Last year, Western Sydney Community Forum called on the NSW Government to take bolder steps to address the growing inequity that disproportionally impacts Western Sydney.

This year’s Budget represents such a bold step. The NSW Government has announced an investment of $5.1 billion towards achieving the target of 8,400 new and refurbished homes – half of which will specifically service women and children escaping domestic violence – to be complemented by a further $528 million for homelessness services.

This is overwhelmingly good news and will be warmly welcomed in Western Sydney, where current housing stock remains inadequate both in number and quality. Western Sydney has some of the state’s highest proportion of residents living in social housing, and the region’s ageing housing stock is well overdue for rejuvenation.

I also welcome the commitment of the NSW Government to spend $7.2 billion for schools and hospitals, $21 billion on public transport and $5.2 billion on roads across Western Sydney. In recent years, Western Sydney has absorbed much of the State’s new housing without receiving the complementary infrastructure needed to service these new communities. So, this investment represents a significant infrastructure injection into the region that will go some way towards addressing the infrastructure shortfall experienced as population growth has outstripped investment.

Other new measures, such as the Bulk-Billing Support Initiative and additional rebates on water and energy will also provide some relief. The continuation of the $60 weekly toll cap will be particularly well received in Western Sydney, given its drivers pay more in tolls per week on average than anywhere else in NSW.

So, at the macro level, it could be said that Western Sydney has been well served by this Budget. However, at the level of families, individuals and communities it remains to be seen if these large-scale investments will translate to improvements in the lives of people in Western Sydney.

Community organisations in Western Sydney are reporting that they are seeing many new clients seeking help who have never needed to access social services before. Rising costs are seeing families living on low-incomes struggling as never before, while social cohesion and community mental health are being increasingly tested.

While the Government has recognised some of these challenges, there is little in the NSW Budget to give communities and those that serve them hope that they will be resourced to adequately respond to needs. Absent from the Budget were tangible steps to address social cohesion, which has become increasingly vulnerable in light of recent violent incidents across Sydney. Overlooked too was concrete action to address the question of cultural and linguistic accessibility to mainstream services that continue to pose obstacles for many diverse communities in areas such as Western Sydney.

The Government’s commitment to $111.8M over four years for community mental health and wellbeing is welcome. However, it is insufficient to meet the growing community need for mental health support, particularly for regions like Western Sydney where for many people mental health challenges are being exacerbated by economic and social pressures.

Targeted support is needed that acknowledges that cost-of-living and other crises impact some communities more than others. Regions such as Western Sydney face increasingly complex challenges which cannot be resolved through top-down large-scale interventions.

With increasing numbers of families in Western Sydney unable to keep up with rising costs, many will continue to fall through the cracks. Again it will be their trusted local place-based community organisations to which they will turn for help. Place-based community organisations have connection with communities that allows them to reach the most vulnerable and isolated. 

However, more support from government is needed to support these organisations and allow them to meet the rapidly increasing and complex need. The frontline community services that are working on the ground to support the most vulnerable are themselves facing great hardships. Inadequate and insecure funding has left many organisations at their most vulnerable just as their services have become most needed.

We therefore support NCOSS and other peak bodies in their call for more investment in critical social infrastructure and front-line support services.

Greater investment is needed in direct social services for domestic and family violence; tenancy advice; homelessness supports; financial counselling; mental health; community legal services; and neighbourhood centres and other similar place-based services.

We need additional support for local, trusted community organisations that is commensurate with the increasing populations and needs of the communities they service. Without a secure and stable community sector to support it, regions such as Western Sydney will continue to see escalating levels of inequity and vulnerability with catastrophic results.

We call on the NSW Government to match their recent investment in Western Sydney infrastructure with a renewed commitment to the communities of Western Sydney and the sector that supports them.

Joshua Bird
Acting Chief Executive Officer