Prime Minister attends City of Casey Community Cabinet

Representatives of City of Casey Council, including the Mayor Sam Aziz and Deputy Mayor Wayne Smith, highlighted key advocacy priorities for Casey with the Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon. Julia Gillard at the Community Cabinet held at Berwick on Wednesday 16 May 2012.

City of Casey Mayor Councillorr Sam Aziz said ‘Community Cabinet’ was a great opportunity for Council to raise issues that are critical to Casey’s future.

“Council wrote to the Primer Minister earlier this year inviting the Federal Government to host Community Cabinet in Casey. As the eighth fastest growing municipality in Australia, Casey is expected to have more than 450,000 residents living in the municipality by 2036 so it’s imperative that Casey has the infrastructure in place to meet the needs of its growing community,” he said
“Council spoke to the Prime Minster about opportunities to improve broadband infrastructure in Narre Warren North, Narre Warren South and Berwick; about funding to construct the Casey Community Resource Centre in Narre Warren and about the establishment of a National Urban Investment Fund to support investment in vital community infrastructure in growing communities.

“Representing a Melbourne growth area herself, the Prime Minister indicated that she understands the challenges faced by a rapidly-growing municipality. 

“After a productive meeting with the Prime Minister, Council looks forward to strengthening the working partnership with the Federal Government to ensure the infrastructure and services residents need are delivered,” Cr Aziz concluded.

Council representatives also spoke to the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, the Hon. Stephen Conroy about the lack of broadband availability in areas of Casey not included in the immediate NBN rollout plans.

The Mayor said that Senator Conroy has undertaken to write to Telstra on Council’s behalf to advocate for an increase in the ADSL2 ports in those areas.