MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR - Genia McCaffery

What a difficult and uncertain year this has been for the Australian business community. As if the high oil prices weren’t enough, we then had the US financial crisis that sent shock waves through western economies.

While we’ve all been affected by these financial problems, I believe the North Sydney CBD is well-placed to cope with the impact of increasing oil prices. Our excellent public transport connections stand us in good stead when organisations are choosing commercial space and trying to attract and attain good staff.

The newly upgraded North Sydney train station has also proven it stands up well in a crisis. When city buses terminated at the station recently because of a serious accident on the harbour bridge, the station coped well with the extra people.

With high petrol prices increasing the number of rail commuters, I’m pleased the Council required the station upgrade before allowing our CBD to expand.