Kiama Village redevelopment p3
Grant for G’gong clubhouse p3
Jamberoo’s Huxley romance
Preview of the Kells Kiama 7s p9
Sports projects in limbo
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28 JAN 2023
Housing land value increases 37.8%
The NSW Valuer General has released its land values for the South Coast as at 1 July 2022, which show an overall increase of 38.2 per cent for the year. Land in the Kiama LGA has increased overall by 34.2 per cent, with residential land value increasing by 37.8 per cent over the year; commercial land increasing 14.7 per cent; industrial land 10.3 per cent; and rural land 16.9 per cent. A list of typical residential land values in the Kiama LGA show the patchiness of the increases, with a property on Headland Drive, Gerroa, increasing by 104.2 per cent over the year, while another in Stafford Street, Gerroa, has a 14.9 per cent increase.
The new land values will be used by Revenue NSW to calculate land tax for the 2023 land tax year and will be used by Kiama Council to calculate the rates and charges for the 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26 financial years. Land values are one factor used by councils to calculate rates. Landholders will receive a Notice of Valuation showing their land value in coming weeks, giving them time to appeal before rates are calculated (see box). The South Coast overview shows overall residential land increased by 38.3 per cent, with the largest increases experienced in Bega Valley (62.1 per cent) and Eurobodalla (61.3 per
cent), which come off much lower bases. Commercial land values for the South Coast have also increased 32.6 per cent, again led by Bega Valley and Eurobodalla, with the summary by the Valuer General also noting commercial land increasing by 40.6 per cent in Wollongong. The value of industrial land has been even stronger (40.1 per cent overall) with Shellharbour and Wollongong increasing by over 49 per cent.
Australia Day Citizen Awards
The summary report for the Kiama LGA is available at: tinyurl.com/bdzcpzmu
Owners can look up the value of their land at: tinyurl.com/3n3bmhyc
What will this mean for rates? The answer is complicated and as yet unknown. The 2022 land values will be used to calculate Council’s rates and charges for the 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26 financial years. The current financial year is the last of the three years based on the 2018/9 valuations. While our residential land value has gone up 115 per cent since then, this does not mean that Council rates will increase in tandem due
largely to the rate peg. Last September, the State Government’s Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal set a 2023-24 rate peg for Kiama Council of 5.1 per cent. Rate pegging means a council’s overall rates revenue cannot increase by more than the approved percentage increase. The Office of Local Government’s website says that “if overall land values rise, councils may have to reduce
or otherwise adjust the amount of rates levied per dollar so that total income does not grow by more than the approved percentage increase.” Council staff will attend a workshop with the Valuer General of NSW in midFebruary on how land value changes will apply to properties in the LGA. “Property prices and valuations have changed significantly in recent years. We
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For the second year in a row, Kiama Council’s Australia Day Citizen, Young Citizen and Senior Citizen awards have all gone to women in our community. With inclusion and diversity as a passion, Soul Fit Co’s exercise instructor and wellness coach, Korin Koutsomihalis, has been awarded Citizen of the Year for her
sincere involvement in, and contribution to, the wholistic health and wellbeing of our local community. Working to break down the bias in what’s considered to be normal in fitness communities, Korin says, “Everyone should be able to move and do it together. “There are so many people left behind because they feel
like they shouldn’t be moving. My passion is to move others, people of all ages and all backgrounds, and for them to have the best possible life, which for me is through moving your body.” The Senior Citizen of the Year award has gone to the much loved member of Gerringong community, continued p8