Blacktown City Council - Media Release - Council Forum Heads To Blacktown

19 June 2019

Blacktown City Council’s mobile community forum will visit

the suburb of Blacktown next week giving residents the 

opportunity to raise issues and discuss Council plans for the 

city.

Residents from across Ward 3 will hear from Mayor Stephen 

Bali MP and Councillors and be given the opportunity to 

raise any issues affecting their neighbourhood at the forum 

on Tuesday 2 July at Tyndale Christian School, 58 Douglas 

Road, Blacktown.

Blacktown City Mayor Stephen Bali MP said: “The 

community forum program is an opportunity for residents to 

meet and engage with Council staff and Councillors.

“We invite people from Blacktown and surrounding suburbs 

to attend the forum and tell us what really matters to them.”

Information will also be available on the Warrick Lane 

redevelopment and an update on the progress of the 

Blacktown Hospital Expansion.

Mayor Bali said: “The forums have proved to be a very 

effective way for residents to engage face-to-face with 

Councillors and Council staff.”

Council hosts Ward forums and pop-up sessions across the 

City throughout the year giving residents a chance to directly 

with Council.

“We are very pleased to see more and more residents 

attending our forums and pop-up sessions and I look forward 

to meeting Ward 3 residents next week,” Mayor Bali said.

Ward 1 Forum details

When: Tuesday 2 July 2019

Time: 7 pm to 9 pm

Location: Tyndale Christian School, 

58 Douglas Road, Blacktown.

Mayor Stephen Bali MP encouraged
residents to attend the next community
forum at Tyndale Christian School next week.

Busways - NSW Bus Region 1 Update

From Monday 24 June until further notice, the following bus stops will be closed due to major works related to the upgrade of The Northern Road:

• The Northern Rd near Littlefields Rd (hail and ride pick up location)
• The Northern Road at Gates Road (Stop ID 2745118)

Nearest alternative stops

Customers and students can use the nearest alternative stops for these affected services.

Route 789 – Penrith to Luddenham

Stop closed	Where to catch your bus
The Northern Rd at Gates Rd (Stop ID 2745118)	The Northern Rd before Elizabeth Dr (Stop ID 2745120)

School Bus 4080 (Morning)

Stop closed	Where to catch your bus
The Northern Rd near Littlefields Rd (hail and ride pick up location)	The Northern Rd after Elizabeth Dr (Stop ID 2745123)

School Bus 4549 (Afternoon)

Stop closed	Where to alight from your bus
The Northern Rd at Gates Rd (Stop ID 2745118)	The Northern Rd before Elizabeth Dr (Stop ID 2745120)

School Bus 4611 (Afternoon) 

Stop closed	Where to alight from your bus
The Northern Rd at Gates Rd (Stop ID 2745118)	The Northern Rd before Elizabeth Dr (Stop ID 2745120)

Affected schools

• Bethany Catholic Primary School
• Caroline Chisholm College
• Emmaus Catholic College
• Glenmore Park High School
• Jamison High School
• Kingswood High School
• Mamre Anglican School
• Penrith Anglican College - Orchard Hills
• Penrith High School
• Penrith Public School
• St Dominic's College - Kingswood
• St Nicholas of Myra Primary School
• St Paul's Grammar School - Cranebrook
• Trinity Catholic Primary School

Plenary Council 2020 Update

Welcome to PlenaryPost The Plenary Council process so far has been an exercise in listening, in dialogue, in conversation -- in changing the way the People of God communicate with one another, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It has also been a process of numbers. Over 10 months, at least 222,000 people chose to be part of that period of listening and dialogue with one another. Their voices were represented in the 17,457 submissions that were received by the National Centre for Pastoral Research. From those submissions, quantitative and qualitative analysis pinpointed around 120 subject areas. And after a period of analysis, prayer and discernment, six National Themes for Discernment emerged, and will now shape the next stage of the Council's preparation period: Listening and Discernment. There's a lot more information below on the National Themes for Discernment, the process so far and going forward, and on initiatives around the country to start quickly on this new stage. At Pentecost, the Plenary Council website was also re-launched, with new material added to help people understand the National Themes for Discernment and how they can continue to be involved in the second phase of preparation.

