Events

Festival of All Things Waste
Saturday 22 August, 9:00 am–2:00 pm
Green Connect Farm, 6 Anna Avenue, Warrawong
Ticketed — check current price before booking
Organiser: Green Connect, a local not-for-profit social enterprise.
Includes workshops and panels on waste, resilient food systems, community gardens and local sustainability initiatives.
https://events.humanitix.com/a-waste-of-a-saturday-a-festival-of-all-things-waste

Maria Ressa: Weapons of Mass Distraction
Sunday 23rd August 4pm.
Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist, Maria Ressa, will give a talk on the war of disinformation
Festival of Dangerous Ideas, Carriageworks, 245 Wilson St, Eveleigh.
https://festivalofdangerousideas.com/program/weapons-of-mass-distraction/

Wollongong City Council Meeting + Public Access Forum
Monday 24 August, from 6:00 pm
Council Chambers, 41 Burelli Street, Wollongong + webcast
Organiser: Wollongong City Council — official local-government process.
Members of the public may apply to address councillors on an agenda item. Applications must be received by 12 noon on the working day before the meeting. Business papers are published beforehand.
https://www.wollongong.nsw.gov.au/community/events-and-programs/events/events/council-meetings/council-meeting-260824

Foundations for Housing Justice: Lessons from Around the World
Wednesday 26 August, 6:00–7:15 pm
Free online webinar
Organiser: Australian Progress — progressive civil-society and movement-organising organisation.
Housing organisers from Australia, Scotland and Germany discuss tenant organising, rent controls and campaigns involving large corporate landlords. This is explicitly an advocacy/movement event rather than politically neutral academic analysis.
https://www.australianprogress.org.au/events/foundations-for-housing-justice

Seize the Moment with Bernard Keane
Friday 28 August, 11:00 am–12 noon
Zoom - Registration required
Organiser: The Australia Institute — public-policy think tank with an identifiable advocacy perspective.
Crikey's Bernard Keane discusses Australia's political, economic, technological and strategic position in a changing international environment.
https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/seize_the_moment_with_bernard_keane

Wollongong Local Planning Panel
Tuesday 1 September, 5:00–7:00 pm
Council Chambers + online
Organiser: Wollongong City Council — formal local planning process involving an independent panel.
The panel makes decisions and provides advice on specified development applications and planning proposals. Worth checking the business papers before each meeting for issues requiring community attention.
https://www.wollongong.nsw.gov.au/council/committees-and-groups/wollongong-local-planning-panel

Neighbourhood Forum 5 — Wollongong Area
Wednesday 2 September, 6:00–7:30 pm
Wollongong Library Theatrette
Covers Wollongong, North Wollongong, Coniston, Figtree, Gwynneville, Keiraville, Mangerton, Mount Keira, Mount Saint Thomas and West Wollongong.
Useful for hearing community concerns directly and identifying emerging local issues before they become larger political questions.
https://www.wollongong.nsw.gov.au/my-community/neighbourhood-groups/nf5

‘The essence of childhood has been destroyed’
Thursday 3 September 6:30 PM-9:30 PM
An evening with UN Commissioner Chris Sidoti and Dr Ruth Mitchell, a renowned neurosurgeon with recent experience in Palestine, for a critical public presentation on the devastating impact of the ongoing genocide in Palestine on its youngest victims, children. This presentation will be followed by Dr Mitchell outlining her first-hand experiences during her recent placement in Gaza with the Palestinian Australian New Zealand Medical Association (PANZMA).
Fraternity Club Ballroom. 11 Bourke Street, Fairy Meadow NSW 2519
Tickets: https://www.trybooking.com/events/1611508/sessions/6552045/sections

Pedalling through the Cost-of-Living Crisis
Friday Sept 11th from 9:30-9pm
Hosted by the Illawarra Bicycle Users Group (IBUG), as part of Bicycle NSW BUG Network, this one-day conference brings together policymakers, researchers, practitioners, and community leaders to explore how walking and cycling can reduce household costs while creating healthier, more connected communities.
https://events.humanitix.com/pedalling-through-the-cost-of-living-crisis-conference

ConsulCon 2026 — Participatory & Digital Democracy
15–17 September
Munich, Germany
Donation-based tickets
Organisers: CONSUL DEMOCRACY Foundation in collaboration with the City of Munich.
Covers participatory democracy, civic technology, open-source platforms and democratic empowerment. Worth following for ideas and resources; not a recommendation to incur international travel costs.
https://consuldemocracy.org/2025/12/consul-conference-2026-munich/

Greens NSW State Campaign Conference 2026
Sunday 20 September, 10:00 am–4:00 pm
Glebe Town Hall, 60 St Johns Road, Glebe
$20 standard / free-ticket option / $40 supporter option
Organiser: Greens NSW — explicitly a political-party campaign event.
Focused on campaigning towards the 2027 NSW election, including housing, cost of living, climate and campaign skills.
https://greens.org.au/nsw/CampaignConference26

UNFCCC Forum: Financing Climate Action for Water Systems and the Ocean
21–22 September, 9:00 am–6:00 pm — currently marked TBC
Organiser: UNFCCC Standing Committee on Finance.
The forum is designed to bring together governments, climate funds, financial institutions, civil society, think tanks and the private sector around climate finance for water systems and oceans. Participation/access arrangements are not sufficiently clear yet for us to recommend attendance, so this remains on the watchlist.
https://unfccc.int/event/financing-climate-action-for-water-systems-and-the-ocean

Neighbourhood Forum 7 — Southern Wollongong
Tuesday 29 September, 6:00–7:30 pm
Illawarra Yacht Club, Northcliffe Drive, Warrawong
Covers Berkeley, Cringila, Lake Heights, Port Kembla, Primbee, Spring Hill, Warrawong and Windang.
https://www.wollongong.nsw.gov.au/community/neighbourhood-forums/nf7

About Illawarra Greens

We have a positive vision for the Illawarra:

• A sustainable and fair community;
• Affordable housing;
• Affordable electricity;
• More local jobs.

There are three Greens councillors on Wollongong City Council:

• Jess Whittaker
• Kit Docker
• Deidre Stuart

We meet in the evening of the first Tuesday of the month. Attendance is limited to members, but observers are welcome by prior arrangement. Please contact [email protected].

You can email us at [email protected] and we are on Facebook and Instagram

Our constitution, setting out how we run our meetings, deal with policy, and deal with conflict, is here.

You can find out more about the history of the Illawarra Greens here.