Month: March 2021

The NSW Government plans to call Sydney’s new ‘hi-tech’ city at Bringelly ‘Bradfield’, in honour of the engineer who helped shape Sydney.
The city centre will be built on the doorstep of the Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport. It will grow into Sydney’s third city, to take its place alongside the other great city centres of Sydney and Parramatta.
Bradfield was selected after the community was asked to have a say, with a panel settling on the final decision to honour John Bradfield’s enduring city-shaping impact on Sydney, including his major contribution the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said Bradfield will define Australia’s first 22^nd Century City, which will be a key driver of economic growth and deliver up to 200,000 jobs across the Western Parkland City.
“Bradfield was a renowned engineer who designed and oversaw the construction of both the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney’s original railway network,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“The name Bradfield is synonymous with delivering game-changing infrastructure and it sets the right tone for the area we have referred to as the ‘Aerotropolis Core’ until now.
“This area will be transformed into a thriving city centre, home to advanced manufacturing, research, science and education and we want Bradfield to be as iconic as the existing major city centres of Sydney and Parramatta.
“What are paddocks now will be a thriving, bustling city centre offering the best job opportunities anywhere in Australia.”
Minister for Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said the area to be named Bradfield is more than 100 hectares and sits north of the existing suburb of Bringelly. It is at the heart of the Western Sydney Aerotropolis and will eventually lend its name to surrounding areas.
“The number of suggestions the community put forward to ‘Name the Place’ was overwhelming and we are thrilled with the level of participation and interest this project attracted,” Mr Ayres said.
“We thank everyone for having their say and want to assure the community the remaining suggestions will be considered as names for streets, parks and other landmarks in the new city centre.
“I look forward to Bradfield being the first name that people think of when starting a new job, creating a new business, learning a new skill and investing in NSW.”
John Bradfield’s Grandson Jim Bradfield has welcomed the announcement.
“It is a great honour that my grandfather’s name continues to be associated with major infrastructure developments in and around Sydney,” Mr Bradfield said.
“We hope his achievements will inspire generations to come, and help shape the future of our urban landscape.”
The name Bradfield was a popular community suggestion in the ‘Name the Place’ process and will now be put to the Geographical Names Board of NSW.
The NSW Government has 18 Foundation Partner commitments, including with Suez, Siemens, Hitachi, Sydney Water and Northrup Grumman, and continues to formalise relationships with a number of other partners, including FedEx, Romar Engineering and Quickstep in the creation of the innovative ecosystem at the Aerotropolis.

Construction of the $780 million Prince of Wales Hospital Integrated Acute Services Building has reached its highest point, marking a key milestone for Randwick’s new health and innovation precinct.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the new state-of-the-art hospital building is a key feature of the $1.5 billion Randwick Health & Innovation Precinct, which includes an investment of more than $1 billion from the NSW Government.
“This new hospital building will deliver first class healthcare services to support the community as it grows, while opening up opportunities for ground-breaking health and education partnerships,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“The community will also benefit from a real economic boost, with around 600 new jobs created through the building’s construction alone, and potential for thousands more flow-on jobs over the project’s lifetime.”
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the NSW Government has partnered with the University of New South Wales to deliver contemporary clinical spaces to provide the best possible healthcare for patients into the future.
“This partnership will give the precinct a competitive edge on the global stage for health advancements, research and education,” Mr Hazzard said.
“Together we will bring innovative treatments and medical advancements from the bench top to the bedside to improve health outcomes for our community.”
The building will include a new emergency department, extra inpatient beds, a new helipad, intensive care unit, aged care services, a new psychiatric emergency care centre and shared operating theatres for the campus when it opens in 2022.
Under the next phase of the Randwick Campus Redevelopment within the precinct, Sydney Children’s Hospital Stage 1 and the Children’s Comprehensive Cancer Centre are on track to be completed in 2025 and UNSW Health Translation Hub is scheduled to open in late 2026.

The new Sydney Metro station at Barangaroo is taking shape 30 metres underground, as a major new contract is awarded to build the station and its entrance next to Nawi Cove.
Minister for Transport and Roads Andrew Constance met with workers at Barangaroo today, taking a first look at where the station box has been excavated and the crossover cavern where trains can switch tracks has been carved out.
“The excavation stage is complete after an incredible two years of work to remove about 650,000 tonnes of dirt and rock, enough to fill almost 100 Olympic swimming pools. The result is fantastic, and now we’re ready to build the station itself,” Mr Constance said.
“When the station opens as part of the Sydney Metro City & Southwest in 2024, customers will benefit from fast travel times to Barangaroo of about 44 minutes from Rouse Hill, 26 minutes from Belmore, 24 minutes from Epping and just three minutes from Victoria Cross Station.
“The station will transform access to the Walsh Bay Arts and Cultural precinct, as well as providing easy access to nearby residential, commercial and entertainment areas and the ferry hub, while taking pressure off Wynyard and Martin Place stations.”
The fit out will create 300 jobs at the peak of construction. Across the Sydney Metro City & Southwest, more than 5,000 people are currently working on the project; about 50,000 will have worked on the project by the time it is complete.
The $217 million contract has been awarded to BESIX Watpac and includes the station fit out, building a station entrance next to Nawi Cove and upgrading Hickson Road, including improvements to pedestrian and cyclist safety, lifts and escalators to the platforms.
At Nawi Cove and along Hickson Road, there will be new footpaths, trees, lighting, bike parking and street furniture, as well as a new separated cycle link.
Construction of the station fit out will start in October 2021. Due to the massive scale of the Sydney Metro project, final individual contract values may vary.

