ABC Illawarra

10/12/2025

A woman found dead outside a New South Wales police station believed she was being stalked, according to her family.

Ron Wyber believes his daughter Kirsten Moriarty made a stalking report before she returned to her car, where she later died.

Read on… https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-10/woman-found-dead-at-nsw-police-station-had-stalker-fear/106124756?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=link

10/12/2025

Featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski has denied UFC 325 in Sydney will be his retirement fight.

The 37-year old will defend his title on home soil for the first time in a rematch with Brazil's Diego Lopes.

It marks Volkanovski's first fight close to his Wollongong base since 2017.

Alex Volkanovski hoses down retirement rumours ahead of his first hometown fight in almost a decade with Australia's greatest ever UFC fighter aiming for another lengthy run defending the featherweight title.

10/12/2025

MEET OUR HEYWIRE WINNER

Zein from Wollongong was a Syrian refugee that migrated to Australia. For her, peace is complicated.

Her story is one of the 35 being shared by the 2026 ABC Heywire winners.

Announced today, the winners share compelling stories that reflect their real-world efforts to tackle local challenges, build stronger communities and inspire others through their lived experiences.

https://bit.ly/3Ms5SmM

09/12/2025

CANYONLEIGH BUSHFIRE OUT OF CONTROL FOR SECOND DAY

The Southern Highlands Rural Fire Service says three waterbombing aircraft have been deployed today as crews work to control a bushfire at Canyonleigh.

Superintendent Daniel Osbourne said the blaze started accidentally on a private property around 4.30pm yesterday and has since spread to about 45-hectares of open grassland.

He said the steep terrain has made it difficult to target the fire from the ground, but today's cooler weather conditions should help with containment.

"We are comfortable and we don't expect any properties to come under threat," he said.

"But with any fire, the situation can change.

"So if there are any residents within the vicinity of Hawks Hill Road and Nandi Road at Canyonleigh, we recommend that they monitor the situation."

09/12/2025

A Wollongong Council report has recommended the Grounds of Alexandria take over the lease for the Lagoon Restaurant site in Stuart Park.

The Grounds of Alexandria runs multiple venues in Sydney with three dining offerings at their main venue in Alexandria as well as running The Coffee Factory in South Eveleigh and The Grounds of the City.

The report to go to next Monday's council meeting recommends The Grounds ahead of another submission from Illawarra based company Top Pub Mittagong Pty Ltd.

The recommendation is for a five year lease with a five year option.

The report says council's General Manager Greg Doyle declared a Conflict of Interest and stepped away from any role or involvement in the matter, including prior to the tender.

For more on the history of the beachside site and business, visit https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-07/wollongong-iconic-lagoon-restaurant-lease-ends/106077292

09/12/2025

A law student from the University of Wollongong says representing First Nations communities at the United Nations General Assembly Sixth Committee was a powerful experience.

23-year-old Tiarna Williams was selected to travel to New York in October as part of the Global Voices Policy Fellowship.

During the five-day trip, Ms Williams met with UN officials, legal experts and the Australian Permanent Mission.

She said sitting in the same room where global decisions were being made was life-changing.

"The sixth committee meeting that we got to sit in on included topics like crimes against humanity, developing new treaties," Ms Williams said.

"It was just amazing."

Ms Williams is in her fifth year of study and said the trip helped shape her own policy research which focusses on strengthening Australia's Native Title Act.

"At the moment, First Nations communities don't have the option to veto projects, or not allow projects on their land even if they object," she said.

"So my policy proposal would be looking at how to implement those principles."

09/12/2025

Kemblawarra Public school officially opened their edible wonderland and botanical garden today, teaching its students about culture, sustainability, and connecting them with nature.

Kemblawarra’s Year 4 students are in charge of managing and maintaining the garden alongside their Head Gardener, Sarah Anderson.

09/12/2025

The Minister for Transport Jenny Aitchison has unveiled a draft 20-year Transport Plan for the region.

The 160-page Illawarra Strategic Regional Integrated Plan outlines what the minister described as "high-level" transport goals, with 45 initiatives earmarked to improve transport in and around the region.

42 of the initiatives are marked for delivery within five years.

They include existing road projects like the Milton Ulladulla Bypass and new upgrades flagged for investigation including to the Princes Highway at Forest Road and the intersection of Mount Ousley Road and the Prince's Highway in Fairy Meadow.

Public transport projects are also prioritised, including the creation of a high-frequency bus network linking Shellharbour and Wollongong suburbs.

Minister Aitchison said the government will use the plan to make funding decisions in the future.

"These projects are not all funded today that is the reality," she said.

"What this is going to be really useful for is that when we've got stimulus funding [or] when we have election commitments, it’s not just a blank piece of paper, we've got plans that have been socialised and agreed to and understood by the community.”

The draft plan will be open for public feedback until February.

09/12/2025

The death of Phillip Reginald Rudd in Wollongong eight years ago is being re-examined by NSW Police as suspicious following fresh information.

The 57-year-old's body was found in a creek at Corrimal, nearly two days after he was last seen leaving a nearby pub.

Read on... https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-09/cold-case-appeal-phillip-reginald-rudd/106118708

09/12/2025

Did you know there’s an artistic roller-skating group in Wollongong?

The team, co-ordinated by Ebene Montgomery, recently held their first public presentation and were joined by Aussie international champions Shauni White and Jessalyn Brown.

You can hear all about it here.

To encourage members of Wollongong's Artistic Roller Skating Sport, Aussie international champions rolled out to perform.

08/12/2025

Can you believe this Thursday marks 20 years since the iconic Sea Cliff Bridge opened?

To celebrate, Mel James and the Breakfast team will broadcast the show LIVE from the Clifton School of Arts.

You’ll hear stories of the extraordinary engineering feats that made the bridge possible, the impact on the community of more than two years of being split in two when increasingly dangerous rock falls closed the road indefinitely in 2003, and we’ll take a sneak peek at what’s below the bridge too!

It’s the Sea Cliff bridge from every angle 😊

So if you have a story or a fun fact about one of the most filmed bits of road in Australia, make sure you get in touch and be part of Thursday’s special Breakfast show commemorating 20 years of the Sea Cliff Bridge.

Got a memory or story about the Sea Cliff Bridge? Let us know the comments below.

08/12/2025

Wollondilly Deputy Mayor Matthew Deeth stumbled across this makeshift Christmas tree in his local area.

It's been dressed in solar lights and beer cans.

"Is this the most Australian Christmas tree," Cr Deeth wrote on social media.

How unique is your Christmas tree? Share in the comments below.