Watch the news report from WIN News, 12 May 2019
And the report from 9 News Illawarrra, 13 May 2010
🌳🌳 GREENS REITERATE SUPPORT FOR STEEL INDUSTRY, BUT NOT COAL 🌚⚙️
The New South Wales Greens have reaffirmed their support for the region's steel industry, despite promising to phase out coal mining within the next 10 years.
The policy has drawn criticism with concerns it would lead to job losses in the region if implemented.
The party's candidate for Keira, Kaye Osborn said the policy does not apply to metallurgical coal used to make steel.
But she said the mining of coal from beneath water catchments should also be phased out.
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Listen to the report from 97.3 ABC Illawarra, 20 March 2019.
The Illawarra Greens have urged planning authorities to enforce the conditions under which a development is approved, and called for a Royal Commission into planning in NSW. Greens MPC David Shoebridge joined Greens Wollongong candidate, Jamie Dixon at Calderwood.
Read the article by Brendan Crabb, in The Illawarra Mercury, 18 March 2019
Read moreCALDERWOODThe Greens are calling for a Royal Commission into Planning to alleviate ongoing headaches for homebuyers at Calderwood.
The conditions would allow greater community consultation, and give planning powers back to local councils.
COMMUNITY action group, Illawarra Rail Fail (IRF) say it would give the transport portfolio to the Greens or Sustainable Australia parties after conducting a survey ranking candidates for next weekend’s NSW election. The Greens supported all the pledges from IRF. But the ALP and Liberal candidates failed to specifically address IRF’s pledges and merely gave an outline of their election policy.
Read the article by Mick Roberts in The Bulli and Clifton Times, 18 March 2019
Read more
Draw: Greens candidate Benjamin Arcioni shook the box in front of Electoral Commission staff Conrad Denyer and Sharon Marsh. Picture: Robert Peet
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Read the article  by Ashleigh Tullis in The Illawarra Mercury, 7 March 2019.
Read moreThe levy creates an incentive for investors to rent out properties, while also producing a recurrent income stream to fund local community housing. Under such schemes, councils partner with state governments to ensure that the additional levy is applied to residential properties that have been vacant for a considerable period of time.Â
"Let's turn these empty houses into homes", says Cr Blakey.
Read the article by Brendan Crabb, The Illawarra Mercury, 4 March 2019
Read moreIllawarra Greens candidates are calling on major political parties to match their party's election commitment to phase out single-use plastics in the state by 2023. On Tuesday, candidates announced the Greens' Plan for a Plastic Free Sea which would also see the immediate ban of plastic bags, straws, polystyrene containers and microbeads if the party is elected to government on March 23.
Read the article by Ashleigh Tullis in The Illawarra Mercury, 6 March 2019Â
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Protect Our Water Alliance shed light on the "escalating damage"Â to Sydney's water catchment from coal mining at a water forum on Wednesday. More than 150 people heard from guest speakers who explained how coal mining can contaminate catchment rivers and creeks, even years after mining activity is stopped.
Kaye Osborn, Keira candidate for the Greens was one of the speakers at the forum
Read the report by Ashleigh Tullis in The Illawarra Mercury, 15 February 2019
Read moreGreens NSW MLP Cate Faehrman joined Greens candidates for the coming elections to put forward ideas for how there could be a modern transport system for Wollongong. The ALP and the LNP are a bit more vague.
Imagine, a train stopping at Wollongong station every ten minutes - or even a light rail running through Dapto...That's the plan being investigated by the Greens party, as part of an ambitious feasibility study, of public transport in the Illawarra.
Watch the 9 News Illawarra Report
Kaye Osborn, the Greens candidate for the seat of Keira, said her party supported all four election priorities the Cancer Council has identified in its Saving Life 2019 campaign.
These included:
Strengthening the Smoke-free Environment Act to ensure that people working or socialising in bars and clubs in NSW are protected from second-hand smoke.
Amending the Public Health (Tobacco) Act to ban tobacco vending machines and introduce an annual licence fee to encourage retailers to stop selling.
Reducing junk food advertising.
Funding for public lymphoedema services across NSW.
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Read the report by Agron Latifi in The Illawarra Mercury, 12 Feb 2019
Read moreWollongong football fanatics could be cheering on female soccer players from around the world at WIN Stadium if the Illawarra Greens get their way.
