Design competitions for CBD developments are an opportunity to test, compare and evaluate design options and have a vision for the future. Design competitions promote innovation, enhance a city's design reputation and support emerging and local design practices. The City of Melbourne undertakes the Design Excellence Program. The guidelines outline an ethical and streamlined competitive process to support innovative and architecturally diverse buildings, landscapes, infrastructure and public realm. There are design competitions in the United States for 15-minute city urban design, focusing on transport movement and allowing people to access major attractions within a city within 15 minutes.

C40 Cities is a global network of nearly 100 mayors from the world's leading cities. This year C40 Cities launched urban design competitions in 12 cities to transform under-utilised sites. Using the basis of C40's description of design competitions, they create multidisciplinary teams, including architects, developers, community groups, infrastructure experts, arts, civic leaders and more, who come together to design and develop urban projects that are climate-friendly, serve the needs of local communities and become sustainable city landmarks. The initial launch of the Barangaroo international design competition was in May 2005. The Western Sydney Aerotropolis began its design in 2017, with design review panels. The City of Ryde council has had design competitions to establish a vision and address key issues such as movement and place strategy.

The Blacktown CBD does not reflect its multicultural vitality, the business prominence in the region or the aspirations of the community. It looks dated and almost reminiscent of a stagecoach town of the 1800s. The population of Blacktown City Council will surpass Tasmania's population by 2035—in just 12 short years. By 2041 the population will be in excess of 615,000. The Gross Regional Product is in excess of $22 billion, making it larger than 72 nations in the world and growing at an average of 4 per cent per year. Blacktown should be thinking like a State capital, not an unrecognised, small suburban town located in Western Sydney. The previous Liberal-Nationals Government and the Greater Cities Commission have a lot to answer for in the undervaluing of Blacktown and the failure to recognise its true potential.

Even the so-called Western Sydney University has over the past 12 years substantially reduced its footprint in Blacktown so that it can easily be renamed the "Western Sydney Ex-Blacktown City University". Thankfully, the Australian Catholic University has introduced a multi-faculty campus, giving local students the opportunity to train and study in a variety of disciplines. The concept of allowing developers to buy individual blocks within a CBD, build skyscrapers, say "isn't this wonderful?" and bring jobs, jobs, jobs is an outdated, simplistic sales pitch and is insulting to the local community. CBD development should be transparent, have a clear vision of the future and allow for design competitions so that we can get the best for the local area.

The new concept is referred to as a central living district, or CLD. Blacktown CLD has the perfect opportunity to move from a stagecoach town to a thriving, world-leading metropolis that truly incorporates work, live, play and study principles within a safe and sustainable environment. Blacktown has 45 acres of land that, until March of this year, were owned by three key owners. It now has four substantial owners, but there is nothing to stop the four owners from working together, forming a cooperative and treating the 45 acres as one consolidated lot. Where else in the world is there 45 acres of prime land in a CBD that is fit for the future? There are historically significant buildings such as Bowman Hall—the birthplace of modern Australian thinking and multicultural Australia, through the election campaign launch of Gough Whitlam in 1972—and the Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre, which was an Anglican church for decades before it could be used.

There must be a vision for what the city of the future can be—a town square to allow a 24/7 festival precinct; the relocation of the police station and courthouse that are no longer fit for purpose; better placed commercial and residential towers rather than just rows of buildings; and a place and movement framework to allow for a healthy environment and deal with car parking before it becomes a problem. All we need in the first instance is a mayor supported by councillors and council officers that are visionaries, like all the Labor mayors from John Aquilina in 1977 through to the last mayor. We do not need behind-closed-doors presentations by a developer; we need someone to talk to the community and present a viable future.