AUSTRALIA DAY EXTRAVAGANZA IN THE HAWKESBURY
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AUSTRALIA DAY EXTRAVAGANZA IN THE HAWKESBURY
This year , Hawkesbury City Council celebrated Australia day in style , with a series of outstanding events to honour our national day . Every year , the 26th of January is a chance to acknowledge all that it means to be Australian – freedom , mateship and opportunity - and be thankful to live in the best country on earth .
As Mayor , it was my privilege to bestow Citizenship on 44 new citizens , who have chosen to permanently call themselves Australian . The pure joy and happiness that radiates from each person as they receive their citizenship is one of the best parts of this role .
Our Hawkesbury Australia Day Awards , where members of our local area are recognised for their selfless contributions to our community is another major event .
This year ’ s 2024 Hawkesbury Australia Day Citizen of the Year is Keith Acton , who has served the Macdonald Valley and Wisemans Ferry community for many years through a range of volunteer work . We are so very proud of Keith and thank him for his continued dedication to help others .
Lastly , our Australia Day on the Hawkesbury event at Governor Phillip Park in Windsor was absolutely wonderful . Over 10,000 people attended to enjoy rides , games , music , displays and best of all , a huge fireworks display .
Our MC Farmer Dave was a fantastic host as always , presiding over thong throwing competitions and making the evening so much fun . I also want to thank our emergency services volunteers for coming along and providing wonderful displays for the community to engage with .
In essence , our Council received an overwhelmingly positive response from the community regarding our events and I would like to thank all of our staff for their amazing work to make the day such a success .
Pitt Town bypass project
The Pitt Town Bypass project was announced by the Liberal / National Government in 2023 , with a commitment of $ 100 million , after years of advocacy by the Pitt Town Progress Association and the local community .
The current NSW Labor Minister for Roads , the Hon . John Graham , has confirmed the project will proceed through the NSW Government Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley Flood Road Upgrade Program . In the 2023 / 2024 State Budget , $ 12 million was set aside for further planning and early works .
State Member for Hawkesbury , Robyn Preston MP said , “ The Pitt Town community is frustrated at the pace of the project schedule and lack of information on the project ’ s website .
“ Transport for NSW have advised they are progressing on the preconstruction planning and project tender , but are not keeping the residents informed or engaged . The project website has not been updated since February 2023 !
“ Why isn ’ t the NSW Labor Government keeping the community informed by continually updating the project website and through correspondence ?”
Ms Preston added , “ The bypass is critical for safe flood evacuation and to remove congestion from the town centre . As the Pitt Town Progress Association has been saying for years , traffic has been increasing exponentially as the area develops . We need to get on with this project and keep the Pitt Town people informed .”
Here ’ s the link to the Transport for NSW Pitt Town Bypass website – you be the judge . www . transport . nsw . gov . au / projects / current-projects / pitt-townbypass
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16 ISSUE 165 // FEBRUARY 2024 theindependentmagazine . com . au THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT