Penrith City Council: A region on the rise

A proud Australian Made Campaign Supporter – Penrith City Council has a long history of supporting Australian manufacturing and is home to over 500 private Australian companies in the manufacturing sector*.

A dynamic city in Sydney’s west, located alongside the Nepean River and spanning 404 square kilometres, Penrith encompasses suburban, city, rural living as well as a diverse mix of industries including construction, manufacturing, healthcare and education.

Penrith Mayor Karen McKeown OAM said, “Manufacturing is a vital industry for Penrith, contributing $4.8 billion to the local economy each year and approximately 6,000 jobs**. As we’ve seen in the last year, local manufacturing provides security and reliability both to businesses for supply chain management, as well as to individuals as a form of employment.

Local manufacturing reflects the wonderful ingenuity and creativity of its people. Our richly diverse city is home to manufacturers of electric buses, motorhomes, safety harnesses, drainage and wastewater products, through to pie-making equipment and soap.”

The arrival of the Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) airport at Penrith’s doorstep is the catalyst for massive transformation across the city. The employment lands surrounding the Western Sydney Airport provide the perfect opportunity to build on Penrith’s strong manufacturing credentials, and so Penrith City Council sees advanced manufacturing as an important component of the city’s economy into the future.

Further to this, Penrith City Council is currently developing a new strategic framework to provide direction on future growth across the city. One of the recent developments in this space is the release of the draft Employment Lands Strategy which provides a strategic approach to manage the City’s employment land and economic growth over the next two decades.

The Council’s ‘Penrith Producers’ events are one of the many events that seek to activate the Penrith and St Marys city centres through celebrating the regions locally made produce; highlighting the active support shown to local businesses within the area, including Penrith Valley Chamber of Commerce, Penrith CBD Corporation, and St Marys Town Centre.

During the height of the COVID-19 restrictions in 2020, Penrith City Council assembled two taskforces to inform its response to the needs of businesses and the community. The taskforces were built as a coalition between Council and local businesses, educational institutions and sporting groups, economic representatives like the City Centre Corporations and the Chamber of Commerce. The taskforces produced the Penrith Rising Strong Recovery Plan, which included a host of actions that Penrith City Council is now delivering on including the Penrith Proud buy local campaign.

 “One of the positives to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic is a renewed focus on small businesses and locally made products. As we move through this difficult economic period, it’s more important than ever for communities and businesses to continue their support for Australian Made which supports local jobs.”

“Penrith has a long and proud history of manufacturing excellence, and partnering with Australian Made allows Council to acknowledge, celebrate and share the fantastic work of our strong local manufacturing base, both within the community and more broadly.” Cr McKeown said.

* As of January 2021

** (REMPLAN 2019, using ABS data)