In a sea of red, which Illawarra suburbs lean Green, Liberal or independent?

Heathcote

With Sydney tree-changers attracted to the area thanks to the pandemic and working from home its demographics are shifting, while its coastal climate exposure and things like Electrify 2515 movement mean there is a strong Greens vote in parts of the seat. This was especially evident in Austinmer, where more than 34 per cent of voters picked Greens candidate Cooper Riach as their first preference. Greens also did well in Bundeena, where candidate Cooper Riach is from, and the northern Illawarra's Coledale, Scarborough-Wombarra and Thirroul. In many of the Illawarra booths, the Greens did better than or on par with the Liberals, a trend not repeated in the Shire.

Overall though, the Green vote was not as strong as in the federal election, with Mr Riach only gaining 11.33 per cent of first preferences.

Keira

In the five places where Labor did worst (although it's worth noting that 'worst' here would, in any other area, be a very good result), it was mainly the Greens which took these votes. The Greens best booth in Keira was Smiths Hill High School, with more than 30 per cent of votes there going to Kit Docker - perhaps a sign of the priorities of some of the high-achieving 18-year-olds (and their parents) who attend the selective school? Other areas where a more young people live also had some of the seat's highest Greens votes - Wollongong West Public School, Wollongong Salvos in the CBD and Keiraville Public School.

Wollongong

... As for the Greens, recognisable candidate Cath Blakey attracted the region's strongest overall vote for the environmental party, with around 15 per cent of first preferences.
Her strongest support came from Keiraville and Wollongong Public Schools and Smith Hill High School - all in suburbs where a lot of university students and young people live.

Shellharbour

With an independent and three minor party candidates running in Shellharbour, the Greens vote was much lower than the previous election. Jamie Dixon did best at the Hayes Park Public School booth, in Kanahooka, where he received just under 10 per cent of first preferences.

Kiama

... the Greens did best at Berry and Kangaroo Valley.

Story by Kate McIlwain at the Illawarra Mercury, 30 March 2023.