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City to fund ocean baths restorations

City of Newcastle has committed to funding the restoration of both Newcastle and Merewether Ocean Baths following an unsuccessful expressions of interest (EOI) process.
With no EOI submissions progressing beyond an initial panel review, City of Newcastle will form a community reference group by the end of the month to guide the restoration of Newcastle Ocean Baths and commence further engagement on the Merewether pavilion later this year.
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The current round of community engagement is due to conclude at the end of February while initial planning continues, including detailed site investigations to further understand the condition of Newcastle and Merewether Ocean Baths and the level of rectification required.
“I’m determined to see the Newcastle Ocean Baths become an asset all Novocastrians can be proud of,” Cr Nuatali Nelmes said.
“This means converting feedback from the current community engagement process into the preliminary design that once costed, can be further tested with the community to ensure the Newcastle Ocean Baths receives an appropriate restoration 98 years after it was first built.
“We’ve made a great start on understanding what the community want from the Baths with more than 600 comments already logged on the City’s ideas wall. Intercept surveys are taking place at the Baths and other city locations before the end of February.
“We’ll now progress with forming a community reference group that represents user groups, the local business community and broader ratepayer base with the aim of holding our first meeting next month.
“The Baths are a treasured part of Newcastle’s history. Developed responsibly and with respect to its local heritage, we will deliver public baths that remain appealing to people throughout our city and one of our key tourism drawcards. This includes protection of its facade, the blue-stepped bleaches and its free entry to swim all year round.”
The Newcastle Coastal Plan of Management, adopted by Council in 2015, prescribed an expression of interest (EOI) for the pavilions and identified cafes, kiosks and restaurants as potential future uses, with the stipulation that revenue be re-invested in coastal upgrades and maintenance.
The City invited EOIs in November 2019 before bringing forward engagement following incorrect claims that the Newcastle and Merewether Baths would be privatised.
Under the EOI, the City committed to retaining Newcastle Ocean Baths’ iconic art-deco façade and bleacher seating, while providing renewed public change rooms with hot water showers and improving shading, car parking, disability access and seating in line with previous engagement results.
City of Newcastle Director of Infrastructure Ken Liddell said the City would review the community engagement results before preparing draft concept plans.
“Community consultation will be maintained through a reference group, while information sessions and a public exhibition will be held to present concept plans to the broader community before Councillors review and approve any restoration,” Mr Liddell said.
“I expect the concept plan will be completed this year with detailed design works to follow in preparation for construction work to start in 2021.”
City of Newcastle will form its Newcastle Ocean Baths community reference group in February with invitations to user groups and stakeholders along with an EOI for broader community involvement.
Community reference group
The stakeholder groups to be invited to be part of the community reference group (CRG) will include, but not be limited to:

Friends of Newcastle Ocean Baths
Pirates swimming club
Local business
Indigenous (Guraki / Awabakal)
Coal River Working Party
Newcastle East Residents Group
Australian Institute of Architects

For expressions of interest to the community, City of Newcastle will aim for broad representation from across the four wards and, include but not be limited to, youth, people with disability, Indigenous representation and pensioners.
The Newcastle Ocean Baths Community Reference Group will have terms of reference based on the existing CRG for the Bathers Way. The CRG will be independently facilitated.

NSW PARLIAMENT TO PAY TRIBUTE TO THOSE IMPACTED BY BUSHFIRES

The NSW Government will move to suspend the ordinary business of Parliament for the week, when it returns on Tuesday, to pay tribute to the victims of the devastating bushfires.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian will move a Condolence Motion to allow each Member of Parliament to express their deepest sympathies to the families, loved ones and communities of those who have died and been directly impacted by the devastation.
“The scale of this bushfire season in NSW is unprecedented and the impact has been catastrophic with 2,400 homes destroyed, 10,000 buildings impacted and more than 5 million hectares burnt,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“But nothing is more tragic than the loss of life. We know the trauma is widespread as people come to terms with the extent of the devastation.
“This is the largest natural disaster in our State’s living memory so it is fitting that the NSW Parliament takes the time to reflect on this tragedy while also acknowledging the ongoing threat the fires pose.”
A State Memorial Service will be held on Sunday, 23 February at Qudos Bank Arena to acknowledge the tragic loss of life.
“We know members of the public from across NSW will also want to recognise the lives lost, the sacrifices made and to think of those directly impacted by the fires.
“There will be a separate opportunity for us to formally thank our volunteers and emergency services workers in the near future.”

