May 2020 – Page 23

Man charged with possession of child abuse material – Hunter Region

A man has been charged over the alleged possession of child abuse material and drug offences following an investigation by Strike Force Trawler in the state’s Hunter Region.
In November 2019, detectives from the Child Abuse and Sex Crime Squad’s Child Exploitation Internet Unit (CEIU) began investigating a man allegedly sharing and obtaining child exploitation material on a peer to peer network.
Following extensive investigations, a search warrant was executed at a home in the Hunter Region about 9am today (Friday 1 May 2020), where detectives seized a laptop, electronic storage devices and prohibited drugs.
About 10.30am, strike force detectives arrested a 34-year-old man at a nearby workplace.
The man was taken to Muswellbrook Police Station and charged with three counts of possessing or controlling child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage service, supply prohibited drug and two counts of possess prohibited drug.
He was refused bail and appeared before Newcastle Local Court today (Friday 1 May 2020), where he was granted conditional bail to appear before Muswellbrook Local Court on Monday 6 July 2020.
Strike Force Trawler is an ongoing investigation by the CEIU into the sexual abuse and exploitation of children facilitated through the internet and related telecommunications devices.
Regular covert online investigations are conducted by the CEIU; and police in NSW work closely with their law-enforcement colleagues interstate and overseas.

Breakthrough new medicine listings on the PBS for cardiovascular disease, rheumatoid arthritis and asthma

There is new hope for thousands of Australians with cardiovascular disease, rheumatoid arthritis and asthma with new and amended medicines listings on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) from today.
To help reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke, the Australian Government is expanding subsidised access to a breakthrough medicine that combats high cholesterol, with up to 30,000 Australians per year expected to benefit.
From 1 May, the PBS listing of Repatha® (evolocumab) will be extended to include patients with certain types of high risk cardiovascular disease caused by high cholesterol.

Patients with non-familial hypercholesterolemia (abnormally high cholesterol) who have atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and meet certain conditions will now have access to Repatha.
The listing of Repatha will also be extended to include more patients with familial hypercholesterolaemia (genetic high cholesterol).

Hypercholesterolaemia results in abnormally high levels of cholesterol in the blood can lead to blockages in the arteries, hardening of the arterial walls, and a higher risk of heart attack and stroke without proper treatment.
Repatha is a breakthrough new medicine that can dramatically lower cholesterol levels which can reduces a person’s risk of a heart attack or stroke.
Patients might otherwise pay over $5,400 per year for Repatha. With the PBS subsidy, they will only need to pay $41 per prescription, or $6.60 with a concession card.
Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of death in Australia, with 43,477 deaths attributed to it in Australia in 2017. It is estimated cardiovascular disease kills one Australian every 12 minutes.
Also from today, Australians with rheumatoid arthritis will benefit from the listing of Rinvoq® (upadacitinib) on the PBS.
Patients might otherwise pay more than $16,000 per year for Rinvoq but with the PBS subsidy will only pay $41 or $6.60 with a concession card.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease affecting about 458,000 Australians. It attacks the body’s healthy tissues, targeting the lining of the joints, causing inflammation and joint damage.
It can cause significant physical disability, pain, fatigue and mental health issues.
Currently, there is no cure, but rheumatoid arthritis medicines can reduce pain and stiffness and prevent long-term joint damage.
Rinvoq® will be a new treatment option for people with severe rheumatoid arthritis providing them with more choice in how they manage this painful condition.
Around 5,000 patients per year already access a comparable treatment, and may benefit from this new treatment option.
Also from 1 May, Australians with uncontrolled severe asthma will now have access to Fasenra Pen®.
Fasenra® (benralizumab) is currently listed on the PBS as a syringe for injection for the treatment of uncontrolled severe eosinophilic asthma.
This new pre filled pen will allow patients who choose to self administer Fasenra to be treated at home, rather than attend a clinic to access the medicine through a syringe injection administered by a health professional.
Over 1,000 patients per year access Fasenra through the PBS and may benefit from the listing of Fasenra Pen®. Without the PBS subsidy, patients might otherwise pay up to $23,000 per year.
These new and amended listings were recommended by the independent Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee.
Since 2013, the Australian Government has approved more than 2,350 new or amended listings on the PBS.
This represents an average of around 30 listings or amendments per month or around one each day – at an overall investment by the Government around $11 billion.
The Government’s commitment to making sure Australians can access the medicines they need, at affordable prices, remains rock solid.

