The University of Western Sydney had made the right decision to establish a campus in Liverpool, says Mayor Ned Mannoun.
Speaking just after the premier, Mike Baird, had announced the creation of a UWS state of the art Higher Education Centre in the heart of Liverpool by the middle of next year, Mr Mannoun welcomed the university to Liverpool.
“As the Airport City, Liverpool is seeing unprecedented development and growth across all sectors, including education and research,” Mayor Ned Mannoun said.
“Those who get in early will be able to make the most of the opportunities which Liverpool has to offer: a young tech-savvy population which speaks more than 140 languages; a growing population; accessibility by roads and public transport, as well as affordable industrial and residential land.
“This announcement aligns with our vision to create innovative education and employment opportunities through strategic partnerships.
Earlier, Premier Baird told the gathering at Liverpool Hospital: “I’m proud to announce the University of Western Sydney will establish a state-of-the-art Higher Education Centre in the heart of Liverpool in 2016.
“Liverpool is one of Sydney’s fastest growing and most dynamic cities,’’ Mr Baird said.
“It’s a smart move for UWS to establish a presence in a city where almost half the population is under 30 years old.
“This new centre will further complement the strong education and health sector that is already in Liverpool. The city is at the forefront of health and medical research, with the Ingham Institute’s ground breaking cancer research and Liverpool Hospital one of the largest hospitals in the Southern Hemisphere.
“More than 6,000 people are employed in health and education in this city.
“I can see a bright future for Liverpool and UWS,” the premier said.
UWS Vice-Chancellor Professor Barney Glover said the Liverpool Higher Education Learning Centre would meet the demand from the young growing city and expand UWS’s reach to key locations across Western Sydney.
“The centre will comprise technology-rich teaching spaces, regionally targeted postgraduate offerings, the Centre for Western Sydney and a ‘Launch Pad’ Smart Business Centre,” Professor Glover said.
“The up to 1,000sqm facility will accommodate over 150 students, staff and corporate partners in a flexible and highly innovative workspace.
“We are delighted to add Liverpool to our network of sites across Western Sydney.
“Along with providing greater access to the highest quality education opportunities for people of Liverpool, the centre will be a pivotal contributor, along with government and industry, to the shaping of the Western Sydney aerotropolis.”
The university will reveal, over time, more detail about the course offerings this newest of sites will deliver in around 12 months from today.
However the focus will be best practice teaching and research programs that are both international in outlook and regionally aligned.
This issue had been ongoing before the last state election.
Council has been trying to prevent the plant being built by attempting to deny
road access, but that was ruled against by the state Government. Liverpool
already has several recycling plants in close proximity to residential areas contributing
to poor air quality. In fact checking the EPA website for the Air Quality
Monitoring Station in Rose Street Liverpool, shows that local air quality rises
to unacceptable levels of PM10 and PM2.5 particles which cause warnings that
suggest anyone with respiratory and heart problems remain indoors! That occurs
several times per month. However, the Liverpool Rose Street monitoring station
is also highly unlikely to pick up the polluters due to distance and air
currents, we may already be far worse off than initially thought. (I tried unsuccessfully
via Council to have the number of air quality monitoring stations increased,
but the State Government refused.) To then introduce further plants that will worsen
the current problem, despite the assurances by the EPA and self monitoring action
by the polluters, is a cruel joke on the population. Once again the residents
of the West are disadvantaged, I’m sure no-one would be permitted to build such
a facility in say the Hunters Hill area.