Local government elections will be held on September 14, 2024.

As part of our series featuring Wollongong's candidates for Lord Mayor, Greens candidate Jess Whittaker answers questions.

Please introduce yourself to our readers.

Hi! I’m Jess and I was born and grew up in Bulli & I now live in a great little village, Port Kembla, with my husband and two wonderful daughters. I work as a paramedic in the Illawarra and volunteer as a dunecare coordinator at Port Kembla Beach and as the Vice President of the Port Kembla Chamber of Commerce. Besides bike riding, surfing, bushcare, and live music [you’ve got to love the talented musicians and performers we have in the city] I spend most of my time with my family & friends. As a working mum, you might understand how hectic life can get.

Why are you the best person to be Wollongong’s next Lord Mayor?

Our city is, simply, wonderful with beautiful beaches, majestic escarpment and strong communities. If I’m elected Lord Mayor I would bring fresh green ideas and a bold vision for a welcoming, fun city with interesting and exciting things to do and see, a city that looks after its community and its environment, and is easy to get around. I also want to see Wollongong refresh its once thriving nightlife. Wollongong can also become a region that embraces new industries in the renewable energy industry and the jobs that will come as we make the transition to a Net Zero nation.

What would be your top priorities if elected to the city’s top job?

As a new Lord Mayor I’d work to:

• Build footpaths, pedestrian crossings and cycleways

• Revitalise our nightlife by creating a dedicated position for Night Time Mayor.

• Provide secure bike parking and push for Opal-activated bike sheds.

• Encourage urban farming and community gardens to increase our local food security and build communities that say hi to their neighbours. 

• Support new housing developments with affordable housing

• Push the State government to give us more trains, more buses on the weekend and broaden free public transport options like the Gong Shuttle.

• Invest in skateparks and spaces for young people.

• Open our Libraries and Art Gallery all weekend.

If you could deliver one key project in your first term, what would it be?

I’d like to continue the work of our previous two Greens councillors and see the budget for walking and cycling in the city increased again by funding new footpaths, shared pathways, pedestrian crossings and cycleways. We need to increase the pace of roll out of the safe routes to school program so our kids can walk and cycle safely and cross roads at well designed pedestrian crossings. There are so many benefits from improving participation in walking and cycling, and by helping people with low mobility move about easily in our city. 

What's your stance on the Illawarra's energy transition?

As Greens, we’ve been standing with the community demanding action on the climate crisis for decades. Due to inaction from many levels of government, we now have a short window of time to make a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions if we want to avoid the worst effects of climate change. 

Renewable energy projects are climate action. The offshore wind project proposed off the Illawarra is a Federal government initiative. However as a Greens Lord Mayor I will be working to ensure we get a fair deal on an offshore wind farm through the proposed community benefit scheme. I’m proposing that we set up a benefits scheme in a way that will be well managed and deliver exciting sustainable and renewable projects that the community has a say in.

I’d also like to ensure further consultation with the community and with traditional owners is undertaken so as not to cause tension in the community or consultation fatigue amongst people whose voices need to be heard. I’m really keen to ensure environmental impact studies have independent oversight and this information is easily accessible to the community. This will ensure that there are no unreasonable impacts on our incredible and diverse local wildlife.   

Renewable energy is a huge opportunity for our city, to help reduce global emissions by getting off coal and gas as well as providing great employment opportunities in these industries for decades to come. We can’t afford to let it pass us by. 

Why do you want the job?

I just love Wollongong. It’s a fantastic city and we are lucky to call it our home. Wollongong is at a crossroads and we need people with fresh ideas and new energy so we can make our city an easy place to get around with lots of fun and interesting things to do. I think we can do more to look after our community and the environment and we also need to build enough affordable housing so our kids can live and work here in the future.

I want to be Mayor so we can achieve these things together in the next term of council.

Meet Wollongong's mayoral candidates

Tania Brown – Labor

Jess Whittaker – Greens

Andrew Anthony – Independent

Suzanne de Vive – Independent

Ryan Morris – Independent