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The NSW Government has announced the biggest funding commitment ever for Surf Life Saving NSW (SLSNSW), pledging an additional $23 million over four years to help keep NSW beaches safe.

It comes as more than 20,000 active SLSNSW volunteer lifesavers begin the patrol season today, with the symbolic raising of the red and yellow flags at Maroubra Beach, Sydney.

With predictions of a hot and dry summer, the funding commitment reinforces the critical role of SLSNSW in safeguarding the lives of NSW beachgoers.

Last year was one of the worst for drowning fatalities, with 48 lives tragically lost along the NSW coastline and 26 coastal drownings recorded over the summer months.

Beachgoers are being urged to exercise caution and observe water safety advice from lifesavers and lifeguards this patrolling season, which runs until 28 April 2024. 

The increased funding for SLSNSW will build on its capacity to protect lives over the warmer months.

As part of the funding package, SLSNSW will receive $18 million over four years through the NSW Rescue Capability Grant, for additional resources and equipment including 67 rescue watercraft, such as jet skis.

The funding will also deliver 40 permanent Emergency Response Beacons in blackspot locations, helping SLSNSW extend services in unpatrolled areas in an effort to reduce coastal drownings.

The NSW government’s investment in SLSNSW will also support the upgrade, restoration and construction of surf lifesaving facilities through an additional $5 million over four years for the Office of Sport’s Surf Club Facility Program.

This program aims to assist eligible Surf Life Saving Clubs to develop facilities that will enable increased participation in Surf Life Saving for all people, increase facility usage, and improve safety.

SLSNSW is one of the largest volunteer organisations of its kind in the nation with a membership of more than 75,000.

Additionally, these Surf Life Saving Clubs serve as vital community hubs across NSW.

On top of the $23 million, the national body Surf Life Saving Australia will receive almost $5.8 million over four years for the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter, including a crucial upgrade to the hangar door at La Perouse.

Premier of New South Wales Chris Minns said:

“New South Wales has the best beaches in the world and we’re incredibly fortunate to have the best surf life savers as well.”

“We have very dedicated, very brave volunteers, who often put themselves into dangerous situations to help others.”

“We want everyone to be able to enjoy our beaches safely. This is an important investment in life saving technology and human capital, so we know we have the resources we need right up and down the coast this summer.”

Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib said:

“This is the largest amount of funding the NSW Government has ever committed to Surf Life Saving NSW and we are proud to deliver on our promise to support these heroes in their vital work.”

“I want to thank our volunteers who give their time so that the community can enjoy a day in the surf, so please follow their advice to stay safe.”

“By equipping Surf Life Saving NSW with vital resources and cutting-edge technology, we amplify their life-saving efforts and reaffirm our promise to protect our communities.”

Minister for Sport Stephen Kamper said:

“Surf Life Saving Clubs provide a vital service, protecting people in the water and supporting a healthy lifestyle and often lifelong passion for members.”

“Our volunteer surf lifesavers are on our beaches, rain, hail or shine, protecting the community and ensuring people are safe at the beach.”

“The record funding for the Surf Club Facility Program will provide our surf life savers with more modern, inclusive and accessible facilities that will better enable them to keep the community safe at the beach.”

President of Surf Life Saving NSW Peter Agnew said:

“This is a great time to remind the community about the benefits of volunteering to be a lifesaver.

“You can volunteer as little or as much as you like and in every role, from admin, to first aid, to teaching Nippers or helping in the club canteen.”

“You can learn new skills like flying a drone or driving an inflatable rescue boat, improve your fitness and mental wellbeing and be part of a great community.”

“Finally, I want to thank our lifesavers for again standing tall and protecting our beaches and I wish them all a safe summer.”

City of Newcastle is moving forward with the Newcastle Ocean Baths upgrade, with Council to vote at its meeting next week on appointing the Principal Design Consultant to oversee designs for the pavilion buildings.

The consultant will prepare detailed proposals for the upgrade of the pavilion buildings including the heritage façade, following community input into preliminary options earlier this year.

Executive Manager Project Management Office, Robert Dudgeon said City of Newcastle will continue to engage with the community as planning progresses for the future of this much-loved public facility.

“Appointment of the Principal Design Consultant is an important next step for the project, bringing together feedback from the community and the findings of technical studies to develop more detailed options for the upgraded pavilion buildings,” Mr Dudgeon said.

“The intention is to deliver a facility that welcomes all visitors in an accessible and inclusive way, is sensitive to the site’s heritage, and resilient to coastal inundation and predicted sea level rise.

“Exploring options for community space at the Baths site is part of CN’s vision of providing an equitably distributed, sustainably managed and inclusive network of public places and spaces, as outlined in our draft Social Infrastructure Strategy.

