I was delighted, at their recent Annual General Meeting, to have been elected to serve a one-year term as President of the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC).

I would like to congratulate, too, my colleagues who have been newly elected as members of the WSROC Executive Committee:

• Blacktown City Councillor Julie Griffiths AM as Senior Vice President,
• Hawkesbury City Councillor Amanda Kotlash as Junior Vice President, and
• Hawkesbury City Councillor Mary Lyons-Buckett as Treasurer.

WSROC is about to embark on an ambitious new journey with a range of very exciting initiatives, so it is reassuring to be accompanied by such capable, experienced and dedicated colleagues.

WSROC’s advocacy, projects and partnerships have, of course, long produced many, many tangible, positive outcomes for the people of Greater Western Sydney, one of Australia’s fastest-growing regions with a population expected to surge from its current 2.4 million to 4.1 million by 2041.

Consequently, the region has vast potential and represents the third-largest economy in Australia in terms of Gross Regional Product.

However, growth at such a rate comes with great challenges, not least ensuring sufficient community infrastructure to underpin people’s quality of life, support economic growth, strengthen our communities, and improve our citizens’ social well-being.

We invite the NSW and Commonwealth governments to partner with us to create solutions to such urgent issues as housing shortages, inadequate public transport provision, energy and waste management, and extreme heat in Greater Western Sydney, along with many other pressing economic, environmental and social challenges.

WSROC is particularly keen to engage with the federal and state governments to create local jobs and business opportunities in Western Sydney as well as build the necessary supporting social and other infrastructure around public transport hubs.

Solving the housing crisis will require the cooperation of all levels of government and the development industry — and Western Sydney councils are, of course, ready to play their role in addressing the issue.

Elsewhere, WSROC is certainly doing its part with the award-winning project ‘Turn Down The Heat’ that takes a collaborative, multi-sector approach to building a cooler, more resilient future for Western Sydney; the ‘Western Sydney Regional Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy’, a collaboration between eight councils and WSROC to transition towards a circular economy; and the ‘Western Sydney Energy Program’, a collaboration between Western Sydney councils to realise energy, cost and emission savings for Western Sydney councils and their communities.

One other exciting initiative is WSROC’s partnership with the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure to deliver the Cumberland Plains Conservation Plan, a new plan for Western Sydney that identifies strategically important biodiversity areas within the Cumberland Plains to ensure future urban development will also support a vibrant, green and liveable region until 2056 and beyond.

Over the coming weeks, WSROC will be providing more news of an ambitious five-year plan by the Greater Sydney Heat Task Force to protect Sydney from Australia’s deadliest natural hazard ─ extreme heat.

Known as the Greater Sydney Heat Smart City Plan, this Australia-first ─ and indeed, world-leading ─ initiative was developed by the Greater Sydney Heat Taskforce, which includes top scientists, health and environment experts, city planners, business, government and community leaders

This is a joint initiative of WSROC and Resilient Sydney; and is funded through the Disaster Risk Reduction Fund supported by the Australian and New South Wales governments.

The Heat Smart City Plan details 40 recommended actions to build community resilience to heat.

And of course, WSROC will continue with our strong advocacy on behalf of our member councils, communities, and other partners, engaging robustly with the state and federal governments and their various agencies for improved infrastructure, community services, and economic development for the people of Western Sydney, along with new projects in land management, compliance, litter prevention, and the circular economy.

There’s a great deal to get on with, but I for one am looking forward to the challenges and opportunities ahead.

 Cr Brad Bunting — President, WSROC