Month: September 2021

A new $5 billion investment by the NSW Government will help secure a brighter future for western and south-western Sydney families and residents, helping build new and improved facilities and local infrastructure to help communities hit hard by COVID-19.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the new WestInvest Fund would focus on projects that make a real difference to quality of life, help create jobs in the process, and change the face of Western Sydney for the better.
“The future of Western Sydney is bright and this announcement is a major first step along the road to recovery after a challenging year,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“This is about helping to rejuvenate local communities with improved parks, better open spaces, giving town centres a boost and providing opportunities to grow.”
The unprecedented boost was made possible by the State’s strong financial management and asset recycling strategy, with the NSW Government today announcing the sale of its residual 49 per cent stake in WestConnex for $11.1 billion.
The new WestInvest Fund will allocate $3 billion for future projects across six areas:

• Parks, urban spaces and green space;
• Enhancing community infrastructure such as local sporting grounds;
• Modernising local schools;
• Creating and enhancing arts and cultural facilities;
• Revitalising high-streets;
• Clearing local traffic.

The remaining $2 billion will be reserved for high priority projects to be developed in consultation with local communities.
NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said the local infrastructure and facilities drive would create jobs at a critical time, as NSW begins its economic recovery from the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Western and south-western Sydney is an economic powerhouse, but first and foremost there must be places where families can have a great quality of life – that’s what this investment will achieve,” Mr Perrottet said.
“No matter where you live, we want people to love living locally, and this investment will deliver better local facilities, open spaces and convenient services all close to home.
“This investment is just the first stage of our economic recovery strategy which the Government is currently developing for release in October.”
Minister for Jobs, Investment and Tourism and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said the funding injection would be a game-changer and a catalyst for growth.
“The pandemic has hit Western Sydney hard, and highlighted important opportunities to deliver new facilities and amenities that will make life better for locals now and into the future,” Mr Ayres said.
“Sydney’s West is a rich mix of new and old, with a huge cross-section of cultures and people from all walks of life and this funding will help provide a big kick start as the region recovers.
“From school upgrades to sporting fields, and clearing traffic to making town-centres shine, we want to revitalise and renew the region for the benefit of everyone who calls it home.”

Car parking will be moved off the grass and underground at Moore Park, creating more open space for the community, following the announcement of a new village precinct and carpark adjacent to the Sydney Football Stadium (SFS) redevelopment.
Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Rob Stokes said the proposed carpark will ensure works to improve ‘Upper Kippax’ can begin immediately, transforming the damaged field into a community green with a central sports field, shaded walkways and picnic amenities.
“We’ve seen how important green open space is to people during the pandemic and at Moore Park alone, there has been a 20 per cent increase in patronage in the last 12 months,” Mr Stokes said.
“Increasing and improving public space such as Moore Park is part of the NSW Government’s vision to create a city within a park. This is why the upcoming Greater Sydney Parklands Trust Exposure Bill will also legislate additional protections for Moore Park by making it an offence to park on this section of the grass.
“It’s also a huge day for the tireless advocacy of Saving Moore Park, and demonstrates the ability of Greater Sydney Parklands to deliver the parklands our community needs.”
Minister for Sport Natalie Ward said the development will deliver new open spaces for the community and stadium visitors, as well as a children’s play area and a new cafe and restaurant. It will also include a new partially underground 1500-vehicle car park.
“The NSW Government will turn what was a bitumen car park into a revitalised green space for nearby residents, as well as the millions of people who will visit the area each year for sporting and entertainment events,” Mrs Ward said.
“Moving vehicles off the grass near Kippax Lake and into a purpose-built underground car park is a win for locals and visitors.
“It means a sea of cars will be replaced by inviting open parkland for community recreation and sport, making it a great setting for our new world-class stadium.”
The precinct project, which will be funded by Venues NSW, will be delivered in two stages, with the first stage to be operational by the end of next year. The second stage will be complete in 2023.
Once the car park is fully operational, all remaining on-grass parking will be removed from Moore Park.

NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet today announced the transaction of the State’s remaining 49 per cent stake in WestConnex has been finalised.
The Government announced Sydney Transport Partners (STP) was the successful bidder with $11.1 billion in sale proceeds for the two 24.5 per cent stakes in WestConnex.
The Government has now received $20.4 billion from the sale of the entire WestConnex project.
“This transaction continues our successful asset recycling strategy, which has been the cornerstone of our record $108.5 billion infrastructure pipeline that has built and upgraded schools, hospitals, road and rail across the State,” Mr Perrottet said.
“This sale is part of our prudent, long-term strategy to bolster the State’s finances, while also supporting the NSW economy by investing in job creating projects that will drive our COVID economic recovery.”
The Government launched the sale process for its remaining 49 per cent stake in WestConnex in November 2020.
The sale was structured as a two-tranche process to maximise competition and achieve the best result for the people of NSW.
Net proceeds from the sale will be invested in the NSW Generations Fund (NGF) – the State’s sovereign wealth fund – as required by legislation – before being used to retire an equivalent amount of debt.
WestConnex is Australia’s largest toll road project and when complete will enable motorists to travel over 50 kilometres from Penrith to the city without hitting a single traffic light. Before the road was constructed motorists could face a trip of up to two hours from Penrith to the Sydney CBD.
In 2018 STP purchased a 51 per cent stake in WestConnex for $9.26 billion.
This money was used to fund the vital M4-M5 Link – the final stage of WestConnex as well as other infrastructure throughout Western Sydney.
“Labor opposed building WestConnex but we have already seen this vital artery slash travel times for tens of thousands of motorists,” Mr Perrottet said.
“Additionally the project has created tens of thousands of jobs while transforming Sydney’s road network and through our asset recycling approach has allowed us to invest billions back into the State’s future.”
Key WestConnex highlights include:

• Around 40 minutes cut from an average peak journey between Parramatta and Sydney Airport;
• Around 20 minutes cut from a peak hour trip between Burwood and Sydney Airport;
• Bypassing 52 sets of traffic lights, including an uninterrupted journey between the Blue Mountains and Rozelle;
• The estimated construction cost to complete WestConnex is $16.8 billion with the final section due to open in late 2023.

Restrictions in local government areas of concern will start to align with other lockdown areas, as vaccination rates continue to rise in Sydney’s West and South-West.
From 12.01am Monday, 20 September, the following restrictions will ease for those who live in LGAs of concern:

• No limit on the duration of outdoor exercise and recreation (previously a two-hour limit);
• Outdoor gatherings of up to five fully vaccinated people (not including children aged 12 and under) will be allowed in a person’s LGA or within 5km of home (previously only fully vaccinated household members could gather outdoors, or up to two fully vaccinated people from different households);
• Shopping, exercise and outdoor recreation can be done 5km from home or within your LGA (previously only 5km from home);
• Attend a small wedding (maximum 11 people) in Greater Sydney as a guest (previously only allowed in their LGA); and
• A person’s single’s bubble buddy can live in Greater Sydney (previously must have resided within 5km of a person’s home). A person from a LGA of concern can also now be a buddy for someone in Greater Sydney.

Nearly all restrictions in the LGAs of concern are now aligned with other lockdown areas, with the main differences being authorised worker conditions and travel permit requirements which remain in place in the LGAs of concern.
From 12.01am Monday, 27 September outdoor pools across NSW will be able to open, provided councils have a stringent COVID safety plan approved by NSW Health. Natural pools are already permitted to be open.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian thanked those in Sydney’s west and south west who have come forward and received their COVID-19 vaccine.
“We are so grateful to everyone who has come forward to get a jab, helping bring first dose vaccination rates in some LGAs up to 90 per cent,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“There’s still more work to do to push those vaccination rates higher and everyone must continue to follow the lockdown rules until we reach that 70 per cent double dose target when further restrictions can be eased for those who are fully vaccinated.”
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said that after all the hard work getting vaccinated and complying with lockdown requirements, it’s fantastic that some restrictions can now be relaxed.
“The NSW Government is determined to ensure everyone can benefit from increasing vaccination rates. Outdoor pools are part of Australian life, and enjoying a Summer splash no matter where you live is a big plus for families.”
If you have not booked in for a COVID-19 vaccine please book in as soon as possible, to protect not only yourself but also your family and friends.
For the latest information or to book a vaccination appointment visit nsw.gov.au/covid-19

