Parramatta will be the focus of the global film industry next February when Tropfest relocates to its new home in Parramatta Park.

The move coincides with the 25th anniversary of Australia’s most prestigious short film festival, which is the largest event of its kind in the world. It will give the festival an opportunity to expand and make it more accessible for film lovers from across Sydney and beyond.

“Great cities have great festivals and this is a chance for the Parramatta community to be part of one of the world’s best-loved film festivals. Council is proud to partner with the Western Sydney Parklands Trust and the organisers of Tropfest to bring this world-class event to Parramatta,” City of Parramatta Administrator Amanda Chadwick said.

Moving Tropfest to Parramatta places the event at the heart of Global Sydney, and adds to the city’s growing reputation as a thriving centre for arts and culture.

It is expected that more than 50,000 people will attend the event, providing major tourism benefits for Parramatta and injecting at least $2 million into the local economy.

“Parramatta is a true events destination and I’m sure Tropfest will find a happy home in our city. Bringing Tropfest to Parramatta Park will give the event room to grow and prosper and will enable a whole new audience to discover the future stars of Australian film,” Ms Chadwick said.

Founder of Tropfest, John Polson said: “It’s difficult to put into words how excited I am about our move to Parramatta. As soon as I laid eyes on beautiful Parramatta Park, I knew we’d found our new home.

“Seeing the support and enthusiasm from our new partners at Parramatta only confirmed that belief. For me, this is an amazing opportunity to bring our loyal Tropfest audience with us as we embark on a new journey with new film lovers - and filmmakers - at our beautiful new home,” Mr Polson said.

The 25th annual Tropfest will be held in Parramatta Park on Saturday 11 February 2017. Entries for the festival open in September and the Tropfest Signature Item for 2017 will be ‘Pineapple’.

To find out more visit www.tropfest.com.au

Research shows that more than 70% of employees in Australia are not engaged at work, which means they’re not working to their full capacity. This is costing your business BIG TIME. The research is also clear that no-one affects an employee’s engagement as much as their immediate manager or supervisor.

Management and leadership drive culture, which drives your organisation’s performance. And your workplace culture shapes leadership too.

So, culture is the glue that holds an organisation together. It’s your organisational DNA.

In the Great Managers® Program, we say culture is everything we think, everything we say, everything we do in our workplaces. It is the expression of who we are together. Language, behaviour and relationships at work are the biggest influencers of your culture. 

Culture is the force that determines how people behave when no one is looking—it strengthens a workplace and can provide immense competitive advantage. Think Google or Apple - world renowned for their culture. People line up for job opportunities with them… and for their next product release.

The wrong culture, however, can be toxic and erode the confidence and effectiveness of people. Results can still be achieved but at a much higher cost and effort.

Improving your culture can deliver huge benefits to your business:

• Financial – the better the culture and employee engagement the better the bottom line results

• You’re more likely to attract and retain talented staff

• Morale is higher – staff are more energetic & enthusiastic

• Responsiveness to change is better

• There is more co-operation and teamwork

• Productivity is higher

• Physical and emotional safety improves - there tends to be fewer workers compensation claims and less grievances

• Reduced staff turnover and absenteeism

There are 2 ways that culture forms: Accidentally or Deliberately. You can be sure that Google’s culture did not form accidentally!

Culture happens – for better or for worse. Every organisation has a culture. Proactively choosing to create your culture in a deliberate and intentional way can build a high performing workplace – a great place to work!

At Great Managers® we have developed a 6 Step System for Deliberately Creating Your Culture and one of these crucial steps is to Bring Your Organisation’s Values to Life. Values are your standards of what is acceptable and unacceptable. People connect to values. They have intrinsic value... only IF you bring them to life.

They come to life through discussions, interpretations, and your team being able to make the values meaningful and connect them to your context.

As a leader, the challenge is to “unfreeze” established behaviours in your team that aren’t in alignment with your values and create the motivation to change so that employees can learn new productive behaviours. Then “refreeze” those behaviours over time through feedback and rewards. And most importantly, never tolerate behaviour outside your values!

I am coaching our members on this 6 Step Culture Building System in detail via a Great Managers® MasterClass. If you would like VIP access to one of these sessions, which are held monthly via webinar, please contact the team at info@greatmanagers.com.

Sandra Wood

Founder & Managing Director

W: www.greatmanagers.com

E: info@greatmanagers.com

P: (02) 9501 1457

Blacktown City Council is a multi-award winning council, having received 13 national and state awards so far this year.

“Blacktown City Council has never won so many awards in such a short period of time," said the Mayor of Blacktown City, Councillor Mayor Bali.

“It shows how much of a change the council has made in the way it operates. 

