Cat Holloway
@catholloway.bsky.social
Journalist. Photographer. SCUBA Diver. Nature lover. Car singer.
Editor, Spark Shoalhaven: Independent Shoalhaven news, views and analysis. Sparking curiosity. Kindling conversation. Igniting community.
https://spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io
Editor, Spark Shoalhaven: Independent Shoalhaven news, views and analysis. Sparking curiosity. Kindling conversation. Igniting community.
https://spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io
"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-...
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/not-another-...
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...
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io
August 10, 2025 at 4:11 AM
"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-...
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-...
"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-...
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August 4, 2025 at 3:59 AM
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-...
"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-...
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...
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...
www.walkingtogether.au
August 4, 2025 at 3:51 AM
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...
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...
“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...
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...
www.theguardian.com
August 3, 2025 at 11:43 PM
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...
“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...
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...
"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...
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...
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io
August 3, 2025 at 7:25 AM
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...
"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...
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-...
"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-...
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-shoalhaven.ghost.io
August 3, 2025 at 7:18 AM
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-...
"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-...
"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...
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/social-media...
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 ...
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io
July 29, 2025 at 10:51 AM
"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...
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/social-media...
"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-...
"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-...
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-shoalhaven.ghost.io
July 29, 2025 at 10:47 AM
"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-...
"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-...
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...
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...
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)...
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io
July 29, 2025 at 10:45 AM
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...
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...
“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...
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/takesa-frank...
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 ...
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io
July 29, 2025 at 10:42 AM
“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...
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/takesa-frank...
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...
“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...
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...
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io
July 29, 2025 at 10:40 AM
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...
“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...
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...
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/the-blame-ga...
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...
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io
July 29, 2025 at 10:38 AM
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...
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/the-blame-ga...
I recounted being told by a male preselector that I should go on a ‘crash diet’ to be electable. The Liberal Party’s response to my resignation after 15 years:
“Is your husband is also resigning? If so, can we have a resignation for him as well.”
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/shattering-t...
“Is your husband is also resigning? If so, can we have a resignation for him as well.”
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/shattering-t...
Shattering the ‘Glass Cliff’
by Jemma Tribe /
The Liberal Party’s women woes are well-documented and, again, they’ve paid the price at the polls. But what can be done about it?
A report released in April this year by the Glo...
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io
July 29, 2025 at 10:34 AM
I recounted being told by a male preselector that I should go on a ‘crash diet’ to be electable. The Liberal Party’s response to my resignation after 15 years:
“Is your husband is also resigning? If so, can we have a resignation for him as well.”
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/shattering-t...
“Is your husband is also resigning? If so, can we have a resignation for him as well.”
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/shattering-t...
"There are two sides to every story and Australia refuses to take one of them. Yes, there are two sides, but they are not equal sides. And right now one side is creating a killing field and the other is being buried under that rubble."
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/palestine-on...
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/palestine-on...
Palestine on my Mind
Bay and Basin Amnesty Group (and anyone keen to join them) will protest outside Fiona Phillips’ office in Nowra at 4 pm on June 5 to stand in solidarity with Israelis and Jewish people around the worl...
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io
July 29, 2025 at 10:30 AM
"There are two sides to every story and Australia refuses to take one of them. Yes, there are two sides, but they are not equal sides. And right now one side is creating a killing field and the other is being buried under that rubble."
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/palestine-on...
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/palestine-on...
“The first man who, having enclosed a piece of ground, bethought himself of saying ‘This is mine,’ and found people simple enough to believe him, was the real founder of civil society.”
— Discourse on the Origin of Inequality (1755)
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/the-devil-in...
— Discourse on the Origin of Inequality (1755)
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/the-devil-in...
The Devil in the Details
If you follow the "news" on commercial radio stations and the South Coast Register, you could be excused for believing that Culburra is a vibrant town on the verge of a housing and infrastructure boom...
