Author: Kylie Adoranti, Parramatta Advertiser

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PREMIER Mike Baird has talked up the level of investment and attention his government has given to western Sydney while addressing 600 of the region’s business leaders.

Mr Baird today delivered his third State of the Region speech at the Western Sydney Business Connection at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse and boasted about the Liberal Government’s key projects and achievements for the region and the state.

“Starting with the economy, there has been real progress. The numbers came out yesterday for NSW as the fastest growing economy in the country ... It is the 22nd largest economy in the world.”

The Premier said there was good news regarding western Sydney’s growing housing market.

“Every weekend there are more than 500 new homes that are coming on the market. It is happening in a very significant way.”

He said Westconnex was just one of the important pieces of infrastructure the region needed.

“From Parramatta to the airport, you can get there 40 minutes quicker.”

Mr Baird said he believed moving the Powerhouse Museum to Parramatta would boost livability and attraction to “the great parts of western Sydney”.

Infrastructure was also a big part of the Premier’s address. He said the government was spending more on infrastructure in the next four years than any state government had spent in the history of the country.

“We are giving opportunities to the future generation of workers,” he said.

In terms of health, Mr Baird said it was “a difficult area” but the health system was doing “an incredible job” and that he was proud of the National Disability Insurance Scheme and the significant amount of money going towards the disability sector.

The government’s work with the environment was briefly mentioned, with Mr Baird saying he believed the introduction of the container deposit scheme would have a huge impact on reducing litter across the state.