“We have a long tradition of winning awards, but this last six months has seen a virtual avalanche,” he said.

“The one that I am probably the most proud of is the 2016 NSW/ACT Parks and Leisure Australia Award of Excellence that was won by Mount Druitt Swimming Centre.

“At one stage the plan was to close the Centre, yet within a couple of years it has become an award winning recreational centre for the entire community.

“Even in winter it is popular, with the family fish-in drawing once again booked to capacity,” he said.

Blacktown City Council’s award for the way it planned recreational spaces in the north west growth was another outstanding achievement, he said.

The Council also won awards for its 2015 Annual Report, Community Report and Community Calendar, the White Ribbon accreditation campaign, the restoration of Melrose House and the innovative way its stormwater planning led to better use of water that would otherwise run down drains, Mayor Bali said.

The complete list of awards:

• RH Dougherty Award for the 2015 Sustainable September Eco Festival
  

• Urban Design Institute’s Excellence in Government Leadership award for Blacktown City Council’s portfolio of Community Hubs won.
  

• Mount Druitt Swimming Centre won the 2016 NSW/ACT Parks and Leisure Australia Award of Excellence for ‘Inclusive and Connected Communities’
  

• The state Parks and Leisure Awards of Excellence, for its approach to planning the open spaces being created in the North West (and now in contention for a national award).
  

• Blacktown Leisure Centre Stanhope was awarded the AH Pierce 2016 Facility of the Year at the Aquatic and Recreation Institute Awards. Mount Druitt Swimming Centre was also named as a finalist
  

• Blacktown City’s Stormwater Education Program won the Stormwater NSW Excellence Award in the Excellence in Policy or Education category for its project titled Expanding the Reach of Stormwater Education in Blacktown City.
  

• NSW Local Govt Excellence Award (Special Project Initiative) for the White Ribbon accreditation project.
  

• RH Dougherty Award (Highly Commended) in the Excellence in Communication category for its White Ribbon accreditation campaign
  

• RH Dougherty Award (Highly Commended) Reporting to your Community category for the “Sporting City” themed 2015 Annual Report, Community Report and Community Calendar.
  

• The Conservation Commendation for Heritage Architects from the Australian Institute of Architects (Restoration of Melrose House)
  

• Commendation award from the Australian Property Institute (Restoration of Melrose House)
  

• Blacktown City Council’s 2015 annual report was awarded a bronze award at the Australasian Reporting Awards in June 2016.
  

• Peel Reserve at The Ponds was awarded a high commendation in the Playspace: Major (>$0.5m) category at the 2016 Parks and Leisure Australia (NSW/ACT) Awards of Excellence
  

The public open space at the corner of Erby Place and Phillip Street in the City’s popular Eat Street precinct will be upgraded to provide a more relaxed urban refuge for workers and restaurant goers.

The shaded open space, known as Erby Place Pocket Park, adjoins the Eat Street car park and is a high traffic area for pedestrians and vehicles accessing the car park and nearby restaurants.

“The project will include the installation of high quality granite paving, new floral plantings, an integrated lighting and music system, landscaping, and improved seating and drainage. New power outlets will also be installed to allow workers to recharge their phones and laptops. The popular, established jacaranda trees will be retained as part of the upgrades,” City of Parramatta Administrator Amanda Chadwick said.

“Erby Place Pocket Park will be a more open and inviting area. The upgrades will provide a much needed rejuvenation of the public space, enhancing the amenity of the area and ensuring its continued use as a popular thoroughfare and city centre refuge for workers and visitors.

“The changes will also enable better use of the space for events such as the Parramatta Lanes festival.”

Work on the $600,000 Erby Place Park project started last week and is expected to be completed before Parramatta Lanes in October.

Novotel Sydney Parramatta is giving free wireless internet to every conference delegate for the rest of 2016! Simply book your meeting between now and 31st December 2016 and receive our discounted $65.00 day delegate package with complimentary wireless internet.

Novotel Sydney Parramatta has the right conference space for you with 11 newly refurbished event venues featuring state-of-the-art audio visual equipment and convenient undercover secure parking. You can plan your meeting with Novotel Sydney Parramatta’s professional event planning and catering teams.

To book your event please contact our conference and events team on h8787-sb4@accor.com

(L-R) Minister for Local Government, The Hon Paul Toole MP, Patrick Keough (YERG), Dave Ramas (CCC), Sebastian Houbert (CYN), 

Michele Mullineaux (CCC), Campbelltown Mayor, Cr Paul Hawker

Campbelltown City’s Youth Week program has taken out top honours at the 2016 Local Government Week Awards, receiving the Youth Week Award for the best local program.

