A New Era of Conservation Saving Quolls and Gliders When conservation biologist, Dr Katarina Mikac, is not navigating night-drones to search for animals in forest canopy, she travels to regional NSW towns with one clear message for farmers and citizen ...

www.catholloway.com/a-new-era-of...

From shellfish to shell grit: The bitter reality behind Marine Park mariculture dream. Jervis Bay's mussel farm shifts its strategy from gourmet food to animal health products. But are pet supplements worth risking Jervis Bay Marine Park's unique ecology? by Cat Holloway In summary: ...

www.catholloway.com/from-shellfi...

Council was right to scorch town forums, but wrong to burn them to the ground. It's up to residents, not bureaucrats, to rise from the ashes Key takeaways from Shoalhaven's 'place-based' community consultation structure: * The glaring omission - What these groups are ac...

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From Council Corruption to Russian Blood Oil by Cat Holloway Long before I started Spark Shoalhaven as a citizen journalism platform, Mark Corrigan was burrowing under Shoalhaven's surface, scratching around local political donations to uncover...

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www.catholloway.com/when-a-tree-...

Toxic City: Asbestos, Amnesia, and the Collapse of Care When Shoalhaven City Council abruptly shut down its own chambers last week over fears of asbestos in the air-conditioning, a deep and dangerous wound reopened in our community. by Cat Holloway Asbes...

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From Sublime To Ridiculous by Cat Holloway Sick of serious news? Me too. Time for a large dose of silly. Stop complaining about being so busy and waste a couple of hours at Nowra Players theatre in Bomaderry over the next two...

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Everybody is Kung Fu Fighting As warriors kick, strike and wrestle over the news on Sunday of the arrest warrant for Shaolin Temple Abbot Shi Yongxin, let's meditate for a moment on the meaning to the Shoalhaven of all this intern...

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A politician, a developer and a monk walk into a bar... Of all the mad stories I've been told and all the crazy people I've met since starting Spark Shoalhaven, nothing beats the saga of Comberton's Shaolin Temple. But it's no joke. It's serious business....

www.catholloway.com/a-politician...

"You Can Quote Me On That." These were the exact words said to me by Radio 2st presenter, Graeme Day, after he told me he had complained to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) about Shoalhaven Councillors 'leaki...

www.catholloway.com/you-can-quot...

CEO: Ways and Means The second press conference with Shoalhaven Council's Mayor and CEO started off discussing 52 job cuts, but ended up with a call to investigate Councillor corruption and media collusion. by Cat Hollo...

www.catholloway.com/ceo-ways-and...

Stability, not Constance Member for South Coast, Liza Butler, said Shoalhaven Mayor Patricia White has lost the support of her voters because of events in Council since White was elected. Butler didn't hold back in yesterday...

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Discretion: The Better Part of Valour Will old political allegiances define Shoalhaven's new era of development? by Cat Holloway One week ago, Andrew Constance became the new CEO of Shoalhaven City Council. Within days, the Office of Lo...

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Read the Room, Or Leave It. The year-long quest for Mayor Patricia White to find an ideal CEO partner to run Shoalhaven Council isn't over yet. Public and political backlash against the appointment of ex-politician Andrew Const...

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Cr Bob Proudfoot Speaks Out In mere minutes, social media commentary exploded after the announcement yesterday from Mayor Patricia White that ex-Liberal career politician Andrew Constance was Shoalhaven City Council's new CEO. ...

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Demand. Deny. Distract. Confused by Mayor Patricia White's claims that Shoalhaven Council job cuts have nothing to do with her or the councillors? Confusion is exactly what they want. But in the effort to centralise and si...

Confused by Mayor Patricia White's claims that Shoalhaven Council job cuts have nothing to do with her or the councillors?
Confusion is exactly what they want.
www.catholloway.com/demand-deny-...

Earth, Water, Air & Fire: How environmentalists occupy Australia's radical centre. Does composting make you a communist? Are solar panels only for socialists? Will recycling threaten the royalists? Of course not. But party politics and the mainstream media lags way behind the ever...

Who says activism and centrism can't go together? But until citizens inject their everyday environmentalism into political choices, the radical change we want and need won't happen. The 'sensible centre' will continue to be just another name for more of the same.

www.catholloway.com/earth-water-...

NOT Another Gareth Ward Story Another day, another tone-deaf, self-important pollie clinging to power. How much more abuse and neglect can Kiama's people take? by Cat Holloway / Kiama's community is understandably experiencing a...

"Good people make good victims." Before you call someone "stupid" for voting for Gareth Ward, remember these words from one man who finally freed himself of an abusive cult after years of brainwashing.
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/not-another-...

Takesa Frank on making protesting great again. So, so good. Free, free Palestine.
"We all showed up! What an amazing day to walk alongside thousands and thousands of people demanding an end to genocide 🇵🇸 This is what community led action looks like - full of love." www.instagram.com/reel/DM6k7h-...

Bus for Reconciliation — Walking Together Bus for Reconciliation: On Tuesday 13th May 2025, Walking Together collaborated with Ulladulla High School’s First Nations Education Team and Mitchell Lasker from Waminda to PAINT A BUS for Reconcilia...

Wondering about the gorgeous bus - owned by Glenn Findley and painted by Ulladulla students - that carried some of many South Coast protestors to Sydney's historic, peaceful March for Humanity to Save Gaza? Check out this brilliant grassroots community action. www.walkingtogether.au/blog/bus-for...

Yes, remarkable on many levels. Loved it. But was a lead buried putting the publisher’s bizarre perspective at the end?

The killing code: strange symbols in a WA settler’s diaries lay bare frontier atrocities Exclusive: Stories of murders passed down by Yamatji elders are confirmed by a cipher hidden in the 1850s journals of prominent pastoralist Major Logue. Now descendants on both sides want to break the...

Remarkable story.

“I think then we truly could be a great nation. Great because it’s not afraid of the truth. Great because they don’t leave anybody behind, don’t earn riches on someone else’s back, steal someone’s inheritance and give it to their own children.”

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Vive la Révolution Warm your hands - and your soul - on this cold weekend with the glowing embers of some follow-ups to previous Spark stories about ambitious idealists in our community whose efforts are making a positi...

LOVE reader feedback:

"The failure of multiple Aust. Govts. to apply justice with international law over decades has contributed to the suffering today. Demand a ceasefire now. The peoples of Palestine are human, they are kin and they need our voices now." spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/vive-la-revo...

Liza Butler Takes Patricia White's Claims to the Minister by Cat Holloway / South Coast MP, Liza Butler has referred Shoalhaven Mayor Patricia White's serious accusations against Council staff over alleged document tampering to the Office of Local Governmen...

Spark's story on Mayor Patricia White accusing her environment staff of fraud, led to this gem of reader feedback:

"OMG - the world is burning and this damn Narrawallee Beach dogs issue is here again. Unbelievable. No wonder people switch off politics!"

spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/liza-butler-...

Social media suppressed after Gareth Ward found guilty of rape A deafening silence has descended on the Kiama region's usually loud and crowded social media spaces following Friday's jury verdict finding Gareth Ward guilty of three counts of indecent assault and ...

"This man called me a 'waste of space' on social media before blocking me. Now who's the 'waste of space', Gareth?" wrote one commenter to a post of Friday's story on Ward's guilty verdicts on three counts of indecent assault and one count of rape.

spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/social-media...

Liza Butler Takes Patricia White's Claims to the Minister by Cat Holloway / South Coast MP, Liza Butler has referred Shoalhaven Mayor Patricia White's serious accusations against Council staff over alleged document tampering to the Office of Local Governmen...

"It is my opinion that the documents were manipulated for a reason and I want to get to the bottom of it," Mayor White said.

"If you're happy to just accept any report that comes to this council and not question it, well what are we all sitting here for?"

spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/liza-butler-...

And Then There Were None "This is no time for refusing to look facts in the face." from Agatha Christie's classic crime novel, And Then There Were None by Cat Holloway / All seven directors of Shoalhaven City Council (SCC)...

All seven directors of Shoalhaven City Council have resigned, retired or taken 'extended leave' since Mayor Patricia White was elected.

Now the rumour mill is grinding out spice that Liber ex-MP, Andrew Constance, is a hot contender for the plum CEO job.

spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/and-then-the...

Takesa Frank: Taking A Passion for Protecting Country Global by Vanessa Barnett, WWF-Australia / In the quiet, forested hills of Yuin Country on the New South Wales South Coast, the Clyde River winds through ancient bushland containing lyrebirds mimicking the ...

“We were sitting on the balcony watching the trees fall - first to fire, then to chainsaws. One was a natural disaster. The other was a choice.”

spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/takesa-frank...

Rising Rates, Sinking Trust Welcome to the new financial year! Our rates go up today by 12%, adding an average of $3.46 each week to residential bills. You've likely seen Council's general announcement, but it's not well underst...

The full extent of planned rate increases was not clearly communicated.

“A Special Rate Variation in the vicinity of 29.5% will be needed to bring council assets up to a satisfactory condition”.

spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/rising-rates...

The Blame Game: Mayor Slams Union, Councillor Over Fearmongering on Job Cuts Shoalhaven Mayor Patricia White has released a scathing public statement denying claims that more than 100 Council staff jobs could be axed and accusing Councillor Jemma Tribe of relentlessly coveting...

If Mayor Patricia White had genuine fears about Cr Jemma Tribe or anyone else staging a council coup, she would have been smart to avoid giving her opponents ammunition by making defamatory accusations.

spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/the-blame-ga...