Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils
Encyclopedia
Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) is one of the oldest Regional Organisations of Councils
or ROCs in NSW, Australia
. It was formed in November 1973 to represent the councils of Western Sydney and to advocate for the people of the region. Its current membership includes 11 of the 14 Greater Western Sydney
councils, making it one of the largest NSW Regional Organisations of Councils
The WSROC region covers 5,800 square kilometres and had an estimated resident population as at 30 June 2008 of 1,665,673.
government elected in 1972 had a strong interest in regions and formed the Department of Urban and Regional Development. In 1973 the Department introduced a program to promote regional cooperation between councils, identifying 76 regions across Australia.
These regions were also intended to be a vehicle for federal funding for local services and infrastructure to bypass the largely non-Labor state governments of the time. However, by the time the Labor government was sacked in 1975, only 13 of these regional organisations had received substantial funding and of these ROCs only two continue to operate.
One of the two ROCs to survive is WSROC. At the time of its formation in 1973, councils in Western Sydney
had already been meeting in a number of informal groupings to discuss their concerns. These largely centred on the failure of state governments in the postwar era to provide infrastructure and services such as hospitals, public transport and tertiary education to match the region’s rapidly growing population.
These concerns coincided with the Whitlam government’s interest in regional cooperation and provided the basis for WSROC’s ongoing support by its member councils even after the demise of the Labor government.
WSROC employed its first staff member in 1977 and became a company limited in 1991. Although most of the other Whitlam-era ROCs eventually folded, WSROC itself became a model for the formation in the 1980s and 1990s of a number of other ROCs. WSROC remains distinct from most other ROCs, however, because of its continued strong emphasis on research and advocacy.
Key campaigns and other WSROC regional initiatives include:
In addition WSROC prepares State and Federal Election Issues Papers, comprising a set of one-page sheets identifying up to ten key issues for every major policy area. These are distributed to the candidates and leaders of all the major parties in the run-up to each election, with the issues papers and the party responses published on the WSROC website.
Not all of WSROC's campaigns have succeeded, but even in these cases the organisation has usually had some impact on the policy debate. The organisation's advocacy has probably been least successful in relation to persuading state governments to make major investments in the region's public transport infrastructure, particularly the construction of new rail lines.
The WSROC board comprises two voting directors from each member council who serve a four-year term concurrent with their councillor terms. The directors in turn elect the organisation’s president and other executive positions. The organisation is supported by a small regional secretariat. Several professional committees made up of staff from member Councils also assist in implementing the work program.
The Board sets WSROC's strategic plan and work program through a planning forum held every four years and regularly reviewed. The work program centres on WSROC's primary role - to lobby for the councils and communities of Western Sydney - but the organisation also undertakes a number of other “typical” ROC roles such as regional project development and management, resource sharing between councils and supporting regional joint purchase initiatives.
Current examples include Chris Bowen
who is the Federal Minister for Financial Services, Superannuation and Corporate Law and Minister for Human Services and who served as a WSROC president, as did Paul Lynch
who is the Minister for Ageing, Minister for Disability Services and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs in the NSW state government and Helen Westwood
, a member of the NSW Legislative Council.
Regional Organisations of Councils
Regional Organisations of Councils – sometimes called Voluntary Regional Organisations of Councils – are voluntary groupings of councils in Australia...
or ROCs in NSW, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It was formed in November 1973 to represent the councils of Western Sydney and to advocate for the people of the region. Its current membership includes 11 of the 14 Greater Western Sydney
Greater Western Sydney
Greater Western Sydney is a term used to describe the western region of the metropolitan area of Sydney, Australia. The University of Western Sydney defines Greater Western Sydney as comprising 14 local government areas...
councils, making it one of the largest NSW Regional Organisations of Councils
NSW Regional Organisations of Councils
New South Wales has 17 Regional Organisations of Councils which are voluntary groupings of councils in Australia. ROCs usually involve collaborative partnerships between neighbouring councils in a particular region or area...
Membership
The following councils make up WSROC:- Auburn CouncilAuburn CouncilAuburn Council is the governing body of a local government area in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, about 15 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district...
