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Dual Occupancy – Approved in principle! (Labor opposes)
Council approved my Notice of Motion to permit Detached Dual Occupancies after seven years of delay and disappointment with our moribund LEP process. There's some way to go yet.
The 2025 Australian Federal Election – the view from Macquarie
For those of you who asked me what my opinion is of yesterday's Federal Election, I humbly offer you this. I try to provide a Global, National and Local (to the seat of Macquarie) explanation of What Just Happened.
Mics are dropped.
I want to know what you think.
The Effects on Insurance Premiums from Hawkesbury Flooding and Council\’s Planning Policies
The skyrocketing costs of home insurance is a massive issue for people in the Hawkesbury.
Damage from flooding could cost us billions, but the risks of living in on a floodplain have driven up Insurance costs even when the sun is shining.
The Incredible Shrinking Hawkesbury Bridge Program
In 2019 and 2021, to secure votes in what was at the time the most marginal Federal seat in the nation, the Liberals pledged $200M, and then $500M to build a high, flood-resilient bridge across the Hawkesbury River that would loop around North Richmond and relieve congestion at the intersection of Grose Vale Road, Bells Line and the Terrace. Now we're told by Labor that that money isn't enough.
Two Years in One Minute – A series of Hawkesbury Time Lapse Videos
Live Traffic NSW have automated cameras all over the state, and over eight in the Hawkesbury. I programmed a script to scrape an image from each at around noon for two years (August 2022 – Dec 2024) and compiled the ~700+ images into some time lapses.
Hawkesbury Youth Summit – Opening Address
I was honoured to be asked by the Mayor to give the opening address of the "Hawkesbury Youth 'Festival of New Ideas'" at the Western Sydney University Hawkesbury Campus
Throwback Thursday – the 1998 Resolve Chemicals fire at Wilberforce
CHEMICAL FIRE AT WILBERFORCE: At 2216hrs on Sunday 12th July, 1998, Hawkesbury Fire Control received advice from 000 of a structure alight in the Woodlands Industrial Estate, WIiberforce. The township of Wilberforce has over 100 homes and light industry and is located In the City of Hawkesbury approximately 60km north west of Sydney.
Pre-election Interview with Shaun Willams of Hawkesbury Radio
I leave it all on the field with this one.
The invitation to sit down with Shaun Willams from Hawkesbury Radio this close to the election was the perfect opportunity to take the gloves off and talk about what's really at stake this time.
Lost opportunities and broken promises – The case for change
Between them, Liberal and Labor have held the Mayoralty on Hawkesbury Council for seventeen of the last twenty years, with effective control of the chamber. Some would say, it shows.
Thank you to Superintendent Karen Hodges AFSM for your service
Superintendent Karen Hodges has been with NSW RFS - Hawkesbury District since the late 1980s. Now, after over 35 years of service, she is moving on. Council brought a motion of thanks and farewell, which I was happy to support.
Councillor Nathan Zamprogno
The page of Independent Hawkesbury City Councillor Nathan Zamprogno
Recently I was honoured to host the inaugural TEDxHawkesbury event at the Richmond School Of Arts.
All the videos from the presenters are now online through the TEDx Global YouTube Channel and if you weren't able to attend the event, I commend them to you. Included in this post are my introductory remarks. Below is the link to all the talks.
In my roles as a Councillor and as a local high school teacher I have learned that innovation, connection, and meeting to share and debate good ideas are at the heart of fixing the problems we have in our community and the broader world.
This event has presented to a Hawkesbury audience wisdom about things as diverse as Artificial Intelligence, mental health, community service, trauma, ecology, disaster resilience, critical thinking and leadership. Having our speakers present from the same stage that once hosted debates about Australian Federation is a big thrill. I was specially proud to introduce two of my own students who gave well-received talks.
We heard from nine wonderful speakers which included Scott Hinks - Hawkesbury
of the local Lions club, and Dr Michelle Ryan of the Hawkesbury Nepean Platypus Project.
I certainly hope this sold-out event indicates we’ve started something that will continue.
All the talks are available at this playlist:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2AOqIrArwQ&list=PLKVTDl0dqP08
Here is a major update on the issue of Detached Dual Occupancy in the Hawkesbury. This is something I get asked about a lot, and over the last few weeks there has been a flurry of reporting which tells only part of the story.
This video describes where we are, and how we got here.
If you want the receipts, and links to all the documents mentioned in this video, go to my website:
councillorzamprogno.info/2026/07/08/major-update-on-detached-dual-occupancy-in-the-hawkesbury/
Call outs to
John Ruddick MLC - Libertarian
Councillor Mark Hornshaw - Libertarian Party
Urban City Group
Paul Scully MP
Winterfest Sydney Medieval Fair at the Hawkesbury Showground has come around again and is noticeably bigger and better than ever! Here’s my cousin Damian and I getting into the spirit of things. He is Optio Centurion with the Legio IX Hispana Sydney.
Yesterday was sold out, and today is nearly!
The Hawkesbury Local Planning Panel has now ruled on the request to construct a McDonalds, a KFC and a child care facility at 291 Bells Line Of Road at North Richmond (just past Colo High going up and on the corner of Yeomans Road).
The HLP Panel voted to REJECT the application including the following reasons:
• The proposal has not adequately addressed stormwater management and impacts on water quality.
• The proposal has not adequately addressed the potential for a release of pollutants if there is a flood.
• The proposed development is considered to diminish the scenic quality of the locality and topography of the site and surrounds.