Video: The National Themes for Discernment Click here for video FacilitatorFocus: Listening, dialogue and prayer have carried us to this point by Lana Turvey-Collins It is a beautiful work of the Holy Spirit that the Church in Australia has reached this point in the journey toward the Plenary Council. As we begin the second stage of preparation – Listening and Discernment – I have been thinking about what has brought us here. The past 18 months have been an experience of personal growth and professional inspiration and I am deeply grateful to every person who is a part of shaping this journey. Each person who has given time, prayer, skills and energy to any part of the Plenary Council journey is invaluable. Thank you from all of us here at the Facilitation Team. Earlier this year, Dr Trudy Dantis and her team at the National Centre for Pastoral Research began reading all of your submissions and then, in late May, the Bishops Commission joined by the Executive Committee and the Facilitation Team came together at St Peter Canisius House in Pymble, NSW, for three days of listening to Trudy and her team explain to us what all of you had shared so generously. They were days of deep prayer, open-hearted listening and intense conversation that I found personally very challenging and profoundly faith-filled. The six National Themes for Discernment that resulted from your submissions and those days of prayer provide for all of us a framework for taking the next step forward together. Now we are challenged to look forward, to face some “big questions”, to listen to one another even more deeply as we discern: How is God calling us to be a Christ-centred Church in Australia that is missionary and evangelising; inclusive, participatory and synodal; prayerful and Eucharistic; humble, healing and merciful? How are we called to be a joyful, hope-filled, servant community, one that is open to conversion, renewal and reform? CuriosityCorner We will address a new question in each e-newsletter. To catch up on previous editions, you can check out the Plenary Council FAQ page. If you have a question, email it to us and we will include it in future editions of PlenaryPost. The question for today is… What will be on the agenda for the Plenary Council in 2020? The agenda for the Plenary Council will be developed over the coming 12 months (2019-2020) in response to the fruits of discernment. During this second stage of preparation for the Plenary Council, Listening and Discernment, every person is invited to take time to read and reflect on the responses given during the Listening and Dialogue stage, to listen to all the many and diverse voices of the People of God in Australia. Each of the National Themes for Discernment will have a Working Group established and it will be the groups' task to write the working papers that will be the foundation for the agenda for the first session of the Plenary Council. TalkTheology How Pope Francis calls us to mission by Fr Noel Connolly SSC, Plenary Council Facilitation Team Friedrich Nietzsche, the atheistic, “death of God” philosopher, was fond of taunting his Christian friends with: “I’ll believe in your redeemer when you look more redeemed.” Pope Francis in Evangelii Gaudium makes a similar challenge. He asks, what kind of missionaries are Christians who look like “Lent without Easter” (6), or people “who have just come back from a funeral” (10), “querulous and disillusioned pessimists, sourpusses” (85), “defeated generals” (96)? He prays, “May the world of our time, which is searching, sometimes with anguish, sometimes with hope, be enabled to receive the good news not from evangelisers who are dejected, discouraged, impatient or anxious, but from ministers of the Gospel whose lives glow with fervour, who have first received the joy of Christ.” (10) So, even at a time when the Church has never been more criticised and questioned, it is important that we rediscover our joy in being Christian and share this with our secular brother and sister Australians. We may never be a perfect Church, but hopefully we can come across as a more attractive, “redeemed” and servant Church. Click here to read Fr Noel's full article. Click here for previous post

Christ Mission Possible Hand Out Of Free Food = 'whyilovwemountdruitt Face Book Page'

Christ Mission Possible will be handing out free food at Emerton Youth Centre Wednesday a approx 11am. Typically, but not always, they have milk, bread, breakfast cereal, meat pies, fruit & Veg. Please be respectful to the volunteers.