Large swell warning as beaches remain closed

With large swells forecast this weekend, City of Newcastle is reminding the community that all beaches remain closed in response to COVID-19 restrictions and seasonal patrols have ceased at Stockton, Newcastle and Dixon Park, along with Merewether Ocean Baths.
Lifeguards are still patrolling Nobbys, Bar and Merewether beaches and Newcastle Ocean Baths through the cooler months, where they continue to monitor public safety and encourage adherence to social distancing measures.

^{Merewether Beach lifeguard Sally Burns}
Our lifeguards have played a key role in the response to COVID-19, promoting social distancing at beaches and working with NSW Police by monitoring adherence to the Public Health Orders.
The summer season beach patrols will recommence on Saturday 26 September.
For more information about how we’re responding to COVID-19, visit www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/COVID-19

Street tree program ramps up after autumn rain

City of Newcastle is capitalising on autumn rain by planting hundreds of street trees across Newcastle as part of the Living Streets Program to expand the City’s urban forest.
Crews have been busy digging holes on street verges and reserves for around 500 trees – 40 different species – across Wallsend, Adamstown and Adamstown Heights (click here for the full list of streets)
Around 1,000 street trees will be planted this year as part of the City’s commitment to deliver cleaner air, reduced stormwater runoff, habitat for local biodiversity, more shade and a cooler urban environment.
^{Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes and Ward 4 Cr Jason Dunn planting a tree in Tyrrell Street, Wallsend.}
Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes, who joined City staff to plant trees along Tyrrell Street Wallsend today, said autumn offered the perfect weather for new plantings and that today’s work followed a council decision to join a global initiative aimed at enhancing nature in and around cities.
“While most community requests for tree plantings come during Summer when we are all feeling the need for more trees, Summer isn’t the ideal time to plant and establish trees,” Councillor Nelmes said.
“The weather conditions are more favourable at this time of year as it’s cooler and more rain is about.
“Under our Living Streets program and in line with the City’s Urban Forest Policy, we are committed to sustaining and expanding our urban canopy cover, as we know a five per cent increase can reduce summer temperatures by one to two degrees, and that 17 trees will offset the use of one car a year in terms of carbon emissions.
“We want to see more trees and nature in our cities, which is why earlier this week Council voted to accept an invitation to become a pioneer city of the CitiesWithNature initiative aimed at promoting the many benefits of bringing urban communities closer to nature. These include mental and physical health and wellbeing, better social connections, greater liveability, urban cooling and climate change adaptation.
“CWN is a unique partnership initiative founded by ICLEI or Local Governments for Sustainability that provides an online platform to connect cities and subnational governments, researchers and urban communities to share, learn from and inspire each other.”

Council’s City Greening Services team will complete regular maintenance of the new trees, among 6,000 recently planted across the local government area, carrying out mulching, weeding, watering and formative pruning.
The City is running a series of education activities in conjunction with tree planting, encouraging children during the COVID-19 lockdown to observe animals that visit their favourite tree and write a love letter to it.
Ward 4 Councillor Jason Dunn said kids were invited to submit a letter and photo of the tree to naturalconnection@ncc.nsw.gov.au to encourage conservatory thinking and see which trees are the most popular across the local government area.
“We want kids to take a moment to visit their favourite tree and stop, watch and listen and then write to us about how many different animals visit the tree, how long they think it’s been here and what could be lost if it was cut down Councillor Dunn said.
“As well as planting trees, we want to educate the next generation about how native and non-native trees support a huge amount of life in urban environments.”
^{A drawing submitted by Astrid, 7, from Wallsend, of her favourite trees.}

