious investments in the NSW budget directed at infrastructure in our community.

We expect to see real progress over the next 18 months that positively impacts our community.

Time to get to work!