ST GEORGE HOSPITAL’S BABIES GET FIRST-CLASS UNIT

A new, $11.5 million world-class birth unit twice the size of the previous facility has opened at St George Hospital, providing local women with the best possible care close to home.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard, joined by the Member for Oatley Mark Coure, Parliamentary Secretary for Families, Disability and Emergency Services Melanie Gibbons and Member for Miranda Eleni Petinos, today officially opened the unit and met some of its first newborns.
“This modern, state-of-the-art unit has been carefully designed with thoughtful consideration of the needs of women during childbirth, featuring the very latest technology and equipment for maternity care,” Mr Hazzard said.
“The NSW Government’s $11.5 million upgrade doubles the size of St George Hospital’s previous birth facilities so that more women in the local community can access world-class birth facilities and care close to home.”
The upgrade provides eight new birth rooms with deep baths for women in labour, two actue observation rooms and new neonatal monitoring technology.
Mr Coure said the unit is now very close to the operating theatres, two of which were refurbished as part of the upgrade.
“The NSW Government is delivering on its commitment to provide world-class healthcare to the people of NSW and this new birth unit is great news for families of the St George region and beyond,” Mr Coure said.
Ms Gibbons said the birth unit is also co-located to a separate new Pregnancy Assessment Unit, with its own waiting area and consulting room, providing extra support to the birth unit.
“This new birth unit will provide exceptional care to the some 2,300 women who give birth at the hospital each year and meet the growing needs of our local community.”
Ms Petinos said: “This means local mums and their newborns will receive more timely care and have the best possible experience at this very important stage of their lives.”
South Eastern Sydney Local Health District will also benefit from the NSW Government’s $2.8 billion commitment to recruit a record 8,300 frontline health staff over the next term, including 5,000 additional nurses and midwives.

Operation Surge saturates Hunter Basin and arrests 11 people

Police districts within the Hunter Basin have once again joined together to proactively target offenders during a high-visibility operation at the weekend.
Between 4pm on Saturday 1 February and 4am on Sunday 2 February 2020, more than 100 officers from the four Hunter Basin police districts – Newcastle City, Lake Macquarie, Port Stephens-Hunter and Hunter Valley, with assistance from Traffic & Highway Patrol, the Police Dog Unit, Strike Force Utah, PolAir and Police Transport Command – were deployed to several suburbs across the region in a high-saturation operation, capturing areas such as Newcastle, Maitland, Raymond Terrace and Cessnock.
The aim of Operation Surge is to manoeuvre resources where they are needed in a fluid, reactive environment, with the assistance of real-time intelligence from a single control base.
Preliminary results from Operation Surge show:

11 people arrested
17 charges laid
10 possess/supply drug
145 RBT conducted
4 PCA charges
40 traffic infringements issued
74 licensed premises checks
11 juvenile cautions

Of note, a 20-year-old man was arrested at a licensed premises on Hunter Street, Newcastle West, after allegedly being in possession of 69 MDMA capsules. He was charged with supply prohibited drug and granted conditional bail to face Newcastle Local Court on Thursday 27 February 2020.
Operation Surge Commander, Superintendent Danny Sullivan APM said the second roll-out of Operation Surge was a great success, with officers able to respond in numbers across the wider community, regardless of their home police district.
“Operation Surge was created to merge police resources across several Hunter suburbs, being able to move freely and deploy to wherever the demand and need is at any given time.
“This operation allows police to engage with the public in highly visible areas and in vast numbers – reinforcing that the Hunter’s police are there to protect the community all day, every day.
“For the second deployment of Operation Surge, we wanted to focus on utilising the real-time intelligence from our analysts to target repeat offenders within each police district.
“Police will continue to put operations like ‘Surge’ into practice; those in the community who wish to cause trouble need to know we will be there, and we will be there in large numbers.
“The public should continue to feel confident that their local police are out in force, protecting their neighbourhoods and families,” Supt Sullivan said.
Operation Surge will be continually rolled-out through various deployments in 2020.

