Former NSW Premier and Labor Party leader Nathan Rees is back in the spotlight.
His role as Premier between Morris Iemma and Kristina Keneally in 2008 to 2009 has handed him indispensable experience, that he is now using to benefit local business.
Mr Rees is connecting western Sydney businesses with government through his new role as CEO of the Western Sydney Business Alliance (WSBA).
The WSBA is the 2016 and beyond adaptation of the former Penrith Business Alliance, that Mr Rees said will see incremental but significant change moving forward.
“We will have a focus on bringing government and business together to work on improving the region,” he said.
“If there’s going to be an airport then it’s imperative that western Sydney councils get behind an infrastructure plan that is aligned to that development.”
Mr Rees said in a period of relative prosperity, he and the WSBA want to make sure Penrith and the west can leverage off future investment.
“With the proposed airport, we want to see how local firms get access to those tenders, instead of the same big businesses,” he said.
Western Sydney born and bred, Mr Rees shares a goal to create jobs in the west to cut travel times for the tens of thousands of people travelling east for work.
“The emergence of western Sydney over the last few years has been welcomed but we need to go to the next step for Penrith,” he said.
Although Mr Rees clearly has a strong history with the Labor Party, he ensured the role of the WSBA is politically neutral.
