Minister for Western Sydney and WestConnex, the Hon. Stuart Ayres MP, met with Western Sydney councils at the WSROC Board Meeting during May.

WSROC President Cr Stephen Bali said “Having a chance to sit down collectively with the Minister for our region was a great opportunity.

The group discussed a range of topics including: Hawkesbury-Nepean Flood Management Strategy, corridor preservation for transport infrastructure, affordable housing, tolling, tourism, Western Sydney Airport, City Deals and support for Sydney’s growth areas.

“Minister Ayres is a long-time resident of Western Sydney and this was evident through his detailed understanding of some of the challenges the region faces,” said Cr Bali.

“We were particularly encouraged to hear the Minister acknowledge the pressure felt by local government in Western Sydney’s key growth centres, and his openness to reviewing governance arrangements that might help alleviate this.

“Catering to thousands of new residents each year is no easy task, and councils will need support to ensure they can maintain seamless provision of local infrastructure and services to both new and existing communities,” said Cr Bali.

“As is inevitably the case, WSROC and the Minister stand to differ on a number of issues such as WestConnex tolling and appropriate governance and lack of adequate support for Western Sydney’s tourism sector,” he said.

“Honest discussion is a positive thing and I hope that it allowed both the Minister and WSROC councils to gauge some of the challenges each party will be facing as Western Sydney develops,” he said.

“I thank the Minister for his time in coming to speak with the group and look forward to working with him in future,” said Cr Bali.