Racing returns to Rosehill

The local racing industry - and the local economy - will get a welcome boost when racing returns to Rosehill Gardens Racecourse on December 8 following the equine influenza outbreak in August. Sydney Turf Club chief executive, Michael Kenny, said the start date was just what the racing industry needed. A meeting was planned for Rosehill early this month but was cancelled after five horses stabled there contracted the highly-contagious virus.

Mortgage stress in Parramatta

Mortgage stress in the federal seat of Parramatta - that is the percentage of households spending more than 30 per cent of their monthly income on a mortgage - is 35.7 per cent, with households making an average monthly payment of $1711. Housing stress figures in other Western Sydney electorates that will decide the federal election are Lindsay (focussing on Penrith) and Macquarie (Blue Mountains), with figures of 33.5 per cent and 26.1 per cent respectively, according to "The Australian Financial Review".

Artists helped to start small businesses

Artists who live or work in Western Sydney can participate in a free course, one day a week for 15 weeks, to attian skills to operat a small business. The Parramatta Artists Studios has introduced a federal Government program called, "artSmart: Building sustainable creative industries". It is a series of 18 practical workshops cover areas such as marketing., financial and taxation management, legal issues, capital raising, product development and creating and maintaining creative clusters