Lucy Turnbull Steps Down from Top Cities Job

Former Sydney lord mayor Lucy Turnbull has resigned after more than four years as the Greater Sydney Commission's inaugural chief commissioner.

A self-described "urbanist, businesswoman and philanthropist" who in 2003 became Sydney's first female lord mayor, Turnbull was appointed chief commissioner by the NSW state government in 2015.

Tasked with delivering strategic planning for the whole of metropolitan Sydney, Turnbull oversaw the development and release of the historic Greater Sydney Region Plan—a 40-year strategy to transform Sydney into three interconnected cities, each enabling residents to commute between their jobs, homes and key services within 30 minutes.

NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian thanked Turnbull for her leadership and vision.

“Greater Sydney is well on its way to becoming a thriving metropolis of three cities and I thank Lucy for her outstanding service and leadership,” Berejiklian said.

“Lucy brought an enormous amount of passion to this incredibly important project and I am certain her legacy will live on in the communities and residents of Greater Sydney.”

Berejiklian said Turnbull had also championed a personal passion for Greater Sydney’s livability through local open spaces, walkability to promote health and community and a "female-friendly focus on improving access for everyone".

Chief executive of the Green Building Council of Australia, Davina Rooney, said the organisation had worked closely with Turnbull during her time in the top job, and noted her extraordinary contribution to shaping the future of the nation’s most populous city.

“Lucy’s passion for placemaking, for local open spaces, walkability and improving access for everyone, has helped ensure liveability and sustainability are embedded as part of the Greater Sydney Commission’s strategic approach to our built environment, now and into the future.

“Her lasting legacy is in creating a poly-centric vision for greater Sydney that can be seen in the strategic planning framework that now exists to guide the transformation of the region into a better connected, productive metropolis," Rooney said.

Greater Sydney Commission chief executive Dr Sarah Hill said Turnbull had been an inspiring leader and a fixture of Greater Sydney from her first foray into public life at the City of Sydney more than 21 years ago.

"We could not have had a more committed and passionate advocate for Greater Sydney ... her hard work rightly now deserves to be rewarded with more personal time for Lucy and her family and other opportunities," Hill said.

The commission’s deputy chief Geoff Roberts has been appointed chief commissioner from 1 April until March 2021.