The Editor’s Desk | Opinion Troy Dodds

troy.dodds@westernweekender.com.au @troydodds

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During the 1996 Federal Election campaign, the man who would become one of Australia’s most popular Prime Ministers sparked a phrase that would define the election.

“Howard’s battlers” were at the centre of the Coalition’s enormous win, and many western Sydney seats – including Lindsay –turned blue for the first time.

Many traditional Labor voters were won over by John Howard’s brand of politics, at a time when interest rates, migration and national security where high on the agenda.

They were hard roads in western Sydney back then. Mortgage holders just trying to get by, starting families and moving into new communities like Glenmore Park, while South Penrith and Jamisontown became hubs where a generation of kids grew up.

The disconnect between east and west was at its peak.

Penrith was suburbia at its stereotypical best. A big night out was a visit to the Black Stump or the Beef and Barramundi, which sat close to the Nepean River but took no advantage of potential water views.

A birthday celebration was at the Top One or Oz Family Restaurants and chain pizza restaurants ruled.

I grew up in this Penrith; a Penrith in which a visit to the beach felt like a holiday and you were told you needed to get out to ever really succeed and make good money.

“Howard’s battlers” defined an election that was held 27 years ago.

In those 27 years, Penrith and western Sydney has grown up. So did those battlers, and their families.

And while I accept times are still tough for some, and there will always be those who struggle, family life looks a lot different for many based in the west these days.

Families have two cars, a little bit of money in the bank and enjoy nights out for more than just the odd special occasion.

Work is different and varied; Sydney being more connected than ever before has meant barriers to bigger and better positions are not as troublesome as they once were. And indeed it may be that the “battlers” have been reversed. While city dwellers struggle with ridiculously high rents and are mortgaged to the hilt, the burden is a little looser on those who’ve set up their lives in western Sydney.

Anyone who lives in western Sydney knows we’ve been through pretty significant change, and are closer to the type of life you’d find in the city than ever before.

Restaurants that you once never would have seen in Penrith are thriving. Bars, too. There is a business community that is only strengthening.

A trip to the city can take 45 minutes, if not less, and no longer feels like a mammoth effort.

We know this in the west, but I’m not sure anybody else does.

In fact I’m convinced politicians still think “Howard’s battlers” remain, just waiting for them to save the day.

Politicians talk about western Sydney and “working families” as if we’re another class of people struggling to rub two coins together while we watch four free-to-air TV channels and wait for the dial-up Internet to kick in.

“Howard’s battlers” and their kids have changed.

This belief that western Sydney is somehow “out there” and that you need gimmicks to win us over, or to convince us that you know what living here is like.

I’m convinced that politicians never truly meet the “modern Penrith” even when they do spend time on the ground, with carefully curated visits to people who suit the particular issue being addressed; issues that while important, are not necessarily the best example of how far the city has come and the conversations being had around the dinner table.

And it’s not just politicians who haven’t moved on from thinking the west hasn’t evolved in 27 years.

Many big businesses remain oblivious to the disposable income that exists in regions such as ours; indeed some believe that Penrith is some regional outpost and not part of the greater Sydney area.

Major retailers open Penrith-based stores but fail to stock them with the quality of locations further east. When the sales aren’t great, they blame the area and not their lack of understanding of it.

Perhaps it was once embarrassing to say you were from the west; now it’s embarrassing if you’re from the city but have almost zero knowledge of the most cosmopolitan, exciting and advanced part of Sydney.

And there are so many people in that boat.

You come across them everywhere: at work, where being based in the CBD or eastern suburbs has provided an echo chamber for many working in PR, at advertising agencies or in corporate Australia.

The amount of businesses who concentrate so much of their marketing and promotions in the city when their core audience is actually from western Sydney never surprises, but constantly baffles.

Money left on the table.

And in everyday life, it seems like so many in the city still believe Penrith is as “far away” as it was 27 years ago when John Howard was pounding the pavement.

They are completely oblivious to the reality that while their own worlds evolved, so did the west – at a more rapid rate.

Western Sydney is already winning. We’ve arrived at the destination so many politicians and those in the corporate world still think it is trying to get to.

Apopular dog training and doggy day care company will have tails wagging at its new expanded facility in Castlereagh.

Animal Wellness and Behaviour was started by Chloe Finnie three years ago after seeing a gap in the industry.

The business has recently moved to 73 Church Street, Castlereagh and has a Development Application (DA) with Penrith City Council currently on public exhibition to change the use to an animal training establishment.

“We do everything from puppies to basic obedience to lifestyle skills so off leash and loose lead walking then the behavioural side which is reactivity, anxiety and aggression,” Finnie said.

“About six months into starting I noticed a lot of dogs’ trauma had resonated from incidents within dog parks so I decided to open our day care where they can have safe socialisation, train and learn in a safe space and we give the owners feedback on how they went, all in a controlled environment.”

The Statement of Environmental Effects says that the site is for weekday only day training with the dogs able to stay there from one to eight hours depending on the service the owner chooses. Owners are to drop their dogs off between 8.30am and 9.30am and all dogs must be picked up by 5.30pm. With client growth bringing the need for more space, Finnie said the five-acre site is well secured with sub-divided spaces for individual training spaces.

“We have a number of different paddocks and under cover areas to train out of, and run our classes,” she said.

“Within the next month we will be offering the back space out for hire for people who want a safe and enclosed area for their dogs to run and play that isn’t a dog park where they can risk being attacked or catching any diseases.”

The doggy day care component of the business is also unique, providing structured days for the dogs.

“It is mainly people who work and don’t want to leave dogs at home or for those dogs that need a bit more of an outlet to socialise, so we normally get about 20 to 25 dogs a day,” she said.

“It is definitely a structured day care, so they learn how to chill out around other dogs, we do training with them, and they get to play safely while our staff monitor and watch very closely making sure everything is safe and going well.”

With 13 staff and clients travelling from all around Sydney, the service also conducts behavioural assessments for dangerous dogs, and works to prevent them being euthanised and instead, rehomed if suitable.

Finnie said the neighbouring properties have been consulted about the operations and have been welcoming.

“We are very big on training the owner and not necessarily the dog because if you have the skills, you will be confident to handle any dog no matter the situation,” she said.

“The community out here has been great so far and our clients are amazing. They are always helping each other and we do free pack walks every Sunday.”