NEW COVID-19 HEAT MAPS TO PROTECT COMMUNITIES

In an Australian first, heat maps pinpointing COVID-19 cases by postcode will now show how many people have recovered from the virus, the estimated number of active local cases and number of tests completed.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the de-identified NSW Health data would help inform the community about COVID-19 testing and recovery rates across the state.
“NSW has one of the highest COVID-19 testing rates in the world. We have tested more than 200,000 people and have capacity to test more than 110,000 in a fortnight,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“This new way of showing NSW Health data will help communities understand the numbers of people being tested, and encourage more people with symptoms to come forward for testing when they see the impact COVID-19 is having on their local area.
“It also provides encouraging data showing how people are bouncing back from the virus.”
Minister for Customer Service Victor Dominello said the heat maps build on the transparency of existing data and will help the community stay informed.
“Providing these heat maps to the public makes NSW a leader in the delivery of live information about COVID-19,” Mr Dominello said.
“At this point in time, it shows the community is rising to the challenge and doing the right thing by our State.”
This data reveals the positive effect of the NSW Government’s communication and testing efforts focussed on hot-spot clusters.
For instance, in Liverpool there was less than 1,000 tests a month ago but that has climbed to more than 2,600 at recent count.
In Orange, where confirmed cases reached 10, NSW Health has tested more than a thousand people which has helped slow any increase in cases.
The tool provides a colour representation of the total cumulative cases across postcodes. The darker shades indicate the most cases.
The heat map can be accessed at: https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/find-facts-about-covid-19 and for further COVID-19 information visit www.nsw.gov.au.

OVER 1,800 BUSINESSES STEP UP TO PROVIDE ESSENTIAL MEDICAL SUPPLIES

Over 1,800 businesses from across the state have answered the government’s call for locals to fill the medical supply chain, helping stabilise stocks of personal protective equipment (PPE) urgently needed in the fight against COVID-19.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian today announced the government had engaged with more than 1,600 businesses so far and ordered critical items including face masks and shields, hand sanitiser, disinfectants, gloves, surgical gowns and paper products through the Emergency Supplies portal.
“We’ve received an overwhelming response to our call for assistance to meet demand for these key protective products, which prevent the spread of COVID-19,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“I’m proud so many local suppliers and manufacturers have acted quickly to source or produce equipment that protects our emergency and frontline medical workers serving our community in this time of urgent need.”
Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW Industry and Trade John Barilaro said 20 per cent of the businesses listed on the portal are from regional NSW.
“We know businesses in regional NSW are struggling, having dealt with drought, bushfires and now COVID-19,” Mr Barilaro said.
“However, people in the bush are resilient and resourceful and that’s never been more evident than now as companies re-purpose their product line to provide medical and cleaning products, to help during the COVID-19 crisis.
“Small businesses are the backbone of regional towns, providing employment and services and it’s great to see them reskilling their workforce during the COVID-19 crisis, keeping locals employed and dollars flowing.”
Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said a team from across Government had been working to contact over 1,800 businesses who had registered on the portal, assessing their capability to meet strict Therapeutic Goods Administration standards.
“Less than a month ago we faced a global shortage of PPE products, and the Premier and I issued our call for businesses to step up and help meet this urgent challenge,” Mr Ayres said.
“Today, thanks in part to their efforts, >we’re confident our requirements can be met in the medium term. We have identified hundreds of new suppliers of these critical products through this process and it has shone a light on the tremendous capability and resourcefulness of NSW companies.”
“We know that local governments, businesses and industry also rely on access to this important equipment for their day-to-day operation.”
To ensure businesses also have access to these critical products, the NSW Government is helping industry connect with these suppliers through the launch of a new, public COVID-19 Emergency Supplies Portal.
“We encourage industry to use this Portal to identify suppliers that can service industry needs across a range of PPE products through business-to-business transactions,” Mr Ayres said.
“Our focus will now also move towards establishing domestic supply chains and supporting local manufacturers capable of reducing our reliance on imports.”
Local governments and industry can access local PPE suppliers by visiting buy.nsw.gov.au and businesses can still register their interest to supply at nsw.gov.au.

