A mayor’s split-second decision to answer a phone call rather of heading into the surf may well have saved the life of Shellharbour councillor Kellie Marsh.
Ms Marsh, the council’s deputy mayor, is recovering in intensive care at Sydney’s Prince of Wales Hospital after collapsing at home last friday morning, where she suffered seizures caused by two ruptured aneurysms that triggered subarachnoid haemorrhages (bleeding between the brain and the tissues that cover it).
The call came while Shellharbour Mayor Chris Homer was on holidays on the South Coast, just as he was about to head into the water at North Manyana.
“I was in holiday mode,sunscreen on,rash vest on,board ready,” Cr Homer said.
“I was just about to close the back hatch of the car when I saw Councillor Marsh ringing.”
“I almost thought,’Go for a surf first and call her back’,then I thought,’No,pick it up and have a chat.'”
Cr Homer said the pair had been speaking for about five minutes when Ms Marsh began fading during the call.
“I know Kellie gets really bad migraines, so I thought it might be something she’d normally shake off,” he said.
“But she became unresponsive. I kept saying, ‘Kellie, Kellie, are you there?.'”
“she made a couple of strange noises and said she could see starry-eyed things, then she faded right out of the conversation.”
Realising something was seriously wrong, Cr Homer ended the call and rang Ms Marsh’s 23-year-old son Nathan.
“I said, ‘Listen Nathan, I was on the phone to your mum and she was unresponsive, can you go and check on her?'”
Nathan found his mother collapsed on the bathroom floor.
“He found Kellie foaming at the mouth and unresponsive,” Cr Homer said.
“That’s when it was clear this was an emergency.”
The mayor called Triple Zero (000) while nathan and neighbours began assisting at the scene.
Cr Marsh was transported to Wollongong Hospital before being rushed to Sydney, where she has as undergone two surgeries.
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Timing Important
The timely intervention of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) prevented the potential collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the 2008 financial crisis, according to statements made by former officials involved in the conservatorship.
In September 2008, both government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) faced imminent failure due to mounting losses on mortgage-backed securities. The housing market was in freefall, and the companies were rapidly losing investor confidence. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), then led by Director James Lockhart, placed both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorship on September 7, 2008, to prevent a wider systemic collapse. This action effectively took control of the companies away from private shareholders and placed them under government control.
Edward DeMarco, who succeeded Lockhart as FHFA Director in 2009, described the situation as extremely precarious. In a testimony before the House Financial Services Committee on november 17, 2011, demarco stated the conservatorship was necessary to stabilize the housing market and prevent a complete meltdown of the mortgage finance system. He noted that without intervention, the companies would have likely defaulted on their obligations, triggering a cascading effect throughout the financial system. The total cost of the conservatorship to taxpayers, as of December 31, 2023, was approximately $289.3 billion, according to the FHFA’s Conservatorship Status Report.
The Conservatorship Process
The conservatorship granted the FHFA broad authority to manage the operations of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, including the power to restructure their capital, sell assets, and replace management. The initial goal was to stabilize the companies and eventually return them to financial health so they could be released from conservatorship.
The conservatorship agreement outlined specific terms and conditions, including restrictions on executive compensation and requirements for regular reporting to Congress and the FHFA. The FHFA also implemented a common securitization platform (CSP) designed to standardize the process of creating and selling mortgage-backed securities, aiming to reduce risk and improve transparency. The CSP project, however, faced significant delays and cost overruns, ultimately being cancelled in February 2023.
A key aspect of the conservatorship involved the “net worth sweep,” a policy implemented in 2012 that directed nearly all of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s profits to the U.S. Treasury. This policy, which continued until 2019, resulted in the transfer of over $300 billion to the Treasury. The legality of the net worth sweep was challenged in numerous lawsuits, including In re Fannie mae and Freddie Mac common Stock litigation, Case No. 13-cv-02230 (D.D.C.). While some rulings favored shareholders, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ultimately upheld the legality of the sweep in November 2023.
Current Status and Future outlook
As of January 19, 2026, fannie Mae and Freddie Mac remain in conservatorship, though the FHFA has signaled a shift towards a potential recapitalization and release from government control. In February 2024, the FHFA announced a plan to allow the companies to begin retaining capital, a crucial step towards restoring their financial strength.
The Biden administration has expressed a commitment