Greens candidate Tonia Gray hopes the Kiama electorate thinks twice before filling in their ballot paper on Saturday about whether a major party deserves their vote.

Dr Gray is standing for the state seat for the second time and with Labor tipped to regain the seat ahead of the Liberal Party, Kiama is all but certain to be represented by a major party for the first time in four years.

She wants to keep the government honest by getting the chance to represent Kiama in NSW Parliament but she believes Labor’s Katelin McInerney is a shoo-in to win based on the campaign so far.

“We get lazy governments, blue or red, where they don't have to listen to the people. But when you put in someone who is a minor party, like the Greens, we become like a stone in the shoe and it rubs and annoys and you actually have to pay attention,” Dr Gray said.

“That's part of why we in Kiama need to elect someone who is a minor party to be the voice of the community rather than a voting machine with bloc votes, which both major parties do.

“No one crosses the floor.

“If you want same old, same old and the status quo to remain the same, vote big. But if you want big change, now we are on the cusp of change.”

Dr Gray was furious that the Labor Government had not appropriately delivered for the Kiama electorate since its election win in 2023 due to its disdain for former local member Gareth Ward, who survived Chris Minns’ attempts to oust him from Parliament soon after the Premier came into power.

“The electorate was held political hostage. It's like we were being politically tortured. So any demand he made, fell on deaf ears. So we were the poor country cousins,” she said.

“We were at the disadvantage, which should never be the case. Politics shouldn't play that game. You should be here for everyone, not just your voting base. I'm really pissed off about it.

“The political inertia is what's held Kiama back. We need someone who will agitate for better.”

But since the by-election was called last month, Dr Gray said government funding has materialised out of thin air.

“We are agitating and looking for better outcomes because at the moment I'm finding that magic sprinkle dust that's going around where we have money here, money there. Why didn't that happen beforehand?” she asked.

“Whether it's Kangaroo Valley Bridge, whether it's sporting fields, whether it's better roads we're getting. Why so slow?

“We've got the finances, we've got the knowledge, we've got the technology. What was missing? Political willpower.”

Dr Gray predicted the major parties would probably only get “66% to 70%” of the primary vote but she was expecting her own percentage to be affected by the fact there is a field of 13 candidates who will dilute the vote.

She said he idea for a battery-powered train between Kiama and Bomaderry had struck a chord with the electorate as well as her calls for a maternity ward at the new Shellharbour Hospital.

“People are having births by the side of the road because of a lack of facilities,” she said.

“You're either going to be shunted to Wollongong or shunted to Nowra. And half an hour, if you're having a baby, is a lot.”