Wollongong City Council Greens candidate for Lord Mayor Jess Whittaker is calling for a new tax on profits from fossil fuel companies to help local governments recover from increasing natural disasters.

In a major blow for walkers and cyclists, Transport for NSW has quietly removed the pedestrian overpass from the Mount Ousley Road Interchange in their March 2024 project update. 

Wollongong Greens candidate for Lord Mayor Jess Whittaker is calling for shark nets to be removed from Wollongong City Beaches following the fatal entanglement of a bottlenose dolphin at Thirroul last week.

Greens lead candidate for Ward 2 Kit Docker is calling on Wollongong City Council to address the significant accessibility issues faced by residents across Figtree.

Launching their campaign for the Wollongong City Council elections in September, local residents Jess Whittaker, Kit Docker & Deidre Stuart were joined with Sue Higginson MLC [second from right] and called for stronger action to alleviate the many challenges faced in the community including the worsening housing and climate crises. 

Wollongong Greens Councillors Mithra Cox and Cath Blakey will be standing down at the September 2024 council election. The Illawarra Greens will announce their candidates for the election this coming Thursday 15 February, 10am at Market Square Wollongong.

Media Release
31 July 2023

South Coast call for secure bike sheds at train stations after resident has 7 bikes stolen

Fairy Meadow resident Phil Balding has expressed despair and frustration after having 7 around the illawarra, with 3 incidents of stolen parts.

Mr Balding said

“Riding my bike used to be a quick way to get to the train station for the commute to Sydney, but after having 7 bikes stolen, I’ve given up riding. I've tried using 2 d-locks, handlebar brake locks, Disc-brake locks, anti-theft skewers and an AirTag tracker, but still my bike would be stripped of parts or be stolen. By registering my bike on the Property Vault, and using the AirTag tracker the police were able to get a warrant to seize my bike, and I got it back. I want a Transport for NSW bike shed at the station to keep my bike safer from theft.”

“The car parking spaces at North Wollongong train station including street is full by 7:15am some mornings for the Sydney commute. Surely if there was somewhere more secure to lock up bikes there would be commuters that would ride instead of driving”.

Cr Blakey, who has a notice of motion on bike parking security for Monday night’s council meeting said:
“Council transport staff are currently developing an integrated cycling strategy, and it’s important that it includes advocacy for bike sheds at train stations so that residents can ride to the train station, and be confident that there bike will be there after a day at work for their return trip home.”

“Riding to the station is quicker and easy to go further than walking, and less space-intensive than car-parking. As e-bikes have grown in popularity, increasing the ease of riding for residents with escarpment foothills to navigate, the attractiveness to theft has also increased. We desperately need more secure ways to park bikes at the train station.”

“Since 2016 there have been 36 bike sheds installed across the City Rail network, but none in the Illawarra. I’m calling on the state government to make the Wollongong local government area the next location for a bike shed.”

“Bike theft is a rife in Wollongong, and a serious barrier to riding to the station, the shops, work or school – or anything other than recreation. PropertyVault is a partnership between Crime Stoppers, the Police, bike owners and the wider community – to expose and defeat the illicit trade in stolen bikes. If someone sees a bike for sale, they can check if it’s been stolen, removing pathways to profit from stolen bikes.”

END MEDIA RELEASE

25 April 2023

Media release: Defence Strategic Review's Calls for East Coast Nuclear Powered Submarine Facility Puts Illawarra at Risk

Today’s Defence Strategic Review confirms highly contentious plans to put a nuclear submarine base on Australia’s east coast without formally identifying the site. This is a decision that the Albanese government has agreed to “in-principle” leaving the Illawarra at serious risk of being targeted for the nuclear facility.

24 March 2023

In response to questioning by the Greens Defence Spokesperson David Shoebridge, the Labor government today refused to disclose how much weapons-grade uranium would be carried on the Virginia class submarines Australia will buy under the AUKUS submarine deal.

23 March 2023

The Greens’ lead Upper House candidate Cate Faehrmann MP is visiting the Illawarra today to give a final pitch to voters in the region.

“In all likelihood, the days of any single party having an absolute mandate are over,” said Ms Faehrmann.

“This places the Greens in an excellent position to push the next government further and faster on issues that will make a real difference in people’s lives.

Greens councillor and candidate for Wollongong Cath Blakey today attended the Animal Welfare League NSW - Illawarra Mobile Vet Clinic in Warrawong.

“The vet clinic is offering free health checks, vaccinations and microchipping for pets of low income earners, and Council staff are on hand to support pet owners with animal registration,” said Ms Blakey.

Greens candidate for Keira Kit Docker is calling on the next NSW government to pursue brave and ambitious policy reform in the banking sector to give households greater choice and ease the cost of living pressure on their weekly budgets.

Greens councillor and candidate for Wollongong Cath Blakey has reiterated that Nurse to Patient ratios is a key demand of her party in any minority government after March 25. This comes as the Nurses and Midwives Association lodge evidence in the supreme court showing that the NSW government’s current staffing model is resulting in understaffing and poor patient care.

15 March 2023

Cath Blakey, Greens Councillor and state candidate for Wollongong joined the Mothers and Midwives of the Illawarra community picnic to launch the Greens commitment to announce paid placements for nurses, midwives and paramedics in training.

Today’s $368+ billion submarine announcement should send a shiver through the Illawarra, with Port Kembla earmarked as the preferred base for the new nuclear-powered submarines.

Greens Housing spokesperson Jenny Leong MP has called on Shadow Planning Minister and Member for Wollongong Paul Scully MP,  to make a clear commitment to higher affordable housing targets, given Wollongong Council’s ALP councillors joined with Liberal councillors at Monday night to vote down the Greens proposal for strong affordable housing targets instead settling on very weak targets.

The Illawarra and Sutherland Greens are calling for the removal of shark nets at Garie Beach in Royal National Park and the revocation of shark meshing program on Illawarra beaches.

With schools back this week, Greens candidate for Keira Kit Docker is calling for fully funded public education that is free and accessible for all.

NSW Greens MPs and local Greens candidates have condemned plans by the greyhound racing industry to ‘transform’ the Dapto greyhound track in the Illawarra into an ‘international gambling hub’.

Greens NSW have named Wollongong City Councillor Cath Blakey as the candidate for the NSW seat of Wollongong in the coming NSW election.

Greens candidate for the seat of Keira Kit Docker is calling for mandated nurse to patient ratios in public hospitals to ensure patient safety, improve working conditions for nurses and midwives and tackle the growing NSW healthcare crisis.

Launching his campaign for Keira in the March NSW election local resident Kit Docker called for action to alleviate homelessness, make housing more affordable and deliver real and practical transport options for all Keira citizens.

With rapidly rising rents and mortgage repayments, housing is becoming unaffordable for many people. Greens candidate for Keira Kit Docker has spoken with several Illawarra housing and homelessness service providers in the last fortnight and believes that the NSW government can do much more to alleviate this problem.

Launching his campaign for the 2023 NSW election, Greens Candidate for Heathcote Cooper Riach called for urgent action on climate change, calling for creative small-scale solutions such as community battery projects and drastically improving local active and public transport.

Wollongong Greens Councillor Mithra Cox has a motion at Wollongong Council’s May 23 meeting, asking Councillors to consider switching off gas connections to all new homes and instead encouraging households to electrify everything on the path to net zero emissions.