This month, we were at NSW Parliament House in Sydney, where our region’s Mayors represented the ten councils of the Hunter region, meeting collectively with the NSW Premier, NSW Treasurer, senior NSW Government Ministers, Shadow Ministers and Hunter MPs to advocate for the future prosperity and resilience of the Hunter.

As the democratically elected and trusted voice of the region representing a population approaching one million people, the shared advocacy priorities being communicated seek to deliver new jobs, safer roads, more housing and greater resilience to natural disasters for our region.

Led by our Chair, Sue Moore, Mayor of Singleton Council and Deputy Chair, Leah Anderson, Mayor of Port Stephens Council, our delegation of Mayors and General Managers engaged in a series of high-level meetings.

The advocacy agenda spoke to the creation of 50,000 new jobs to offset those expected to be lost through a decline in coal mining, through economic diversification and post-mining land use; faster delivery of well-located homes with enabling infrastructure; safer roads and better regional connections; a step-change in our visitor and export potential, including the Newcastle Airport airfreight precinct; and long-term resilience to natural disasters; all of which need to be underpinned by more sustainable funding for local government.

We thank the Premier, Treasurer, Ministers, Shadow Ministers and Hunter MPs for constructive engagement. We look forward to further collaboration to deliver tangible outcomes to craft a stronger, prosperous and more resilient future for the Hunter region.