The world’s largest suite of shark management tools and technologies will be deployed to NSW beaches after funding was nearly tripled to $21.4 million to expand the NSW Government’s Shark Management Program.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW John Barilaro said this increased funding would support the expansion of the effective, evidence-based shark management program already in place, with a host of successfully trialled technologies to be rolled out along the NSW coastline.
“The NSW Government has done the research and invested in new technologies to bring added protection to our beaches including SMART drumlines, VR4G listening stations and shark-spotting drones,” Mr Barilaro said.
“Over the coming weeks we will continue to work with coastal councils from Tweed to Bega Valley and everywhere in between to deliver the world’s largest shark management program to increase beachgoer safety.
“There is no other jurisdiction in Australia or across the globe which has done as much testing and trialling of technology and approaches to mitigate shark interactions.”
Minister for Agriculture Adam Marshall said the NSW Government is committed to doing everything possible to keep swimmers and surfers safe while minimising the impact on marine life by using non-invasive technologies where possible.
“We have always said there is no silver bullet when it comes to protecting beachgoers from sharks in NSW,” Mr Marshall said.
“But the NSW Government will now be operating the world’s largest shark management program aiming to get the balance right, between keeping swimmers and surfers safe, and protecting our marine life.
“In partnership with Surf Life Saving NSW, we will deploying the world’s largest domestic fleet of drones to the state’s beaches thanks to an extra $3 million to scale up operations. This will mean more than 50 beaches will have a shark-spotting eye in the sky.
“This summer season, we will be deploying over 100 SMART drumlines in nearly every coastal council area starting with Kingscliff, Tuncurry and Coffs Harbour next month.
“We will also continue the deployment of shark nets as part of the Shark Meshing Program in the Greater Sydney Region while we measure the success of the expanded technology-led solutions.
“Finally, we will be blanketing our coast with 37 VR4G shark listening stations to make sure that when a tagged shark comes close to the coast, everyone using our SharkSmart app will know about it instantaneously, including SLS NSW and council lifeguards.”
The NSW Government encourages all beachgoers to be SharkSmart when entering the ocean or estuarine environments and download the SharkSmart app.
For more information on technologies used, visit www.sharksmart.nsw.gov.au.
In the coming weeks, the NSW Department of Primary Industries will be working with each council to determine the optimal location for SMART drumline and VR4G listening station deployments in their local area.
The 2021-2022 Shark Management Program includes:

Technology	Current	New	Change
Drone surveillance	34 beaches	50 beaches	+16
VR4G listening stations	21 stations	37 stations	+16
SMART drumlines (SDLs)	35 SDLs	170 SDLs	+135
Beach meshing	51 beaches		No change
Shark tagging	926	996	+70*

*White, Tiger and Bull sharks, subject to environmental conditions.

At-risk children are being prevented from slipping through the cracks when their families move interstate with a new database helping child protection authorities access critical information from interstate agencies.
Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services Alister Henskens said NSW child protection workers used the landmark digital platform, Connect for Safety, more than 800 times in the last month alone.
“The simple act of sharing information across borders could be the difference between preventing child abuse or neglect, and having it go undetected,” Mr Henskens said.
“This world-leading platform has been developed in NSW and is creating a stronger safety net for at-risk kids, by enabling the exchange of data quickly, easily and securely between state and territory child protection agencies.”
Prior to the pandemic, on average about 330,000 Australians moved interstate each year. Vulnerable children are often at heightened risk of harm if their background in a previous jurisdiction is unknown, or not easily accessible to child protection authorities.
All state and territory jurisdictions, except Tasmania, are currently sharing information on Connect for Safety, with Tasmania to come onboard later this year.
Under the roll out, every statutory child protection officer in Australia will have access to Connect for Safety by July 2022.
Federal Minster for Social Services Anne Ruston said the ground-breaking project is about preventing children falling through the cracks.
“This national approach will make it easier for child protection caseworkers to get clarity around a child’s life story and provide an effective response,” Ms Ruston said.
“Our aim is to improve outcomes for children no matter where they live, with inter-jurisdictional information exchange a vital part of keeping kids safe.”
Connect for Safety aligns with the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2009-2020 and goes towards addressing recommendations made by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

A share of $139 million is up for grabs for eight Western Sydney councils as applications have opened for round two of the Accelerated Infrastructure Funding (AIF).
Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Rob Stokes said round two includes high-growth greenfield precincts in Blacktown, The Hills, Hawkesbury, Penrith, Liverpool, Camden, Campbelltown and Wollondilly local government areas (LGAs).
“We launched this funding to support our economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and in the first round more than $145 million was invested to deliver 14 projects,” Mr Stokes said.
“All of these projects are now underway and will support the development of up to 40,000 new homes, 115 hectares of employment land and create up to 1,000 new construction jobs.
“Delivering important infrastructure such as roads, stormwater drains and public space is key to our economic recovery and the second round of the AIF brings the NSW Government’s support to more than $210 million.”
Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said the AIF would also create thousands of jobs in the construction phase, helping to meet the future needs of Western Sydney.
“Western Sydney is ripe for growth and this funding will provide the necessary infrastructure to support an expected 20,000 plus new greenfield homes across these LGAs over the next five years,” Mr Ayres said.
“This is a great example of state and local government working together to accelerate projects that stimulate the economy and create jobs as we start to emerge from the pandemic.”
Councils will be allocated funding according to anticipated growth in each LGA, the amount of development the funding will support and the amount of co-funding that councils can provide. All projects must commence construction within two years to qualify for funding.
Project nominations are now open and councils will need to apply by 31 October 2021 to be considered.
For more information visit: www.https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/accelerated-infrastructure-fund.