Ahead of the 2025 Federal Election, the Illawarra Flame is giving all local candidates a chance to share their vision for Australia.

Jamie Dixon is the Liberal candidate for Whitlam, the Commonwealth Electoral Division covering Shellharbour City Council, Wingecarribee Shire Council, and part of the Wollongong City Council LGA.

The election will be held on Saturday, May 3. For more information, visit the Australian Electoral Commission's website.

Please tell us a bit about yourself.

I first came to the electorate in 2000 to work on a farm near Berrima. While there, I learned how to shear and started my own contracting business which grew to encompass 9 countries, five languages, and four different currencies.

I met my wife Kym, a Dapto girl, and moved to the Illawarra in 2004. We have a daughter at Dapto High. Port Kembla is our favourite beach, our favourite fishing spot is on Lake Illawarra. We love the shared bike path around our local section of the Lake, and the best place to take our dog for a walk is along Wyndarra Way near Mount Brown, for the unparalleled views of the southern Illawarra.

I’ve been involved in Bushcare and community cleanups of the Lake foreshore for over 8 years now, and have been a part of community campaigns to prevent the Dapto Jail, the Berrima coal mine, and to protest the export of locally made steel to foreign arms manufacturers.

What inspired you to enter politics?

I’ve always held strong beliefs in the importance of protecting our environment, and caring for Country and community. There came a point over a decade ago where I could no longer stand by and see these principles be laid aside by successive governments in the name of balancing budgets, and looking after the economy.

What would be your top 3 priorities if elected?

Firstly, accessible and affordable housing needs to be recognised as a basic right in a country as wealthy as ours, rather than  just a number in an equity portfolio. Whether it be through tax reform, better access to vocational education, regulation of short term accommodation, or direct public investment in social housing, we need to act now.

Secondly, there will never be a more affordable time, both socially and economically, to transition to renewable energy production. Whether it is in solar farms, offshore wind, pumped hydro, or community batteries, we need to wean ourselves off carbon, and help the workers and communities built around coal and gas to find ongoing benefit within that transition.

Thirdly, we need to treat First Nation’s justice as more than a once in a decade emergency. Closing the gap shouldn’t be about evaluating First Nations culture by European standards. We need government lead recognition of the oldest living culture on Earth, and the enormous benefits to agriculture and land management that First Nations knowledge will bring. We as a country need to recognise the harm that has been done, make our peace with the present, and find a way to move forward together.

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

Without a doubt, the one infrastructure project that will deliver the greatest benefit to the entire region, is the completion of the Maldon-Dumbarton rail link. An electrified twin line link between the manufacturing capacity of Western Sydney, and the export capacity of Port Kembla will be the single biggest driver of employment and economic boom in NSW. It will provide both freight and public transport between two of the fastest growing areas in Australia, and take the burden off our road infrastructure.

Why are you the best person for the job? 

I have shown unwavering support for progressive politics, community, and environment over the last decade of campaigning across local, state, and federal elections. I have friends across the political spectrum, because I have demonstrated the benefit of working within our common ground, rather than arguing about our differences. As a local member, I will not hesitate to work with all sides of politics in, what is destined to be, a minority government, in order to achieve the most positive progress of the next federal parliament.

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The Illawarra Flame puts the same questions to all candidates, giving everyone a chance to share their vision for Australia.

• Q&A with Amanda Ivaneza, Liberal candidate for Cunningham 
• Q&A with Jess Whittaker, Greens candidate for Cunningham 
• Q&A with Alison Byrnes, the current Labor MP for Cunningham
• Q&A with Tim Lavers, the Animal Justice Party's candidate for Cunningham
• Q&A with Carol Berry, Labor candidate for Whitlam
• Q&A with Nathaniel Smith, Liberal candidate for Whitlam
• Q&A with Jamie Dixon, Greens candidate for Whitlam

List updated April 25, 202