22/01/2024
Georges River is a Council committed to being future focused and ambitious. In the coming years, we will see pockets of the future emerge through strategic initiatives that support our region to be more accessible, green, diverse, and innovative.
In this series of Mayoral columns, I will be highlighting the steppingstones that guide our community and economy toward our 2050 Vision. I am ready, we are ready, to create a brighter future through strong leadership and accountability.
Theme: Diversity. Our vision is for “Social and cultural communities that are celebrated and connected” (Leading for Change 2050).
In Georges River Council, diversity isn’t just a word, it’s the strength of our community. Over 50 per cent of our residents connect with their own language at home and nearly half were born beyond our shores. We host a range of events to support our diverse community.
Hurstville is home to the largest Chinese cultural celebration in Sydney with Lunar New Year, celebrating its 21st year in 2024. Throughout the world, migrant communities bring their Lunar New Year traditions and enrich our cultural landscape through sharing a delicious meal, lantern making, dragon dancing and the gift of red envelopes.
Lunar New Year has an immense ability to unite diverse cultures through shared values of family, renewal and hope for a prosperous new year. In 2024, we will welcome the Year of the Dragon – a symbol that can represent great talent, leadership, and success – a vision we can apply when we see the mark of the dragon across our region.
The Lunar New Year Festival will be held on Saturday 3 February along Forest Road, Hurstville, beginning at 12noon and extending into the evening. We are expecting up to 50,000 people to join in the celebrations. More detailed information is available on Council’s website.
In Carss Bush Park, we recently celebrated the 100th year anniversary of the Greek Orthodox Church in Australia with the Greek Epiphany Festival. His Eminence Archbishop Makarios presided over this sacred occasion which holds immense significance in faith and serves as a reminder of the baptism of Jesus Christ in the River Jordan. Over 7,000 people travelled from across Sydney and interstate to celebrate a day filled with delicious Greek cuisine, colourful traditional costumes, and live Greek music.
Last year, we hosted the South Sydney Migrant Information Day in Georges River. The event attracted over 500 people across the state and offers valuable information on various aspects of integration, including housing, health, employment, education, support, and government services. Beyond promoting the services available in our region, the Marana Auditorium became a great exchange of excitement between different people from different cultures through finding shared interests of dance, craft, and music.
Our community allows us to draw from recent and relevant global experiences. When we listen to each other we create a rich platform for knowledge sharing and build resilience to embrace change – finding opportunities, instead of challenges. We are better together.
We have embarked on a transformative journey that will empower our community to actively shape the public realm. As we look to 2050, Georges River Council aims to improve the provisions of where and how we promote our stories and our people. In January 2023, the Australia Government released a new National Cultural Policy, Revive: a place for every story, a story for every place. This policy aligns with our vision to enhance and elevate our arts, entertainment, and cultural offerings as a way to welcome and embrace our diverse and growing cultural and faith communities. We recognise the need to provide more quality spaces that are dedicated to performance and art as well as activating our streets and plaza to showcase and celebrate who we are as a community.
In 2050 the Georges River area will be an accessible, green, diverse and innovative place, community and economy. Georges River is Connected. Naturally.