"The Greens' policy is to shut down the Metropolitan Colliery by revoking its pollution licence. If elected I will work to phase out these mines as soon as possible to ensure the future health and security of the Illawarra/Greater Sydney water catchment."

"It is Greens policy to shutdown the Peabody Metropolitan Colliery. Given the size and location of this mine it is impossible for it to comply with any Environmental Protection Licence."

"We will support the affected workforce with ready access to training and financial security."

Cooper Riach, Greens candidate for Heathcote in the 2023 NSW state election.

These are suburbs where the environmental and Greens vote has traditionally been higher than average – Story by Ben Langford in the Illawarra Mercury, 9 March 2023.

... in the mix is Cooper Riach from the Greens who, like the party's other Illawarra candidates, has been making a strong showing on the campaign trail. In the last two elections, the Greens vote has remained pretty stable at around 9 per cent, though it remains to be seen whether the move towards minor parties that happened in the federal election will carry over into NSW.

Story by Glen Humphries in the Illawarra Mercury, 7 March 2023.

"Cannabis is less harmful than alcohol, and isn't the gateway drug that conservative people try to make out it is."

"A local resident ... had to stop using medicinal cannabinoids because they register on the random drug tests. He was having no side effects and he was feeling pretty good using the cannabinoids, and they were at a low level and didn't cause him impairment, but then he had to got onto pharmaceuticals and if he misses his pharmaceutical dose he gets lots of side effects."

"The focus for law enforcement needs to be on impairment, not just drugs being in a person's system. If you're impaired full stop, whether it's on legal drugs or illegal drugs or alcohol, you shouldn't be on the road or doing stuff."

"It particularly impacts on people who are taking it for pain management in measured doses that are shown to not have impairment problems."

Amanda Findley, Shoalhaven Mayor and Greens candidate for the South Coast.

Story by Glenn Ellard at the South Coast Register, 6 March 2023.

"Alcohol advertising works - that's why liquor companies pour millions into convincing people to drink more."

"Until we restrict alcohol advertising we will not be able to significantly reduce the harms that alcohol causes."

Greens health spokesperson Cate Faerhmann MLC.

The Greens are calling on the NSW government to ban alcohol advertising on state property, including public transport, and refuse to allow sporting clubs to display alcohol sponsorship when playing at government-owned sporting fields – Story by Bageshri Savyasachi in the Illawarra Mercury, 6 March 2023.

– Story in the South Coast Register, 6 March 2023.

Wollongong residents have made their way through three electorates on foot or by bike, calling on state election candidates to commit to actions they say will make streets safer and more people-friendly.

Safe Streets to School spokeswoman Lena Huda said about 50 people came out over the course of the event to show their support, including Greens candidate for Heathcote Cooper Riach.

Labor's Paul Scully, Ryan Park and Maryanne Stuart and Liberal candidate Lee Evans sent their apologies, she said.

Story by Natalie Croxon in the Illawarra Mercury, 6 March 2023.

Wollongong City Council has just adopted its new Housing Strategy, which specified that residential developments of more than 20 dwellings must have at least 3 per cent of floor space dedicated to affordable rental housing in 2026, increasing by 1 per cent annually to hit 10 per cent by 2033.

Cr Mithra Cox moved an amendment, supported by fellow Greens Cr Cath Blakey, to increase the eventual minimum to 30 per cent. She said a higher target would buffer against significant loss of affordable rentals when these properties moved back to private ownership. But the remaining councillors voted against it and the amendment was not passed.

Cr Blakey later said the target as passed was a "sad joke".

Story by Natalie Croxon at the Illawarra Mercury, 4 March 2023.

On hospitals and health: Greens candidates for Wollongong, Cath Blakey, and Keira, Kit Docker, pledged to implement nurse to patient ratios, including for midwives, as well as a 15 per cent pay rise.

On housing: "Governments at a state and local level could aim higher, citing her push to increase the city's housing targets to see a 30 per cent affordable housing target in new developments."
"Housing should be for people, not for profit."
Cr Cath Blakey, Greens candidate for Wollongong.

Another questioner raised the issue of family law courts and the separation of women and children. All candidates agreed more needed to be done in this area, particularly in including the issue of domestic violence and consent in education – Story by Connor Pearce at the Illawarra Mercury, 2 March 2023.

The young Greens candidate has brought props, and hands around an old jam jar containing dirty, sludgy water, which he says was collected near Camp Gully Creek in September last year.

A concerned mumble washes around the hall.

Those listening are well aware the near-by Metropolitan mine owned by Peabody at Helensburgh received a clean-up order from the Environment Protection Authority, over two discharges of polluted water containing coal particles in July and September of last year.

Story by Kelly Fuller at ABC Illawarra, 2 March 2023.