Each year, the Minister responsible for youth affairs, in conjunction with the Department of Family and Community Services and Local Government NSW, present awards acknowledging the role played by local councils in helping young people to plan and coordinate Youth Week programs and activities.

Council’s 2016 Youth Week program was awarded joint winner of the Best Local Youth Week Program category with Cessnock City Council, in recognition of the level of youth participation in the planning and attendance of Youth Week activities, the capacity provided by Youth Week activities for young people to showcase their skills and talents and raise issues of concern to them, and activities which highlight the positive contribution young people make to the community.

Mayor of Campbelltown, Cr Paul Hawker, said the award was reflective of Council’s commitment to providing a range of activities and opportunities for local young people, both during Youth Week and throughout the year.

“Council's youth development programs, including our annual Youth Week initiatives, offer free or low cost options for local young people to enjoy safe, healthy activities in their local area.”

“They also provide opportunities for local young people to develop leadership skills, be exposed to the music and events industries, and gain knowledge and skills in technical/operational support, event management and marketing roles,” Cr Hawker said.

“I congratulate those involved in this year’s Youth Week program on this significant acknowledgement of their efforts and commitment, and I encourage other local young people to get involved and share their ideas for future programs, events and initiatives in Campbelltown City by joining our Youth Entertainment Reference Group or the Campbelltown Youth Network,” Cr Hawker added.

Volunteers involved in Council’s Youth Entertainment Reference Group (YERG) and the Campbelltown Youth Network (CYN) actively assist in the development, facilitation and evaluation of local youth activities, youth forums and all ages music events throughout the year. For more information on how to be involved, contact Council's Youth Project Officer on 4645 4816 or email youth@campbelltown.nsw.gov.au

To keep up-to-date with local youth initiatives, follow facebook.com/ctownyouth or visit Council’s website.

The land has been cleared and the builders have now moved on site, ready to start building our new 'home away from home' to ensure that over 400 families that we turned away last year have a safe and comfortable place to stay while their seriously ill child is being treated at The Children's Hospital Westmead.

Mike Thomas, Ronald McDonald House Westmead Executive Officer, said research has shown that there are better outcomes for our seriously ill young patients and their families when they are together and the new House will provide this home, support and one less worry during difficult times.

"We are incredibly excited to see site preparation underway following years of planning and support from both the NSW Government and the corporate sector," Mr Thomas said.

Northcott, with support from the City of Parramatta, is proud to be hosting Walk With Me through Parramatta’s CBD on Wednesday 21 September. 

Walk with Me is a short community walk that aims to advocate for inclusion and raise awareness about disability and the potential of every individual. 

The walk commences at the corner of Market and Church Streets, Parramatta and follows Church Street to Centenary Square and Parramatta Town Hall. Sections of Church Street will be closed to traffic for this special event. At the finish line in Centenary Square, a street party featuring live music, other entertainment, food and information stalls will be held.

Show children and adults with disability that they matter to you by registering for Walk With Me today at http://bit.ly/wwm_2016.

Bring your work colleagues, family and friends. In 2015, close to 1,000 children and adults joined in the fun – let’s make a new record this year!

Event details:

Date: Wednesday 21 September

Start: Corner of Market and Church Streets, Parramatta

Finish: Centenary Square, Parramatta with entertainment, food and information stands

Time: 11am-2pm

For enquiries, or to see how you can support Walk With Me, please email:

E: Jodie.wilkins@northcott.com.au.

Book your end of year celebration with Events by ATC by the 31st October and you will receive *6 bottles of Moet & Chandon and all guests will each receive two complimentary passes to a race day of their choice *non-carnival.

Royal Randwick and the recent $28 million dollar refurbished Rosehill Gardens offer premier multipurpose venues, award winning catering and beverage options to suit any function. Our stellar team of event professionals will finesse every event detail to ensure your end of year is a night to remember!

Events by ATC welcome the opportunity to show you through our impressive venues and discuss further, contact the sales team today for more details:

E: events@australianturfclub.com.au 

P: 1300 729 668

*Not to be used during the event

*Non carnival race day Autumn and Spring

Westmead Medical Research Foundation are offering free My Westmead Community Seminars throughout the year featuring medical professionals who will present the latest information on a variety of health topics. Each seminar includes a Q&A session with the presenter and is followed by either morning or afternoon tea.

The next My Westmead Community Seminar will be held on September 8 and will 

discuss new and novel treatments of Type 1 Diabetes.  

The event details are as follows:

Speaker: Associate Professor Wayne Hawthorne

When: Thursday 8 September 2016

Time: 2:00pm

RSVP: 1800 639 037 or click here to register online

Registration is required for all seminars so please RSVP early.