Whitlam electorate named after Wollongong's most famous son a key battleground

The federal electorate of Whitlam — named after former prime minister Gough Whitlam, who had deep connections to the Illawarra region — is one of the most closely contested seats in New South Wales, with the sitting Labor member holding a margin of 2.8 per cent in an electorate that takes in the southern Wollongong suburbs, Shellharbour, Kiama, and the Shoalhaven's northern fringe.

Whitlam was created in the 2016 redistribution and has been won by Labor in each contest, but the margins have been tight and the electorate's demographic mix — which includes both working-class suburbs adjacent to the steelworks and BlueScope supply chain employers, and the rapidly growing middle-class residential areas around Shellharbour and Kiama — creates volatility that both major parties monitor closely.

Industrial policy has emerged as an unexpectedly potent local issue, with BlueScope's green steel investment and the federal government's support for it generating genuine voter enthusiasm among the workforce communities in Port Kembla and Warrawong. The investment protects jobs that many in those communities feared were at risk in the clean energy transition, and the government's active support has translated into positive sentiment in the precise demographic that underpins Labor's primary vote in the electorate.

Cost of living — particularly housing costs, which have risen steeply across the Illawarra — is the opposition's primary campaign issue in Whitlam, with the Liberal challenger arguing the government's economic policies have contributed to the inflation that is hurting Wollongong families.

An active community independent campaign centred on climate ambition and local infrastructure has attracted some attention but is not considered likely to reach the primary vote threshold needed to be competitive in a two-candidate preferred count.

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