What priorities will shape Port Macquarie over the next decade

DEAR News Of The Area,

READING through this year’s NSW Budget, I have been having conversations with friends and family: what comes next for Port Macquarie?

There are some great positives in the budget.

The continued redevelopment of Port Macquarie Base Hospital is a significant investment that will benefit our region for years to come.

But much of the funding highlighted locally continues projects that were already under way or previously announced.

For one of Australia’s fastest-growing regional communities, I expected a clearer picture of what’s next for us here in Port.

Yep, Wrights Road matters, and the community has rightly advocated strongly for progress.

But so do housing affordability, access to childcare, attracting teachers, doctors, nurses and tradies, and ensuring our schools, health services and community organisations can keep pace with a growing population.

Too often, we debate one project at a time. Perhaps it’s time to ask a bigger question: what are the priorities that will shape Port Macquarie over the next decade?

While the budget is just one moment in time, the bigger opportunity for us is deciding, as a community, what comes next.

Because if we can agree on where we are headed, we are far more likely to secure the investment needed to get there.

If we could unite behind just three priorities for our community, what would they be?

 

Regards,

Jake Little,

Port Macquarie.