“We will continue to engage with the Newcastle Ocean Baths Community Reference Group and the wider community throughout this process, as the designs are developed.”

Progress has also continued on construction of the renewed pool and promenade areas, with swimmers set to be back in the water this summer.

Work to restore the iconic bleacher seating is nearly complete, the new shade structure is taking shape, and finishing touches to the pool including painting the pool walls are underway.

Mr Dudgeon said that construction of the wet well area to support the new pumps had been a key focus in recent months, with the new pumps to be installed ahead of testing and commissioning before the pool is re-opened for swimming.

“The new pool deck is nearly complete, and key features such as the Art Deco curved stairs leading from the pool up to the pavilion area, and the restoration of the bleacher seating are also progressing,” he said.

“Retaining these heritage features has been a priority, with installation of the wider timber boardwalk and painting the bleachers to return the iconic teal colour to occur in coming weeks.

“We know that the baths are unique and treasured by locals and visitors. A number of methodologies and materials have been tested for restoration of the bleachers, ensuring they remain structurally sound and able to be enjoyed for many more decades to come.”

The $9.5 million recovered from the sale of City of Newcastle’s Fred Ash building is helping fund the Newcastle Ocean Baths stage one upgrade along with $3 million in funding from the NSW Government’s Public Spaces Legacy Program. The NSW Public Spaces Legacy Program is an investment in high quality public open space and delivers vital infrastructure for communities to love the place they live.

Construction of a new accessible changeroom is underway at Wallsend Swimming Centre as City of Newcastle continues to enhance its public swimming pool facilities for the new season.

Swimmers will be welcomed back in the water at the city’s five inland pools on Saturday, following the earlier season re-opening of Lambton War Memorial Swimming Centre last month.

Community members will be greeted with refreshed and upgraded facilities, with safety improvements, extensive re-painting, and maintenance of the pool tiles and promenades completed across the swimming centres during the closure period.

Construction of the new accessible changeroom at Wallsend is also progressing and is expected to be completed by the end of October.

Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said improving access to the city’s pools was a priority under CN’s adopted Inland Pools Strategy 2043.

“City of Newcastle is committed to maintaining and investing in our network of inland swimming centres to ensure they continue to meet the expectations and evolving needs of more than 320,000 people who visit them each year,” Cr Nelmes said.

“That’s why we developed our Inland Pools Strategy 2043, which sets out an investment plan for Newcastle’s network of public swimming pools to ensure they are fit-for-purpose in the long term and made accessible to all members of the community.”

Councillor Margaret Wood, co-chair of CN’s Access and Inclusion Advisory Committee, welcomed the addition of an accessible changeroom at Wallsend Swimming Centre.

“The new changeroom at Wallsend Swimming Centre will be a welcome addition to this popular community facility. This work will ensure all five of our inland swim centres provide accessible amenities, with more work to come including hoists for access to the pools,” Cr Wood said.

City of Newcastle has invested more than $5 million upgrading and $2 million maintaining the city’s public pool network during the past few years.

Work on the new grandstand at Lambton is expected to be completed in November, while additional tiered seating structures have been installed at Lambton, Mayfield, Stockton and Wallsend Swimming Centres.

A new playground has been installed at Beresfield, with a new shade sail to enhance the comfort and enjoyment of the community out of the water, while Stockton lap swimmers will benefit from new lane ropes this swimming season.

Plans to regulate the water temperature at the Wallsend and Mayfield pools are also moving forward. City of Newcastle will increase its investment to around $1.5 million to allow for significant electrical upgrades to accommodate the heat pumps, which will be used alongside rooftop solar thermal matting to provide warmer water at the start and end of the swimming season.

Timelines for the project are subject to external approval for changes to the electrical infrastructure, however the upgrades are expected to be completed in coming months at Mayfield and early in the new year at Wallsend.

The swimming season at Mayfield, Wallsend, Stockton and Beresfield pools will run from Saturday 23 September until 28 April 2024, with Lambton remaining open until 26 May 2024. City of Newcastle lifeguards will also begin their summer season along the coastline this Saturday with patrols at Stockton Beach, Nobbys Beach, Newcastle Beach, Bar Beach, Dixon Park Beach and Merewether Beach, as well as the Merewether Ocean Baths.

NSW Ambulance has today welcomed more new paramedics and Triple Zero call takers to the service, with a special graduation ceremony held at Sydney Olympic Park, attended by family and friends.

Nine new Graduate Trainee Paramedics and 13 new Trainee Emergency Medical Call Takers have officially joined the ranks, as part of the sixth graduate ceremony to take place this year.

Minister for Health Ryan Park extended a warm welcome to the graduates and said they will play a vital role in keeping the people of NSW safe and healthy.

