From the Chair - May 2023

Cr Mathew Dickerson Chair of RCNSW and Cr Russell Webb Deputy-Chair of RCNSW meets with the Hon Jenny Aitchison MP New South Wales Minister for Regional Transport and Roads.

I would like to extend my congratulations to the newly installed Minns Government and I am pleased to say that Regional Cities New South Wales (RCNSW) has already kicked off a strong working relationship with the new government.

Our Board was pleased to meet with two key Ministers with more meetings planned in June. RCNSW was also invited to join a Roundtable to provide feedback on the New South Wales (NSW) infrastructure capital program to assist the Government in the preparation of the State Budget.

During the election campaign Regional Cities NSW (RCNSW) championed the case for regional NSW to ensure that both sides of politics understood the needs of regional cities when building their policy platforms for the next four years. In particular, RCNSW focused on the issues of regional housing, skills, jobs and lifestyle, population growth, workplace hubs and connectivity. I’m pleased to say this hard work paid off with some important election commitments across all the major policy areas.

Most notably however, Regional Cities NSW has been successful in securing funding for a business case to develop infrastructure solutions to road freight choke points across regional NSW, and would like to thank the New South Wales Government for their funding and support of this important project.  Read more

We were also very pleased to welcome a number of new regional initiatives in the Federal Budget, including a new Regional Investment Framework and $600 million for Round 1 of the Growing Regions Program.  Read more

With the State Budget looming in September, we are focused on building a collaborative and productive relationship with the State Government that benefits regional cities across New South Wales.