Newly elected Wollongong councillor Cath Blakey helped officially launch the Honk! Oz Street Music Festival in the Crown Street Mall on Friday.

Dozens of musicians came together to put on a lunchtime show as a taster for the three day free music festival from January 11 to 13.

Read the article by Desiree Savage in The Illawarra Mercury, 25 November 2017

Local councillors say they’ve already had a flurry of calls and emails from locals opposed to the idea of linking Phillip Street Thirroul to Foothills Rd in Austinmer. Local Greens councillor Mithra Cox says our subtropical rainforest is unique and wonderful and should be protected from development- and that includes more roads! Instead of roads we should improve our rail service and build cycleways. "If we don’t invest in public and active transport, our car use and our traffic congestion will continue to increase.”

Read the article in Northern Illawarra, 23 November 2017

They’ve won it before and the Greens say they can get their hands on the Wollongong federal electorate of Cunningham once more. The seat, which has been held by Labor’s Sharon Bird since 2004, is among seven NSW electorates the party has targeted in an ambitious plan to win 25 lower house seats over the next 25 years.

The Greens most recent challenger for Cunningham, Cath Blakey, polled 14.65 per cent of the primary vote at the 2016 federal election, a swing of 3.3 per cent towards the party.Ms Blakey was elected to Wollongong City Council in September and said her foremost focus was on being a councillor.

 “We know there’s a lot of support from the community for the Greens, but we’re mindful we’ve got to get stuff done locally,” she said.“We’re not in the electoral game just for the election. We actually want to get stuff done locally to make a difference to our lives.”

Read the article by Andrew Pearson in The Illawarra Mercury, 21 November 2017

Buttenshaw Drive at Austinmer could become an alternative main road to relieve the festering congestion along Lawrence Hargrave Drive, says the Greens – And they’re not happy.

Labor councillor Jenelle Rimmer put a motion to Council on Monday night to investigate options for building more roads in Thirroul, Bulli and Austinmer, which was supported by all the Labor and Liberal councillors and opposed by the two Greens councillors, Mithra Cox and Cath Blakey.

Read the article by Mick Roberts in The Bulli Times

All the councillors in Wollongong are united in their opposition to the State Government's decision to ace the Free Green bus in Wollongong.

Read here the response from Greens State MP, Mehreen Faruqi.

Users of the free Gong Shuttle have reacted angrily to news they’ll soon have to pay for the service. Comments from Greens MP Mehreen Faruqi and Councillor Cath Blakey said it was a "stab in the back for the local community".

Read the article by in The Illawarra Mercury, 1 November 2017

Wollongong Council wants to sell off 5 suburban plots that are currently public land. Council voted in favour 10:2 -- the 2 who opposed it were the two Greens Councillors, Cath Blakey and Mithra Cox.

Read the article by Kate McIlwain in The Illawarra Mercury, 31 October 2017

Great outcome for Councillor Mithra Cox's first motion -- the council will fly the rainbow flag until 17 November.

Read the report by Kate McIlwain, The Illawarra Mercury, 30 October 2017

 The proposal by Greens Councillor Mithra Cox, that the rainbow flag should be flown on the Council Building until after the result of the postal survey, was passed 8:4, with heartfelt personal support from Labor Councillor Tania Brown.

Read the article by Agron Latifi in The Illawarra Mercury, 21 October 2017

Wollongong Council has last night (October 30) unanimously agreed to make representations to the RMS for the installation of a pedestrian crossing across Lawrence Hargrave Drive near Henley Rd in Thirroul. The motion was proposed by Councillor Leigh Colacino and accepted by all councillors.

Ward One Councillor Mithra Cox is delighted with the outcome. “I think there is a strong appetite amongst all of us to work together to get a good outcome on this,” she says.  “We will now wait for to staff to draft that letter and hopefully organise a date.”

Read the article from Norther Illawarra, 30 October 2017

Greens Ward 1 Councillor Mithra Cox will call on Wollongong City Council to raise the rainbow flag above its headquarters as the marriage equality postal survey enters its final days. In her first notice of motion, Mithra has asked her colleagues to support her push to fly the LGBTQI symbol as a show of support for diversity across the city.

While motivated by the same-sex marriage postal survey, Ms Cox said her motion was “not advocating a Yes vote” –but was a show of support in a “difficult time”.

Read the article by Kate McIlwain in The Illawarra Mercury, 25 October 2017.

Hundreds have rallied against the cut of the budgets of National Parks and Wildlife. About $120m has been cut off the budget. Graham Burgess, National Parks Association Illawarra, says it will increase illegal activity. National Parks and Wildlife has stated that it will employ an additional 119 frontline employees, and is committed to maintaining and upgrading local walking tracks.

Watch report on 9 News Illawarra, 19 October, 2014

University of Wollongong student Josh Bell is ‘’ecstatic’’ the Senate has passed a Greens/ALP motion calling on the government to abandon plans to cut public subsidies to university enabling programs and introduce fees for students for the first time.

Bell, the UOW Greens on Campus convenor said Wollongong and the Illawarra did not need the government making it harder for people to get an education.

