Member for Kiama Gareth Ward wasn't disappointed that he hadn't been invited to be part of a 'bipartisan letter" to NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mr Ward added he had already been pushing a long time for Wollongong to also be classified as a region like Shellharbour.
The former Parliamentary Secretary of the Illawarra pointed to a media release he issued on July 7 to reiterate the point.
Mr Ward said he wouldn't apologise for working hard for his constituents and getting a win for Shellharbour, who may be out of lockdown as early as August 28 because of its reclassification as a region.
While the Liberal politician did not feature in the 'bipartisan letter", the region's Liberal Senator Concetta Anna Fierravanti-Wells did join five of the Illawarra's state and federal Labor MPs in penning the letter.
The politicians urged the Premier to reverse her decision to split the Illawarra along the local government boundaries of Wollongong and Shellharbour.
They called on the Premier to reclassify Wollongong a regional area of NSW for the purposes of its COVID response.
"The best way to keep our community united in its response to COVID is to keep our region united," they wrote in part.
The Illawarra Mercury news app is now officially live on both iOS and Android devices. It is available for download in the Apple Store and Google Play.
Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
