By Andy Park
Liverpool in Sydney's west has traditionally been the Labor party's heartland.
But after decades of successive Labor councils, a change is in the air as the robes once worn by former Labor opposition leader Mark Latham are now worn by a Liberal.
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"[For] a lot of people it's the first time they voted Liberal,” said new Mayor Ned Mannoun, a US-born, Lebanese-Australian Muslim who was officially inaugurated at the Liverpool Council chambers on Thursday.
"People wanted a change of attitude, they wanted a fresh approach and that's what we offered them," he said.
“For 21-years we have had a Labor mayor in Liverpool and the people here have felt neglected.”
With swings of between five and ten per cent in ethnically diverse areas like Blacktown, Bankstown, Parramatta and Campbelltown, a focus on true representation, especially in socially dynamic areas, has never been stronger.
The last census revealed that more than 70 per cent of people in Liverpool said that both their parents were born overseas, compared to the national average of 32 per cent, with Arabic being the most spoken language at home other than English.
