Respected journalist and news presenter Chris Bath has hosted a panel of community leaders and experts brought together to discuss some of the big issues facing Blacktown City as the region emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Blacktown City Mayor Tony Bleasdale OAM told the forum that Council’s plans for both the next 12-months and 20-years would steer Blacktown City out of the current difficult times and into years of opportunities and sustainable development.
Mayor Bleasdale said, “Council has adopted a draft budget of $809 million for the 2022/23 financial year, including a major capital works program of $284 million to deliver for the people of Blacktown City.
“Council’s record budget locks in funding for our crucial services – collecting the garbage, fixing the roads, and maintaining our libraries, parks and playing fields.
“Council’s $284 million capital works program will shape the City’s future, create jobs, protect the environment and build better places for families and businesses.”
Panellists included Mayor Bleasdale; Paul Campbell, Deputy Chief Operating Officer at Australian Catholic University; Dr Michelle Zeibots, Senior Lecturer at the UTS School of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Briony Akle, Head Coach of NSW Swifts; Sivane Kemal, Youth Team Coordinator at Blacktown Area Community Centres Inc; and Chris Laurie, Manager at Community Access Western Sydney.
The panel discussed some of the challenges and opportunities facing their respective fields and their plans to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Paul Campbell said the staff and students at ACU Blacktown had shown extraordinary resilience during the past two years, with the pandemic hitting just as the campus opened its doors.
“Our students want to get back to being on campus. We recognise its important for our staff and students to have that social connection for their wellbeing and to be successful with what they are doing.
“The new Federal Government has committed 20,000 new places for university students to come to universities across Australia, and we expect to get some of them, so that’s very positive.”
Briony Akle said COVID-19 had devastated netball at both a community and elite level, with membership and ticket sales hardest hit.
“At a grassroots level, we’ve seen the biggest impact on the 7-14 years age group participation rates,” she said.
“We’ve seen a decline in people coming back to sport and that dropout effect is a really big issue facing us in terms of all sorts of sports.”
Speaking on Sydney’s transport development, Dr Michelle Zeibots said Blacktown’s extraordinary population growth over the next 20 years meant the area required significant funding.
“When you have large amounts of State Government funding being spent on motorways and associated road development in the inner-city areas, it means that an area like Blacktown is not getting that funding,” she said.
“In order to make sure that those people all have access to basic transport infrastructure that’s needed to connect them to the existing networks and to future networks, there needs to be funding from the State Government.”
Mayor Bleasdale said Council’s plans ranged from the next 12 months, with the draft Budget, to the next 20 years, with Council’s draft Community Strategic Plan, Our Blacktown 2041.
“Council has solid and responsible plans that are a magnet for sustainable economic and social development,” Mayor Bleasdale said.
“Our plans aren’t just for the Blacktown CBD, they will guide the sustainable growth and development of strategic centres including Mount Druitt, Riverstone, Marsden Park and adjoining suburbs.
“As Mayor, I am confident our City will emerge from the pandemic with a more resilient and sustainable pathway forward.”
Blacktown City Council’s 2022/23 Budget Forum is available for viewing on Council’s Facebook page: https://fb.watch/dtfsfR5Dq0/
Photo: Mayor Tony Bleasdale OAM (third from left) with newsreader Chris Bath (centre) and panellists (left to right) Sivane Kemal, Dr Michelle Zeibots, Paul Campbell, Briony Akle and Chris Laurie at the 2022/23 Blacktown City Budget Forum.
