Month: November 2020

Family and friends visiting loved ones at Dubbo Base Hospital will find it far easier to park, with the NSW Government doubling spaces as part of the $241 million hospital redevelopment.
Member for Dubbo Dugald Saunders released the designs today for the $30 million carpark project – a new, multi-storey car park on the western side of the hospital campus and a new car park on the south eastern side, creating an extra 350 spaces.
“This is great news for the local community. The NSW Government’s investment in Dubbo Base Hospital has boosted carparking capacity to a massive 926 spaces – an extra 761 new and upgraded spaces constructed during the hospital’s redevelopment – ensuring one of NSW’s busiest regional hospitals is well equipped for the future,” Mr Saunders said.
“This important project is moving forward, with construction of the new car parks scheduled to start next year and be open in 2022.”
Health Minister Brad Hazzard joined Mr Saunders at the unveiling of the carpark project during a visit to Dubbo for the joint Federal-State Bilateral Regional Health Forum.
“The NSW Government is delivering a record $10.1 billion health infrastructure program across the state, stimulating local economies and creating new health jobs, especially in regional and rural areas,” Mr Hazzard said.
“The $30 million investment in parking is on top of the $241 million for Dubbo Base Hospital’s major upgrade, ensuring the campus delivers world-class health care closer to home.”
The carpark project also includes local artwork for the façade of the multi-storey car park and infrastructure upgrades such as roadways, footpaths, hospital access, lighting and security.
The $241 million Dubbo Hospital Redevelopment and the $35 million Western Cancer Centre Dubbo (including $25 million from the Federal Government), are on track for completion in 2021.
Stages 1 and 2 opened in 2016 and included operating theatres, a short stay unit and a maternity unit. Stage 3, including a new surgical in-patient unit, opened in 2018, and a new renal dialysis unit opened in December, 2019. The Emergency and Medical Imaging departments opened in March, followed by the Coronary Care Unit in June. The rest of the new Macquarie Building under Stage 4, including the Ambulatory Care Unit and Emergency triage area, will open by mid-2021.

Hundreds of fee-free training courses are now available for school leavers, young people and job seekers, as part of the NSW Government’s Skilling for Recovery initiative.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said these courses come from the $320 million committed to delivering 100,000 fee-free training places across the state.
“There are more than 100,000 fee-free training places available for people in NSW as the workforce looks to reskill, retrain and redeploy in a post COVID-19 economy,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“It doesn’t matter if you are a school leaver or looking for a new career path, I encourage everyone impacted by the pandemic to see what training options are available to them.”
Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education Geoff Lee said enrolments are now open for in-demand skills leading to career pathways in areas such as aged care, nursing, trades, IT, community services, logistics and accounting.
“We are not training for the sake of training, we are training for real jobs with real futures and equipping the people of NSW with the skills they need to thrive in a post-pandemic economy,” Mr Lee said.
“There are hundreds of providers right around NSW who are ready to deliver this important training.”
As part of this Skilling for Recovery initiative, school leavers have the unique opportunity to experience a range of skills to find out what suits their passions using the Summer Skills program.
Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell said some Year 12 school leavers are still deciding what they want to do next.
“In designing the Summer Skills program, the NSW Government has ensured the training on offer is aligned to local industry needs,” Ms Mitchell said.
“We need to provide opportunities that help the 2020 Year 12 school leaver cohort to find their feet during these uncertain times. That’s why we’re delivering practical, bite-sized and fee-free training opportunities this summer.”
The Summer Skills offered will cover a range of industries including agriculture, construction, conservation, fitness, engineering, coding, communication and digital literacy.
Full details of the courses on offer as part of Skilling for Recovery is here and the Department of Education Summer Skills program is available here.

The NSW Government will reopen the border to Victoria at 12.01am on Monday, 23 November.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the reopening date should give people the confidence to make plans, book holidays and reunite with family members in the lead up to Christmas.
“I want to thank the community, particularly in our border towns, for their patience during what has been an extremely difficult time,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“We have worked closely with the Victorian Government throughout the border closure and will continue to monitor the situation as restrictions are eased.
“Our policy in NSW is to keep moving forward and operating in a COVID-Safe manner – the reopening of the NSW/Victorian border is another step in the right direction.”
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said Monday, November 23 is two weeks from the Victorian Government removing the ‘ring of steel’ border around Melbourne, allowing Victorian residents to travel freely around the State.
“This will be good riddance to a border that COVID-19 forced on us,” Mr Hazzard said.
“Victorian and NSW residents’ efforts have ensured families and friends will be back together and businesses will operate freely but in a COVID-safe way.”
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said that NSW Health would continue to work closely with colleagues in Victoria and have strengthened processes to support contract tracing across the two States.
“Our priority will remain protecting the health and safety of the community,” Dr Chant said.

