Inner west baby boom over but not gone

BY: MICHAEL FORNO

The recent baby boom in the inner west may be over but its effects are still ongoing according to former independent Leichhardt councilor John Stamolis.

“We missed the baby boom, even though we’re still planning for it, we missed it by a long shot,” he says.

While Mr. Stamolis concedes that the boom is over there are still long term flow on effects.

“To tell you where the birthrate is now, the latest data is from 2014, and we’re down about 600 births from where we were in 2010,” he says. 

“It has turned, but I suppose the big issue here is are we planning sufficiently for these young kids? Because those children are five to eight years old now,” he says.

ABS figures suggest that the area that now makes up the Inner West Council has recently had the highest birth rates of any region across Sydney. In 2014 City Hub reported that the Leichhardt council projections of the extent of the baby boom were overstated. But despite signs of a decline in birth rate the Leichhardt council committed to building a $4mil childcare centre in Lilyfield.

“In my first term in council, I saw the boom peak. But I don’t know why the council thought the best investment was a $4mil childcare centre, instead of upgrading facilities for young children, and also thinking about the needs of youth,” Mr. Stamolis says.

“It’s probably only another four years off and they’ll be teenagers, and we have to ask are we ready for that? We have seen to the needs of younger children, we’ve upgraded libraries and play equipment but we need a broader approach,” he says.

Local amenities for youth including, skate parks, basketball courts and aquatic centres are all lacking across the inner west according to Mr. Stamolis. While the children of the boom are growing older he believes that councils are still too focused on childcare services. He is further concerned about the future of these matters since the creation of the new Inner West Council and the appointment of an interim administration.

“The trouble though is the length of time that we’re under administration. It’s a long time to be left without quality decision-making and without members of our community developing their vision and policy. The ability to develop new policy is just not there,” he says.

Despite inadequacy amenities for youth Mr. Stamolis believes the inner west is still a desirable place to live, a reason for the baby boom in the first place. 

“I think that people are drawn to the lifestyle of the inner west and younger people who are employed in the city want to live close to the city,” he says.

“For the council it’s a matter of being ready, and not doing things after,” he says.