Greens councillor Mithra Cox will ask Wollongong City Council to lobby to become a host city for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The Football Federation Australia with the federal government announced a bid last year for Australia to host the international tournament. Cr Cox along with the Greens candidate for Keira Kaye Osborn and candidate for Heathcote Mitchell Shakespeare launched their campaign for Wollongong council to lobby the state and federal governments and FFA to become a host city if Australia wins the bid.
Read the article by Ashleigh Tullis in the Illawarra Mercury, 11 February 2019
Read moreGreens Councillor Cath Blakey made history in Wollongong Council chamber when she breastfed her baby in a council meeting.
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Read the report in the Illawarra Mercury for 31 January 2018, p10.
Greens Councillor Cath Blakey made history by breastfeeding her two month old baby in a Wollongong Council Meeting. She spoke while doing this, and Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery gave her permission to remain seated while speaking. Let's hope that there are more occasions when women can be politicians and mothers without unnecessary obstacles.
View the 9 News Illawarra report, 31 January 2019
The Illawarra Local Aboriginal Land Council and other community groups have ramped up their opposition to a plan which would see mountain bike riding legalised on Mount Keira. A plan to create an 82km network of mountain bike trails on Mount Keira, Mount Kembla and Balgownie aims to formalise a range of existing trails. Land council executive officer Paul Knight said the Aboriginal voice and others groups had been silenced in the planning of the strategy.
Members of the land council, National Parks Association, Illawarra Birders, Keiraville Community Preschool, Friends of the Botanic Gardens, Illawarra Greens, Native Plants Association, the Wilderness Society and others do not want the trails to be formalised.
Greens candidate for Keira Kaye Osborn said the Illawarra Greens supported mountain biking as a sport but did not believe Mount Keira was the right location for trails: “Mount Keira is an area of great cultural and spiritual significance for Aboriginal people and there are a number of unique ecosystems, and animals and plants that depend on those ecosystems. Mountain biking has the potential to damage those. There are a lot of groups that use this mountain. The proposal is incompatible with the groups that appreciate and enjoy the mountain. Mount Keira deserves our protection, preservation and our respect.”
Read the article by Ashleigh Tullis in The Illawarra Mercury, 18 December 2018
Read moreIndigenous leaders and community groups have joined forces to voice their concerns about a proposed network of mountain bike trails across the Illawarra escarpment.
The alliance comes days out from the close of submissions on 2 draft plans, on the management of Mt Keira at both State and Local Government level.
Kaye Osborn, Greens State Candidate for Keira, was there. The Greens support the decision of Aboriginal Land Council.
Watch the report from Win News
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On 12 December Greens candidate for the state seat of Wollongong, Ben Arcioni, joined Greens Councillor Cath Blakey, and the Illawarra Shoalhaven NSWNMA in calling for increased staffing in our hospitals and maternity wards.
After a recent stay at Wollongong Hospital’s maternity unit, Greens Councillor Cath Blakey knows all too well the pressures placed on staff. That’s why she’s added her support to a NSW Nurses and Midwives Association (NSWNMA) campaign to highlight “dangerous” staff shortages within the state’s maternity wards.
Staff from 10 NSW public hospitals – including Wollongong – have backed an open letter to Health Minister Brad Hazzard, urging the NSW Government to implement mandated staff-to-patient ratios in maternity services in all hospitals. They claim that the current staffing system allows ongoing unfilled vacancies, which places mothers and their babies at risk and puts additional strain on staff and hospital resources.Â
Read the article by Linda Wachsmuth (was in the print edition 13 Dec 2018)
Read moreIllawarra Greens member, Jeremy Park, from Thirroul, was more than happy to defy the prime minister and let his son Leo “walk out” of primary school as an act towards saving the planet. The eight-year-old – accompanied by his dad and a giant placard –was one of 5000 people protesting in Sydney’s Martin Place on Friday against the federal government's climate change policies, in the schoolchildren's Strike 4 Climate Action.
Read the article by Desiree Savage in The Illawarra Mercury. 1 Dec 2018 (print edition 3 Dec)
Read moreWollongong City Council needs to improve bus shelters in the southern suburbs, according to the Greens candidate in this Saturday’s Ward 3 byelection. Greens candidate Jamie Dixon said improved bus shelters in the southern suburbs would encourage people to use public transport.
Read the article by Glenn Humphries In The Illawarra Mercury, 22 November 2018
Read moreYou may or may not have noticed there are a lot of street names in Wollongong that recognise dead white men. And there are very few that are named after women or Indigenous people. Greens Councillor Mithra Cox noticed, and now Wollongong City Council has realised and is going to change it.