“These new recruits join a cohort of more than 6700 NSW Ambulance staff who share a commitment to serving their communities all over NSW,” Minister Park said.

“I know all those who are graduating today have worked incredibly hard throughout their training. I thank them for their commitment and warmly welcome them to the NSW Ambulance service.

“I’m pleased to say these new starters will hit the ground running, commencing in their new roles from tomorrow,” said NSW Ambulance Chief Executive Dr Dominic Morgan.

“As demand for our services continues to grow, we remain committed to providing world-class care to our patients. We’re excited to have these new starters on board to help us to continue to provide the best possible care to the community.”

The graduate paramedics will be posted across NSW for 12 months to complete their on road internships before taking permanent positions in metropolitan and regional areas, while the emergency medical call takers will be posted to Triple Zero (000) control centres across the state.

Find out more information about joining the NSW Ambulance servicelaunch.

The Minns Labor Government has put unions ahead of the state’s most vulnerable, failing to provide adequate funding to support homeless services.
 
Shadow Minister for Homelessness Natasha Maclaren-Jones said Specialist Homelessness Services were key to tackling homelessness in NSW and must be adequately funded.
 
“The NSW Labor Budget has failed our most vulnerable people leaving frontline homelessness services without adequate funding to deal with increasing demand for services,” Natasha Maclaren-Jones said. “Specialist Homelessness Services (SHS) are the primary response to homelessness and under the Liberal and National Government investment in homelessness services more than doubled.”
 
Homelessness services have been left with a budget shortfall, they needed $50 million over two years to continue to operate and meet the increased cost of delivering services but instead Labor have given them only $5.9 million.
 
This budget is a stark reminder that under a Labor Government our most vulnerable will be forgotten.
 
“The Minns Government has failed to properly fund programs and initiatives to help people tackle the issues that have put them at risk of homelessness and provide a pathway out.” Mrs Maclaren-Jones said.
 
The Together Home program established by the Liberal and National supports people sleeping rough into stable accommodation with wrap around supports.
 
Mrs Maclaren-Jones said everyone deserves a safe and stable place to call home and the Together Home program has supported over 1,000 people since it began in 2020.
 
“Last year, the Liberal and National Government invested an additional $55 million for the Together Home program, the Minns Government has provided only $11.3 million, leaving hundreds of vulnerable people without basic support and the chance to have a stable home. “Mrs Maclaren-Jones said.
 
Under the Liberal and Nationals 2022-23 Budget we invested $1.2 billion towards homelessness and social housing programs, products and initiatives including $55 million to build on the success of the $177 million Together Home program to provide housing and support services to rough sleepers.

Dozens of leading anti-violence experts have signed a joint letter to the Prime Minister and Communications Minister urging them to reverse a decision to refuse an online safety trial.

The letter follows the Minister’s rejection of a recommendation of her own eSafety Commissioner to carry out an age verification trial aimed at reducing harm to children from online pornography. Age verification would hold digital platforms accountable for providing dangerous content to children.

More than 40 of Australia’s top child and women’s safety and anti-violence leaders, including former Commissioner on the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Robert Fitzgerald, have signed the open letter to the Government. In the letter, they urge:

“… a re-think of the Federal Government’s decision not to proceed with an age verification system to help protect children from exposure to pornography, as recently announced by yourself on behalf of the Government.”

Shadow Communications Minister David Coleman said the letter provided a powerful rebuttal of the Government’s decision to reject the advice of the eSafety Commissioner on this critical issue.

“The Minister’s decision is completely inexplicable and must be reversed,” Mr Coleman said.

“The co-signatories of this letter represent many of the leading experts in the field of child and women’s safety, and the Government must listen to them.”

The letter states that:

“It is our strong view that the Government has allowed itself to be swayed by industry resistance to an age verification system. Vested interests should not have been put before the wellbeing of children.”

Signatories to the letter, coordinated by the women’s safety group, Collective Shout, include leading investigators, authors, academics and high-profile adolescent psychologists.

Mr Coleman said Minister Rowland should reconsider her refusal to listen to her own eSafety Commissioner, given the vast credential of the writers of this letter.

“If Minister Rowland won’t act, then it’s time the Prime Minister intervened.”

Two years ago, the Coalition government struck the AUKUS deal alongside our close partners, the United States and the United Kingdom.

It was an historic moment for Australia, forging the pathway to acquiring nuclear-powered submarines for the Royal Australian Navy, and the advanced capabilities for our future defence like artificial intelligence, quantum computing and hypersonics.

The signing of AUKUS, under the Coalition government, was the most significant national security policy decision since the signing of the ANZUS Treaty in 1951.

It is a truly multigenerational task that will require political leadership across government, and involve industry, the private sector and the education sector.

