About a year ago, it was all smiles at the annual KidzWish ball.
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Founder and then-CEO Chris Beavan was pictured standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Kiama MP Gareth Ward and his staffer Cameron Walters.
They were grinning at news the charity would get $1.5 million from the NSW Government to finish building its new facility at Flinders, which stalled in the early stages of construction.
Fast forward a year, as last minute preparations for this week's KidzWish Christmas party and ball are underway, and things couldn't be more different.
Ms Beavan has left KidzWish - suspended or resigned, depending on who you believe; Mr Ward is now the NSW Minister for Family and Community Services and Disabilities; and Mr Walters, who began working at the charity after leaving Mr Ward's office, is the new KidzWish acting CEO.
And, his appointment as the temporary head of a charity for which his former boss helped secure funding is now under question before NSW Parliament.
Shellharbour MP Anna Watson is seeking answers over a perceived 'conflict of interest', and this week wrote to Premier Gladys Berejiklian about her concerns.
In a question on notice, submitted after Mr Walters was hurriedly appointed acting CEO when the Mercury revealed Ms Beavan had left the organisation last month, Ms Watson asked the government to confirm that the money given to KidzWish will be used as intended.
She also asked if it was "a conflict of interest for a former employee from [Mr Ward's office] to have now been appointed as the acting-Executive Director of Kidzwish considering his employment history ... and the level of funding this organisation has received from the government".
An answer is due at the end of this week, but Mr Walters has refuted Ms Watson's concerns.
"I don't believe there is a conflict of interest as I have never worked for a NSW Minister and at the time this decision was made by the former Family and Community Services Minister Pru Goward, and I have never worked for her," he said.
Mr Walters - also a Wollongong councillor - stopped working for Mr Ward when he was promoted to be a minister this year, as it's frowned upon for a councillor to work for a state minister. He began working for KidzWish, then second-in-charge, after leaving Mr Ward's office.
"The government invests in a lot of charities in Wollongong and around NSW, and it's up to the charity to put their case forward and it's up to the government to make those decisions," Mr Walters said.
"I would hope that they have followed due process, and I was no part of that process."
Mr Walters said it would be a "matter for the board" whether he continued in his role as acting CEO, but believed the Illawarra kids charity was in good shape, even without its founder at the helm.
"I think we have a very bright future, we are expanding our therapy services before we even move into the house in Flinders, our party this year is booked out with 4300 people attending, and our ball will be as good as ever," he said.
"We are continuing to provide more services to those people in the community who have a disability, or who are disadvantaged or sick."
In a statement made through his office Mr Ward said:
"The KidzWish Place project has received support from all three levels of Government. I'm pleased the NSW Government committed funds prior to the last State Election for the project which will be administered in accordance with the funding agreement.
"As a person living with a disability, I have been a strong supporter of the work of KidzWish over many years as I have so many clubs, organisations and causes in my electorate and across our region.
"KidzWish recruitment and appointments are a matter for the KidzWish board.
"Cameron Walters was employed in my Electorate Office and has never been a member of my Ministerial Office staff; he has only ever worked for me as an electorate officer or Parliamentary Secretary advisor."
Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
