Penrith. Council to try Fair Trade

Penrith City Council will consider seeking Fair Trade accreditation by buying coffee, tea, sugar and drinking chocolate from Third World countries and will consider buying more products at the end of a trial period. Fair Trade is an international movement which seeks to guarantee better deal for farmers and workers in the developing world.

Penrit. Urban and rural balance

Peter McGhee, president, of the Penrith Valley Chamber of Commerce, said the future of Penrith lay in finding a balance between the metropolitan and rural areas. “In the next 10 years I would hope Penrith will maintain its rural character, but Penrith also needs to accommodate something like 25,000 new houses and 40,000 new jobs,” Mr McGhee said, in the Penrith Star. “The council is currently working on a plan that will see the rural characteristics are maintained. The key elements of that plan describe the land use including residential, rural and employment lands of different varieties and densities.”

Richmond. Feeding Sydney conference

The Parramatta-based UWS Urban Research Centre’s Feeding Sydney project is co-sponsoring the Feeding Sydney conference, at the UWS Hawkesbury campus, in September, to be followed by the Sydney Food Fairness Alliance, Food Summit, in October. Both events will discuss critical food shortages for Sydney, leading up to the official launch of Feeding Sydney at the end of the year. The centre’s GIS analyst, Maria Piquer-Rodriguez is currently mapping agricultural land in the Sydney Basin for the protection and development of these important resources.

Region. IT firms generat $700 tunrover

The NSW government’s flagship Western Sydney IT Cluster program has a membership of around 250 Western Sydney-based ICT firms, which, together generate an estimated $700 million in annual turnover and employ an estimated 2500 people. A finding of the WSITC Review, recently undertaken on behalf of the NSW Department of State and Regional Development, by the UWS’s Centre for industry and Innovation, found the cluster was achieving sustainable business and jobs growth and entry into international markets by ICT firms in Western Sydney. The cluster consisted largely of micro- and small-medium technology firms, and was providing an incubator role for many of the firms, by providing contacts and knowledge that has often proved critical to their successful growth.

Penrith. New plan for economic body

Paul Brennan, chairman, of the revamped Penrith Valley Economic Development Corporation, expects the early release of a new strategic plan for the implementation of programs for greater economic activity and business investment in the city. It will have a focus on job creation. Also, the PVEDC is developing an interactive website. Mr Brennan is the CEO and director, of ASP Plastics and ASP Healthcare, based in St Marys, and president, of the NSW Business Chamber Western Sydney.