Six Cities Region

The Six Cities Region was an administrative megaregion in the state of New South Wales, Australia used in strategic and statutory land use planning strategies and regulation by the NSW Government, overseen by the Greater Cities Commission. The region was announced in 2021 by then-Premier Dominic Perrottet ^[1] and formally legislated as part of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act in 2022, ^[2] before being quietly erased in early 2023 by newly elected Premier Chris Minns. ^{[3] [4]} It represented a formalisation of a widely understood linear spatial relationship between Greater Sydney, Central Coast, Newcastle and Wollongong. It consisted of the following areas:

• Lower Hunter and Greater Newcastle City - consisting of the City of Cessnock, City of Lake Macquarie, City of Maitland, City of Newcastle, and Port Stephens local government areas
• Central Coast City - consisting of the entirety of the Central Coast local government area
• Illawarra-Shoalhaven City - consisting of the Kiama, City of Shellharbour, City of Shoalhaven and City of Wollongong, local government areas
• Western Parkland City - consisting of the City of Blue Mountains, Camden, City of Campbelltown, City of Fairfield, City of Hawkesbury, City of Liverpool, City of Penrith and Wollondilly, local government areas
• Central River City - consisting of the City of Blacktown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Georges River, City of Parramatta, and The Hills Shire local government areas
• Eastern Harbour City - consisting of the Bayside, Burwood, Canada Bay, Hornsby, Hunters Hill, Inner West, Ku-ring-gai, Lane Cove, Mosman, North Sydney, Northern Beaches, City of Randwick, City of Ryde, Strathfield, Sutherland Shire, City of Sydney, Waverley, City of Willoughby, and Woollahra local government areas

The Six Cities Region served as a frame for regional planning in New South Wales, and broadly separates the metropolitan areas from the rural areas of the state. A discussion paper was released in September 2022 regarding the Six Cities Region. ^[5]

References

1. Perrottet, Dominic (2 December 2021). "Bradfield Oration 2021: NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet's speech". The Daily Telegraph . Archived from the original on 5 November 2024.
2. Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW) s 1.4
3. Koziol & McGowan (27 June 2023). "Minns abolishes Sydney planning agency to bring control back in-house". Sydney Morning Herald (SMH). Retrieved 16 July 2025.
4. Waterford, Eamon. "Flying Blind – Why abandoning a Sydney strategy is a planning disaster waiting to happen". Committee for Sydney. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
5. "Discussion Paper The Six Cities Region" (PDF). Greater Cities Commission. Darcy Street Parramatta NSW: State of New South Wales. September 2022. ISBN   978-0-6489844-3-6. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 November 2024. Retrieved 6 November 2024.