Body of missing woman located – Wakefield

A woman reported missing from the Lake Macquarie region has been located deceased.
The 54-year-old woman was reported missing after last being seen at Teralba on Saturday 1 February 2020.
Officers from Lake Macquarie Police District were notified and conducted an extensive search for the woman and her car.
With the assistance of Polair, a body was located near a car on a fire trail at Wakefield, just after 12.15pm today (Monday 3 February 2020).
While the body is yet to be formally identified, it is believed to be that of the missing woman.
Inquiries into the incident continue, however her death is not being treated as suspicious.
Police would like to thank the public and the media for their assistance.
A report will be prepared for the information of the Coroner.

Man charged after allegedly demanding money from four stores – Lake Macquarie

A man will face court today charged after allegedly demanding money and cigarettes from four stores in the Lake Macquarie area yesterday.
About 7.45pm (Monday 3 February 2020), a man entered a pizza restaurant on Main Road, Edgeworth, and allegedly demanded staff open the register.
When they refused, the man left and walked to a nearby shopping centre where he entered a second store and allegedly demanded staff open the register.
The man grabbed hold of a charity can on the counter and attempted to pull it from its chain before running from the store empty-handed.
Shortly after, the man entered a chicken store on Main Road, and allegedly demanded money from the register.
A store manager approached the man who left the store and entered a nearby service station, demanding staff give him cigarettes.
Staff refused, and the man was sighted in the store by police patrolling nearby.
The 18-year-old was arrested by officers from Lake Macquarie Police District and taken to Toronto Police Station where he was charged with three counts of demand with menaces intend obtain gain/cause loss.
He has been refused bail to appear at Toronto Local Court today (Tuesday 4 February 2020).

Koala massacre in Vic must be investigated

Reports of a mass koala massacre in Victoria by a private logging company require an urgent independent investigation, the Greens say.
Greens Spokesperson for the Environment Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said she had written to the Victorian and Federal Environment Ministers asking them to investigate and explain the gruesome footage that had emerged showing hundreds of koalas bulldozed to their deaths at a bluegum plantation.
“Thousands of koalas have died in the fires across the country and now it seems even more are dead because of logging in their habitat,” Senator Hanson-Young said.
“Australians already heartbroken by the images of burned koalas, will be ashamed and distressed that this is happening.
“Our environmental laws and our government should be protecting our precious wildlife not allowing private companies to inflict incomprehensible cruelty on innocent animals.
“The private companies involved must explain their actions and if laws have been broken they must be held accountable. I’ve contacted the companies involved seeking an urgent meeting.”
Senator Hanson-Young said that as Chair of the Senate’s Environment and Communications Committee she would seek to have those involved brought before the Faunal Extinction Inquiry.
“We cannot allow anyone to get away with this type of cruelty and harm and it’s up to governments to do something to stop it,” Senator Hanson-Young said.

The rot won't stop with McKenzie's resignation: Greens

The long-overdue resignation of the ministry by Bridget McKenzie leaves unanswered questions about the Sports Rorts scandal and does not address underlying integrity issues with the Morrison Government, according to the Greens.
Co-deputy leader and spokesperson on democracy Senator Larissa Waters and spokesperson on sport Senator Janet Rice said the Prime Minister will try and draw a line under this sports rorts scandal after Bridget McKenzie’s resignation but the announcement today does not stop the rot.
Senator Larissa Waters said:
“Channel 10 News raised serious allegations on Friday about the Prime Minister’s office being directly involved in this scandal. Scott Morrison should make a statement to parliament this week clarifying the exact role his office played in bribes going to marginal seats and how the Prime Minister was involved.
“Sports Rorts is only the latest of a long line of scandals involving government ministers, including multiple conflicts of interest surrounding Angus Taylor and the post-parliament employment of Christopher Pyne and Julie Bishop in industries they were previously responsible for regulating.
“On top of the Prime Minister’s list of business for this week should be restoring trust in the government and his ministers.
“My bill establishing an independent federal corruption watchdog passed the Senate in September last year, the Prime Minister should bring on a vote for the bill as first order of business in the lower house this Wednesday.
“The community is growing tired of witnessing behaviour from politicians that shows they are serving their own self-interest and benefit donors to their party. It’s time to clean up politics and strengthen our democracy so it works for everyone,” she said.
Senator Janet Rice said:

“The idea that political considerations were not a determining factor when deciding what clubs got funding is farcical.

