When you want to know whether different government departments consider Wollongong "regional", it make sense to ask each department, right?
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Well, that's what Wollongong MP Paul Scully did, lodging questions with eight different ministers - including the Regional NSW minister.
They all gave him the same answer, which read in part "the government considers individual community needs and characteristics as they relate to specific programs or projects".
Mr Scully said this lack of a clear answer meant Wollongong residents were still in the dark when it came to applying for government funding.
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"That doesn't give us any comfort or any direction as to what organisations, businesses, community groups and others should be looking at when they're considering making applications for funding support to the NSW government," Mr Scully said.
"What we've seen is the track record of this government is they've got a greater willingness to leave us out than actually examine our need."
Mr Scully said it might be time to consider a third definition that would sit in between metropolitan and regional to include areas like the Illawarra.
"On a per capita basis, Wollongong and cities of a similar size struggle to compete against the might of Sydney and Western Sydney," he said.
"Equally, smaller rural and regional communities struggle to compete against Wollongong on those measures.
"So a third definition and a third category for funding with this grant-based projects is the logical approach to take."
Mr Scully said it was a need he had been talking about "ever since the day I was elected"
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