georgem56

I have lived in the bay my whole life. I have seen it transform from a beautiful seaside fishing town, to an overcrowded dump full of rude, entitled people from up the hill in Canberra. It used to have an old world charm, but sadly those days are long gone.

I appreciate that such development is inevitable, certainly when the nations capital is only two hours away. But a lack of proper town planning from the local council means that the town is now just a big mess. Property is way overpriced due to people buying holiday homes here and spending 4 weeks of the year here. Locals can no longer afford to buy or rent in the vicinity, which has led to a rise in the number of homeless people in the town.

It used to be that the town was busy just during the school holidays. Now, there is an influx of tourists every weekend since COVID, which is great for local businesses, but the infrastructure just cannot cope with it.

The hospital in Batemans Bay does its best, but its not great. Yes there is the new hospital in Moruya, but that probably wont be completed until 2040 at the earliest the rate it is currently being built at.

A lot of the faults of the town must be credited to the local Eurobodalla Council, which is shambolic at best. For years it has been poorly run and is desperate for a complete overhaul. Even the last mayor of eurobodalla was arrested for growing cannabis at her home, that sums up how bad it is. We now have a new younger Mayor who has actually done a great job, but his hands are tied to what he can achieve when surrounded by such a dysfunctional and prehistoric council organisation.

Im sorry I cant be more positive about the bay, but it breaks my heart to see how the town has declined in the past 20 years. The bushfires brought the community together, but that kind of community spirit disappeared soon after the bushfires ended, which is very sad.