Cr Docker said the motion that calls on council staff to review its Protocol for Homeless People in Public Places and look for ways to support frontline homelessness services was always planned to be put forward as soon as possible after he was elected.

"100 per cent - in Wollongong, we're beyond the housing crisis," Cr Docker said.

"We're starting to slip into a homelessness crisis. For me, I think the strength of a community is best judged by how they support the most vulnerable. That's why I was bringing this to the floor of council the first chance I got."

"One of the heads of the local providers told me recently that it's much easier for them to turn one of their dwellings into an Airbnb than it is to turn it into crisis and emergency accommodation," Cr Docker said.

"This isn't about big developers providing affordable housing or anything like that. These are about the services which are at the very acute end of this crisis.

"So it's just how can we bring those services online as quickly as possible once those applications hit the council's desk?"

"We need to throw everything we have at that and that includes bringing local government into the mix," he said.

"We need to use our imagination. We need to throw everything at this problem. Otherwise it would be far more costly to deal with down the track."

Cr Docker said he was confident the motion would have the full support of the councillors in this new term.

"Every single one of the councillors which have been elected care about their community and know about this crisis and I'm confident that this will pass," he said.

"I'm asking for a briefing. There's no budgetary impacts, there's no money being spent at the moment.

"This is asking for a briefing and sending a clear signal to staff that this is my intention and that we need a stronger focus in this area."

Story by Glen Humphries in the Illawarra Mercury, 24 October 2024.

Allowing developers to build taller apartment blocks in return for some affordable housing is a step in the wrong direction, according to Greens Wollongong City Council candidate Kit Docker.

Mr Docker opposed the changes, in part because the affordable housing it offered wasn't permanent - there is no obligation to retain it after 15 years.

"It isn't a step in the right direction in terms of giving concessions to developers," Mr Docker said.

"I don't really understand where the benefit is for the community in providing those concessions like allowing for increased density or increased height limits and the pressures that are placed on the city and on infrastructure that [see] the aesthetic of the city change.

"At the end of the day, they can sell those homes off. We need to remember developers, the first chance they will get, they have taken all those concessions from us and they will sell it off for profit."

"Our plan is from 2026, we're going to increase that 3 per cent of floor space to 10 per cent of floor space on large developments to be set aside for affordable housing," Mr Docker said.

"This will increase by 3 per cent year on year until it reaches 30 per cent by 2033. "That's aligning with the current policy but with more ambitious targets. They're still phased in to give developers an opportunity to adapt."

"Wollongong LGA has the second highest demand for homeless services in the entire state," Mr Docker said.

"That is not a title that we should have in a regional city, especially given all of the developments that we are seeing going up, but none are being put aside for the community. "That's why on council under a Greens-led council, we will be pushing for far more ambitious affordable housing targets which will actually match the crisis which we are facing."

Ms Whittaker said there was the chance to have both a vibrant city and one people in the future could afford to live in.

"Part of that is providing affordable housing and making housing accessible to everyone and keeping our communities together," Ms Whittaker said.

"We have a massive opportunity. There's a lot of development that's going to be in the pipeline in the next 10 years in Wollongong.

"If we get this right and we get the targets right, when up-zoning happens, we can do those things and we can keep our communities together."

Story by Glen Humphries in the Illawarra Mercury, 24 July 2024.

Cr Mithra Cox on ABC Illawarra Breakfast with Peter Riley. Starts at 1h 44m (7:15am)

Approving development applications to expand homelessness services should be sped up to cater for their growing need, Greens candidates for Wollongong City Council said.

Ward 2 candidate Kit Docker, who is a volunteer at the Wollongong Homeless Hub, said recent figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare showed Wollongong city had seen a sharp increase in people accessing homelessness services in NSW.

"It's disappointing that in the midst of the housing and cost of living crises, frontline services are having to wait up several months or more for their development applications to be approved," Mr Docker said.

"Applications that are crucial to their ability to meet the growing demand for services. I am urging the council to treat this crisis with the urgency it deserves and prioritise DAs for those services on the frontline of this crisis."

Greens candidate for Lord Mayor Jess Whittaker said a DA for the homeless hub has been "held up in council for months and months."

"If it's something that there's a need for the community, it's recognising that need maybe above other things that are in the list and addressing that by liaising with the homeless services working out what they need and how we need to make it happen so that they have those services available to the community," Ms Whittaker said.

"Just working in partnership with them instead of them being put into the same process as everyone else. They are just such an important service and they're providing so many facilities and food and services to people in our community who are doing it tougher than anyone else.

Last week, the city was rocked by the alleged murder of homeless man Raymond McCormack at the Wollongong train station car park. Ms Whittaker said the Greens call to streamline applications from homelessness services wasn't prompted by that case. "We've been talking about this for a while," she said. "Kit volunteers with the homeless hub and has a really good relationship with them and has been talking to them about this for some time. "It wasn't because of Ray's unfortunate death that we came up with this policy. "We just thought that we had it ready to go and it's a really great time to talk about the need in the community and how desperate the need for services for people who are sleeping rough."

Story by Glen Humphries in the Illawarra Mercury, 19 May 2024.

Councillor Mithra Cox said while Council's ability to intervene in the housing market was limited the scheme had not yet had a significant impact on housing affordability.

"It's an absolute drop in the ocean," she said. "A couple of housing units is really not going to touch the sides, but when you think about how much it costs to buy a house, it's difficult to stretch that money to a lot of people."

Ms Cox said without significant government interventions, which were out of reach of local governments, this would continue to be the case.

"Massively increasing the amount of social housing in the system is one of the key things that would improve housing affordability," she said. "That said, it's outside of council's remit to do that."

Story by Connor Pearce in the Illawarra Mercury, 14 December 2023.

Greens councillor and candidate for Wollongong Cath Blakey today attended the Animal Welfare League NSW - Illawarra Mobile Vet Clinic in Warrawong.

“The vet clinic is offering free health checks, vaccinations and microchipping for pets of low income earners, and Council staff are on hand to support pet owners with animal registration,” said Ms Blakey.

Dr Tonia Gray, Greens candidate for Kiama in the 2023 NSW State Election.

With Lindsay McDougall on ABC Illawarra Drive, 20 March 2023.

From a housing crisis in the Northern suburbs to investing in school infrastructure in the South the party today making its priorities for the region, known. Story by Olivia Blunden at WIN News, 14 March 2023.