Abigail Boyd, Greens spokesperson for treasury and energy, said the proposals would "deliver affordable renewable energy for every household."

"We must take back control over our power supply and ensure that we are never again at the mercy of the private market for our energy needs."

Cath Blakely, Greens candidate for the seat of Wollongong, said the plan "will immediately provide cost-of-living relief by lowering power bills, and lays out a plan for electrification by getting one million homes off gas."

"Energy bills are skyrocketing across the state, plunging people into energy poverty, but neither NSW Labor nor the Coalition have any credible plan to reduce energy costs for households."

Story by Lisa Cox in The Guardian, 2 March 2023.

"Existing animal race tracks at Dapto, Bulli and Kembla Grange hold potential as parks or sporting facilities. There needs to be a conversation in the community about what new purposes these facilities could serve. We can re-imagine these spaces as all sorts of things."

"I think the Dapto community's ready to move beyond animal cruelty and gambling. There are lots of things going on in the West Dapto area that would build a strong community identity without greyhound racing.

"Racing industry reforms have failed to adequately address issues of animal wastage and injury. I am hopeful that the Greens will gain more seats in the upper house come the election and be in a stronger position to make our plan reality."

Cath Blakey, Greens candidate for Wollongong in the 2023 NSW state election.

... the Greens outlined a plan to end greyhound racing in NSW over the course of one year and horse racing over four, as well as ban rodeos and petting zoos. Racing industry workers would get support to gain new skills and employment and race tracks would be repurposed, with a commitment that at least 60 per cent of tracks would become green space ...
Story by Natalie Croxon in the Illawarra Mercury, 28 February 2023.

"Witnessing people in line at Mardi Gras being taken away and strip-searched showed how messed up the government's priorities are towards meaningful public health reform."

Ms Faehrmann revealed a plan by her party to legalise nicotine vapes for people over the age of 18 to help reduce harms associated with the devices.
Story by Duncan Murray in the Illawarra Mercury, 28 February 2023.

"Although I like a miniature railway myself - I think they're great fun, I take my kids to the one at Stuart Park."

"This site however is near the national park, it's zoned C3 environmental management and that is a zoning that was only reasonably recently decided by this council. The entire site is a bushfire hazard and would require significant land clearing for protection to enable any use of that site."

Mithra Cox, Greens councillor on Wollongong Council.

Story by Glen Humphries at the Illawarra Mercury, 27 February 2023.

"Our local community fought to save the free Gong Shuttle. We know free and frequent services have high patronage. Free public transport helps to reduce car journeys and make cities run more smoothly."

"The other benefit of ditching tickets is that it ensures equitable access, keeps buses running on time, and the costs are offset by savings on ticketing systems and fare enforcement."

Cr Cath Blakey, Greens candidate for Wollongong.

"Free public transport will save us money by scrapping our expensive ticketing system, reducing spending on roads and cutting costs associated with fare evasion like court costs."

"If elected, I will work with the new government and our Greens MPs to ensure we put public transport back in public hands and make our buses and trains free, frequent, and accessible so everyone can use them."

Kit Docker, Greens candidate for Keira.

Story by Glen Humphries at the Illawarra Mercury, 27 February 2023.

"We need, immediately, the shark net at Garie Beach to be pulled out of the water, because there's no patrols happening at that beach at the moment. It's not a high use beach."

"It's absolutely useless and all it is doing is trapping animals and causing marine wildlife carnage."

"At the moment the Department of Primary Industries has to seek an exemption under the Biodiversity Conservation Act, to kill threatened species and that is just absolutely horrendous."

"The Joint Management Agreement says that they have to reduce the threat to animals and that's not happening. We're seeing Loggerhead Turtles, Leatherback Turtles, Green Turtles as well as rays and dolphins and non-target sharks all getting caught in shark nets and it's terrible."

"When there's an animal caught in the net [sharks] can really sense the distress. It actually seems to be attracting sharks rather than stopping them from getting into the beach."

"Wollongong's got seventeen patrolled beaches and we've got five with shark nets and we know that there's not a greater instance of shark attacks on the twelve other beaches that are patrolled but don't have shark nets."

Cr Cath Blakey, Greens candidate for Wollongong.

Listen to the ABC radio interview here.

"Cooper Riach, 22, is the Greens candidate for Heathcote" by Murray Trembath in the St George & Sutherland Shire Leader, 27 February 2023.

"Lee Evans and Maryanne Stuart compete for the third time in Heathcote" by Murray Trembath in the St George & Sutherland Shire Leader, 28 February 2023.

"How many more innocent dolphins, turtles, rays, whales and other marine animals have to die before this government removes outdated and ineffective shark nets?"