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io
July 29, 2025 at 10:28 AM
“The first man who, having enclosed a piece of ground, bethought himself of saying ‘This is mine,’ and found people simple enough to believe him, was the real founder of civil society.”
— Discourse on the Origin of Inequality (1755)
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/the-devil-in...
— Discourse on the Origin of Inequality (1755)
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/the-devil-in...
"In 2006, during a committee meeting, Cr. John Willmott became infuriated with Ward and threw a bowl of tomato sauce at him. Ward cleaned himself up, but when a reporter from the South Coast Register arrived, he reapplied the tomato sauce for the photo.''
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/gareth-ward-...
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/gareth-ward-...
Gareth Ward Finally Faces Court
Member for Kiama and former Shoalhaven City Councillor Gareth Ward will appear before the Downing Centre District Court in Sydney today over several allegations of sexual assault between 2013 and 2015...
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io
July 29, 2025 at 10:26 AM
"In 2006, during a committee meeting, Cr. John Willmott became infuriated with Ward and threw a bowl of tomato sauce at him. Ward cleaned himself up, but when a reporter from the South Coast Register arrived, he reapplied the tomato sauce for the photo.''
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/gareth-ward-...
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/gareth-ward-...
“We need to tackle climate change and the extinction crisis for the intrinsic value of saving planet earth - not just because it's cheaper for the consumer."
"https://spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/power-prices-payback-and-preferences/
"https://spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/power-prices-payback-and-preferences/
Power prices, payback and preferences
Australia's 2025 Federal Election count officially closed with the final postal votes registered last Friday. Fine details of preference breakdowns and Senate outcomes will dribble out in coming days,...
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io
July 29, 2025 at 10:24 AM
“We need to tackle climate change and the extinction crisis for the intrinsic value of saving planet earth - not just because it's cheaper for the consumer."
"https://spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/power-prices-payback-and-preferences/
"https://spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/power-prices-payback-and-preferences/
“We have political leaders who insist that mining and forestry underwrite Australian prosperity. I will state it plainly. Those who believe this nonsense cannot be trusted with the wellbeing of future generations.”
- Dr Ken Henry
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/green-eggs-a...
- Dr Ken Henry
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/green-eggs-a...
Green Eggs and Spam
by Cat Holloway /
Persistence, not resistance, is The Greens' real power.
I woke up this morning to a third unsolicited, but perfectly legal, Trumpet of Patriots text. Their toxic coal-dusted ad...
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io
July 29, 2025 at 10:19 AM
“We have political leaders who insist that mining and forestry underwrite Australian prosperity. I will state it plainly. Those who believe this nonsense cannot be trusted with the wellbeing of future generations.”
- Dr Ken Henry
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/green-eggs-a...
- Dr Ken Henry
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/green-eggs-a...
"They are risking the Golden Goose that lays the eggs," Our Future Shoalhaven's Evan Christen said.
"These mussel farms are a crazy ideological push from Fisheries because they don't care about Marine Parks.”
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/fisheries-fl...
"These mussel farms are a crazy ideological push from Fisheries because they don't care about Marine Parks.”
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/fisheries-fl...
Fisheries flex to bulk up Jervis Bay Mussel Farm
Serious questions surround the March 20 approval to increase commercial mussel farming in Jervis Bay Marine Park, despite dramatic footage from local divers of unusual mussel blooms dominating locatio...
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io
July 29, 2025 at 10:14 AM
"They are risking the Golden Goose that lays the eggs," Our Future Shoalhaven's Evan Christen said.
"These mussel farms are a crazy ideological push from Fisheries because they don't care about Marine Parks.”
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/fisheries-fl...
"These mussel farms are a crazy ideological push from Fisheries because they don't care about Marine Parks.”
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/fisheries-fl...
New and valuable real estate is being carved into our urban landscapes by the very experts trained to cut away the dead wood. South Coast conservation arborists are turning their chainsaws and passion for wildlife to creating tree canopies of the future.
