"The Greens had a strong showing with one candidate making it onto each ward, and the positions were rounded out with two independent candidates."

Story by Zoe Cartwright in Region Illawarra, 2 October 2024.

Greens' Ms Whittaker contacted Cr Brown on Saturday night to congratulate her on the Lord Mayoral win.

Ms Whittaker said she knew it would be a battle for the Greens to win, but on the figures so far, the party's Lord Mayoral vote has jumped from the 13 per cent in 2021.

"We're stoked," she said of the party's efforts.

"It was a very different election, with everything that went on. But we're really happy with how the campaign went.

"We left it all out there. We did as much as we could do to put a progressive vision to the community and we've gotten a bigger vote for the Greens than we've ever done before."

"It's really exciting," she said.

"We've got a great team in the Illawarra Greens and we all help each other. So I'm not scared because anything that seems hard, we collaborate on and work together to get through it.

"So it's not like I feel like I'm doing it alone. I'm looking forward to meeting people and getting to know all the local issues in depth and getting our policy platform implemented.

"I'm so excited for Deidre and for Ward 3," Ms Whittaker said.

"We've been trying to get a councillor in Ward 3 for almost a decade. It's awesome that people in Ward 3 will have the Greens down there now to represent them.

"Kit's gotten a good vote. So we're hopeful that comes through in pre-poll as well.

"Kit will be an amazing councillor. He's a young renter, he's got heaps of lived experience of how it can be hard for people to live in Wollongong and he's going to bring that to the table for young people and for renters."

Story by Glen Humphries in the Illawarra Mercury, 15 September 2024.

Greens mayoral candidate and paramedic Jess Whittaker was also feeling positive and shared similar sentiments. "Whatever the people decide then that's what I'm happy with," Ms Whittaker said.

"We've had a really good campaign and when all that happened with the Liberals, we just kept doing what we were doing and putting our positive vision for the city out there."

Story by Joel Ehsman and Grace Crivellaro in the Illawarra Mercury, 14 September 2024.

“I've never met a politician who is as connected to her community as Cath!” said the Greens’ Jess Whittaker. “She's the reason I got involved in politics because she made it accessible to a regular person who wants to see positive change. Cath is a gem!”

Jess also paid tribute to outgoing Ward 1 Greens councillor Mithra Cox, “a passionate advocate for climate action and community”.

“She’s a natural leader and a fantastic public speaker. She’s incredibly kind and has been so generous in helping the next bunch of council candidates find their way.”

The man who has led Wollongong for the past 13 years, Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery AM, was Jess’s final choice. “Gordon led Wollongong Council out of some very dark times when restoring integrity and trust was desperately needed. He's championed a collaborative approach to decision making and remained connected to the community and in touch with local issues throughout his time as mayor.”

... And finally, Andrew [Anthony] picked outgoing Ward 2 Greens Councillor Cath Blakey, “who I deeply admired for her commitment to environmental protection and social justice issues”.

“The number one concern for people is affordability of housing, food, power bills and transport,” said the Greens' Jess Whittaker. “Every dollar counts for many families right now.”

Story Genevieve Swart in The Illawarra Flame, 12 September 2024.

Cr Cox said she had noticed, when checking her emails or phone messages that there was "a wave of hatred" in among the genuine requests for help. A wave she said increased during COVID.

"I think the job itself takes its toll," Cr Cox said.

"It's not just the amount of time, but it's also the amount of responsibility and the amount it bleeds into your personal life that it takes.

"It's not really possible to be a private person and go to a festival or go to the pool or go to the shops anymore, and that really takes its toll after a little while."

Cr Cox acknowledged there was a risk in both Wollongong Greens councillors leaving at the same time that it may mean the party not holding onto those two spots. "Of course, that is a concern," Cr Cox said.

"Managing a transition is a challenge. I really hope that we've done it in the best possible way. To leave with grace, to leave willingly, to support the new candidates as they come in and have a public demonstration that we think these people are going to be great.

"So often, you see those transitions can be rocky, and people want to hang on to their position and don't want to go, and it's a challenge."

She added that it was inevitable that the party had to put forward new candidates. "It's difficult to bring in new people that people don't know, but you've got to do it too," Cr Cox said.

