Message from our Lord Mayor

A message from our Lord Mayor

This is our first annual budget that aligns to our new Delivering Newcastle 2040 vision - City of Newcastle's comprehensive plan to turn a strategic vision of an inclusive, liveable, and sustainable City into reality for all Novocastrians. The City prides itself on open and transparent decision-making, having developed this vision and our identified priorities in close consultation with the community over 12 months. Throughout this extensive engagement process, four key themes emerged that reflected the community's progressive values:

Our shared vision includes a commitment to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, a macro blueprint for peace and prosperity that we're championing at a grassroots level and underpinned by core values of inclusion, environmental sustainability, and justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, while supporting local jobs growth and business innovation. A key focus is financial sustainability while maintaining a high level of essential community services. We will deliver our largest annual investment in public infrastructure to date, with more than $130 million earmarked for capital works projects. Public space renewal is a priority, including the Newcastle Ocean Baths upgrade, Foreshore Park transformation and the delivery of the $1.5 million Wallsend Active Hub. CN will invest in new playgrounds across our suburbs as well as sportsground upgrades and delivery of a fenced off-leash dog park at Maryland. We will continue to invest in the Local Centres Program, renewing suburban and village shopping hubs at Wallsend Town Centre, Orchardtown Road in New Lambton, Mitchell Street at Stockton, and Shortland Local Centre, with further upgrades planned to Georgetown, Mayfield and Adamstown. You told us environmental sustainability was important to you, so we have committed to doubling our street tree planting program and the construction of an organics processing facility at Summerhill Waste Management Centre to recycle food and green waste. This year, CN will proudly will deliver:

$17.4 million towards the expansion of Newcastle Art Gallery $9.4 million towards the construction of an organics facility to compost food and garden waste $5 million towards a materials recovery facility to increase our capabilities for recycling and reuse of waste products $18.6 million to remediate our old rubbish tip at Astra Street in Shortland that was so vital to the clean-up following the 1989 earthquake $16 million for upgrades to local roads, footpaths and bridges $4.4 million on cycleways, including $0.9 million on Hunter Street Trial Cycleway $6.7 million towards urban and city centre revitalisation, including Hunter Street Mall works and Local Centre upgrades at Wallsend and New Lambton $8.2 million for environmental sustainability, including $2 million towards the rehabilitation of Ironbark Creek $15.3 million for new and improved parks, playgrounds, sporting and aquatic facilities including $5.8 million towards the rehabilitation of the pool and lower promenade at Newcastle Ocean Baths $5.9 million on stormwater upgrades to address localised flooding.

This budget is our commitment to you, the community, by demonstrating a clear plan to deliver sustainable projects to make Newcastle an even better place to live. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our dedicated staff and the elected Councillors who have supported and contributed to this ambitious vision for Newcastle. Together we are transforming our City and Region.

Liveable Newcastle

Sustainable Newcastle

Creative Newcastle

Achieving Together