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/carving-dead...
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/carving-dead...
Carving Deadwood, Creating Wildlife
New and valuable real estate is being carved into our urban landscapes by the very experts trained to cut away the dead wood. Conservation Arborists on the NSW South Coast are turning their chainsaws ...
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io
July 29, 2025 at 10:09 AM
New and valuable real estate is being carved into our urban landscapes by the very experts trained to cut away the dead wood. South Coast conservation arborists are turning their chainsaws and passion for wildlife to creating tree canopies of the future.
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/carving-dead...
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/carving-dead...
From Joseph Drew, the world-renowned Australian Professor of Local Government Economics, University of Newcastle.
"The metaphor of government as a business is just plain wrong ...and quite frankly most Australians would be appalled if their local governments did start behaving like our businesses."
"The metaphor of government as a business is just plain wrong ...and quite frankly most Australians would be appalled if their local governments did start behaving like our businesses."
Local Government is NOT a business
YouTube video by Professor Joseph Drew
www.youtube.com
January 26, 2025 at 7:17 AM
From Joseph Drew, the world-renowned Australian Professor of Local Government Economics, University of Newcastle.
"The metaphor of government as a business is just plain wrong ...and quite frankly most Australians would be appalled if their local governments did start behaving like our businesses."
"The metaphor of government as a business is just plain wrong ...and quite frankly most Australians would be appalled if their local governments did start behaving like our businesses."
By law, Local govt. is not anything like a business. Yet, the Casmiri Delusion persists. Council cannot just develop its way out of debt. Constituents are not customers. Councillors are not landlords. Can future "motions" be free of this BS?
January 26, 2025 at 7:15 AM
By law, Local govt. is not anything like a business. Yet, the Casmiri Delusion persists. Council cannot just develop its way out of debt. Constituents are not customers. Councillors are not landlords. Can future "motions" be free of this BS?
Here's an idea for "fixing" Shoalhaven council: its own TV series. THE ADMINISTRATOR. You're Fired!
For a councillor so offended by the idea of an administrator, Bob Proudfoot sure managed to give the idea plenty of air time. Are councillors community representatives or reality TV contestants?
For a councillor so offended by the idea of an administrator, Bob Proudfoot sure managed to give the idea plenty of air time. Are councillors community representatives or reality TV contestants?
January 22, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Here's an idea for "fixing" Shoalhaven council: its own TV series. THE ADMINISTRATOR. You're Fired!
For a councillor so offended by the idea of an administrator, Bob Proudfoot sure managed to give the idea plenty of air time. Are councillors community representatives or reality TV contestants?
For a councillor so offended by the idea of an administrator, Bob Proudfoot sure managed to give the idea plenty of air time. Are councillors community representatives or reality TV contestants?
Should we get rid of local councillors?
"Local councils are highly efficient, except for one thing: Everything that happens within Local Government is directed towards the Councillors.So, is there a better model? Yes, there is."
by Neal Ames
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/delivery-or-...
"Local councils are highly efficient, except for one thing: Everything that happens within Local Government is directed towards the Councillors.So, is there a better model? Yes, there is."
by Neal Ames
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/delivery-or-...
Delivery or Democracy?
We need Local Government. But do we need Local Councillors?
Switch off the Donald Trump Inauguration tomorrow night and tune in instead to the Shoalhaven City Council meeting as it looks set to be ...
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io
January 22, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Should we get rid of local councillors?
"Local councils are highly efficient, except for one thing: Everything that happens within Local Government is directed towards the Councillors.So, is there a better model? Yes, there is."
by Neal Ames
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/delivery-or-...
"Local councils are highly efficient, except for one thing: Everything that happens within Local Government is directed towards the Councillors.So, is there a better model? Yes, there is."
by Neal Ames
spark-shoalhaven.ghost.io/delivery-or-...