Take a look at the new concept for stage 1 of the $900 million redevelopment of Westmead Hospital.

Upgrades include new critical care services, new operating theatres, extra inpatient beds and a new emergency department. The redevelopment will also create more than 1000 construction jobs each year the project runs.

NSW Premier Mike Baird said the redevelopment will deliver world-class health services to Western Sydney’s growing population and help create future job opportunities.

“We want to ensure we use all the skills of Western Sydney local industries so that funding for the project is invested back into the community and the local economy,” Mr Baird said.

More than 12,000 people work and visit Westmead daily and consultation with local staff, clinicians and the community has been a key part of the design process. 

Author: Mohamed Taha, ABC News

Click here to view online article

A growing skills shortage in Sydney's west is restricting the growth of businesses in the region, a report has found.

TAFE Western Sydney and Western Sydney Business Connection conducted the Greater Western Sydney Skills Barometer audit in mid-2015, surveying 456 businesses across different industries in the region.

TAFE Western Sydney Institute director Robin Shreeve said one of the key findings was a shortage of "grey collared workers".

"They are people who have deep technical skills who need supervisory skills," he said.

"What employers are looking for in western Sydney are people to lead teams, project managers and people on building sites who can organise a team of workers."

Mr Shreeve said Western Sydney was experiencing a "construction boom" and its economy was changing.

"There is demand for construction workers and we're an ageing population so there's also demand for care workers," he said.

"Manufacturing is still quite big in Western Sydney but we're moving towards a service economy.

"There's actually more white collar jobs in western Sydney than blue collar jobs."

Western Sydney Leadership Diaologue chairman Christopher Brown said TAFE needs a better public relations strategy to attract young people similar to what universities have done.

"We've got to make TAFE sexy again," he said.

"We've got to get tradies back out there and in front.

"We need to make sure that TAFE can provide all of the sort of skill network that makes this economy full of highly trained individuals for the smart jobs of the future."

Mr Brown said key partnerships between TAFE and business, with government support, would help retain trade-qualified workers in Western Sydney.

"We want the tradies who have been flying off to the mines in Western Australia for the past 10 years back and employed in western Sydney," he said.

"This is the infrastructure capital of the world for the next 10 years so it'll be nice to see kids from Mount Druitt, Parramatta and Liverpool filling those jobs."

Company struggles to find apprentices

Matthew Luke is a third year landscape construction apprentice from Hoxton Park in Western Sydney.

The 21-year-old said he decided to start his apprenticeship after attending an expo night in Penrith three years ago.

"I saw of one of their stalls set up and I was always interested in landscaping," he said.

"I approached them and handed a resume in and it led to a job."

Mr Luke said he enjoyed working at Landscape Solutions in Seven Hills as an apprentice.

"We're working on projects, like for example Wet'n'Wild," he said.

"That's something you can put your name to and say you had a part in that."

Mr Luke said whilst he was satisfied with his work, many of his apprentice friends receive poor pay and get bored.

"Some of the wages are low," Mr Luke said.

"If you go to uni you're looked up a bit more but if you do a trade course you're just going to work your a**se out."

Landscape Solutions employs 350 staff, 75 of which are apprentices.

Landscape Solutions recruitment officer Jamie Taylor said the company was struggling to find young apprentices like Mr Luke and trade-qualified staff.

"We're constantly winning work and growing quite rapidly," he said.

"That obviously opens up a lot of gaps internally and not having those apprentices coming up through the ranks makes it difficult.

"We have to source candidates externally and it's a pretty small pool of trades staff to work with."

Mr Taylor said one of the major challenges was getting apprentices interested in the industry.

"School students just don't have the amount of interest in a trade career that they used to a couple of generations ago."

"We need to make it more appealing for the youth."

Key Audit Findings

· 66,000 advertised jobs unable to be filled

· 54 per cent of small businesses cannot fill positions

· 78 per cent of medium to large business cannot fill positions

· Half of job applicants are under-qualified for positions

· Skills shortage expected to affect 7 out of 10 businesses in the future

· Management positions hardest to fill accounting for 30 per cent of unfilled roles

A special Council meeting has elected long-time Parramatta City Councillor Paul Garrard to the position of Lord Mayor, with Cr Bakous Makari named Deputy Lord Mayor. 

Cr Garrard was first elected to represent the Woodville Ward in September 1974 and has been re-elected on ten consecutive occasions. This is his sixth term as Lord Mayor.

“It is a great honour to again have the opportunity to serve the people of Parramatta in the capacity of Lord Mayor. Parramatta is growing at a rapid rate and Council is playing a crucial role in facilitating that growth and ensuring resident’s needs are met along the way,” Cr Garrard said.

“For Parramatta to continue to grow and develop we need to be  a ‘Smart City’ driven  by intelligent planning  and leading-edge  innovative technologies that will improve the functionality and liveability of our City, while respecting our rich heritage.

