Penrith. Promotion for David Bradbury

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has appointed David Bradbury. MP for Lindsay, as parliamentary secretary to the Treasurer, Wayne Swan, to help on competition policy. consumer affairs, financial literacy and competition law and tax.

Region. Unis over-enroll students

Macquarie University (and Newcastle University) topped a survey of 30 universities which over-enrolled students in 2010, with a figure of 19 per cent. The University of Western Sydney was ranked sixth with 17 per cent, in the survey conducted by The Australian Financial Review. The paper said universities have significantly lifted student numbers as they compete to meet tough new federal government targets for stronger participation in higher education.

Carlingford. Students with migrant backgrounds

The best performing school in the state, James Ruse Agricultural High School, at Carlingford, is also the selective school with the most students from a migrant background. New figures obtained under FOI laws show that 95.2 per cent of students list a language background other than English in their entry application. Only 41 students from an English-speaking background are studying at the school - an average of seven in each year. Children of migrants fill almost 80 per cent of the places offered at the state's top 10 selective high schools, which are all ranked in the top 20 HSC performers. The dominant cultural group is Chinese, with the most applicants and the highest success rate in the entry test. The second most represented group was Vietnamese followed by Korean.

Parramatta. Paul Hogan sells office building

Actor Paul Hogan has severed property links with Australia, after the $12.2 million sale of a Parramatta office block investment. The property, held within the Hogan children's discretionary trust, Monthia Pty Ltd, since 2005, sold at a loss. The actor bought it in 1988 for $13.6 million. The unnamed property is an eight-storey building on a 2230 square metre site. It has a net lettable area of 5382 square metres, with 164 parking spaces.

Prospect. $80 million theme park

Premier Kristina Keneally has unveiled plans for an $80 million Wet’n’Wild theme park, which would create some 300 jobs, at Prospect, on a 25-hectare site off the M4 and M7 motorways. A DA will be lodged after a 50-year lease was struck between the NSW government and Village Roadshow, which expects the park to be completed in the summer of 2013-14 and could attract 900,000 visitors annually.

Region. M7 toll to rise

The maximum toll increase on the M7 will increase to $6.87 from October 1. The operators, Westlink 7, uses a distance-based tolling system and charges a cents per kilometre rate which will,increase from 34.15 cents to 34.37 cents a kilometre after the change.

Parramatta. Imbalance in demand and supply

The Parramatta office market was heading towards an imbalance between supply and demand, according to Michael Fenton, NSW MD, of Jones Lang LaSalle. “The Parramatta area is in desperate need of new supply if it is going to meet the expansion of existing tenants. Given much of the vacancy only exists in small parcels, there are no options available to larger users within the Parramatta market that would like to upgrade, expand or relocate within the market,” Mr Fenton said in The Sydney Morning Herald. The best solution he said would be for the development of a medium-size office building to be undertaken speculatively. Parramatta was attracting government-related state and federal departments.

Kings Park. Dexion gets an apology

Meca Racking Solutions, in Victoria, has apologised to Dexion (Australia) Pty Limited, based in Kings Park, for the conduct of an employee and has given an undertaking that it will not make any comparisons of its products with those of Dexion, nor will it use any documents belonging to Dexion in any way.

Region. Three councils sign MOU

An alliance has been formed between the Hills Shire, Hornsby and Hawkesbury councils to strengthen their roles in local government. The memorandum of understanding states they will work co-operatively by developing plans and policies for planning matters, infrastructure, transport and economic development. Hills Mayor, John Dimbrowsky said the councils would seek to capitalise on the success of the Hawkesbury Harvest, Hawkesbury Race Club, Riverside Oaks and Wiseman’s Ferry, which he called ``Sydney's playground of the future''. Clr Dimbrowsky said it was important for the council to establish close relationships with neighbouring councils after Hills’ decision not to continue its membership with the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC), which the council officially resigned from on June 30.

Parramatta. Receiver sale

The two-storey heritage-listed building on the north-east corner of Church and Phillip streets, in the Parramatta CBD, is to be auctioned under instructions from Neil Cusson and Simon Cathro, of Deloitte. The 335-square-metre building is on a site area of 250 square metres, and includes Liana’s restaurant, with a full commercial-grade kitchen and wet bar. A branch of the ANZ Bank formerly occupied the building with its distinctive green dome; it was built in 1889. Knight Frank will auction the building on October 12.

Kings Park. Dexion is a 'lean' firm

Members of the Western Sydney Manufacturers Network (WSMN) will visit Dexion (Australia) Pty Limited, at Kings Park, to learn key competencies that make Dexion successful as the leading supplier of commercial workspaces, integrated systems and industrial storage solutions. The company’s 33,000-metre-site manufactures its entire Australian pallet racking requirements. The company, which adopted a lean manufacturing strategy in 2007, has the Comino Research Centre, a dedicated research and training centre that dramatically increases the ‘speed-to-market’ for new products; it is a first for the Australian industry. WSMN, affiliated with the Parramatta-based Western Sydney Business Connection, aims to help regional manufacturers improve their business practices and outcomes through a range of activities and opportunities, said WSMN facilitator John Pearson. Non-members are able to attend on Wednesday, September 29. Details: 9687 2788.