I have been working hard to make sure that the residents in our city have access to the services and infrastructure that our growing community needs.

We understand the Point Cook Rd & Sneydes Rd Intersection is a priority for our community as it is for us. Council officers are working closely with VicRoads to develop design plans for the upgrade of this intersection, to include traffic signals. The shovel ready plans will be completed during the next financial year.

The upgrade of Forsyth Rd between Old Geelong Rd and Sayers Rd is drawing to an end and will help to reduce congestion in the area. 

I am pleased to see the Williams Landing Library and Community Centre project which many local residents have been waiting to see for many years.

The Library Services Strategy and other service planning work undertaken in the past two years has developed the evidence base for the need for this infrastructure.

It is exciting to see progress being made on the Truganina East Integrated Family Learning Centre which is due to be completed at the end of this year and will open in next year and the Truganina Integrated Family Centre which construction will commence in early next year and is expected to open in 2021.

As the Smart City Portfolio Holder, I am pleased to see our city making proactive steps to being a Smart City. The Smart Sports Field Planning, Monitoring & Management project will help us better understand how our many sports spaces are being used and how well they are meeting the needs of the community. Having this information will greatly support the council in making confident and transparent decisions regarding future investments and maximising the use of these facilities.

The project, being delivered in partnership with the Federal Government, is unprecedented and does not exist anywhere else in the world. Providing a real-time model of sports field usage will be a game-changer for not just Wyndham, but the entire sport and active recreation sector.

It is important that the Council continues to focus on advancing urban innovation to make our cities better.

While I’m talking about smart city, I also want to mention the Lighting the West Project Phase 3.

Council has already upgraded more than 15,000 lights, including 3,500 with smart LEDs. This project improves road safety, through the use of reliable LED technology and will save the Council more than $15 million over 20 years in reduced energy use and maintenance costs.

I’m also pleased to see the Williams Landing Blvd Reserve project, which includes the Pavilion, Car Park, Ovals & Landscape will be completed this year. 

It’s also good to see Lawrie Emmins Reserve Master Plan is progressing and the design works for Pavilion & Carpark at Bensonhurst Parade Reserve and Pavilion at Homestead Rd Reserve in Point Cook are currently underway.

The Greening the Pipeline project includes a 22ML stormwater harvesting scheme to irrigate the reserve and adjacent open space, improving the health of our waterways and future-proofing our water supply for green irrigated landscape. The council has been successful in receiving upwards of $10million in grant funding towards the implementation of the Zone 5 masterplan.

Madam Mayor, there are many good projects in this Proposed Annual Plan and Budget. I won’t be able to mention all of them. I commend council staffs for all the hard works done and I am looking forward to hearing the feedback from our community.

Thank you.