One of our readers is more than a little upset because his calls to help people living in tents in parks in the centre of Campbelltown have fallen on deaf ears so far.
He has sent in photos of tents pitched in Koshigaya Park (pictured above), beside the old library and several in the bush next to the Genesis cancer centre.
There has also been at least one tent for months in Marsden Park, which is also not that far away from the other three locations.
Our reader says he doesn’t want council or police action.
On the contrary, he is calling for the authorities to help put a roof over these people’s heads.
“Politicians,’’ he says, “like their photos taken but don’t want to know about reality.
“I am writing to get political action to get these people a roof over their head.
“I find it very frustrating that we have people living in tents, yet we have so much rampant development happening in the Campbelltown LGA.’’
Our reader has written to the authorities and is yet to hear back from them, which obviously makes him very frustrated.
To be fair, this is a complex problem, because it’s hard to know the situation of anyone living in a tent. Nor is it clear that it’s illegal to live in a tent pitched on a local park.
But it’s also true that our reader is right when he says we must do something.
And it’s certainly a sad indictment on a country as rich as ours that in 2025 people are doing it so tough they pitch up a tent in a local park.
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Well, yes, we are a rich country indeed, and while some people have to live in tents, others have so much money it’s not funny.
Like the local business person who spent $500,000 on a new kitchen in their home, in Macarthur.
We obviously can’t identify them, but they will know who they are because it’s a fair guess not that many local rich people spent that much on a kitchen in the last little while.
There are two takes from this little tale: one in the eye of people who think Campbelltown and Camden are full of losers, and, secondly, half a million dollars would help a lot of homeless people, even those living in tents…
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And while we’re kind of talking about the outrageous cost of living, if your electricity supplier is AGL you will know that they have found a solution to those eye watering numbers on your quarterly bill: they’ve gone to monthly bills!
Here’s our family’s November bill, and if you multiply it by three you can easily see what they’re trying to do, basically a con job to make you think power bills ain’t so bad after all.
My response to AGL, and Albo and Chris Bowen, is: stop the BS and tell us when our power bills are going to be cheaper because of renewables.
If they don’t come down soon, more of us might just be pitching tents in Koshigaya Park.
But we’ll still go out vote, so think about that Albo next time you’re sipping champagne and eating caviar in your luxury new jet.
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The Ingham Institute will officially open its Macarthur campus in the grounds of Campbelltown Hospital next Thursday morning, with Premier Chris Minns doing the honours.
But the talk in town has been about the guest list for the opening, being put together by NSW Health, who own the land, but which has put a lot of noses out of joint.
It has also meant changing the scheduled opening date more than once.
In the scheme of things a guest list muddle is a drop in the ocean, but what is of concern are the priorities of our masters on fat salaries of close to a million bucks.
It’s fair to finish this item with the exclamation from Donald Horne in The Lucky Country: “A lucky country run by mediocre people’’.
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Some of you may remember the recent story of Oran Park resident Alex Mangos, notable for erecting a light display outside his home of mangoes, to raise money for charity.
Nice story, yes, but we were curious to know if the man who shares a name with our favourite fruit, mangoes, actually grows them in his Oran Park backyard.
We confess we were disappointed the PR people who sent the story in replied to say, no, he doesn’t.
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Talking of Christmas, Campbelltown City Council’s annual Light the Tree event is on this Friday, (November 28).
And while the Mayor, Cr Darcy Lound, will turn on the lights around 8pm, the fun will start from 6pm and finish at 9pm.
The event will be held on Campbelltown City Council’s civic centre forecourt and lawn area along Queen and Broughton Streets.
Go to your State Member’s Office. They have the contacts to help.
Good luck to the person who spent $500,000 on a kitchen. I wish there were more like them. We need to encourage entrepreneurs to grow the pie in Australia.
Albo is making it difficult for this to happen with his authoritarian and communist policies.
It is unfortunate for those who live in tents and yes reasons are complex but to insinuate that $500,000 is somehow bad is wrong.