Mr Foley and members of his frontbench - including deputy opposition leader Linda Burney, shadow treasurer Michael Daley and spokesman for industry, resources and energy Adam Searle - stayed overnight at The Sebel Kiama Harbourside on Thursday, for a "policy-planning" retreat.

The secrecy of their visit, Mr Foley's first to the region since he spruiked Labor's $380 million Illawarra Infrastructure Investment Fund before the March 28 election, angered Liberal Kiama MP Gareth Ward. "They came with nothing, offered nothing, left with nothing, seemingly spoke to no-one and charged the entire affair to the taxpayer," Mr Ward, parliamentary secretary for the Illawarra, said.

"There hasn't even been a peep out of the leader of the Opposition on what he thinks the priorities of the region are. Clearly, the reason they didn't want to be discovered is they've come on a 'fact finding' tour to see all the works and progress they didn't deliver during their 16 years in government. I hope they took lots of photos."

Mr Foley rejected Mr Ward's allegations, saying the retreat - held to "discuss the challenges our state and regions like the Illawarra face into the future" - was paid for by the Labor Party.

"While we've been here, we've heard from shadow minister for the Illawarra Ryan Park on key issues facing the region - including the pressure on infrastructure and on health services in the region, the challenge of regional employment and the need for TAFE and up-skilling in a growing region amid the digital revolution," Mr Foley told the Mercury.

"I'm proud to have Ryan in my shadow cabinet as a strong voice for the Illawarra - something completely missing from the government's cabinet."

The visit wasn't a secret, with a delegation of shadow ministers touring the Manildra plant in Bomaderry on Thursday, he said.