Windsor. $100 million duck business

Pepes Ducks Pty Ltd, at South Windsor, is the largest producer of ducks in Australia/New Zealand, has more than doubled its production over the past five years to some 70,000 ducks per week, earning an annual turnover of $100 million. The company hopes to boost its staff numbers from 120 to 170 when a new factory is built to export ducks to Asia. The business includes 21 farms from the Hawkesbury to Badgerys Creek and Cobbitty. The family-owned business has been operating for three decades.

Ryde. University aims high

Macquarie University aims to be ranked among the top eight research universities in Australia and the best 200 in the world. The university, which, at a cost of $22 million, seeks to appoint 150 new research staff by 2014, has already recruited 42 new researchers over the past two years and is after another 43. Macquarie has capital works totalling $419 million underway, with completion dates in 2009. Projects expected to be completed in 2010-2013 total $620 million. The university, also,proposes to develop 620,000 square metres of commercial space The Parramatta CBD contained 660.326 square metres of commercial office space, at January 1.

Liverpool. Controversial site to open

Developer Nabil Gazal plans to open the Liverpool Markets in the controversial Orange Grove Centre, in Liverpool, this weekend after a $6 million overhaul of an old Direct Factory Outlet. The centre will house 225 traders selling goods including up-market fashion, craft and food. The NSW Land and Environment Court forced the closure of the centre in 2004 after it found council had erred in approving the application. The State Government rezoned the land last year. Westfield has lodged a submission with council over the opening on March 28,

Region. Culture is 'core of the problem'

The culture of Western Sydney and Melbourne’s west is “the core of the problem” regarding low participation rates at university, according to Professor Don Aitken, a former vice-chancellor at the University of Canberra. “Look at the population mix in the most recent census and you’ll see that well-educated professionals of all kinds are hugely underrepresented there,” he said in The Australian Financial Review. “These two large suburban areas are short of theatres, concert halls, private schools of note, established parks and gardens (and) they are short of high-tech, knowledge-work industries.” He said, in order to boost representation, these outer urban areas needed to be made attractive to people who cared about university education for their children

Region. UWS wins employer award

The University of Western Sydney has received the prestigious Employer of Choice for Women title for the sixth consecutive year from the Federal Government's Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA. The award is given to organisations that are recognising and advancing women in the workplace. Vice-chancellor, Professor Janice Reid, said she was delighted that the university had been awarded this important honour. "On behalf of the UWS community, I am very proud that the university's achievements towards creating a fair workplace have been acknowledged in this way," she said.