The NSW State election comes at an important time for Lake Macquarie. Our city is thriving, our population is increasing and our economy is as strong as ever. However to ensure our city reaches its full potential we will need support from all levels of government and private industry.

In the past few years, council has shown its ability to successfully partner and work with state and federal government to deliver key projects, as well as major organisations such as Hunter Water and leading education institutions like University of Technology Sydney.

No matter the outcome of Saturday's election, the council is in a great position to closely partner with all our state members. I am particularly looking forward to openly engaging with the elected members and discussing how we can work together to unlock the true potential of our wonderful city.

Over the next 20 years, planned major residential and commercial development will continue to shape Lake Macquarie's growth, led by the North West Catalyst Area. So major road projects, infrastructure and the facilities, both community and recreational, to support our city's growth are all high on the council's agenda.