Councillors voted, at Monday’s council meeting, to amend the Road Naming Policy to use relevant local, cultural, historic or natural themes when naming road to ensure there is gender equality.
Read the article by Ashleigh Tullis in The Illawarra Mercury, 22 Nov 2018
Read moreOn Monday 19 March, council resolved to install surveillance cameras at Woonona beach in an attempt to stop the ongoing vegetation vandalism. If that doesn’t work, large billboard signs will be erected in 12 months. Greens Councillor Mithra Cox is one of those trying to stop vandalism at the beach.
The Greens candidate in the Wollongong by-election is Jamie Dixon.
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ABOUT JAMIE
For 15 years I have worked as an alpaca shearer, with contracts across 4 states of Australia, and in 8 other countries.
This has provided me with fantastic opportunities to experience both the diversity, and the commonalities, of many people and cultures, from all walks of life.
This kind of work requires extensive forethought and planning, as well as dedication, commitment, and adaptability - all qualities I plan to bring to my role as councillor.
I am now studying psychology online through Charles Sturt University in preparation for a career change, and am already experiencing the benefits that this brings in understanding my community, as well as communicating its needs publicly.
WHY ARE YOU STANDING FOR ELECTION?
I joined the Greens especially because of the Greens guiding principle of equity and social justice.
These are the two greatest building blocks of any fair society, but they are sorely lacking in all levels of government today.
I feel incredibly lucky that the opportunities I have had in life are now giving me the chance to ensure that all the communities of southern Wollongong can find safety and security in their home and work.
PITCH TO VOTERS
The people of Southern Wollongong are bearing the brunt of Federal and State government's obsession with feeding the economy at any cost.
Overdevelopment, and privatisation of essential services, including power, transport, and health, leave us all feeling forgotten.
The focus has to be brought back to the needs of the community.
Local government is the primary provider of community infrastructure, and Wollongong City Council must acknowledge that other levels of government guide the economy, but only local government can nurture and support our neighbourhoods.
BIG ISSUES
WEBSITE/SOCIAL MEDIA
Read about all the candidates in The Illawarra Mercury, 19 November 2018.
Read moreWollongong’s restrictive rules on food trucks could be eased under a new proposal from Greens councillor, Mithra Cox. The tucker trucks have been a global phenomenon in recent years, riding the wave of popularity for casual eats and small, pop-up venues.
Greens councillor Mithra Cox has a motion before next Monday’s meeting of Wollongong City Council to review the rules and process for gaining approval for a food truck.
Read the article by Ben Langford in The Illawarra Mercury, 15 November 2018
Read moreMining under Illawarra’s water catchments will be phased out in 10 years if the Greens get their way. That is one of the policies Illawarra Greens candidates will be campaigning for in the lead up to the next state and federal elections.
Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi announced the “diverse team” of an industrial engineer, two university professionals, an economics student and a shearer, who hope to fly the flag for the Greens in Parliament.
Read the article by Ashleigh Tullis in The Illawarra Mercury, 9 November 2018
Read moreWard One Greens Councillor Mithra Cox is calling for greater diversity when it comes to naming new streets in the Northern Illawarra and across Wollongong. Cr Cox says in her time in Council, they’ve only been given the option to name streets  after fourteen men, one woman and using just one Aboriginal word.
“In Wollongong there are six streets named after an Albert, eight after a James, four after a David, nine variations on Robert and a ridiculous fifteen variations on George (including George Fuller, George Hanley, George Cheadie, George Evans and George Tate)." said Councillor Cox. “If you judged us by our street names, you would assume that there were either hardly any women living in our city, or that they made no contribution to our public life."
Read the article in Northern Illawarra, 1 November 2018
Read moreRead and hear the report form 97.3 ABC Illawarra
The Greens want a new bin collection system for Wollongong that will see food scraps and organic material be put in the green bin and collected weekly. The FOGO system has been implemented in councils across the country, and would create nutrient rich compost, which could be sold or used in the community.
Residents will be allowed to put food waste in their green-lidded bin if the Greens councillors and candidate for Wollongong City Council get their way. Councillor Mithra Cox wants Wollongong Council to introduce a food organics service so food waste is composted not dumped in landfill. Jamie Dixon, who is vying for a seat on the council in the upcoming ward three byelection, has launched a petition calling on Wollongong Council to adopt a Food Organics and Garden Organics service.
Sign the petition if you agree!
Read the article by Ashleigh Tullis in The Illawarra Mercury, 24 October 2018.
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