"The Greens are campaigning to remove shark nets from all beaches across NSW in favour of modern, more effective shark risk management."

Cooper Riach, Greens candidate for Heathcote.

Read more in the Illawarra Mercury, 25 February 2023.

Read more in the South Coast Register, 25 February 2023.

"This is an absolutely critical issue because your health shouldn't depend on your postcode."

"I think the bigger question is what does it cost to not do this. We know that if people can't afford to see a GP they'll end up in the hospital emergency departments when they're sicker and they need hospital admission. It's actually more cost effective to fund that primary care up front and get people the care they need early. If you budget that out over the long term it's going to save the health system money."

Dr Amanda Cohn, Greens candidate for the NSW Upper House.

"In the first instance getting [a primary health care centre] into the southern part of the South Coast seat is absolutely essential, because what we have in the south is a very small hospital that's not fit for purpose. There's not even an MRI available to residents in the Milton-Ulladulla area."

Amanda Findley, Shoalhaven Mayor and Greens candidate for the seat of South Coast.

Story by Glenn Ellard at the South Coast Register, 10 February 2023.

"Rising GP fees, long hospital wait-times, shortage of health staff, nursing home bed block and poor quality aged care were some of the hot topics during the 90-minute Greens community health forum at Fairy Meadow Community Centre."

Read more in the Illawarra Mercury, 9 February 2023.

"The more Greens we have in both houses of parliament, the more opportunity we have to push the next government to go further actually deliver the safe nurse to patient ratios that the nurses union is demanding.

We have an opportunity at the next election to have enough Greens in parliament to make that happen."

Dr Amanda Cohn, Greens candidate for the NSW Upper House.

Read more in the Illawarra Mercury, 6 February 2023.

"When I was at public school, my mum couldn't afford the school fees. When it came to excursions, I felt stress rather than excitement because I knew the pressure that this would place on mum to find a way for me to attend with the rest of my classmates."

"Public schools should be free. That means no school fees, no 'voluntary' contributions, just proper government funding."

"Not every kid has the capacity to get money from their parents to go the canteen. That has a real impact on their learning. If a kid goes to school hungry they're simply not going to reach their full potential during the day."

"It seems, when it comes to public education, that the major parties look at it as an expense. Spending on public education is an investment. It's an investment in communities, it's an investment in the future of the economy."

"Federally we've just obtained the balance of power and now Labor on important policies have to negotiate with the Greens, and we've been making policy better. We're on the verge of obtaining the balance of power in NSW. I believe it's going to be a close election, I don't think either side is going to win an absolute majority."

Kit Docker, Greens candidate for Keira.

Read more in the Illawarra Mercury, 3 February 2023.

"I'm embracing the opportunity [to run] and hoping to make sure that Wollongong's not portrayed as a neglected safe Labor seat. And I think the Greens have a best chance of making it marginal."

"We might get a change of government and if that's the case I think the cross bench will be even more influential after March. That's what I hope, that's what I'm campaigning for."

"There are so many issues where I've been dismayed with the local representation that we have."

"I was just impatient and wanted to come out on the greyhound issue when I saw the news about that. I know that Dapto desperately needs sporting and recreation spaces. It's a new suburb where it could be make or break for liveability. Setting up an international gambling hub based on animal cruelty is just disgusting."

Cath Blakey, Greens candidate for Wollongong.

Story by Glen Humphries in the Illawarra Mercury, 31 January 2023.

"It is my strong view that there should not be a coal mine next to the Royal National Park, the second-oldest national park in the world and such a beautiful protected area."

"This mine should be closed as soon as possible and a plan put in place to phase out all coal and gas."

"We need to have a plan for actually transitioning into new sustainable jobs. It's something that will need to happen. It's something that neither the major parties are willing to acknowledge."

Cooper Riach, Greens candidate for Heathcote.

Read more in the Illawarra Mercury, 24 January 2023.

"When you have the Liberals putting up stale man after stale man as their candidates and you have no vision coming from either Liberal or Labor ... people have had enough. We saw that during the federal election. We had a record vote for the Greens and we're expecting that same rejection of the two-party system in this state election."

"In Queensland we had people telling us we couldn't win lower house seats in the federal election. We knew we could because we knew our policies were resonating with our communities and we had good local candidates out there talking with voters, explaining not just our policies but what they are about as individuals with integrity. So we absolutely believe, if not this time, then we will win these seats eventually."

Abigail Boyd, NSW Greens MLC.

"In areas like Balmain and Newtown and Ballina, where we've had Greens MPs elected and re-elected, there's been fantastic social infrastructure put in for the community. At the moment in Shellharbour it's easier to find a pokie than it is a hospital bed, an affordable house or a seat on a train."

