POLITICS with Ed Husic MP
Bidwill Festival
MESSAGE
FROM THE
MAYOR
Your chance to learn more about our rates proposal
In early September I had the privilege to attend Bidwill Festival with the Mayor Brad Bunting.
The community was out in force in Bidwill Square, on a sensational weekend day, joining together for a day full of music, fun and food, of course.
A big thank you to the organisers, stallholders, performers, volunteers plus Blacktown City Council who made the festival such a success.
With $ 5m backing from our federal government, Blacktown Council is upgrading Bidwill Reserve to make it more family friendly- who knows, maybe a future festival can be held there!
If I can be of assistance about a Federal matter, please do not hesitate to contact my office. See my details below. with Brad Bunting Mayor, Blacktown City Council
If you regularly read the Blacktown Independent, you may recall I let you know of Council’ s financial challenges to maintain and deliver infrastructure and services and the proposal to apply to increase rates to meet those challenges. To recap, a booming population needing greater support, as well as cost shifting from governments, means Council will be unable to fund the services our community expects.
Yet there is a solution. Under the proposal, the majority of residential ratepayers would see an increase of $ 3.29 per week for the 2026 / 27 financial year. This would ensure we have the parks, roads, footpaths and more our community deserves.
I believe this is the way to secure the future for Blacktown City.
I know many of you have questions. I want you to have the opportunity to be
fully informed and have those questions answered.
Council is currently running a comprehensive community consultation program to provide the facts and figures behind the proposal and share your thoughts.
You will have received letters in your mailbox, have opportunities to ask questions in person, and be able to learn more through the Have Your Say page on
Council’ s website. The consultation program is spanning 42 days so everyone has time to learn more, have their questions answered and offer their thoughts.
An independent research study will collect feedback. This will be reported to Council before any decision to apply to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal.
I encourage you to learn the facts and make up your own mind.
By having this conversation, I am confident we can achieve what is best for Blacktown City.
BLACKTOWN CITY INDEPENDENT theindependentmagazine. com. au ISSUE 55 // OCTOBER 2025 17