The first test that stands before us is the establishment of Submarine Rotational Force-West (SRF-West) and the requirement to be ‘nuclear ready’ by the 2030s.

Critically this should include ensuring the infrastructure and workforce across Osborne, Henderson and HMAS Stirling are developed to successfully operate, sustain and ultimately build the nuclear-powered submarine fleet.

The Coalition reaffirms its bipartisan support for AUKUS and is committed to working with the government in the best interest of Australia’s defence and national security.

After the AFL Tribunal’s ruling in the Brayshaw-Maynard case this week, the Greens are calling on the Commonwealth to urgently act on the recommendations of the Senate Committee on Community Affairs’ report into concussions and repeated head trauma in contact sports.

Reporting in the Guardian, the Australian, the ABC and other outlets this week highlight the immense human toll of repeated head trauma in sport. Anita Frawley, the widow of former player Danny Frawley, and former AFL player and player safety advocate Shaun Smith among others have expressed disbelief and concern about the recent ruling.

The Senate Committee was unanimous that we need a national strategy to care better for sports players at all levels. A national strategy is core to preventing and understanding the impact and extent of concussion on Australian sports players. 

Chair of the Committee, Senator Janet Rice said:

“A concussion is not just a head knock.

“The Senate’s inquiry into concussion heard from medical experts, former players, and their families, with resounding concerns that professional sport codes aren’t currently taking concussions and head injuries seriously.

“It is sickening to see concussion incidents like the one that Angus Brayshaw suffered, especially after the testimony heard by the Committee about the potential lifetime impacts of concussion events like this, on players and their loved ones.

“I respect the Tribunal’s decision in this matter as it is an independent body, but there is no doubt about the seriousness of the concussion that Brayshaw sustained and the potential lifetime consequences of concussions like this.

“The way the AFL and other professional codes deal with this kind of collision will undoubtedly have to change as the sporting community continues to deal with concussion and CTE.

“I urge the government to take the Committee’s report very seriously and quickly move to implement its recommendations.

“The Greens support the development of a no fault insurance scheme for sports injuries.

“It is time for the Commonwealth to step up.”

The Albanese Labor Government is actively avoiding parliamentary transparency and accountability by axing an entire sitting week in October.

Manager of Opposition Business in the House Paul Fletcher said the move is indicative of an arrogant government that prefers to play politics than act in the national interest.

“Labor came into office promising greater transparency and accountability but the exact opposite has happened,” Mr Fletcher said.

“The sitting calendar tabled today confirms a pattern of behaviour by this Government – they take every opportunity to shut down debate and avoid questions.

“An entire sitting week has been abolished and will be replaced with just one sitting day instead on 7 December.

“This will impact government scrutiny, by reducing the number of questions the Opposition can ask of the government.

“Unsurprisingly the axed week coincides with Senate Estimates in October. It’s blatantly obvious that Labor is trying to avoid having to respond to questions that may follow from Estimates.”

Mr Fletcher said today’s move is symptomatic of a government that lacks respect for established parliamentary protocols.

“Question Time ended on and before 3.15pm on seven occasions over the past sitting fortnight, while the Opposition could only ask Government Members 47 questions during the same period,” Mr Fletcher said.

“In the last sitting fortnight of the Morrison Government, the then Opposition was able to ask 61 questions.“The Australian people deserve better and expect a government that uses parliament to further the national interest, instead of duck and weave the big issues.”

Work force data released today shows Australians continue to work harder than ever but feel like they are going backwards due to the nation’s cost of living crisis.

While the unemployment rate remained steady at 3.7% Australians are struggling with rising prices across the entire economy.

Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor said the strength of the labour market masked the real pain of hardworking Australians.

“Australians are working more hours and taking on additional jobs to pay the bills in Labor’s cost of living crisis,” Mr Taylor said.

“With collapsing labour productivity, a GDP per capita recession and falling real wages Australians are working more for less under this government.

“Official population data released today has shown the only thing propping up the economy is record population growth. If this is the Treasurer’s economic strategy then we have huge problems ahead.”

Shadow Minister for Employment Senator Michaelia Cash said: “My main concern for the economy are the policies that are being pursued by the Albanese Labor Government.’’

“Labor’s radical industrial relations agenda will have a devastating impact on businesses of all sizes in Australia,’’ she said.

“I know that small businesses are very worried about the implications of the latest proposed laws particularly how they might affect casual workers,’’ Senator Cash said.

“Small business is confused by this complex legislation but they do know there will be extreme risks for them,’’ she said.

“This is not how a Government helps the job creators of the nation expand and innovate. This legislation will strangle businesses,’’ Senator Cash said.

“As urged by businesses across the country, the Government should scrap this legislation and go back to the drawing board,’’ she said.