Jamie Dixon, Greens candidate for Shellharbour.

"I wanted to run because I wanted to have a platform where I could push the major parties for real change. I'm a renter, I understand the struggles of renting and the pressure that creates on people and households - and I didn't believe enough was being done."

Kit Docker, Greens candidate for Keira.

Story by Glen Humphries in the Illawarra Mercury, 23 January 2023.

"I've had the privilege of speaking with many of the housing and homeless services in our region, and we're in a pretty dire situation. We have thousands of people in our region using these services, and many more being turned away."

"These organisations are well beyond their capacity, and they're expected to help thousands of people with funding for a few hundred, and it's simply not good enough."

"We're not here to represent developers - we're here to represent people's fundamental right to housing."

Kit Docker, Greens candidate for Keira.

Read more at the Illawarra Mercury, 20 January 2023.

"It's over a decade since the Copper Smelter closed down and the fact that this EPL (Environment Protection Licence) is hanging around like a zombie that can be resurrected is really concerning."

"That licence shouldn't just be allowed to hang around for decades."

Cath Blakey, Greens candidate for Wollongong.

Story by Nick McLaren at ABC News Illawarra, 9 Jan 2023.

Story by Ben Langford in the Illawarra Mercury, 30 December 2022.

(Updated 17 August 2023: Primbee copper slag dump has its 'zombie licence' revoked by EPA)

Wollongong City Councillor Mithra Cox is calling for council to update its emissions target in line with that of the federal government.

The council has had the net zero by 2050 target for years but Cr Cox believes the council does not hold all policy levers to achieve it.

Cr Cox said when the council adopted the 2050 target, it was a net zero target for 2050 for the whole city with no set midway mark they had to meet to show their progress.

"Since then the government has announced an ambitious interim target on the way to 2050, which is a 43 per cent emissions cut by 2030," she said.

The councillor said the move by the federal government while ambitious, is logical and significant given that it'll ensure that the country's on the right track. "It makes sense for all three levels of government to harmonise and be on the same track to net zero emissions."

Cr Cox believes it will be easier for a country as a whole to be moving at the same pace. "Our community has told us how deeply they care about they environment especially after already feeling the severe impacts of climate change in the form of floods and bushfires," she said. Cr Cox believes the community is sensing the urgency of the situation and urging the government to act quickly. The council, Cr Cox said, is looking to work with other levels of government to achieve the target. "The steelworks is the biggest carbon emitter in Wollongong but we don't have the jurisdiction to change that so all levels of government need to work together to do what's good for the environment," she said. There is also a 80 per cent renewable energy target to be achieved by 2030.

"If we are involved in supporting that target and having all of our electricity use switched to renewables in that time, that would get us a really significant way to achieving that target, even though Council itself is not able to do it alone," she said.

Cr Cox said it is not just the government that needs to work as a whole but the community and businesses.

Story by Zaina A Sayeda at the Illawarra Mercury, 14 October 2022.

Wollongong Councillor Mithra Cox said the commercial decision by South32 to walk away from the expansion project was a wake up call for carbon-reliant industries in the Illawarra. "It really underlines the need for us in Australia, and specifically in Wollongong, to have a really good transition plan, because if we don't, this is what it looks like," she said.

"It means new industries and new job opportunities going elsewhere, rather than that transition being an integral part of our community, and those jobs staying here."

Story in the Illawarra Mercury, 23 August 2022.

Wollongong Council unanimously adopted its Climate Change Adaptation Plan at Monday night’s meeting.

Former Wollongong councillor and Illawarra Green George Takacs spoke to the council at the beginning of its meeting, urging them to see the plan as the starting point, rather than an end point. “Council must integrate climate change adaptation into everything it does otherwise it runs the risk of adapting on one and maladapting on the other.”

Greens councillor Mithra Cox said she was encouraged by the council’s adoption of the plan, but she said climate change was an issue which is already causing havoc across the country. “The report is bleak, unambiguous and terrifying,” Cr Cox said.

 

Wollongong Mayor Gordon Bradbery pushed through a motion to pressure building sites to better manage sediment and run-off, especially during rain events. Wombarra Vista townhouse construction site was fined $8000 in accordance with NSW Government‘s Protection of the Environment Operations Act, the maximum penalty. Councillor Cath Blakey said the sanction was “pretty cheap” and asked for Council to write to the Environment Minister Matt Kean to seek an increase in the penalty that was “appropriate to the community’s expectation of seriousness”.  The mayor agreed with Cr Blakey and the motion was unanimously passed.

 

Story by Dylan Arvela in the Daily Telegraph, 15 March 2022.

The threat to BlueScope's steelworks should the Dendrobium mine not be extended has been overblown, Councillor Cath Blakey said. See the full news item.