Policy papers

Heat and Health in Greater Western Sydney: Discussion Paper
There is a great disparity in the impacts of the heat across Sydney, which is becoming increasingly obvious as temperatures rise.

The geographical location and changing urban form of Greater Wester Sydney plays a major role in the experience of heat in the West, and the community faces a multitude of health implications as a result.

This discussion paper identifies a number of regional challenges and key areas for further scrutiny and proposes draft policy recommendations to start to address these concerns. These early insights and solutions provide a high-level understanding of the current situation in GWS and will guide Dialogue’s future work and advocacy in this space.

Wollongong and the West
Strengthening the relationship between South West Sydney and the Illawarra presents opportunities to fuel economic development, improve productivity and deliver better outcomes for residents.

This policy paper explores three major game changing opportunities that governments and industry can leverage to capitalise on existing synergies and clarify and strengthen each region’s roles in supporting the social and economic growth of Greater Sydney and the Illawarra.

Strengthening Local Government
Every day Western Sydney’s two-and-a-half million residents rely on their local council to provide essential services.

The effectiveness of these councils greatly impacts their quality of life through the delivery of local roads, parks and libraries. Unfortunately, Western Sydney has also experienced the worst of local government, with scandals and maladministration at the former Auburn and Canterbury Councils among many others. This paper explores the Dialogue’s recommendations to build stronger local government.

GWS Community Wellbeing Survey Executive Summary
This first-of-its-kind survey was modelled on the Federal Government’s Australian Wellbeing Framework and incorporated the wellbeing measurement approach of the UK Office of National Statistics.

The survey was specifically designed to explore the communities of GWS from the lens of wellbeing, and
how that might be influenced by identity, belonging, and connection to place. This executive summary explores some key findings from the Greater Western Sydney Community Wellbeing Survey.

The Dialogue’s 2023-2024 Advocacy Program
This Program outlines the Dialogue’s policy, projects, initiatives and events focus for the year ahead.

Over the past 12 months, the Dialogue has worked closely with our Partners and stakeholders to put forward the policies, initiatives and projects that we feel can make a positive difference to Greater Western Sydney (GWS).

We also recognise that with a new NSW Government, managing a much tighter budget, the economic context is a lot different to what it was five or 10 years ago.

While many of the region’s key infrastructure needs, whether they’re transport, cultural, health or community projects, haven’t tapered off, one of the key take-aways to emerge from this process, was that the future success of the region won’t be measured solely by the amount of dollars that are tipped into these critical building blocks.

Rebooting Delivery Executive Summary
This executive summary outlines the key takeaways of the Rebooting Delivery paper.