- Bankstown City Council
- Blacktown City Council
- Blue Mountains City Council
- Fairfield City Council
- Hawkesbury City Council
- The Hills Shire Council
- Holroyd City Council
- City of Liverpool (New South Wales)
- Parramatta City Council
- Penrith City Council
The WSROC region covers 5,800 square kilometres and had an estimated resident population as at 30 June 2008 of 1,665,673.
History
The Whitlam federal LaborAustralian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
government elected in 1972 had a strong interest in regions and formed the Department of Urban and Regional Development. In 1973 the Department introduced a program to promote regional cooperation between councils, identifying 76 regions across Australia.
These regions were also intended to be a vehicle for federal funding for local services and infrastructure to bypass the largely non-Labor state governments of the time. However, by the time the Labor government was sacked in 1975, only 13 of these regional organisations had received substantial funding and of these ROCs only two continue to operate.
One of the two ROCs to survive is WSROC. At the time of its formation in 1973, councils in Western Sydney
Western Sydney
Western Sydney is a major region of Sydney, Australia. It has a number of different definitions but one consistently used is the region composed of the 11 councils which until recently were all members of the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils:* Auburn Council* Bankstown City Council*...
had already been meeting in a number of informal groupings to discuss their concerns. These largely centred on the failure of state governments in the postwar era to provide infrastructure and services such as hospitals, public transport and tertiary education to match the region’s rapidly growing population.
These concerns coincided with the Whitlam government’s interest in regional cooperation and provided the basis for WSROC’s ongoing support by its member councils even after the demise of the Labor government.
WSROC employed its first staff member in 1977 and became a company limited in 1991. Although most of the other Whitlam-era ROCs eventually folded, WSROC itself became a model for the formation in the 1980s and 1990s of a number of other ROCs. WSROC remains distinct from most other ROCs, however, because of its continued strong emphasis on research and advocacy.
WSROC’s achievements
WSROC has been cited as one of Australia’s most successful ROCs. These assessments refer primarily to the organisation’s regional advocacy role and those campaigns which were successful usually also involved a number of other key partners, including community organisations and the councils themselves.Key campaigns and other WSROC regional initiatives include:
- “Beds to the West” campaign (1970s and 80s) for more hospital beds and other health services in the region.
- Campaign to create the University of Western SydneyUniversity of Western SydneyThe University of Western Sydney, also known as UWS, is a multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
(1980s). - Creation of a regional group apprenticeship and training scheme, WSROC Training & Employment (1980s).
- Lobbying to establish the Greater Western Sydney Economic Development Board (1990s)
- The Western Sydney Vision Statement (1994) which was the first attempt to create an alternative regionally-based model for metropolitan planning. The Statement also articulated a proposal for a regional system of dedicated bus and light rail corridors which later formed the basis for the region's bus transitways (T-wayT-wayT-way or a transitway is a bus rapid transit line in the western suburbs of Sydney, Australia.T-ways were conceived as an alternative to commuter railway services because of the lower cost and higher flexibility that they offer. T-ways can be constructed without the need for a dedicated corridor or...
s). - Lobbying to create a Minister for Western Sydney in the NSW government (1997)
- TeamWest (1997-2002) a “virtual organisation” comprising key regional stakeholders, which attempted to identify common goals and priorities as a basis for joint advocacy.
- Fast-tracking of the Westlink M7Westlink M7Westlink M7 - formerly Western Sydney Orbital - is one of Sydney, Australia's urban motorways and a part of Metroad 7 and the Sydney Orbital Network. It connects three Metroads: M5 at Prestons, M4 at Eastern Creek and M2 at Baulkham Hills...
Motorway (2000s). WSROC joined with a number of other organisations including the NSW Chamber of Commerce, the GWS Economic Development Board and the NRMA to lobby the federal and state governments to bring forward construction of the motorway. - FutureWest (2001-2005) a major project involving research into the issues affecting the region and local areas and the development of a regional planning and management framework setting out 10 key strategic directions for spatial planning.
- "Authoring Contemporary Australia – A Regional Cultural Strategy for Greater Western Sydney" (2005) focused o� the relationshiq between cultu2d, identity and the built environment and sought to strengthen the "soft" cultural infrastructure of the region.
- Sub-regional employment strategies (2008). Development of the strategies was undertaken for WSROC and its member councils by the University of Western Sydney to support the employment development components of the Sydney Metropolitan Strategy.