“Having launched Council’s Smart City committee, ParraConnect, five years ago I am committed to seeing that our City fosters innovative entrepreneurship and collaboration between governments, businesses and our local communities.

“I have always been a strong advocate of our neighbourhoods and this term I want to introduce a ‘Neighbourhood focus’ to Council so that we bring our residents with us into the future.

“By redefining our neighbourhoods, we have the opportunity to better focus on service delivery and efficiency, effectively bringing local government closer to the community.

“There are many positive changes taking place in Parramatta, with work set to start on a $300 million redevelopment of Pirtek stadium, plans for the Powerhouse Museum to come to the City and work still underway to determine the first route of the Western Sydney Light Rail.

“We have made great progress on the $2 billion Parramatta Square urban renewal project, which will see a new City heart created for residents, workers and visitors.

“We also stand at the crossroads of how Local Government will be administered for generations to come with the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) soon to release its recommendations on the State Government’s ‘Fit for the Future’ reform process. I support Council’s proposal for the creation of a new Parramatta based Council with the scale and capacity to deliver growth and improved services.

“We will continue to work closely with State and Federal Governments to achieve large scale projects to enhance our City and secure Parramatta as Sydney’s dual CBD.

“I would like to congratulate and thank the outgoing Lord Mayor Cr Scott Lloyd and Deputy Lord Mayor Cr Steven Issa who have done a commendable job keeping the City moving forward over the past year. I look forward to continuing the great work that the Council has been achieving.”

Parramatta Council seeks your views on the draft concepts for Parramatta Square, a unique opportunity to define the future heart of the City.

A winding stream that changes shape and form, areas of green open space and public art installations are among the features of a concept design for Parramatta Square’s public domain area which is now on public exhibition.

Parramatta City Council last night voted to endorse the Draft Concept Design for a four-week exhibition period to seek feedback from the community and stakeholders.

The $35 million investment by Council is central to the $2 billion Parramatta Square redevelopment that will include commercial, residential, educational and civic buildings.

Key to the concept design is a central fountain and watercourse that winds through the length of the 10,000sqm space.  While the final design is still to be determined, the stream could take on a variety of forms including still water, running water, a shallow curtain, mist or spray.

“As a river city, Parramatta has a long and well-established connection with water and this design pays tribute to that, with a water feature that lends itself to a variety of different interpretations,” Lord Mayor of Parramatta Cr Scott Lloyd said.

“This is a unique opportunity to define the future heart of our City, to create an engaging space that will be used by thousands of residents, visitors and workers every day. Council and the design team aim to create a world-class public square befitting Sydney’s dual CBD that respects and pays homage to our unique heritage, while creating a versatile, modern and visually appealing space.”

A team of four internationally-acclaimed design firms, including Danish architect Jan Gehl, has worked with Council to celebrate the City’s connection to its riverside location by putting water at the heart of the design.

As well as the iconic water feature and main fountain, the public domain will include digital way finding and public art, a northern lawn and southern plaza, play garden, a new Town Hall lobby, focal artwork and multiple crossing points across the stream.

The draft concept was created by 4² – a design team including award-winning firms James Mather Delaney Design (JMD), Taylor Cullity Lethlean (TCL), Tonkin Zulaikha Greer (TZG) and Gehl Architects, Denmark. The team have won acclaim for their individual and collaborative work both locally and overseas, including projects in New Zealand, the UK and New York’s Time Square and Broadway.

“Water becomes a centrepiece to Parramatta Square and will animate it in many wonderful ways.  It will celebrate the great diversity of Parramatta’s community and connect to a range of beautiful civic spaces that allow visitors, residents and workers to promenade, play, meet or be entertained,” 4² spokesman and TCL director Perry Lethlean said.

“The public realm will also include many inviting lawn spaces, display gardens and extensive tree planting to create a memorable setting and a unique Parramatta identity.”

Professor Jan Gehl of Gehl Architects said a great heart of a city is a key condition for a thriving urban community.

"Parramatta Square will become the new urban heart of a diverse and changing face of Parramatta.  It will provide many opportunities for people to enjoy urban life in a great city,” Professor Gehl said.

The design team includes Melbourne artist Callum Morton, who will oversee the public art masterplan for the new public space. Callum is Professor of Fine Art at Monash Art, Design and Architecture (MADA) in Melbourne, and has exhibited his work internationally.

Council recently announced that Walker Corp will be developing and sourcing buyers and tenants for Stages 2 and Stages 5 & 6 of Parramatta Square.

The public domain will be completed in stages to ensure coordination with the construction projects in Parramatta Square including the Western Sydney University high-rise campus, new civic and library facilities and commercial high-end office buildings.

The project will see 20,000sqm of space transformed, including the 10,000sqm, 40 metre-wide and 250 metre-long central area.

