Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) has urged federal politicians to deliver on a fairer deal for Western Sydney, releasing a detailed 2025 Federal Election Issues Brief.
WSROC President, Brad Bunting, said that with the 2025 federal election on the horizon, WSROC is calling on federal politicians to work more closely with local councils to address key issues facing Western Sydney.
“Western Sydney is growing at an unprecedented rate,” Cr Bunting said.
“By 2036, more than half of Sydney’s population will live west of Parramatta, and Greater Western Sydney’s population is set to surge from 2.4 million today to 4.1 million by 2041.
“To tackle the pressures arising out of such rapid growth, WSROC members have identified ten priorities that the next federal government must address.”
WSROC’s ten priority areas for the next federal government to address are:
- Reforming local government funding to support building stronger, resilient communities
- Assisting councils with local skills and labour shortages
- Investing in public transport across the region
- Monitoring the impacts of the new Western Sydney Airport by establishing a community forum
- Investing in ‘Country’ across Greater Western Sydney to ‘Close the Gap’ for one of Australia’s largest First Nations populations
- Managing the impacts of heatwaves through national housing and disaster policies and establishing a heat innovation fund
- Implementing national packaging stewardship to prevent hard-to-recycle packaging and unsafe products
- Stopping the importation of problem wastes such as PFAS
- Support local emissions reduction
- Protecting Western Sydney’s unique species
“At the top of the list is sustainable funding for local government,” Cr Bunting said.
“For too long, local government funding has fallen short of what’s needed to deliver essential services. This is a challenge across Australia, but in Western Sydney, rapid population growth makes the situation even more urgent.
“Growth areas mingle with suburbs that have a long history of inadequate spending on the facilities, spaces and services essential to support a decent quality of life and the wellbeing of our communities.
“Councils are having to compete with each other for government grants to pay for basic necessities like road repairs.”
Cr Bunting said that for this reason, there is an urgent need to review funding arrangements for councils including Federal Assistance Grants and more.
“Western Sydney councils are seeking a federal-state partnership to deliver the transport investment needed, to address cost-of-living, congestion and emissions in Greater Western Sydney.
“Greater Western Sydney has long experienced a backlog in public transport infrastructure.
“Nearly half of Western Sydney residents rely on their car to get to work, many paying thousands of dollars in tolls per year – and road transport accounts for around a third of Western Sydney’s carbon emissions.
“Critical skills and labour shortages at the local level are also impacting Western Sydney communities, putting a brake on local economic development and service delivery by councils.
“We hope to engage with the next federal government to find better ways to help councils attract, train and maintain staff in areas of skills shortage.”
Cr Bunting said that WSROC member councils are calling on the federal government to introduce regulatory reform to support heat resilience across Western Sydney, by including minimum heat safety standards for new homes and acknowledgement of heatwave in the Disaster Funding Arrangements.
“These reforms are essential for addressing both cost-of-living and meeting our 2050 emissions targets.
“WSROC is calling on the federal government to legislate clear mandates to ensure Australian packaging is easily recycled and reused; to restrict the importation of PFAS products; and develop safer disposal methods for other hazardous wastes.
“These changes would go a long way in reducing waste to landfill downstream.
“The WSROC brief aligns with both Local Government NSW (LGNSW) and Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) advocacy, particularly around councils’ financial resilience, and will be a key tool to inform advocacy through both political and professional forums.”
To view or download a copy of the WSROC 2025 Federal Election Issues Brief, visit wsroc.com.au
