The largest centre of the Illawarra region has once again been left out of redefined boundaries for eligibility of some NSW Government funding programs.
Parliamentary Secretary for the Illawarra and South Coast, Gareth Ward MP, has today announced that the Shellharbour local government area will now be included in a new, refined definition of what constitutes the Illawarra region for funding program purposes.
Member for Wollongong, Paul Scully MP, who has campaigned strongly for a consistent definition of what constitutes the ‘Illawarra’ has slammed the redefinition, labelling it “unjustifiable”.
The new redefinition continues to exclude the largest population and economic centre of the Illawarra region – Wollongong.
He also claims the Shellharbour local government area has only been included in the refined ‘Illawarra’ simply because Albion Park, in Mr Ward’s electorate of Kiama, also missed out on funding opportunities.
Wollongong local government area is now completely missing from the definition of the Illawarra for the first time ever.
No community, business, or council entity if based in the Wollongong local government area is eligible to apply for funding programs under a range of NSW Government programs because it remains classified as a ‘metropolitan’ area competing with Sydney CBD, Newcastle, and Western Sydney.
Mr Scully has repeated his call for a new category within funding programs that allows large non-metropolitan centres like Wollongong to gain a fair share of funding programs.
Wollongong – as the Illawarra’s central business and administrative hub – has now been permanently excluded from a share of billions of dollars in NSW Government funding programs.
Comments attributable to Paul Scully MP:
“Let’s be very clear: The Berejikilan Government has only redefined the ‘Illawarra’ to include Shellharbour local government area for one reason – to include Albion Park, which is located in the Kiama electorate.
“This is all about solving a political problem for Mr Ward rather than addressing a policy inconsistency.
“Wollongong local government area is now the biggest centre of the Illawarra and it has been redefined out of the region for blatant political purposes.
“Community and business groups located in the Wollongong local government area have now fallen victim to more inconsistent political decision-making by the Berejiklian Government and have missed out on a share of billions of dollars in funding opportunities.
“The redefinition of the Illawarra, leaving out Wollongong, is simply unjustifiable.”