• The site and surrounding uses are incompatible with the proposed child care facility.
• There may be potential for land use conflict with surrounding sites.
• Having regards to the objectives, the proposed development is not consistent with the relevant objectives of the RU1 and SP2 zone.
• Inadequate and potentially unsafe pedestrian connections to the site particularly having regard to the proximity of Colo High School.
Actually, the list of reasons why the development has been rejected is far, far longer than this. The whole decision is available at the URL below.
I welcome this decision but note that the applicant has pre-emptively made an application for the matter to be presented to the Land and Environment Court. Today's announcement does not mean that the Court process won't take place, but places objectors on a much stronger footing.
www.hawkesbury.nsw.gov.au/_resources/council-meeting-papers/hlpp-business-papers/current/hlpp-bus...
Do you know how much debt Council is in? No? Would you even know where to look?
With so much discussion around Council's financial management, I've managed to score a win for some transparency in the way we report this.
As I point out in this speech, figures that I suspect most ratepayers would like a clear presentation of includes how much debt Council is in, how it's changed, and how we measure up to our neighbours and demographic peers.
I expected a fight; to need to move a motion to get something simple: a better summary of debt in our Annual Report. Instead, Council staff commendably took up my suggestion and have recently responded to me with this:
“𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐥, 𝐝𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐕𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬.
𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓/𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭.”
I thank our staff for their proactive stance in response to my suggestion.
Oh, and to answer my earlier question:
Council's current debt stands at $54,809,000.
In 2009, Council had zero debt.
The Richmond Pool project cost-blowout alone may add an additional $43,000,000 of debt to Council, which is why I regretfully had to withdraw my support for it.
Look forward to a big announcement from me soon about a project aimed at improving transparency and access to Council data.
What do you think?
My family's roots are in both the Hawkesbury and Hills District. My great-great grandfather James Holland was a founder of the Anglican fellowship in Glenhaven which is now the Emmanuel Church.
I was delighted to attend the church's 140th anniversary celebrations recently along with Julian Leeser MP, Dr Michelle Byrne - Mayor of the Hills Shire Council, Councillor Frank De Masi and Councillor Mitchell Blue - The Hills Shire Council.
I took my mother and our cousin who were able to share their own memories of Glenhaven in an era when it was much more rural.
We have so much history in our communities, and I'm glad that we can celebrate it.
This content isn't available at the moment
When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it, or it's been deleted.
Thanks to John Ruddick MLC - Libertarian and to Troy from Urban City Group for their advocacy about Detached Dual Occupancy.
People are asking me regularly about our own Council’s initiative in this area which I moved at the Council last year. We’ve been given a deadline of August to get it finished. I’ve asked for an update from staff about our progress towards this goal and am awaiting a response.
This content isn't available at the moment
When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it, or it's been deleted.
Today I was saddened to hear of the passing of Brett Wild, Chairman of the Taskforce Veteran organisation and a tireless advocate for the restoration of the Scheyville Military Precinct at Scheyville National Park.
Brett was instrumental in securing Federal funding to arrest the decline of the buildings and find adaptive reuse for the site as a Veterans hub and military museum.
The site is special to me and I've taken an interest its history. I was saving this footage for a longer project I am working on documenting the history of the site, which also includes the Dreadnought scheme, the Scheyville Migrant Camp and the Officer Training Unit of the Australian Army.
However it seems more appropriate to share Brett's words here, recorded in February 2025 as a tribute to his vision for Veterans and to preserve this unique site in our local history.
Vale, Brett Wild.
www.facebook.com/share/p/1EHB8ytydr/
The King’s Birthday Awards have just been announced.
I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to NSW SES Hawkesbury Unit Commander Kevin Jones, who has been awarded the Emergency Services Medal.
The citation accompanying the award says the following:
"Mr Kevin Jones has been at the forefront of operations at the NSW State Emergency Service (NSW SES) for more than 52 years. Having joined the Hawkesbury Unit at just 14 years old, he has gone on to serve in many leadership roles including local commander and unit commander.
Mr Jones has personally attended thousands of rescue operations, including road crashes, industrial and domestic rescues, large animal rescues, vertical rescues, and flood emergencies. A defining example of his courage occurred during the historic Colo River flood in March 1978, where, at just 18 years old, he saved the life of a pregnant woman in treacherous floodwaters, an act that underscores his exceptional skill and bravery under extreme hazard.
Over the last ten years alone, Mr Jones has responded to more than 600 individual rescue incidents in addition to leading major flood and storm operations on the Hawkesbury River, one of Australia’s highest flood-risk areas. His operational leadership ensures rapid, effective responses during critical emergencies. Recognising the need for local capability, Mr Jones was instrumental in establishing the Hawkesbury SES Rescue Unit in 1985, which has grown into one of the state’s most advanced volunteer rescue units. He has driven innovation in vehicle and vessel design, equipment trials, and best-practice rescue techniques. Under his guidance, the Hawkesbury Unit has supported training and capability development for NSW SES teams, from the North Coast to the Far West, ensuring statewide improvements in safety and operational standards.
Mr Jones’s leadership has not only strengthened the Hawkesbury Unit but has also influenced generations of emergency service professionals. His mentorship has helped recruit and train hundreds of volunteers. His contributions have left a lasting legacy of resilience, capability, and excellence within the NSW SES."
NSW SES
Western Sydney NSW SES
honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/search?searchText=Kevin%20Jones&awardYear=2026
