Region. Inaugural award for women

Melissa Williams, a mother of two from Merrylands who is a PhD student and director of a University of Western Sydney indigenous affairs program. is one of two winners in the indigenous category of the inaugural Women in Leadership Scholarship, funded by Chief Executive Women and the Australian Graduate School of Management. Arabella Douglas, a director at the Aboriginal Housing Office in Parramatta, is the other recipient.

Macquarie Park. Chinese investors

CBRE senior director, Tim Rees, said 90 per cent of 470 apartments, at Macquarie Park, were being sold to the Chinese market. Most were to local Chinese but up to 20 per cent were offshore investors.

Liverpool. No uni campus for the city

Liverpool Council plans to establish a local university campus have fallen short. The University of NSW, the University of Sydney and the University of Western Sydney but none expressed any immediate interest in establishing a local campus. Liverpool Council acting general manger Julie Hately said councillors were considering options that could be put to the University of Sydney that would be of mutual benefit to both organisations and the community. A University of Western Sydney spokesman said UWS was not at present interested in establishing a Liverpool campus.

Leura. On the short list

iKOU, a Leura small business that began as a home-based operation in Blackheath in 2008, providing beauty and other products, has been short-listed for the prestigious Telstra Australian Business Awards. Founded and run by Paul and Naomi Whitfeld, iKOU will take on the nation’s best at the awards in the categories of Regional Business of the Year and Small Business of the Year. iKOU makes products for about 500 businesses including the Park Hyatt in Sydney, a resort in the Seychelles Islands and a leading hotel chain in Japan.

Lansvale. Vietnamese TV

Vietface TV, a free-to-air, 24-hour channel based at Lansvale, is Australia’s first Vietnamese-language television channel, programming talk shows, local news, documentaries, children’s programs and entertainment

Region. Focus on the West

The future of Sydney and Western Sydney will be a topic of discussion in the coming months. The NSW Department of Infrastructure and Planning will host an information session on the long-term future of Sydney, at Parramatta, on June 13. The Western Sydney Business Connection (WSBC) will host at function, at the Crowne Plaza, Norwest, on June 21, when Nick Greiner will speak on Infrastructure in Greater Western Sydney. The WSBA will host the State of the Region, at Rosehill Gardens, on July 24, and the WSBC in conjunction with the NSW Property Council of Australia, will stage Spotlight on Western Sydney, at the WatervieW, Bicentennial Park, on August 28.

South West. More land purchased

The Department of Planning and Infrastructure has acquired more land for the South West Rail Link taking total expenditure to $131.5 million. Seventy-six parcels of land have been acquired and transferred to Transport for NSW.