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

Katrina Hodgkinson is the Nationals candidate for Whitlam, the Commonwealth Electoral Division covering Shellharbour City Council, Wingecarribee Shire Council, and part of the Wollongong City Council LGA. 

To enrol to vote or update your details, visit the Australian Electoral Commission's website.

Please tell us a bit about yourself.

I have two children, both in their twenties, and both very different. My daughter has a double degree in Law and International Relations from UOW and my son is a song writing musician. I also have a very old black cat and a brown kelpie dog. The cat has absolute control of the house!

I love bushwalking, especially in our national parks. We’re so lucky in the Whitlam electorate with our beautiful and diverse national and regional parks, stretching between the coast and the highlands, and I’ve been lucky enough to walk through many of them with bushwalking groups over the years.  I’m particularly passionate about Killalea and I will do whatever it takes to protect and conserve its natural and cultural integrity. 

I have over 18 years' experience as a Member of the NSW Parliament, including as Minister for Primary Industries, Minister for Small Business, and Assistant Minister for Tourism and Major Events. I served as the first Parliamentary Secretary for Southern NSW, Chair of the NSW Investment Committee, as a member of the NSW Public Accounts Committee, and as a Shadow Minister.

Prior to being elected the Member for Burrinjuck, I worked in Parliament House in Canberra as an adviser in the Howard Government with the Special Minister of State and Minister for Industry, Science and Resources. Before that I ran a retail operation with shops in Bowral and Yass specialising in all-Australian wool and fine arts. As anyone who has started a small business will identify with, everyone else gets paid first, so to help pay the bills I also worked part-time as an instructor at Illawarra Colleges of TAFE in Business and Retail Studies.

After leaving State Parliament in late 2017, I worked as the National Director of Government and Regulatory Affairs at Australia’s Academic and Research Network, which helps deliver the specialised needs of Australia's research and education sector and which pioneered the internet in Australia.

I served on the Board of the Australian Rail Track Corporation for several years, chairing both their Environment Health and Safety and the People and Performance Committees. I’ve served on other boards in sectors ranging from mining to philanthropy, property, and small business. 

I hold a Master of Business Administration, and I’m a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. I have been a Justice of the Peace in NSW for the past 34 years and I’m a former Secretary of the Year!

What inspired you to enter politics?

I first put up my hand because I was alarmed at the amount of need in our community. I saw that every day while I was working in my shop “The Sheep’s Back.” People from all walks of life would come in to talk about their problems. I enjoy talking with people and trying to help them. This should be the bread and butter of an MP, and it’s what has always guided me. I was also serving the community on a lot of local boards and committees in the Bowral area, including the Tourism Board, Economic Development Association, Police Citizens’ Committee, and Chamber of Commerce, and given great encouragement to put my skills to a broader use.

I first ran for the NSW seat of Southern Highlands (from Hill Top and Mittagong through to Goulburn and Gunning and everything in between) in 1996, while I was working in my shop. That was a by-election caused by the resignation of former Premier John Fahey.  I wasn’t elected, but was proud to have secured the highest primary vote of any candidate.

After that, I wanted to gain a bit more experience, so I went to work as a Ministerial Adviser in the Howard Government.  Three years later, in the 1999 NSW election, I was preselected to contest the seat of Burrinjuck, which had undergone a massive boundary redistribution. I won and was elected, and that was the beginning of my career in politics.

What would be your top 3 priorities if elected?

We all know the cost-of-living pressures that families and businesses have been facing for some time. We need cheaper energy. A sensible energy mix will help lower our bills, which have gone through the roof. We need more affordable housing for both renters and buyers. And we need a healthcare system that looks after all Australians regardless of where they live. People shouldn’t be punished just because they don’t live in big cities. We need a healthcare system with improved Medicare bulk billing rates, and one that provides better mental health support for those in need. That’s why The Nationals in government will help deliver a record $9 billion investment in Medicare.

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

As our region continues to grow, we need infrastructure that is fit for purpose. Labor has taken the Illawarra and Southern Highlands for granted for too long.

We need 21st century infrastructure that allows people to get from A to B quickly and efficiently, spend more time doing the things they love, and less time stuck in traffic.

The Nationals in government delivered the Albion Park Rail Bypass and the duplication of the Princes Highway. While there are many issues I could name that are in need of urgent attention, there is no doubt that we need to turn our attention to Macquarie Pass, which has been a major headache for commuters and the freight industry for decades. We need to look at upgrading this dangerous road which is often closed and suffers from localised flash flooding and landslides.

Why are you the best person for the job?

I am the only candidate who can truly say they will be able to represent the electorate of Whitlam from day one, without training wheels on.  Having worked for years in Parliament House in Canberra I know my way around the building and who’s who in the zoo, and I understand legislation and policy development having worked in State Parliament for nearly two decades.  I have spent much of my life living within this community, and I regularly discuss with people across the length and breadth of the electorate the issues and concerns that they have. I have lived and worked here, both as a small business and small farm owner, and I know a great many of the challenges and opportunities that are involved.

My career as a Member of Parliament taught me about serving my community and helping those who need a hand. It taught me the importance of being a representative who will help everyone who seeks it, regardless of how they voted.

This region has amazing potential, but that potential is not being realised. We need a fresh approach and a new representative. I am asking for your support to be that person. I will work for you relentlessly and I will not let you down.

Read more

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 Carol Berry, Labor candidate for Whitlam
• Q&A with Ben Britton, Liberal candidate for Whitlam
• Q&A with Katrina Hodgkinson, the Nationals candidate for Whitlam