April 2022
Share:
We acknowledge and honour Aboriginal People who have cared for country in Greater Western Sydney for at least 60,000 years.
The Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue thanks these Traditional Owners and we pay our respects to their Ancestors and Elders – past, present and emerging.
New figures commissioned and released by the Dialogue show that the population forecast for Greater Western Sydney could potentially drop by as much as 40% compared to pre-COVID projections, resulting in nearly 600,000 fewer than expected residents in the region by 2041.
To mitigate the impact of this possible drop, the Dialogue is calling for:
Read the Dialogue’s media release here, and the ABC News article here.
The Dialogue has called for the Federal Government to double-down on its commitment to the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC) to help address the shortfall in social and affordable housing in the region.
Unveiled at the Big Housing Debate – which brought together decision makers across business and community to discuss the increasing demand for more social and affordable housing policy, funding and solutions in Greater Western Sydney – the Dialogue put forward a number of policy recommendations to both sides of Federal politics, leading up to next month’s election.
Read the Dialogue’s media release here, and access our paper here.
Welcome to Lauren Nicholls, the newest addition to the Dialogue! Lauren was part of the Dialogue team between 2017 and 2019, and after a brief stint in the public sector, has returned as the Senior Manager – Policy & Research.
The Dialogue would also like to extend its warmest congratulations to Generation West member, Rameen Malik, for being accepted as 2022 Fulbright Scholar. She will be heading to the USA in August to do a Masters of Technology and Policy at MIT in Boston. Congrats and good luck Rameen!
Sydney Metro has released its station precinct plans for the Sydney Metro West line, and has welcomed feedback. Submissions are open until 4 May – click here to make a submission.
The Surface and Civil Alignment Works $538.5m contract for the Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport line, has been awarded to a joint venture between CPB Contractors and United Infrastructure, with over 20 per cent of jobs for this project designated for Western Sydney residents. Read about it here.
Dialogue partners Endeavour Energy and Transport for NSW have teamed up with Evenergi and Busways to run a Western Sydney based trial for technology designed to optimise the charging of electric buses and reduce strain on the power grid.
Click here to read more about it.
Following years of campaigning, the Dialogue secured a win last month, with the Federal and State Governments announcing a $100 million plan to upgrade the intersection of Homebush Bay Drive, Australia Avenue and Underwood Road at Homebush – otherwise known as the ‘Australia’s worst roundabout.’ The announcement builds upon funding committed during the 2019 federal election campaign and in previous NSW Budgets, and is the largest new Western Sydney infrastructure pledge made yet in the 2022 election campaign, where the seat of Reid is regarded as a ‘must win’ for both major parties.
The Parramatta Light Rail project has named the new bridge over James Ruse Drive after local Aboriginal leader, Bidgee Bidgee. For 20 years, Bidgee Bidgee led the Burramattagal clan of the Darug people, bringing all people together to help shape the region’s history. Read more about Bidgee Bidgee and the bridge here.
Celestino will partner with Macquarie University at the Sydney Science Park in Luddenham. The partnership will focus on innovations in water management, urban greening and heat abatement as part of the Park’s sustainable development program, as well as incorporating smart technology and smart construction.
Parramatta will soon be home to a new private hospital, with designs for the $200m facility being released earlier this month. The 24-storey proposal includes 130 hospital beds with six operating theatre suites, day surgery units and pre-admission medical clinics.
Click here for the Sunday Telegraph article and here for more information on the future hospital.
Western Sydney Unfiltered is a series of short, conversational interviews with some of the region’s leaders, to explore the latest news, issues and emerging trends. In tackling important policies and major projects, these one-on-one sessions with some of our city’s big thinkers, bright minds and most influential voices will help keep you in the know with everything that is going on in Greater Western Sydney.
Click here or the image above to watch the recent interviews with:
Contact
Follow
Explore
We acknowledge and honour Aboriginal People who have cared for Country in Greater Western Sydney for at least 60,000 years and acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which we gather today.
The Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue thanks these Traditional Owners and we pay our respects to their Ancestors and Elders – past, present and emerging.
We also acknowledge the vital role played by our Local Aboriginal Land Councils, the modern custodians for all First Nations people who currently live in our region, home to one of the largest urban Aboriginal populations in Australia.