BEAUTICIANS GET GREEN LIGHT FOR RETAIL SALES

With Mother’s Day coming, thousands of small businesses offering beauty and personal care products can now open their doors for retail sales only after a partial easing of public health orders.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the NSW Government decision will allow spas, nail salons, beauty salons, waxing salons and tanning salons ordered shut to now open their doors, but only to sell goods and gift vouchers.
“As we head towards Mother’s Day, this exemption will give smaller businesses a boost as it puts them on an even footing with larger retailers already selling beauty and personal care goods,” Mr Hazzard said.
“For small business owners in rural and regional areas, the pre Mother’s Day sale is a big part of their annual profits and will help those who are already doing it tough due to drought and bushfires. It means they can put their ‘open’ sign in windows again.”
Case numbers have fallen steadily across NSW thanks to widespread testing, strict quarantine measures and general adherence to social distancing restrictions.
“This exemption signals a positive step NSW is taking towards relaxing restrictions under the public health orders but will still require observance of the four square metre rule.
“In-store activity will be restricted to retail sales only, including collecting goods brought online or over the phone, with customers urged to spend minimal time collecting their purchase. Services like waxing, manicures and tanning are not permitted.
“We know this is a very small concession for these businesses but hopefully if COVID-19 cases remain low, further allowances can be made in the future.
“To ensure the safety of customers and other staff, the operator of the business must ensure that any person who is unwell must not work in the business. Further, they must practise good hygiene and have hand sanitiser available.”
The NSW Government has already injected $750 million into the Small Business Support Fund as a third wave of support measures to keep small business afloat.
It follows assistance packages to support NSW business including $5 billion in payroll tax waivers and other tax deferrals and $1 billion towards jobs creation.

Woman seriously injured – Nelson Bay

Police are investigating after an elderly woman was seriously injured at a Nelson Bay home overnight.
About 6.30pm yesterday (Wednesday 29 April 2020), emergency services were called to a home on Armidale Avenue, Nelson Bay, after reports a 71-year-old woman and a 74-year-old man were involved in a domestic-related altercation.
The woman was taken to Tomaree Hospital before she was transferred to John Hunter Hospital in a critical condition.
Officers from Port Stephens-Hunter Police District were notified in the early hours of today (Thursday 30 April 2020) and attended the home and established a crime scene.
Detectives have commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
No arrests or charges have been made at this stage; a 74-year-old man is assisting police with their inquiries.
Anyone with information which may help investigators is urged to come forward.

Man charged after commercial quantity of MDMA seized – Port Stephens

A man will face court today after he was allegedly found with a commercial quantity of MDMA in Port Stephens.
About 1:30pm yesterday (Thursday 30 April 2020), officers from Port Stephens-Hunter Highway Patrol stopped a vehicle on Nelson Bay Road, Salt Ash.
The driver, a 24-year-old man, underwent a roadside drug test and allegedly returned a positive result.
Officers searched the vehicle and seized 430 grams of MDMA and just under $2000 cash.
The man was arrested and taken to Raymond Terrace Police Station, where he was charged with supply commercial quantity of prohibited drug, and deal with proceeds of crime.
He was refused bail to appear at Newcastle Local Court today (Friday 1 May 2020).

Strike Force Trawler detectives charge man with 21 child abuse offences – Hunter Region

A man will appear in court today charged with 21 child abuse offences following an investigation by Strike Force Trawler detectives into alleged online child exploitation in the state’s Hunter Region.
In September 2019, detectives from the Child Abuse and Sex Crime Squad’s Child Exploitation Internet Unit (CEIU) began engaging online with a man from the state’s Hunter Region.
Police will allege in court that the man believed he was speaking with the 37-year-old mother of a nine-year-old girl and engaged in sexually explicit conversations about acts he wished to perform on the child.
It will be further alleged that the man also believed he was speaking with a 14-year-old girl and engaged in conversations about sex acts he wished to perform on the teenager.
Following extensive investigations, strike force detectives arrested the 34-year-old man at a home in the Hunter Region just after 11am yesterday (Thursday 30 April 2020).
Shortly after the arrest, a search warrant was executed at the home, where detectives seized a mobile phone and electronic storage devices.
The man was taken to Muswellbrook Police Station and charged with 21 offences including;

use carriage service to groom under 16 years for sex,
use carriage service transmit/publish/promote child abuse (x19),
possess child abuse material.

He has been refused bail to appear at Newcastle Local Court today (Friday 1 May 2020).
Strike Force Trawler is an ongoing investigation by the CEIU into the sexual abuse and exploitation of children facilitated through the internet and related telecommunications devices.
Regular covert online investigations are conducted by the CEIU; and police in NSW work closely with their law-enforcement colleagues interstate and overseas.
The Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad is comprised of detectives who are specially trained to investigate matters against children and adults, including sexual assault, serious physical abuse, and extreme cases of neglect.
Anyone with concerns about the suspected abuse or exploitation of children should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page: https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au.
Information you provide will be treated in the strictest of confidence. People should not report crime information via our Facebook and Twitter pages.