More than 1000 comments have already been received from the public through a number of focus groups, three community open days and an online survey. Residents and ratepayers are now being asked to provide their feedback on the draft concept design and can attend a number of open days during the four week exhibition.

Feedback can also be provided:

• In person – Hard copies can be viewed at Parramatta City Council administration building at 126 Church St, Parramatta or at Parramatta Central Library at 1-3 Fitzwilliam St, Parramatta
  
• Online - The documents can be viewed at www.parracity.nsw.gov.au/on_exhibition.
  
• Email – Submissions can be emailed to info@parracity.nsw.gov.au
  
• Post – Submissions can be sent to PO Box 32, Parramatta NSW 2124. 

For artist’s impressions of the new draft concept design click on the link below:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/50p58da53d15kx2/AABIzE1X5698yA61bfpxmqzPa?dl=0

Moore Stephens Spring Wealth Management update covers the following:

• Equities: The Lost Decade
• Superannuation: Nominating a Beneficiary
• Model Equity Portfolio Update

Equities: The Lost Decade

We have examined rolling 9 year returns since 1992¹ and found the average index return over the period was 64%. The best period was 164% and the worst period has been the last 9 years ending 31 August at 2%.

Contact

Martin Fowler
Partner, Wealth Management
Moore Stephens Sydney
T +61 (0)2 8236 7776
mjfowler@moorestephens.com.au

On the 1st November 2015 Moore Stephens Sydney is merging with Pitcher Partners Sydney creating a new Pitcher Partners Sydney practice.  The new practice will be an independent member of the Pitcher Partners Association and Baker Tilly International Network.

Read our Merger – Questions and Answers for further information.

This September saw not for profit disability service provider Northcott host several highly successful Walk with Me events around New South Wales with the biggest event in Parramatta attracting a crowd of close to a thousand people and leading to road closures in Market and Church Streets.

Walk with Me is an annual event hosted by Northcott which encourages communities to unite and walk alongside people of all abilities, while encouraging a better understanding of disability and promoting social inclusion.

The Parramatta Walk with Me event commenced at the Riverside Theatre and ended in Centenary Square where the exuberant crowd were then entertained by Australian Idol winners Wes Carr and Damien Leith. 

Other Walk with Me events took place in Campbelltown, Wagga Wagga, Moree, Tamworth and Dubbo with several hundred people taking part. For more information see www.northcott.com.au/news. 

The Australian Turf Club proudly accepted ‘Best Caterer at a Major Event NSW’ at The Savour Australia Restaurant & Catering HOSTPLUS Awards for Excellence last night.

Held at the Dockside Pavilion in Darling Harbour Sydney, the Awards for Excellence gala dinner welcomed 750 guests from all around the state who came together to try their luck across five major categories.

The ATC will now battle it out for the national title at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on Monday 26th October.

Continuing our award-winning success, this win comes off the back of the Best NSW Function/Convention Centre Caterer in 2014.

To see a preview of what Royal Randwick has to offer, watch our videos from the John Eales Medal Awards Night and the Hyundai Tucson Launch.

For more information on Events at the ATC, please visit:
http://www.australianturfclub.com.au/royal-randwick/royal-randwick-functions/

Alternatively, please email events@australianturfclub.com.au or call us on (02) 9663 8478.

ACHIEVING GROWTH: PLANNING AND EXECUTION, THE KEYS TO SUCCESS

Click on the link above to download the report.

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Talk to one of our advisors, they'll discuss your requirements and will work with you to find the best possible solution.

Our centre phone numbers are:

Blacktown: 02 9854 5500

Parramatta: 02 9891 0000

Liverpool: 02  9600 5200

*Minimum 3 month contract applies. Terms and conditions apply.

WSBC Charity Partner Parramatta Mission encourages you to become a volunteer. Full training provided. 

Lifeline Western Sydney is one of the largest centres accredited by Lifeline Australia to answer telephone crisis calls to 13 11 14, and is a service of UnitingCareMental Health.

We operate 24/7 and answer over 80,000 crisis calls per year from people of all ages who are in crisis due to a range of issues including:

• Suicidal thoughts

• Relationship difficulties

• Mental illness

• Domestic violence

• Addictive behaviour

• Social isolation 

• Disabilities

This service would not be possible without our friendly, caring team of dedicated volunteers. As the demand for the Lifeline telephone crisis service is continuing to grow, we are looking to expand the team.

We run courses throughout the year at our training centre at Parramatta. Thanks to grants, donations and our fundraising events, we offer this course at a greatly subsidised rate of only $890 (actual cost of the course is valued at approximately $3,500).

Because of our investment in students, we ask for a minimum 12 month commitment to doing fortnightly, 4 hour shifts at Lifeline Western Sydney (and we’d love it if you could stay longer!). 

We start courses all throughout the year

Contact us on 0427 320 690 or lifeline@ucmh.org.au