At a Glance
• Resident feedback as the most reliable measure of service quality and community expectations
• The IP and R framework as the discipline that links community aspirations to accountable delivery
• Active advocacy across all levels of government to secure infrastructure and service investment
• Momentum on public space uplift and the emerging Community and Justice Precinct as a catalytic project

Listening as a Measure of Performance

Since being elected, I have received countless communications from residents. Some have offered encouragement about what Council is doing well. Others have pointed, constructively, to where we can do better. I have always believed that this feedback is not incidental to good government. It is one of the clearest signals we have about whether our services match the lived experience of the community.

I also noted a third category of request that was unusual but revealing: calls for Council to intervene in matters that are not related to local government. I did not raise this to diminish anyone’s concerns. I raised it because it speaks to a broader reality. The roles and responsibilities of councils differ widely between places, and in New South Wales they have evolved over a long period through a complex relationship between the State, councils and the public. When expectations do not align with statutory responsibilities, frustration follows. When roles are understood, advocacy becomes sharper and trust becomes more durable.

Governance in a Complicated Environment

In the Minute I observed that local government in New South Wales now operates under more than 50 pieces of legislation and in direct relationship with more than 20 State and Commonwealth agencies. That complexity is not an excuse. It is simply the environment we must navigate. It demands clarity in what we can do directly, persistence in what we must advocate for, and honesty with residents about what sits outside our remit.

For me, this is the practical meaning of civic leadership. It is the capacity to translate complexity into decisions and priorities that the community can understand, measure and critique.

Integrated Planning and Reporting as the City’s Backbone

Rather than turning the Minute into a historical account, I focused on a vital issue for Campbelltown today: the Integrated Planning and Reporting framework.

The IP and R framework, introduced in 2009, rests on an assumption I consider both sensible and demanding: council planning should be based on a comprehensive understanding of community priorities and expectations. It is designed to take community aspirations and convert them into a suite of plans, while also having regard to State priorities and relevant regional strategies. Most importantly, it creates a structure for reporting progress and reviewing priorities over time.

I referred to the framework’s four categories, the social, environmental, economic and civic leadership dimensions, often called the quadruple bottom line. In my mind, that framing matters because it discourages narrow trade offs. It insists that we hold multiple responsibilities at once: services, amenity, resilience, opportunity and institutional trust.

The Community Strategic Plan and the Discipline of Time

The Community Strategic Plan sits at the top of the IP and R suite. It is prepared by Council on behalf of the community and looks ten years ahead. It informs the Delivery Program and Operational Plan, which translate aspirations into activities, budgets and measurable actions.

I acknowledged in the Minute that I would have liked more time to work through the process, yet the shift of the election from September to December compressed the timetable. The requirement to review and adapt the Community Strategic Plan by 30 June following a council election is a demanding obligation, and meeting it requires focus.

Even so, I was comforted by the strength of the engagement process and the work of staff and councillors, past and present, who carried it forward. The credibility of a strategic plan is never found in its language alone. It is found in whether the community can see itself in the document and whether Council can then deliver against it.

One of the most important themes in my Minute was the responsibility to keep the community engaged in this work.

In conjunction with the General Manager, we will do all we can to achieve our policy objectives and deliver for the city, and I will keep you informed each step of the way.

Advocacy as a Core Mayoral Duty

The advocacy update in this Minute was substantial because it reflected the intensity of the task. I wrote to more than 70 MPs seeking meetings to discuss Campbelltown’s future and to advocate for current and future projects. I also recorded meetings with local State and Federal members, ministers and shadow ministers, as well as neighbouring representatives to strengthen the regional perspective.

In reflecting on this, I see advocacy as the bridge between local need and external decision making. It is also a test of credibility. When a city is consistent in its priorities, measured in its claims, and constructive in its relationships, it is more likely to secure the investment it deserves.

WestInvest and the Opportunity of Targeted Investment

I also referenced WestInvest, described as a landmark 5 billion dollar program, and the opportunity for councils including Campbelltown to receive a minimum allocation with potential additional funding, subject to criteria and scale. I noted the categories of eligible projects, from open space and community infrastructure to cultural facilities, high street activation and local traffic programs.

The deeper point here is that well targeted capital investment can lift quality of life quickly when it is aligned with a coherent long term plan. Funding is most powerful when it accelerates projects already grounded in community priorities, rather than distracting from them.

Progress on Public Space and a Catalytic Precinct

On the outstanding items from my previous Minute, I provided an early indicator of activity: staff had already spent more than 8,500 hours servicing parks and open space areas. I also acknowledged that the General Manager and the Director of City Governance were well advanced in their reviews and planning, and I expressed my thanks for that work.

Finally, I highlighted the Community and Justice Precinct, a project that I described as catalytic. The announcement of joint funding in November 2021 to progress the final business case, and the vision for a precinct that co locates justice services with community services, speaks to a more modern model of civic infrastructure. The concept design stage, involving urban and landscape design, technical studies and environmental work, is a serious step, and the intention to engage the community on the masterplan is essential.

Reflection

What I sought to do in this Minute was connect three threads that must always run together. Listening to residents, planning with discipline, and advocating with persistence. When those threads are aligned, a council can both deliver what it controls and argue effectively for what it does not. That is the steady work of stewardship, translating aspirations into plans, plans into delivery, and delivery into trust.

Read the original Mayoral Minute here: 2. Reflections, Considerations and Updates - 8 March 2022