There was only one notable mention of Wollongong in this year's federal budget handed down on Tuesday night.
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That was an already-announced state and federal government commitment to developing a business case for fast rail from Sydney to Wollongong.
The real winner in high speed rail was Victoria with a $2 billion commitment to deliver a fast rail connection between Geelong and Melbourne, which would see travel times cut in half.
The government will provide $40 billion for the five fast rail business cases. The others are from Sydney to Parkes via Bathurst and Orange, Melbourne to Albury Wodonga, Melbourne to Traralgon, and Brisbane to the Gold Coast.
The budget documents said the five corridors connect capital cities with major regional centres and "warrant investigation due to the opportunity to shift commuter demand from road to rail and the opportunity to stimulate regional growth".
Apart from that - the Illawarra got zip.
This included Illawarra's long-awaited and unfinished Maldon to Dombarton rail line which was not mentioned within the hundreds of pages of the financial documents.
Road upgrade promises
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said in his budget speech that the Coalition government was "boosting our infrastructure spending to $100 billion over the decade" but Wollongong, Shellharbour and Kiama would not see any immediate benefit from that promised funding.
To Australian residents he said, "we know you want to be there for the school drop off, to help the kids with their homework and spend more time together at the dinner table."
However, Illawarra residents will still be stuck in traffic queues because the area will not benefit from the four-year $4 billion urban congestion fund, which aims to cut travel times by removing bottlenecks and improve travel corridors.
Nor will any of the $500 million commuter car park fund go to improving access to public transport hubs in the Illawarra.
The urban congestion kitty will be spent on the Princes Highway at Kirrawee, on King Georges Road, Blaxland Road at Eastwood, on The Horsley Drive and Homebush Bay Drive. Commuter car park upgrades will be carried out at Gosford, Panania, Hurstville and Woy Woy.
The Princes Highway will have a $500 million upgrade. One billion dollars will be spent on the upgrade from Wollongong through New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. The investment will see the corridor widened, made safer through improved overtaking lanes, duplications and town bypasses.
The Nowra Bridge project will receive $20 million this financial year of its allocated $155 million federal government money from 2018-19 to 2021-22.
The project, announced last budget, will increase the river crossing capacity over the Shoalhaven River at Nowra with the construction of a new four-lane bridge.
Education and social welfare
The government has also committed to spending $134 million over four years from 2018-19 to strengthen higher education enrolment in regional Australia by funding more study places, scholarships and enhancing facilities to increase accessibility.
This includes $92 million over four years from 2018-19 to support more students at five regionally focused universities.
The University of Wollongong and its 34,000 students were not the beneficiaries of the cash splash.
In social welfare, the government will provide an extra $20.4 million in the budget to extend and expand the National Community Hubs Program across the country.
Thirty-two new hubs will be created and funding will continue for the 68 existing hubs including the one in Wollongong.
The 17 patrolled Surf Life Saving Australia beaches in the Illawarra will benefit from the government's continued funding commitment to support water safety organisations.
No tax increases for Illawarra residents
Mr Frydenberg said the "budget is back in the black and Australia is back on track". There is a budget surplus of $7.1 billion.
As a result, Illawarra residents won't be slugged with an increase in tax.
Taxpayers earning up to $126,000 a year will receive a tax cut. For a single income family, this means up to $1,080 in the pocket per year and for families on a dual income, up to $2,160.
Mr Frydenberg also announced he would lower the 32.5 per cent tax rate to 30 per cent from July 1, 2024.
"This will cover all taxpayers earning between $45,000 and $200,000 and will mean that 94 per cent of taxpayers will pay no more than 30 cents in the dollar," he said.
"We want Australians to earn more and to keep more of what they earn."
A tax relief for small and medium sized businesses will also be offered by cutting business owners' taxes by 25 per cent, and by extending the instant asset write off scheme from $25,000 to $30,000.
The government will also invest $2.2 billion for safer roads as well as $6.3 billion in drought support and $3.3 billion for those affected by flood.
Young people will benefit from 80,000 new apprenticeships created in industries with skills shortages and will double incentive payments to employers to $8,000 per placement.
For older people, an investment of $725 million will deliver 10,000 new home care packages, extra financial support for residential care and new measures to improve the quality and safety of aged care services.
Schools across the country will benefit from a $300 billion investment which will include upgrades to libraries, classrooms and play equipment.
More than $80 billion will be spent on healthcare including a $461 million investment in Australia's most significant youth mental health and suicide prevention strategy.
Mr Frydenberg said the government would provide $328 million to fund women's safety in prevention, response and recovery initiatives and announced $337 million in new funding for a comprehensive drug strategy.