"You've got to have new blood. You've got to have new ideas. And I'm well aware that I was never elected because of me - I was elected because of the party."

There was also a segment of voters who will vote Greens because of the party, rather than the candidates, because "people know us, people are pretty clear what we stand for".

"I think we might well actually get a third, and I think we may even get a fourth," she said.

"Partly because there's more votes and there are so few candidates."

Cr Blakey said there was no intra-party fighting that led to all the Greens councillors stepping aside at the same time - it was simply a coincidence.

"The NSW Greens are a federation of local groups, so we each make our decisions independently," Cr Blakey said.

"Actually, the Illawarra Greens had our preselection back in October last year. So I made the decision then not re-contest this council election, before we knew what was happening with any other candidates."

Cr Blakey also acknowledged there was a "risk" involved in putting up new candidates - "it's up to the electors, it's up to the people voting to determine who the council's going to be" - but was confident with the Greens candidates running in Wollongong.

When it comes to new candidates without the same name recognition as the incumbents, Cr Blakey said she was in that situation when she first ran for council in 2017 - and was elected.

"When when I took over and became a city council candidate people expressed the same concern," she said.

"Mithra and I didn't have the same recognition that Jill Merrin and George Takacs had."

Story by Glen Humphries in the Illawarra Mercury, 9 September 2024.

Jess Whittaker – The Greens

Jess is a paramedic and previously ran in the 2021 local government elections. She is a community representative on the Lake Illawarra Coastal Management Plan Implementation Committee.

If elected, she wants to increase investment in footpaths, cycleways and pedestrian crossings, build dedicated youth spaces like skateparks and pump tracks, and revitalise the night-time economy with a position on the council for a Night-Time Mayor.

On Jess’s ticket are candidates Matin Cubby, Stephen Young and Kathryn Broadfoot.

To learn more about Jess and the other Greens members on her ticket, head to: https://www.illawarragreens.org.au/
Instagram – @jesswhitt.

Kit Docker – The Greens

Kit is a policy research assistant for Dr Amanda Cohn MP in NSW Parliament and a support worker for people with disabilities.

If elected, he wants to increase the affordable housing supply by placing fairer mandates on big property developers; increase and bring forward investments that improve accessibility for people living with mobility, including footpaths, pedestrian crossings and active transport solutions; and protect nature and wildlife by investing in initiatives that bring nature back into the city and suburbs.

The other candidates on Kit’s ticket are Harris Cheung, Ali Gerritsen and Theresa Huxtable.

To learn more about Kit, head to: https://www.illawarragreens.org.au/kit_docker_candidate_for_wollongong_city_council_ward_2

Find him on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kitdockergreens/

Or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KitforWollongongcitycouncil/.

Dr Deidre Stuart – The Greens

Deirdre is a university mathematics support tutor, community climate activist and TAFE visual arts student.

She has previously undertaken contract research work for various local governments in environmental science and engineering contexts, as an academic at QUT and later as a senior environmental scientist with Opus International Consultants.

If elected, she will advocate for improved climate resilience for the city, including improved stormwater function, shadier streets and community batteries; safer, cheaper homes and improved community connectivity via a free public bus service for southern suburb and better footpaths, cycleways and public transport services; and work towards a circular economy.

The three other candidates on her ticket are Jamie Dixon, Elena Martinez and George Takacs.

To learn more about Dr Stuart or the other candidates on her ticket, head to:

www.linkedin.com/in/deidre-stuart-a45b5339

Instagram: @deidrestuart_au2500

https://www.illawarragreens.org.au/

Instagram: @illawarra_greens

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IllawarraGreens/

Story by Zoe Cartwright in Region Illawarra, 9 September 2024.

Greens candidate for Lord Mayor and Ward 1 Jess Whittaker is calling for a dedicated position in Council to encourage community gardens, crop swaps and urban farms to boost Wollongong’s resilience and development of local food systems.

Greens candidate for Lord Mayor and Ward 1 Jess Whittaker welcomed the unique opportunity to elect progressive leaders who are committed to their community, action on the climate crisis and tackling the cost of housing.

Story by Alex Mitchell in the Illawarra Mercury, 14 August 2024.

Story in The Illawarra Flame, 6 August 2024.