Month: May 2020

The NSW Government is investing nearly $5 million to plant thousands of new trees across Greater Sydney to expand the city’s green canopy in partnership with Greening Australia and Landcare NSW.
Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Rob Stokes said the partnerships will see 172,000 new trees planted in Greater Sydney’s parks, schools and communities over the next two-and-a-half years, with the first 32,000 to be planted by the end of 2020.
“We have connected with leading environmental organisations to increase our tree canopy cover, cool our communities and create great new green public spaces across the city,” Mr Stokes said.
“New trees today mean more healthy shaded public spaces and beautiful tree-lined streets for communities to enjoy now and for years to come.”
The NSW Government has signed two contracts totaling $4.77 million for:

• 100,000 trees to be planted across Greater Sydney, with a focus on Western Sydney with Landcare NSW; and
• 72,000 trees to be planted across parks and community spaces and schools across Greater Sydney with Greening Australia.

The two new partnerships will contribute to the NSW Government’s ambitious target to plant one million trees by 2022.
Landcare NSW CEO Dr Adrian Zammit said the project will help support the development of green spaces across Greater Sydney.
“With the support of the Greater Sydney Landcare Network we will help grow native canopy to cool our city with Landcarers helping landowners and community members participate in tree planting activities.
“Our shared challenge is not only to get the trees in the ground but to monitor and provide education to ensure they survive.”
Greening Australia’s Nature in Cities Director Paul Della Libera said the ‘Cooling the Schools’ program will establish native habitats and help cool urban areas.
“By working together with schoolchildren across Greater Sydney to increase the tree canopy cover in their neighbourhoods, we can lower temperatures and create healthier communities for both people and wildlife. This is particularly important in urban areas given rising summer temperatures.
“We will be partnering with Western Sydney University to identify and prioritise the communities with the lowest canopy cover and greatest vulnerability to the urban heat island effect.”

The partnership between the NSW Government and the Minderoo Foundation to provide temporary accommodation pods to those recovering from the recent bushfires has now been expanded, with larger, family-sized pods in development.
Deputy Premier and Minister responsible for Disaster Recovery John Barilaro visited Yarranbella today with the Member for Oxley Melinda Pavey to provide the Willis family with keys to the first 6-person pod.
“Due to such a positive response from the initial 4-person pod roll out, the natural next step was to look at what can be provided for larger families of up to six,” Mr Barilaro said.
“These Minderoo Foundation pods have meant so much to families who have received them from Eurobodalla up to Kempsey. It has been a real lifeline for many of the hardest hit families who lost everything.
“The bushfires that swept across the state last summer were unprecedented, and so is the recovery.
“I am thrilled to be here with the Willis family to give them the keys to their new 40-foot pod.”
Member for Oxley Melinda Pavey said 43 temporary accommodation pods have now been delivered across NSW, six of which arrived in Nambucca this week.
“I cannot tell you how important this lifeline is for many who have seen the worst of the bushfires and in some cases, have lost everything,” Ms Pavey said.
“There are a small number of families where the current pod isn’t suitable as they have 3 to 4 children. I am pleased that there is now a tailored option for larger families, which is the first of its kind in NSW.”
The family sized pods will be around twice the length of a standard pod and designed to fit six beds, including a double for the parents.
Minderoo Foundation CEO Andrew Hagger said that the Minderoo Foundation exists to help Australians in their time of need.
“When our Fire Fund was launched, Andrew and Nicola Forrest made it clear that Minderoo Foundation was here to help for the long-term. We knew it wasn’t going to be a quick or easy rebuild,” Mr Hagger said.
“Today I am proud to say we have a dedicated team of people who are on the ground across NSW helping those who lost everything get back on their feet. the Minderoo Foundation is not going anywhere. We will never give up.”
The initial program announced in March will see more than 100 20-foot temporary accommodation pods designed to house small families, singles or couples, with a bathroom, kitchen and four beds.

The NSW Government will pause pay rises for the next 12 months to protect public service jobs as unemployment spikes across NSW.
The latest jobs data from the ABS shows 221,400 people have been put out of work and wages are falling across the State since COVID-19 first reached NSW.
The policy change will see current pay levels retained, with an unprecedented guarantee of no forced redundancies for all workers who are not senior executives across the NSW public sector for a year.
This pause will save NSW taxpayers around $3 billion.
Pausing pay rises will enable the Government to focus on preserving existing public sector jobs while also stimulating job-creation as NSW confronts the prospect of a deep recession and contraction of the economy.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said while the decision was difficult, it was the fairest one for the people of NSW.
“Whilst we are recovering from the health consequences of the pandemic we have yet to come to terms with the economic shock. Job security is essential on our path to recovery,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“The only way NSW will come out of this crisis in a strong position is if we all make sacrifices, and that’s what we’re asking our own workforce to do because we are all in this together.”
ABS data shows that between 14 March and 2 May this year, total employee wages for NSW fell by 4.9 per cent, despite total wages growing in a small number of sectors including public administration and safety, health and social services, education and training. For workers in accommodation and food services, manufacturing, and professional, scientific and technical services, total wages plunged by more than 12 per cent.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said the people of NSW were relying on the Government to make job retention and creation a top priority.
“This is a tough decision, but it’s for the greater good of our people and our State,” Mr Perrottet said.
“Nearly 90 per cent of NSW workers are in the private sector, and many of them have already suffered forced stand-downs, leave without pay, significant pay cuts, job uncertainty or losing their livelihoods altogether. The government needs its focus squarely on rebuilding the economy and regenerating jobs.
“The RBA has forecast that the national unemployment rate will reach 10 per cent by the middle of the year, and the massive queues outside Centrelink show how hard it already is, so we will use every bit of fiscal firepower to get NSW working again.
“We have to do whatever it takes to make sure we do not end up with a group of long-term unemployed workers who were forced out of the workforce or young workers who never get a go.
“Pausing pay rises to save and create jobs is the right thing to do, and I think most people would agree on that – especially the people whose pay has actually gone backwards, or whose jobs are gone.”
This is the first change to the Government’s public sector wages policy in nine years. Over that time, the NSW public sector wage has increased by just under a cumulative 25 per cent – an average annual increase of 2.6 per cent.
The NSW labour force is comprised of around 4.2 million people, with the latest Public Service Commission data showing NSW public service workers numbered 407,999 as of June 2019.
The new wages policy will be implemented by regulation and will apply prospectively. For workers with agreements already struck, the pay rise pause will apply for the first 12 months of their next agreement.
The pausing of pay rises will be applied to all positions across the Government, including those within State Owned Corporations, departmental secretaries and executives, and follows the Government’s decision to reject a pay rise for Liberal and Nationals MPs.
The latest ABS data shows the NSW unemployment rate rose 1.1 percentage points to 6.0 per cent in April this year, with over 221,400 fewer people employed in NSW from March to April 2020.