More alfresco dining, roving performances, chairs in squares and people meeting with friends and family at cafes and restaurants are all part of the vision of the NSW Government and City of Sydney partnership to revitalise the Sydney CBD this summer.
The NSW Government will provide $1.5 million to fund a CBD activation grant program as part of its $20 million partnership with the City of Sydney, which has now been signed.
The jointly funded $3 million program will support delivery of CBD activation grants of between $5,000 and $50,000 to businesses, creatives and community groups to encourage people back into the city centre.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said signing the funding agreement was part of the NSW Government’s COVID Recovery Plan and an important milestone in the State and City’s collaboration to support creative ideas that will boost business and reanimate the CBD.
“Sealing this deal with the Lord Mayor today is a real step toward bringing to life many of the ideas that came out of September’s Summer Summit,” Mr Perrottet said.
“This funding will turn ideas to action and encourage people into the CBD in a COVIDSafe way, which is key for businesses who rely on summer trading for a big part of their revenue.”
Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said as more people returned to the city, businesses could continue to open their doors and support more jobs.
“We have partnered with City of Sydney to revitalise Australia’s jewel in the crown and we are committed to make sure our great city continues to shine,” Mr Ayres said.
“The CBD activation grants will support partnerships between retailers, cafes and restaurants with musicians, performers and artists, with the aim to attract and entertain visitors, and to revitalise spaces that have been underused since the pandemic began.”
Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the new round of grants will help bring people back to the city.
“We need to allow and encourage businesses to operate outdoors, and we need to support our creative and cultural life to activate and draw people back to our city, safely,” Lord Mayor Clover Moore said.
“We want to ensure our city businesses survive in the short term and create new opportunities for them to thrive in the long term.
“I encourage anyone who works in the city – from businesses and retailers, to hospitality and community services – to consider applying for a grant to help kick-start their operations, re-engage staff and bring people back into our city.”
Minister for Customer Service Victor Dominello said the NSW Government was committed to reactivating the Sydney CBD.
“When people think of Sydney, they should think of everything the outdoor lifestyle has to offer,” Mr Dominello said.
“We showed with the Alfresco Taskforce that we can move quickly to open up new dining and drinking opportunities heading into summer.”
The new grants follow the $72.5 million support package released by the City in March for small businesses, artists and the creative and community sectors impacted by the pandemic.
The City has also expanded to Surry Hills the popular Chairs in Squares program, waived fees for footway dining and health and building inspections, provided rental support for tenants and childcare services and brought forward $23 million of capital works to support construction in the city.
The Grants opened to businesses on 29 October and will close on 7 December and form part of the NSW Government’s $15 million contribution to the $20 million partnership with City of Sydney.
To find out more about the NSW Government’s $16 billion health and economic stimulus measures, please visit nsw.gov.au.

Time and cost savings, greater productivity, and increased flexibility are some of the benefits which could be realised by NSW workers and businesses after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said the NSW Innovation and Productivity Council had this week released its NSW Remote Working Insights report, which unpacks the lessons of widespread remote working.
“This has been an incredibly tough time with huge upheaval and change for the NSW workforce. Thousands of jobs were lost through this crisis and those who kept working were put under immense pressure and had to adapt quickly. Many NSW workers and businesses were prompted to try remote working for the first time,” Mr Ayres said.
“The IPC’s report looks into what we learned from the experience, and how it could affect the future of work. While the NSW Government is now encouraging public servants to spend more time back in the office, we can expect long term changes to how our working week takes shape.”
IPC Member Steve Sammartino, an economist and futurist, said the report showed the pandemic has sparked a cultural shift on remote working, with many employees and businesses experiencing benefits and with more appetite to work remotely.
“The biggest benefit is the time we save from commuting, which on average is more than an hour a day. Reducing traffic congestion makes life better for everyone, even people who don’t work remotely,” Mr Sammartino said.
“We are also more productive when we work from home, with NSW remote workers
13 per cent more productive than when they work on-site.
“But COVID-19 pushed remote working to an unhealthy extreme, with a lot of work unable to be done remotely, it can get lonely, and collaboration is difficult.”
“In the future, NSW workers want the best of both worlds – a hybrid of remote and onsite work. Cities and offices will be buzzing again, and central business districts will be crucial for collaboration, innovation and consumption.”
The report surveyed 1,500 remote workers to find out about their experience of remote work during COVID-19, and what they want to do in the future.
The IPC also harnessed technology from Sydney-based artificial intelligence company Faethm to analyse the ‘remoteability’ of the NSW workforce, revealing what types of workers can work remotely, and to what extent.
Findings include:

• Half of the workforce can work remotely for at least two days a week, where only a small fraction did so previously.
• By working remotely, NSW workers save an average of 1 hour and 17 minutes per day from not commuting. Two days per week of remote work equates to over three extra weeks of annual leave, and about $860 in saved travel costs per year.
• Most who could work remotely reported higher productivity, but much work is not ‘remoteable’ (56 per cent), and collaboration and social isolation are key challenges for remote workers.
• NSW remote workers want a balance with two to three days of remote work per week.
• A ‘hybrid model’ could combine the best aspects of remote work with the benefits of offices for collaboration, team-building, and non-remoteable tasks.

For the full report, please visit https://www.treasury.nsw.gov.au/nsw-economy/nsw-innovation-and-productivity-council.