Two talented staff members from the Department of Planning and Environment have been recognised with awards from the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) at a ceremony on Queensland’s Gold Coast.
Rukshan de Silva was named Australian Young Planner of the Year while Deputy Chief Commissioner of the Greater Sydney Commission, Geoff Roberts was declared the national Planning Champion.
Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Rob Stokes congratulated the pair saying they were outstanding ambassadors for the planning profession.
“NSW is lucky to have such talented and accomplished professionals working hard every day to improve communities across the State,” Mr Stokes said.
“As Principal Planner in the Department’s Planning and Design team, Rukshan has been doing vital work, developing a framework to recognise local character within Sydney’s Growth Areas.”
He said that most recently Mr de Silva had made a fantastic effort to support the Go Jindabyne masterplan, helping Jindabyne grow into Australia’s premier Alpine destination and a great place to live and visit year-round.
“Geoff Roberts has 35 years of experience working on city strategy, governance and leadership, renowned both in Australia and internationally,” Mr Stokes said.
“He led the negotiation of the Western Sydney City Deal on behalf of the NSW Government and played a pivotal role in the tri-Government agreement, reached in March 2018, between the Australian Government, the eight Councils of the Western City and the NSW Government,” the Minister said.