Eels Take Study into their Stride - Mount Druitt Tafe - 'Whyilovemountdruitt Face book Page'

Click here for details

NSW Rail Museum - Gosford Steam Weekend, Models & Miniatures & Day Out With Thomas

GOSFORD STEAM WEEKEND 29 - 30 June 2019

Click here for details

MODELS & MINIATURES 13 - 14 JULY 2019

Click here for details DAY OUT WITH THOMAS 27 - 28 JULY 2019  Click here for details

NSW Government - Upgrade Open Spaces For Sydney Communities

Click here for details

Blacktown City Council - Media Release - Rouse Hill Residents Welcome Council Engagement

14 June 2019

Upgrades to local roads and long term planning for the North West Growth Area were the main issues raised at Blacktown City Council’s community forum in Rouse Hill on Tuesday night.

Blacktown City Mayor Stephen Bali MP said: “This was a chance for people to have a say about what is important to them in newly developing suburbs.

“Council is aware of the challenges people face when they live in an area which is going through a lot of changes,” Mayor Bali said.

Residents were briefed on the recent upgrades to local roads and infrastructure in the area, followed by a briefing on the plans for the Australian Catholic University’s campus in the Blacktown CBD.

Council used the forum to inform residents about progress on the Riverstone Masterplan as well as upgrades to Hambledon Road and Railway Terrace.

Residents were also keen to take the opportunity to raise issues of concern to them and their community.

“One resident sought Council’s support to hold a public event while another asked Council to provide further information on infrastructure around Grantham Estate,” Mayor Bali said.

“Meeting with our residents and taking on board their questions is an important part of engaging with our community.”

Mayor Bali said residents were satisfied that Council continued to engage with residents and face the hard questions, especially in the area of development.

Rouse Hill residents were given the opportunity to speak
directly with their Mayor, Councillors and Council staff.

“Council understands that planning processes can cause frustrations for some residents but it is important that we continue to engage and consult with residents to achieve the best outcome for the whole community.

“The forum gave residents in Rouse Hill the opportunity for face-to-face engagement with Councillors and Council staff on matters that really affect their lives.” Mayor Bali said.

Council’s next community forum is in Ward 3 on Tuesday, 2 July, 7pm at Tyndale Christian School 58 Douglas Road, Blacktown.

Next community forum details:
Tuesday, 2 July, 7pm at Tyndale Christian School 58 Douglas Road, Blacktown.
Email: Forums@blacktown.nsw.gov.au

Rouse Hill residents were given the opportunity to speak directly with their Mayor, Councillors and Council staff.

Westfield Mount Druitt - Family Night Out? & What's Happening?

Click here for details

Blacktown City Council - Media Release - Battling The Heat With Trees

12 June 2019

Schofields and Mount Druitt are set to have more than 100

new trees lining residential streets as part of Blacktown City 

Council’s plans to reduce urban heat.

Blacktown City Council is working alongside NRMA 

Insurance as part of the Cool Streets^© program, enabling the 

planting of 113 trees.

Cool Streets^© is an initiative developed by Dr Libby 

Gallagher of Gallagher Studio that encourages local 

communities to take the lead in choosing the right trees to 

cool their neighbourhoods.

Blacktown City Mayor Stephen Bali MP said: “Urban heat is 

a major challenge for Blacktown and tree planting is one of 

the methods to reduce the impact.

“The Cool Streets initiative allows communities to be 

involved, they are given the opportunity to choose and care 

for the trees planted around their homes.

“Trees in residential streets are beneficial to the 

communities. They can reduce household air-conditioning 

costs, reduce local air pollution, help store carbon and even 

add value to house prices.”

NRMA Insurance Safer Communities Executive Manager 

Jen Cobley said: “We’re excited to be part of this Cool 

Streets^© initiative and help to tackle heat stress in Western 

Sydney.

“We know that when trees and vegetation are removed, the 

temperatures can soar and by revegetating areas we’ll be 

creating cooler streets benefiting the community and the 

environment by increasing shade and reducing 

CO² emissions.

“The NRMA Insurance Good ‘Hoods program focuses on 

how we can support local community-led initiatives that will 

help communities feel more connected, which will allow 

them to be stronger, safer and more confident.”