Region. UWS staff cutbacks

The National Tertiary Education Union at UWS claims management is trying to cut administrative staff numbers in the school of management by half, which would mean the loss of 10 jobs, The Australian Financial Review reported. Branch president, Terry Mason, said highly committed staff had been left feeling disrespected. Responding to the concerns, UWS said the school had one of the highest administrative to academic staff ratios in the university and a final decision had yet to be made.

Sydney Olympic Park. Deal with French firm

StadeFrance Live Events, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Stade de France, in France, has a five-year agreement with ANZ Stadium to stage exclusively first night performances of classic theatre, opera and contemporary entertainment. “The prospect of regular artistic performances on a grand scale complements our current schedule of major sporting events making ANZ Stadium one of the world’s most versatile stadiums,” said Daryl Kerry, the newly-appointed ANZ Stadium CEO, following the departure of Ken Edwards. Mr Kerry was deputy CEO.

Baulkham Hills. MOU for MoniTec in China

Baulkham Hills-based, MoniTec, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Shanghai Industrial Trading Company appointing the company as national distributor of MoniTec’s intelligent monitoring and control technologies in the poultry industry in China. The MOU positions MoniTec to be the main control technology provider for the Chinese poultry industry, which produces 13 million tonnes of chicken for consumption annually and is undertaking a modernisation program. MoniTec is a member of the Parramatta-based Western Sydney Information Technology Cluster (WSITC).

Penrith. Plans gathering dust

The Penrith Lakes Development Corporation has conceded that a change of ownership combined with the global downturn meant the Penrith Lakes Scheme urban development was unlikely any time soon, according to the Penrith Press. In February 2007, then state planning minister, Frank Sartor, unveiled plans for 400 hectares of residential and commercial use with housing for up to 14,000 people. The development, in the largest sand and gravel quarry in Australia spanning 2000 hectares around Castlereagh, was also expected to deliver 30,000 jobs by 2031. A series of corporate takeovers in 2007 saw the project grind to a halt.