Shoalhaven council limits extra speakers on agenda items

Shoalhaven City Council refused an extra speaker at its public forum in Nowra on 19 May 2026, limiting further public comment on Development Application DA25/1018 at 30 Tallowa Dam Road, Kangaroo Valley.

William Fitzsimmons had asked to speak against the application, but the CEO refused the request because one speaker against the item had already been approved.

The forum was held at The Studio, Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre, with councillors present and the meeting opening at 5.30pm before concluding at 8.13pm.

The minutes say the CEO used clause 4.2(k) of the Public Forum Policy, after noting that section 4.2(b) normally allows no more than one speaker for and one against each published item. The CEO said it was not necessary to add another speaker because the report already outlined and addressed objections received from the community during consultation, and that material was available for councillors to consider.

The same forum heard speakers on a run of contested items on the council’s upcoming ordinary meeting agenda. Those included a notice of motion on enhancing environmental management for Fisherman's Paradise and Lake Conjola Village, and another on protecting communities’ right to access community areas and opposing logging.

A separate item covered the Bay and Basin Sports and Community Hub Project. On that motion, the CEO declared a less than significant non-pecuniary interest because he knows speaker Oliver Griffiths through his time in the Liberal Party. The source also says Mr Griffiths was on his campaign team for the 2025 Federal Election.

Other speakers addressed proposed accredited community forums, legal and consulting costs for determining refused development applications, and a related additional item on paid parking at Mollymook, Huskisson, Hyams Beach and Berry.

The forum also heard addresses on two development applications. They were DA25/1018 at 30 Tallowa Dam Road, Kangaroo Valley, and DA2024/2379 at 21 Fegen Street, Huskisson. Written submissions were received against both recommendations.

Written submissions were also received on the proposed Accredited Community Forums Model of Engagement and on the motion covering community access and logging.

The public forum did not decide those matters. It listed the motions and submissions for future council business, while the speaker limits applied only to the forum itself.