Vision for the Illawarra, a region that looks after its own

In this op ed, Neil Reilly, a former mayor of Kiama, reflects on belonging, trust, and a fair return for the Illawarra

There is a growing sense across the Illawarra that the cost of living is no longer just a financial struggle, but a social one. When essentials become harder to afford, the first things people cut are often the ones that connect them to community.

A coffee with friends, a club membership, a volunteer shift. Day by day, the cost of living becomes the cost of belonging, and belonging matters.
It is the invisible infrastructure that holds the Illawarra together, stronger than steel, older than coal, and more renewable than wind or sun.

Belonging doesn’t run on good intentions alone. It needs trust.

Trust that governments will listen, trust that communities can shape their own future, trust that when the Illawarra carries state-wide responsibilities, through its port, its heavy industry, its energy projects, the benefits will flow back to the people who live here.

Right now, that trust is strained.

The Illawarra powers New South Wales in more ways than we realise.
Port Kembla brings in thousands of imported vehicles, delivering revenue to the state. Transport corridors, energy infrastructure and industrial sites place daily demands on our environment and neighbourhoods. And now, with offshore wind zones, green industry and the energy transition ahead, our region will shoulder responsibilities that benefit the state far beyond Illawarra’s borders.

So, to me, the question is simple:

If the Illawarra generates value for the state, shouldn’t a fair share of that value return to the Illawarra?

This is neither an ideology nor a welfare debate. It’s a question of regional equity, and a chance to show that trust can be repaid with dignity.

Imagine a policy that gave every Illawarra household a little more financial breathing room. Not a windfall. Not a handout. A modest, guaranteed local return from the economic activities hosted here, energy, ports, transport, and industry.

Call it what it is: a local dividend.

A dividend that lowers everyday costs. A dividend that keeps people connected. A dividend that strengthens community life.

It could come in many forms:

• Lower local transport costs, funded by a portion of port fees or regional energy revenue
• Energy credits that reduce power bills and reward home-grown renewables
• Co-op grants that grow local food and repair networks
• Support for carers, volunteers and community groups who keep the region running
• Housing-retrofit support that cuts energy costs for renters and owners

Each is small on its own. Together they form a powerful idea: If you belong to the Illawarra, the Illawarra belongs to you.

And here’s the political truth: The state seats of Keira, Wollongong, Shellharbour and Kiama form a contiguous ALP belt. Four Labor MPs whose electorates share the same pressures, the same coastline, the same economics, and the same opportunity.

If ever a region where a local dividend could be championed, tested, and proven, it’s here.

With political unity across all of our four seats, the Illawarra could become the first region in NSW to adopt the idea that belonging is worth investing in. It avoids the political baggage of “universal basic income”, yet quietly achieves many of the same goals:

• Economic security
• Social participation
• Community strength
• Local autonomy
• Dignity without bureaucracy

The Illawarra has always been a place of shared effort, storms weathered, projects built, futures imagined together.

A local dividend simply recognises what we already know: we are a region that looks after its own.