Member for Ryde Victor Dominello has kicked off his local re-election campaign with a community rally in Eastwood Plaza.
Rowe Street was bathed with blue balloons and t-shirts as a crowd of 150 volunteers and community leaders gathered for the event.
They were entertained by an array of performances including Chinese Tai Chi, Korean drummers and traditional dancers as well as a rousing singing performance from local identity Roseanna Gallo OAM.
Senior cabinet minister Jillian Skinner, the Minister for Health, was guest of honour at the rally and joined a procession of community leaders who threw their support behind Mr Dominello’s re-election campaign.
Mrs Skinner praised Mr Dominello for his compassion and tireless advocacy around the cabinet table for Aboriginal communities, young people and veterans as well as his ability to bring communities together to promote harmony in times of need.
Mr Dominello, who was first elected as the Member for Ryde at the 2008 by-election, said during a speech to the assembled audience that he felt honoured and privileged to have served the local community for more than six years.
“We’ve been able to deliver significant achievements here in Ryde over the past six years from the boarding house reforms, to the installation of flashing lights outside every school to the $5 million upgrade of Ryde Hospital,” Mr Dominello said.
“These achievements are not my achievements alone – they belong to the entire community and were only made possible due to the hard work and advocacy of so many passionate leaders across our community.
“I have led the way in fighting against over development throughout Ryde and making sure we save our valuable open space. The Ryde Hockey fields, Tennis World and Smalls Road have all been saved for open space because of the work we have done in Ryde over the past 4 years.
“I am the son of a migrant family – my parents came out here when they were 10 years old they attended local schools. I was born in Ryde Hospital – my sisters and I attended local schools. My grandfather had a shop in Eastwood for 30 years.
“You can see why I love this area – why I will always fight for this area and work for you to deliver results. That is because I’m a product of Ryde – you can never take this area out of my blood,” he said.
“When we came into government in 2011, NSW was an economic laughing stock, lagging behind of every economic indicator after finishing dead last in the CommSec State of the State Report for three consecutive quarters.
“We promised to make NSW number one again and we’ve delivered. Through the hard work, discipline and vision of the Baird Government we are now number one among all the states, with the lowest unemployment and fastest growing economy.
“If we are re-elected we have a plan to take things further by investing an extra $20 billion to build the infrastructure and deliver the services which the people of Ryde and NSW need and deserve,” he said.
“This includes a 230 space multi-million dollar free car park in Eastwood and a further $9 million to upgrade Ryde Hospital – but I need your support on 28 March to ensure we can continue to deliver for the people of Ryde.”
“The Baird Liberal Team has a positive plan to build infrastructure and ease congestion on our roads with major transport projects such as the Westconnex, Parramatta Light Rail, North West Rail line and the investment of $300 million to fix major pinch points on our roads.
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