Something as straightforward as a surf club lease shouldn’t become a political battlefield. Yet here we are.
In the Kiama local government area, the future of the Gerringong Surf Life Saving Club’s use of public land has become the centre of a messy, public dispute involving councillors, council processes, and a great deal of confusion.
What should be a practical conversation about how a surf club continues to serve its community has instead become a saga, clouded by emotion, shifting positions, and power plays. And all of it is happening in full view of a community that deserves better.
It’s worth asking: why is this so hard?
When Northern Beaches Council needed to sort out long-term leases with its surf clubs, it did what mature, responsible organisations do. It opened a clear and public process. It asked the surf clubs what they needed. It invited community feedback. And then it got on with it.
Between July and August 2022, they put forward a plan to grant 20-year leases to 16 surf life saving clubs. Forty submissions came in. None were opposed. A few queries around environmental management and public access were addressed in a community engagement report. By October, the council had adopted the leases
With all their surf club leases online, Northern Beaches Council makes it easier for others to draw on or adapt agreements that may suit their needs.
The community knew what was being proposed. The surf clubs knew where they stood. Everyone moved forward.
Now compare that with what’s happening in Kiama.
We have confusion. We have emotion. Do we even have a clear ask? Without one, and without a transparent process, how can the community have any confidence that decisions are fair, lawful or in the public interest?
This shouldn’t be complicated. The Local Government Act sets out exactly how community land can be leased. There are notice requirements. Ministerial approvals in some cases. But it’s a clear sequence. A process. Not a drama.
So why is it playing out like one?
Why hasn’t an independent negotiator been engaged to steer this back on track?
Why are we not tapping into people who actually understand land use law, governance, and conflict resolution?
Why are we watching local democracy be tested again and again by a lack of clarity and leadership?
There are professionals, planners, facilitators, public land specialists, who do this work every day across New South Wales. If Northern Beaches Council could work it out with 16 clubs under the same legislation, surely Kiama Council and one club can figure it out too.
What we need now is not another personality clash.
It’s competence. It’s process. It’s respect for community land and the people it belongs to.
The answers are available. The legislation is clear. The question is whether there’s the will to stop the theatre and start the work.
In my next blog post, we will step back from the noise and revisit the core question:
Can councils lease community land to surf life saving clubs?
✅ Yes, they can. But only if they follow the correct process.
I’ll walk you through exactly how an expert explained it to me very soon.
Background reading:
Northern Beaches Council – SLSC lease renewals
A note of thanks
To the planners, governance experts, legal minds, and calm strategic thinkers who have been quietly contacting me. Thank you. Your willingness to share knowledge, cut through the noise, and support a better way forward gives me hope. Collaborative leadership isn’t just possible, it’s already in motion. Let’s keep going.
#KiamaCouncil #Gerringong #SurfClubLeases #LocalGovernment #CommunityLand #GovernanceMatters #NSWPolitics