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This opinion piece is published under 'If I Were Mayor for a Day' column
By Troy Myers
If I were Mayor for a day, I wouldn’t start by looking for ways to raise rates. I’d start by looking at what Council already owns and asking the most basic question any business owner would: how can we make these assets work for us?
Our Council holds millions of dollars’ worth of land across the Hawkesbury. Yet much of it sits idle, delivering little more than mowing bills. Meanwhile, residents are told a rate rise is the only way to balance the books. It’s simply not true. What we lack isn’t resources, it’s imagination.
Activate, Don’t Sell
Too often, the default position in local government is to sit on land until it deteriorates or becomes a liability. But what if we activated it instead? Take McQuade Park in Windsor. A small kiosk or café there could add life to the park, provide jobs for locals, and create a steady stream of lease income. Visitors would enjoy better amenities, and ratepayers would see a return not another bill.
Or the Vines Pony Club site at Oakville, already an equestrian facility on Crown land. With the right long-term lease, that site could be expanded into a regional equestrian centre — drawing events, visitors, and revenue, while keeping the land in community hands. This is how smart councils think: they don’t sell the farm; they lease the paddock.
Partner, Don’t Borrow
We don’t need to sell our land or borrow millions to invest in new infrastructure. We can partner with private enterprise and Governor Phillip Park is a prime example. With its riverfront location, it could become a flood-resilient tourism and recreation hub with demountable glamping pods, cafes, and water sports facilities all built and funded by private operators under long-term lease. Council would earn revenue while retaining ownership of the land.
The same logic applies to The Terrace Carpark in Windsor. With smart design, that site could host a multi-storey carpark with flood-resilient lower levels and commercial space above providing better parking, more jobs, and lease income to Council.
Rezone and Reinvest
Some Council-owned sites are already classified as “Operational Land,” which means they can legally generate income or be redeveloped. Wilberforce Shopping Centre is one of them. Right now, it’s an under-utilised asset. With a strategic rezoning and redevelopment plan, Council could unlock its true value either through a sale or partnership that delivers millions in capital or long-term income.
Build Smart on the Floodplain
We live on a floodplain. That’s a fact, not a reason for paralysis. Instead of using flood risk as an excuse to do nothing, we should embrace flood-resilient design. Elevated, modular, or demountable buildings can withstand inundation and bounce back fast.
Before any major project, I’d commission detailed flood risk and evacuation studies not to shut ideas down, but to make them stronger. When you design with risk in mind, you get smarter infrastructure and a more resilient community.
Run Council Like a Portfolio, without a hand in ratepayers pocket
Finally, I’d set up a dedicated Asset Optimisation Taskforce inside Council a small, skilled team whose only job is to identify underperforming assets and turn them into income-producing community assets.
Not by selling them, but by leasing, activating, or partnering just as any responsible organisation would manage its property portfolio.
Every parcel of land should either deliver community value or commercial return. If it does neither, we fix that not by raising rates, but by managing smarter.
The Bottom Line
If I were Mayor for a day, I wouldn’t ask residents for more money. I’d ask the Council to make better use of the resources it already has.
Our parks, carparks, and community land can generate millions if managed proactively and transparently. With the right partnerships, lease arrangements, and flood-resilient planning, we could fund upgrades, improve amenities, and ease the burden on ratepayers all without selling public land or increasing rates.
It’s not about cutting services. It’s about thinking like a business while serving like a community. That’s the leadership the Hawkesbury deserves.
If you would like to contribute to the "If I were Mayor for a day" send your submission to editor@hawkesburygazette.com
Reminder: Residents have until Sunday 26 October 2025 to lodge objections to the Council rate rise. This can be done via the Hawkesbury Council website at Have your say. https://www.yourhawkesbury-yoursay.com.au/special-rates-variation
