21/11/2025
This morning I was at a Hills business breakfast with the NSW Premier, and I found myself listening not just as a business owner, but as a parent who lives and raises kids in this community.
What really stood out were the same issues I see and feel every day:
As a parent
Trying to get kids out the door, sitting in heavy traffic on Windsor Road, knowing that by the time we all arrive at school or work, our nervous systems are already running hot. The lack of infrastructure and long commutes aren’t just inconvenient they shape how we show up for our families at night and how present we can be.
As a business owner and psychologist
Hearing about the rising cost of workers compensation in NSW, especially with psychosocial injury costs having doubled, is worrying. Behind those numbers are real people, staff who are burnt out, anxious, or struggling in silence, and employers trying to balance care, responsibility, and affordability.
From Creating Change Psychology, we see both sides:
Parents just trying to hold everything together, and workplaces under pressure as mental health and financial realities collide. There are no quick fixes here, and I definitely don’t think one breakfast solves it but conversations like this matter.
I’d love to see:
• more genuine collaboration between business, government, and health on psychosocial risks at work
• local traffic and infrastructure recognised as mental health issues, not just transport problems
• employers and leaders in the Hills supported to be proactive, not just reactive, when someone is already unwell
If you live or work in the Hills as a parent, employee, employer, or all three how are these issues showing up in your life?