Read the report by Agron Latifi in The Illawarra Mercury, 19 October 2017

The Public Service Association (PSA) fears the NSW Government’s restructuring of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) will cut jobs and jeopardise public safety.‘’The government is this year alone cutting another $121 million from the budget of NPWS,’’ PSA Illawarra regional co-ordinator Tony Heathwood said. Greens Ward 1 Councillor Mithra Cox was among those at a rally to support them.

Read the report by Agron Latifi in The Illawarra Mercury, 20 October 2017.

Funding cuts to the National Parks is causing traffic problems in Austinmer, as Sublime Point becomes increasingly popular with sightseers and local exercisers.

That’s according to Greens Councillor Mithra Cox who says the cost-cutting is affecting local residents, our bushland is suffering and deer and weeds are spreading through our fragile ecosystem.

Read the Northern Illawarra report, 18 October 2017.

Two young women, Mithra Cox and Cath Blakey, are set to become Wollongong’s two new Greens councillors.

Ms Cox, from Corrimal, gained 22.5 per cent of the formal vote on Sunday afternoon, which will see her easily elected in the northern suburbs.In central Wollongong, Ms Blakey had just under the required 20 per cent of the vote, which will get her across the line. These results are well up on the 2011 election, when the party got about 13 per cent of the primary vote in wards 1 and 2.

Read Kate McIlwain's article in The Illawarra Mercury, September 10 2017

 Watch Mithra Cox on Win News, 6 September 2017, talking about how to encourage a lively, creative and safe nightlife economy.

 WIN News Illawarra

 The revitalisation of Mount Keira Summit, cruise ships, a state-funded upgrade of the WIN Entertainment Centre and a boost to Wollongong’s bushwalks and cycling facilities have emerged as top tourism priorities for those running in Saturday’s election.

 Read the article, by Kate McIlwain, in the Illawarra Mercury, 7 September 2017

But the Greens mayoral contender Mithra Cox says she, if elected to lead the city, would seek to put a “Night Mayor” in charge of firing up Wollongong after dark.

Based on a concept started in Amsterdam – and used in London, Paris and Zurich – the Night Mayor would be a part time role to help speed up approvals for bars, galleries and restaurants.

 Read the article, by Kate McIlwain,  6 September 2017 (front page on print edition)

Ben Langford, of the Illawarra Mercury, says that "the call from the Greens to ramp up the money Wollongong City Council spends on footpaths, making it safer for kids to walk to school, is spot on."

Read the article in The Illawarra Mercury, August 31 2017

His partner and long-time love Peter Bonsall-Boone died as a ‘’second-class citizen’’.Now legendary gay rights activist Peter De Waal is on a mission to ensure no-one else misses the boat on marriage. On Wednesday he showed up at the University of Wollongong with his grandson Jamil Badi by his side, to speak at the Yes to Marriage Equality! rally.

 Stamping out illegal dumping, capping rate rises and shutting down skydiving operations in Stuart Park are some of the proposals being put forward by those hoping to become Wollongong’s next Lord Mayor.

Greens Lord Mayoral candidate, Mithra Cox, wants to boost council staff union membership and ensure safe footpaths for children to get to school

Read the article by Kate McIlwain, and follow the links to see what they say about housing.

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Many schoolchildren across Wollongong have no choice but to walk along the road due to a lack of footpaths, Greens Lord Mayoral candidate Mithra Cox says.

The Corrimal mother, who says footpaths and cycleways are a key policy of her party ahead of the September 9 election, says she was contacted by a number of parents about their children’s “dangerous” walk to school.

Read Kate McIlwain's article in The Illawarra Mercury. 28 August 2017

Seventy four per cent of Wollongong and Shellharbour council candidates who answered a Mercury survey say they plan to vote yes in the postal vote on same-sex marriage.

This included all Labor and Greens respondents, incumbent Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery, respondents from Shellharbour’s ALP-member independents and all of Vicki Curran’s Wollongong independent group.

Read Kate McIlwain's report in the Illawarra Mercury

Greens candidate Joshua Bell joined Labor council candidates and Lord Mayor David Bradbery at a rally to call on the council to hoist the rainbow flag on its Burelli street headquarters, to signal support for marriage equality. Joshua said that  the issue has broad support from across political parties.

 “It’s not just a Labor issue, we’re all here to stand together in solidarity,” he said.

Read Kate McIlwain's article in The Illawarra Mercury, 21 August 2017

In the lead-up to the council elections, the Illawarra Greens have outlined a proposed ‘Empty Homes Levy’ to raise funds for affordable housing. 

Read Brendan Crabb's article in the Illawarra Mercury. in print edition 21 August 2017

Over the next 21 days, the residents of Wollongong and Shellharbour will be asked to consider the views and qualifications of 98 people who are seeking their votes at the September 9 council election.

The Mercury has asked each team the same questions. It's your choice -- see what they say.

Read Kate McIlwain's article in The Illawarra Mercury, 19 August 2017.

 Greens MP David Shoebridge says the new Headlands Hotel is a 'monstrosity' and testament to a bad planning system.
The manager, Andrew Biggs, says the place is so popular, there are days when the hotel simply can't cope.
Monstrosity or icon? Which is it?

97.3 ABC Illawarra reported on it today.

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