POLITICS: With Katelin McInerney MP – From Community Advocate to Member of Parliament
What does it look like when someone who has spent their career fighting for communities steps into parliament where decisions actually get made? On this episode of Community Matters, host Nicky Sloan sits down with Katelin McInerney, the newly elected Member for Kiama in the NSW State Government, to find out.
Katelin brings something rare to the halls of parliament - a background rooted in community sector advocacy. That experience isn't just biographical colour; it's actively shaping the way she approaches her role as an elected representative. She's listening hard, and she wants that to translate directly into better frontline services for the people of her region.
But as Katelin is quick to acknowledge, government moves slowly. Promises made in 2023 around funding certainty for community organisations are only now beginning to roll through; a reality that frustrates her as much as anyone. It's a tension she navigates with honesty and pragmatism, understanding that meaningful change requires persistence, locally informed advocacy, and pressure from the ground up. And it does work. The recent announcement of targeted funding to bring more aged care beds online in the region is proof that even seemingly insurmountable issues can shift when the right voices reach the right decision makers.
The Kiama electorate faces a compelling and challenging set of pressures. An ageing population, surging demand for essential workers, a housing supply crisis, and infrastructure that simply hasn't kept pace with growth. Transport, health, education and housing sit at the top of Katelin's agenda - and she speaks candidly about what happens to communities when these needs go unmet. When an area is expensive to live in and the infrastructure isn't keeping up, disillusionment sets in. People become reactive, politics becomes divisive, and new arrivals stop feeling welcome. Katelin believes the antidote is removing barriers, building genuinely affordable housing, and ensuring growth is matched with investment - not left to fend for itself.
At the heart of this conversation is something Katelin describes as one of the great privileges of her role - walking alongside community members at their most vulnerable moments. Whether it's someone arriving at her office in crisis or a community organisation trying to navigate a fractured system, she shows up ready to listen. And she has broad shoulders for the hard conversations too and says “I would encourage everybody to reach out to your local member they are there to work for you”.
Most powerfully, Katelin reminds us of something we can all too easily forget: we have far more in common than what divides us. Her work, week in and week out, is to find those shared human values and build from there. If you work in the community sector, this episode is essential listening. Your local member needs to hear from you, and as Katelin puts it it’s “a great privilege” to do so. Settle in. This is a conversation about what real representation looks like.
Links and Resources:
