Record funding to make Sydney ‘fit for the future’

“You would all know the difficulty of dealing with 41 councils in Sydney alone and 152 in New South Wales … these councils are losing around a million dollars a day. And they have an infrastructure backlog between them of $6 billion.

“So the Government’s move to provide record funding of up to a billion dollars as part of the Government’s Fit for the Future reforms is the first step towards reform in local government in a generation.

“The aim is to create a local government sector which can deliver homes, jobs, roads, bridges and thriving town centres.

“I’m sure most of you would be aware of the most exciting urban renewal project in the country, the Bays precinct. It’s a stretch of waterfront we want to open back up to the public.

“So for the first time in our history, we are convening a planning summit for this one place next month. We’ve invited the world’s best and brightest minds to help us plot a way forward with this incredible once-in-a-century asset.

“This is the most significant project for Sydney since the harbour bridge.”

Also speaking at the CEDA event, City of Sydney Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, said significant progress had been made in the Sustainable Sydney 2030 plan.

“When we developed Sustainable Sydney 2030, we incorporated the State Government’s Metro Strategy requirements – and I can report we are on target for jobs growth, and ahead of schedule for population growth.

“We are now one of the fastest growing residential areas in New South Wales, and three out of four people live in apartments in Sydney, while five years ago, less than 50 per cent of our residents lived and worked in our local government area, that figure has now increased to 65 per cent.

“In that time, more than 50,000 new jobs have been created … and 2000 new businesses have been opened.

“Our City Plan, adopted in 2012, accommodates our increasing density in carefully chosen areas. The goal is to protect our heritage urban villages and focus density in urban renewal areas such as Green Square, Central Park, Harold Park and Ashmore Estate. These sites represent tremendous opportunities.”