Parramatta Jobs growth prospects

Parramatta City Council maintains its own trend estimate, and that stated in the Department of Planning’s (DOP) Metropolitan Plan (2005), of between 30,000 and 40,000 additional workers in the city, in the next 20 years, rather than the “likely” additional figure, released in December 2009, of 11,000, by 2036, as forecast by the Department of Transport’s (DOT) Transport Data Centre (TDC). “The TDC forecasts were based on work by Access Economics which was in the middle of and took account of the GFC at a time when there was a lot of doom and gloom,” council said. The DOT said it took into account the fact that Parramatta did not grow in employment terms between the 2001 and 2006 census and plans for increased development in a range of other areas such as Olympic Park and Macquarie Park, Western Sydney Employment Area, Green Square and Barangaroo. “DOT forecasts of a likely future, and DOP’s use of targets to help stimulate development, are legitimately different,” the DOT said.

Region. WSROC seeks assistant director

Western Sydney lobby group, the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) has advertised the position of assistant director. Duties include: to support and enhance the role of WSROC member councils; to assist in managing the work program within the strategic plan; to provide the organisation with high quality advocacy, lobbying, project management and research skills and services relating to areas of the work program; and to develop WSROC’s regional research and advocacy role regarding issues which affect Western Sydney related to the organisation’s work program areas. A package is negotiable around $90,000 to $105,000.

Parramatta. Focus groups cancelled

Parramatta City Council has cancelled focus groups to discuss the continuation of the infrastructure and economic special rates levied on the city’s business sector - for lack of interest. Council expected a good attendance, especially, as it canvassed the 300 business people who attended the State of the City Address by Lord Mayor, Paul Garrard. So much so it limited one group place to each organisation. The objective of the two groups was to ascertain and understand the views of business regarding the continuation of the special rates, plus which of the following broad project areas were important: marketing the city to visitors, investment attraction, securing major events, redevelopment of key city sites and provision of socio-economic data and information.