NEW INVESTMENT ARM TO ACCELERATE NSW ECONOMY AND JOBS

• The NSW Government will aggressively target international and local businesses through a new body – Investment NSW – designed to attract billions of dollars into the state and drive the economy to recovery.
• Investment NSW will take advantage of NSW’s successful handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and our position as a safe place to do business.
• The new body reflects the Government’s central focus on jobs, skills and investment, which forms part of the NSW Government’s COVID-19 Recovery Plan.
• It will also incorporate a new section, R&D NSW, following the launch of the NSW R&D Action Plan in January to boost the future pipeline of ideas and companies.
• Investment NSW will partner with key areas of the NSW Government to ensure the best possible investment outcomes for NSW.

NSW CHIEF HEALTH OFFICER AWARDED THE HIGHEST HONOUR IN THE 2021 WOMEN OF THE YEAR AWARDS

• NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant has been named NSW Premier’s Woman of the Year, the highest honour in the NSW Women of the Year Awards held in Sydney today.
• Dr Chant is a role model, especially for women, and has absolutely excelled in her chosen field to affect lasting change.
• The NSW Women of the Year Awards are a highlight of Women’s Week and congratulated all winners in 2021.
• For more information or biographies for winners and finalists, please visit www.women.nsw.gov.au.

NSW GOVERNMENT DELIVERS KOALA SEPP 2021

• Koala SEPP 2019 will be remade across NSW as Koala SEPP 2021. Core rural zones in rural areas will be decoupled from the SEPP as new codes that protect koala habitat under the Local Land Services Act are developed over the next month.
• This will vastly reduce red tape by removing the dual consent requirements facing farmers and foresters while immediately introducing enhanced protection for koala habitat in areas where more than 95 per cent of development activity occurs.
• A number of measures will be introduced to ensure that Koala habitat is protected, whilst limiting unnecessary regulation on rural land use.

CELEBRATING NSW WOMEN’S WEEK 2021

• Financial independence, more opportunities for rural and regional women and entrepreneurship are among the topics promoting gender equality during NSW Women’s Week, under the theme #ChooseToChallenge.
• Events during NSW Women’s Week include an intergenerational forum tackling work-family balance, an entrepreneurship panel on championing change and a networking event for rural and regional women.
• The $100,000 Women’s Week Grants also enable 27 organisations to host programs – many regionally – including a cultural craft group, university tax clinic and mountain bike club.
• The NSW Government is committed to supporting women’s economic opportunity and advancement; health and wellbeing; and participation and empowerment.
• For more information, visit https://www.women.nsw.gov.au/news-and-events/nsw-womens-week.

TIME RIPE TO PLANT MORE TREES IN GREATER SYDNEY

• Sydney is becoming greener with 500,000 trees planted, edging closer to the Premier’s Priority of planting one million trees by 2022 .
• The 500,000^th tree was planted at Bungarribee Park, where the NSW Government announced the latest $10 million round of the Greening our City grant program for Sydney’s councils to plant trees.
• The program advances the Premier’s Priority of Greening Our City, announced in June 2019, to increase tree canopy and green cover by planting one million trees in Greater Sydney by 2022. The priority is part of the Five Million Trees Program, which aims to plant five million trees in Greater Sydney by 2030.
• Greater Sydney councils can submit grant applications until 14 April. The grant program is being administered by Local Government NSW on behalf of the Department. Successful applicants will be notified in May.
• Program details, and previous recipients, are available at: www.dpie.nsw.gov.au/premiers-priorities/greening-our-city/greening-our-city-grants.

NSW DAIRY INDUSTRY ONCE AGAIN CREAM OF THE CROP BACKED BY NEW $16 MILLION PLAN

• After a series of challenging seasons, the State’s world-class dairy industry has begun to navigate its way out of the impacts of drought and bushfires, with new figures from the NSW Government revealing an up-to three-fold increase in profitability for farmers.
• To further secure the promising upswing, NSW and Australian Government’s are providing a $6 million grant from the Stage One Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund – Sector Development Grants.
• The funding will contribute to a project total of $16 million, with significant co-contributions from Dairy Australia, the University of Sydney, the private sector, NSW dairy industry organisations and the broader national dairy industry.

MORE PEOPLE IN HOMES, FEWER ON THE STREET

• The number of people sleeping rough across the state has reduced by 14 per cent in the last year thanks to the NSW Government’s strong focus on empowering people to break the cycle of homelessness.
• The second annual state-wide street count of rough sleepers had recorded 1,131 people compared to 1,314 people last year.
• More than 150 local organisations partnered with the NSW Government to complete street counts in more than 280 towns and suburbs in 70 local government areas.
• The annual street count will provide NSW Government with valuable data as it pursues the Premier’s Priority of halving street sleeping across the state by 2025.
• More information about the 2021 street count results are available online.

ANOTHER SYDNEY METRO MILESTONE REACHED

• The NSW Government has approved a landmark building above the future Pitt Street Sydney Metro station in another milestone for Australia’s largest public transport project.
• The 39-storey Pitt Street North commercial office tower will be integrated with the station to creating a connected hub of offices, shops and world-class public transport.
• This approval means up to 620 construction jobs and 4,000 operational jobs once the building is complete which is great news for NSW as we continue to recover from the pandemic.

CHANGES TO ENCOURAGE MORE WOMEN TO RUN FOR COUNCIL

• The NSW Government is set to scrap a number of outdated meeting practice policies as part of a plan to increase diversity including female representation in local government.
• Under new proposed changes councillors with carer and work responsibilities will be permitted to attend council meetings virtually as well as have carer costs covered.
• A consultation paper on the use of remote meetings has been released to assist councils and other interested organisations and individuals to make submissions by June 11.
• More information can be found on the Office of Local Government website website here.