Local jobs needed Casey Mayor Sam Aziz said a vibrant business community was the key to turning around the concerning commuter lifestyle that many in the city had to endure. He said 70 per cent of people currently left the region to work and he wanted to reverse that trend to cut that figure to 30 per cent and have 70 per cent of the population working locally.
This is about opening up the City of Casey to one of the world’s most dynamic economies.
Business creation and innovation was the key to achieving that, he said. “Businesses are the engine room of the local economy,” Cr Aziz told guest at his annual Business Leaders Dinner. “Governments don’t create jobs, their role is to create the environment in which businesses can flourish. “Without you we would be blowing a lot of wind into an empty bag.” The mayor said the best reward businesses could give to the city was to be successful in their endeavours.
Business interest free loans Casey will allocate $100,000 a year in interest-free loans to try to stimulate innovation in the local business community. Mayor Sam Aziz announced the Business Innovation Fund initiative at his annual Business Leaders Dinner. Cr Aziz said five businesses would be granted interest-free loans of $20,000 under the scheme, which would roll out each year. “That means that over 10 years the City of Casey will inject $1 million into the business community to foster innovation,” he said. Applications open on 24 July.
Bigger than Tasmania Casey is on track to overtake Tasmania in terms of population.
Choir for China
Mayor Sam Aziz told guests that the Casey population currently stood at 311,000 residents, making it the largest city in the state.
A Casey choir will have the opportunity
He said, with nearly 10,000 new residents coming in each year, that the population would explode to half a million people within two decades.
of Casey’s new relationship with
“That means we will be bigger in population than the whole of Tasmania.”
Cash is not enough All Casey staff now have mobile devices to access council records on the spot, eliminating so much wasted time sifting through paperwork. Cr Aziz said he was heading back to China in October and encouraged Casey business people to join him on that trip. “I would love to fill a plane with Casey business people,” he said. “We will be happy to open the doors for you.” Adding to the Chinese flavour of the dinner, Casey’s Ambassador to China and world acclaimed opera singer Shu-Cheen Yu sang Amazing Grace.
The current $400 million commitment to solve congestion on the Monash is not enough to achieve the job, says Casey Mayor Sam Aziz. Cr Aziz told said that a further billion dollars from the state and federal governments was needed to get the job done properly and resolve the congestion problems in the south-east. “We can’t have our politicians resting on their laurels,” he said. “For the State Government to spend $1.4 billion in the west and nothing in the south-east is ridiculous. “We need this to be equalised.”
to perform in China next year. The invitation was extended as part Dujiangyan City.
Lanterns for Bunjil Casey Mayor Sam Aziz said a Chinese Lantern Festival around the new Bunjil Place arts and cultural precinct in April would attract thousands of visitors to the area. He told guests at his annual Business Leaders Dinner that it would be on display for four weeks and be on the scale of the Frankston Sand Sculpting display. The Casey delegation met with the Zigong Lantern Festival and Trade Company which stages 300 such events in China each year - during its April visit.
grow.
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