User Profile

Jeremy Lasek

Jeremy Lasek has many decades of experience in media, marketing, events and PR. His career began in the Illawarra with the Lake Times, ABC Radio and WIN-TV. For eight years Jeremy was news director for WIN in Canberra and was national news director before joining the National Capital Authority as head of media and events. Jeremy was executive director of ACT Government Communications, Events, Arts, Heritage and Protocol for many years, was Chief of Staff to the ACT Chief Minister and had responsibility for the Centenary of Canberra celebrations in 2013. Before returning to Wollongong, Jeremy was CEO of the National Australia Day Council (including the Australian of the Year Awards) and head of communications for the Australian Federal Police. Jeremy is a member of the Friends of Woolyungah Indigenous Centre at UOW and a regular contributor to the Illawarra Flame.

News

‘This was no industrial accident, it was a mining tragedy’: remembering the Mt Kembla mining disaster

On a cold, rainy Thursday evening close to 200 people gathered at Windy Gully in the bush above Mount Kembla, just as they have for more than 120 years, to remember the 96 lives lost in Australia’s worst mining disaster. In the still of the evening...

Jeremy Lasek

1 hour ago

News

Big northern Illawarra recruitment drive to ready our Rural Fire Service for the next bushfire season

An ageing volunteer workforce and the growing threat of a major bushfire in the region has prompted one of the biggest targeted recruitment drives in the history of the local Rural Fire Service (RFS). Group Officer for the Illawarra-Sutherland RFS...

Jeremy Lasek

August 2025

News

A victory for people power: the ‘missing’ Mount Ousley interchange bridge finally confirmed

‘People power’ has finally triumphed in the battle to see a significant shared path overbridge reinstated to the massive $390-million Mount Ousley interchange road construction project. The bridge was in the original project plans but in March 2024...

Jeremy Lasek

July 2025

News

Should Council follow other Australian cities and ban e-scooter hire?

In six months time, Wollongong Council has a big decision to make. Will it confirm e-scooter hire as a part of our lives long term or follow the lead of other major Australian cities by banning them. It was in late 2023 that Council approved...

Jeremy Lasek

July 2025

News

‘The Wollongong Walkout’: Councillors storm out of national conference over ‘shocking’ speech

It’s been described as ‘The Wollongong Walkout’. In unprecedented scenes, all five Wollongong Council delegates, including the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor, stormed out of the recent National Local Government Association (ALGA) Congress over what’s been described as a “shocking” keynote speech.

Jeremy Lasek

July 2025

Review

Mama Mia! Fabulous new Italian restaurant opens in iconic Wollongong location

It’s been a remarkable month for two of our region’s most loved restaurateurs. July kicked off with Maria Luciani and Keana Lufe winning the 2025 Outstanding Restaurant Award at the Illawarra and South Coast Local Business Awards. On Saturday night...

Jeremy Lasek

July 2025

News

Wollongong’s peace movement is ‘a movement of the heart’, says activist Alexander Brown

With much of the world at war, a Port Kembla-based historian, activist and academic, Alexander Brown, posed the question “How can we make Wollongong a city of peace?” during his address at Wollongong Library on Monday night. In a wide-ranging talk...

Jeremy Lasek

July 2025

News

Ban on e-bikes on trains will have massive economic impact, damage tourism, says Cr Whittaker

Plans by the NSW Government to place a ban on people taking e-bikes, e-scooters and e-skateboards on trains between Wollongong and Sydney will be an economic and tourism disaster and a major inconvenience for hundreds of local commuters, Greens...

Jeremy Lasek

July 2025

News

Bush care volunteers outraged by ‘disgraceful act of wanton vandalism’

Vandals have desecrated a little piece of inner suburban bush paradise and those who’ve created and care for the area are angry. More than 30 years ago, a small but dedicated group of locals decided to turn an area covered in kikuyu and lantana into...

Jeremy Lasek

July 2025

Food & Travel

All aboard to enjoy this Wollongong couple’s music-themed holiday of a lifetime

Everyone has their own dream of undertaking the trip of a lifetime. A luxury cruise perhaps. A wildlife safari. Getting close to nature at the pristine Galapagos Islands. The Illawarra Flame has uncovered details of the most remarkable ‘themed...

Jeremy Lasek

July 2025

News

What’s happened to Wollongong’s most loved beach?

Arguably our city’s most loved beach, North Gong has had a terrible 2025 so far. Earlier in the year, for many weeks the beach was covered in thick matted seaweed, making swimming an unpleasant experience. More recently, for well over a month, the...

Jeremy Lasek

July 2025

Clubs & Community

Why should we of the Illawarra care about what’s happening in Gaza?

This Thursday, at sunrise, a group of mainly women will gather for the 20th monthly Solidarity at Sunrise Breakfast in support of the women and girls in Gaza caught up in a humanitarian tragedy. Former Wollongong Citizen of the Year, Sally...

Jeremy Lasek

July 2025

News

Girl power leads the way to win global robotics fame in Texas, and a big new local award

Amidst wild scenes, an Illawarra robotics team representing 20 regional schools went “ballistic” with “lots of screaming” when they were named the best of the best against 600 teams made up of some of the world’s smartest young minds. With the...

Jeremy Lasek

July 2025

Health & Wellness

Exercise and healthy diet the key to avoiding diabetes

“Keep moving”! That’s the simple advice on how we can try to avoid getting diabetes from a Wollongong-based expert. During National Diabetes Week (13-19 July) Diabetes Australia is highlighting the importance of prevention, to reduce adding to the...

Jeremy Lasek

July 2025