Western Sydney community leaders are calling on the new state minister for western Sydney, David Elliott, to broaden the scope of his portfolio beyond “roads and sports”.
Elliott, who also holds the transport and veterans affairs portfolios, will be sworn into his new role on Friday, after his predecessor, Stuart Ayres, stepped down on Tuesday.
Ayres resigned amid an ongoing crisis in the New South Wales government, with the premier, Dominic Perrotett, saying an independent report had raised questions about Ayres’ involvement in the appointment of former deputy premier John Barilaro to a lucrative New York trade job. Ayres has denied any wrongdoing and said he was only standing down to allow the matter to be further investigated.
Community advocates say Elliot’s appointment presents an opportunity to expand the focus of the portfolio, which Ayres held for five years. The CEO of the Western Sydney Community Forum, Billie Sankovic, said she welcomed Elliott’s appointment but it was important he broaden the scope of funding for the region.
“The investment to date, for many many years, has been into bricks and mortar, and we want to see investment beyond that kind of hard infrastructure,” she said. “We need to start investing in people.”
Sankovic said the pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns, under which western Sydney particularly struggled, showed the need for investment in hyper-local community infrastructure.
“What Covid really brought to the fore was the absolutely central role of local, trusted community leaders, community groups and community organisations,” she said.
“We haven’t seen an investment in that sort of local level human infrastructure in the last decade really.”
Sankovic said equity was the key issue facing the region, which accounts for more than half the people in Sydney, and over a third of the population of the state.
“I would like to see the portfolio expand and for the minister to think about how we can invest in the local people, the talent, the diversity, and the local grassroots capabilities,” she said.
“This is about bridging the gap to the rest of the city. Because what we’ve seen is historical underinvestment, investment that doesn’t keep up with the growth in the region.
“Its important the investment is focused and sophisticated in its targets, not just roads and sports.”
But executive director at Business Western Sydney, David Borger, said it was just as important to fund community-building as it is to invest in transport, particularly public transport, in the west.
“We need the minister for western Sydney to make sure we get a fair deal,” he said.
“Transport is one of the biggest issues in western Sydney because 2.2 million people live there, and there is nowhere near the same level of train access compared to the rest of the city.”
Borger said it was important that the western Sydney had a “big voice” in cabinet.
“I think western Sydney has been ripped off for 200 years,” he said. “It has been disadvantaged in terms of jobs, transport, access, and amenities. But this is a great opportunity to change that.”
With the state election due in six months, the government’s performance in the western suburbs will be closely watched.
The executive director at Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue, Adam Leto, said the region will be a key election battleground, and that it is down to the government to engage with residents.
“There are a lot more seats in play that weren’t in play previously, and you’ve got a government with a lot of work to do to repair some of the damage from the Barilaro saga and from last year’s lockdowns,” he said.
Flood mitigation along the Nepean and Hawkesbury rivers, and the dearth of social housing, were among the key issues, Leto said.
“I think we saw that message delivered at the federal election, especially in western Sydney, that it was decided by community – that the local issues and issues that matter to people are the ones that are going to get the votes,” he said.