In addition WSROC prepares State and Federal Election Issues Papers, comprising a set of one-page sheets identifying up to ten key issues for every major policy area. These are distributed to the candidates and leaders of all the major parties in the run-up to each election, with the issues papers and the party responses published on the WSROC website.
Not all of WSROC's campaigns have succeeded, but even in these cases the organisation has usually had some impact on the policy debate. The organisation's advocacy has probably been least successful in relation to persuading state governments to make major investments in the region's public transport infrastructure, particularly the construction of new rail lines.
Structure
All member councils make an equal annual contribution to the operating costs of WSROC and have equal voting rights on the organisation’s board, which is its primary decision-making body .The WSROC board comprises two voting directors from each member council who serve a four-year term concurrent with their councillor terms. The directors in turn elect the organisation’s president and other executive positions. The organisation is supported by a small regional secretariat. Several professional committees made up of staff from member Councils also assist in implementing the work program.
The Board sets WSROC's strategic plan and work program through a planning forum held every four years and regularly reviewed. The work program centres on WSROC's primary role - to lobby for the councils and communities of Western Sydney - but the organisation also undertakes a number of other “typical” ROC roles such as regional project development and management, resource sharing between councils and supporting regional joint purchase initiatives.
WSROC's Mission Statement
“Our mission is: to secure - through research, lobbying and the fostering of cooperation between councils - a sustainable lifestyle for the people of Western Sydney and the provision of infrastructure such that no one should have to leave the region to have access to the sorts of amenities, services and opportunities others in urban Australia take for granted.”WSROC’s Objectives
WSROC's objectives, as set out in its Constitution, are:- To consider the needs of the local government areas and of the people of the Western Region of Sydney and to make known those needs to the Commonwealth and New South Wales Governments and the wider community.
- To submit to the Commonwealth and New South Wales Governments requests for financial assistance, policy changes and additional resources for the Western Region of Sydney and Members.
- To strengthen the role of local government in regional affairs, particularly where the Western Region of Sydney may be affected by Commonwealth or New South Wales Government policy.
- To foster cooperation between Members in addressing problems and projects of joint interest.
- To advance the interests of the Western Region of Sydney.
- To assist Members to carry out their duties, functions and powers under the Local Government Act, and any other statute making provision for duties, functions or powers of the Members.
WSROC alumni
A number of politicians who were subsequently elected to state or federal parliament had key roles on the WSROC board in the early stages of their political careers.Current examples include Chris Bowen
Chris Bowen
Christopher Eyles "Chris" Bowen , an Australian federal politician, is a member of the Australian House of Representatives, initially elected to represent the seat of Prospect in western Sydney for the Australian Labor Party at the 2004 federal election...
who is the Federal Minister for Financial Services, Superannuation and Corporate Law and Minister for Human Services and who served as a WSROC president, as did Paul Lynch
Paul Lynch (politician)
Paul Gerard Lynch MP, an Australian politician, is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Liverpool since 1995 for the Australian Labor Party.-Early career and background:...
who is the Minister for Ageing, Minister for Disability Services and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs in the NSW state government and Helen Westwood
Helen Westwood
Helen Westwood is an Australian politician and Australian Labor Party member of the New South Wales Legislative Council. Westwood has been a member of the Council since 24 March 2007.-Personal and early life:...
, a member of the NSW Legislative Council.
See also
- Regional Organisations of CouncilsRegional Organisations of CouncilsRegional Organisations of Councils – sometimes called Voluntary Regional Organisations of Councils – are voluntary groupings of councils in Australia...
- Regions of New South WalesRegions of New South WalesIn the state of New South Wales, Australia, there are many areas which are commonly known by regional names. Regions are areas that share similar characteristics. These characteristics may be natural such as the Murray River, the coastline, or the Snowy Mountains. Alternatively, the...
- Local Government Areas of New South WalesLocal Government Areas of New South WalesThe local government areas of New South Wales, Australia have been subject to periodic bouts of restructuring and rationalisation by the State Government, involving voluntary and involuntary amalgamation of areas...
- Greater Western SydneyGreater Western SydneyGreater Western Sydney is a term used to describe the western region of the metropolitan area of Sydney, Australia. The University of Western Sydney defines Greater Western Sydney as comprising 14 local government areas...