By South Coast Register

09 December 2023

The entire NSW Cabinet will be in Wollongong this weekend for a top-level meeting with all state ministers set to be in attendance.

There will be events scheduled to meet local people and hear about their concerns and priorities.

With a heatwave hitting the region and temperatures soaring already on Saturday morning, Premier Chris Minns and his team will no doubt appreciate being near Wollongong's beaches.

The previous Community Cabinet was held in Penrith, where today 44 degree heat is expected.

While these events are no doubt meticulously planned, the Mercury has delivered with some suggestions in case any gaps remain in the itinerary.

Planning Minister and Member for Wollongong Paul Scully will have plenty on his mind as well as hosting his Cabinet colleagues in his home electorate.

Mr Scully may be quizzed about suburbs where high-density housing would be enforced near train stations and in the Illawarra included Corrimal, North Wollongong and Dapto, following the accidental publication of a target list this week.

Mr Scully and Transport Minister Jo Haylen may seek advice from Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery, who made the commonsense point that any higher density plan would not work without more trains to service greater populations.

Mr Scully had protesters outside his office last week warning of a "policy car crash" between NSW's climate change goals and its coal mine expansion pipeline. But there isn't a reason to suspect he would decide this was a matter of urgency this weekend any more than last.

Health Minister Ryan Park, also on home turf, won't have any free time. He will be glued to his phone after paramedics rejected the latest pay offer and plan strike action on Monday.

Sports Minister Steve Kamper may use the opportunity to inspect Wollongong's sporting infrastructure. The Snakepit basketball stadium and the WIN Entertainment Centre could give him an understanding of the desperate need for investment in facilities for the booming sport which doesn't have enough courts to meet demand.

Being in Wollongong would allow Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Jenny Aitchison to see for herself how the low bridges across the M1 would prevent an Illawarra wind turbine industry from trucking its towers out of the region to customers.

If they were so inclined, several relevant ministers could tour alternate routes the wind towers may have to take, and bring their heads together to find a solution.

Minister for Climate Change and Energy Penny Sharpe may be planning to visit the northern postcode of 2515 with Member for Heathcote Maryanne Stuart. Ms Sharpe may explain why the Government has not continued with plans to fund the electrification of homes across a whole suburb.

If ministers are driving back to Sydney on Sunday, they could try the coast road along Lawrence Hargrave Drive for an up-close and personal experience in Thirroul of how transport infrastructure in Wollongong's northern suburbs has not kept up with population explosion.

And for a team bonding exercise the entire Cabinet may have an opportunity to join together and studiously ignore the inevitable press release from Kiama MP Gareth Ward, as per their usual practice.

The NSW Government website has a Community Cabinet page which promises advice on the next event - but appears to have missed updating its information for this Wollongong visit.