“Australians take pride in a sporting culture that aims to play fair, from school competitions to social sport, right up to our elite national teams, so why won’t the Prime Minister and his ministers do the same? The same rules should apply to them.

“Minister McKenzie’s resignation does not change the result: we still have a government up to their neck in dishonesty and scandals, and there are still hundreds of deserving clubs across Australia who were robbed as the government used sports grants to buy and cheat their way back into government.
“The Prime Minister should do the right thing and make sure every community that met Sport Australia’s independent criteria for funding receives support for their local sports projects, regardless of their electorate.
“This is the level playing field the community expects: fix the problem, hold those responsible to account, and ensure this porkbarrelling never happens again.”

Updated travel advice to protect Australians from the novel coronavirus

The National Security Committee of Cabinet met again today to consider new and urgent information regarding the novel coronavirus situation.
Based on updated health advice from the Commonwealth’s Chief Medical Officer and the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee and the increased risk posed by the spread of novel coronavirus, we have decided to introduce strict new travel restrictions and new travel advice.
Effective immediately, foreign nationals (excluding permanent residents) who are in mainland China from today forward, will not be allowed to enter Australia for 14 days from the time they have left or transited through mainland China.
Australian citizens and permanent residents will still be able to enter, as will their immediate family members (spouses, legal guardians or dependants only). This exemption will be extended to airline crews who have been using appropriate personal protective equipment.
I want to assure Australians that we are doing everything we can, through these increased actions, to protect Australians and keep them safe from what is an escalating threat.
This is a temporary measure, which will be reviewed in 14 days.
Any foreign nationals who do arrive in Australia notwithstanding the prohibition, and who choose not to immediately return to their port of origin, will be subject to mandatory quarantine.
We will also be requiring Australian citizens, permanent residents and their families who do enter Australia and who have been in mainland China to self-isolate for 14 days from the time they left mainland China.
Further, enhanced screening arrangements will be effected at ports of entry. The Government will make 500,000 masks available for airport and port staff and arriving passengers and handheld thermometers will be made available at impacted ports.
We will also raise the travel advice to Australians for all of mainland China to Level Four – “Do not travel.”
We have not taken any of these decisions lightly. Over the past month we have consistently relied on expert advice, including from the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, based on the advice of the Communicable Diseases Network Australia. Their advice has guided the decision to announce these new measures today.
In particular, the changing epidemiology of the coronavirus in China and the uncertainty that remains around its transmission and virulence, mean the utmost precaution is warranted.
There is no basis for alarm. It is important to remember the risk to Australians is currently very low. We need to keep it that way.
Australia is well-prepared to respond to these challenges. We have been assessed by the World Health Organization as a world leader in preparedness for pandemics.
The Australian Government continues to monitor and respond to the coronavirus outbreak as it evolves.
We will work in close cooperation with state Government authorities and our international partners to coordinate our response and keep Australians safe.

Unlicensed driver charged over alleged police pursuit

An unlicensed driver will face court today charged over two alleged police pursuits through the Lake Macquarie region.
About 11.50pm yesterday (Friday 31 January 2020), officers from Port Stephens-Hunter Police District were conducting proactive patrols in Chisholm, following reports a construction site in the area had been broken into several times between Monday (27 January 2020) and Thursday (30 January 2020).
During their patrols, officers pulled over a Holden Commodore SS utility and approached the vehicle to talk with the driver, when the utility allegedly sped off.
A police pursuit commenced through several suburbs – including Hexham, Charlestown, and Belmont – before it was terminated in Summerland Point – Gwandalan.
Just before 1am today (Saturday 1 February 2020), the utility was spotted again in Kanangra Road, Summerland Point – Gwandalan, and allegedly failed to stop for officers.
A second police pursuit commenced but was terminated shortly after due to safety concerns.
The utility was later found dumped in Murrays Beach. During a search of the vehicle, officers seized several items, including bolt cutters, screw drivers, hammers and gloves, to undergo forensic examination.
Following a search of nearby bushland, police arrested a 42-year-old Fern Bay man about 1.20am.
He was taken to Belmont Police Station, where he was charged with two counts of police pursuit – not stop – drive dangerously, never licensed person drive vehicle on road, possess prohibited drug, and possess housebreaking implements.
The man was refused bail to appear at Newcastle Local Court today.
Investigations are continuing.