Catching public transport in Sydney’s north-west is now easier and more convenient following the completion of a new commuter car park in North Rocks.
Minister for Transport, Veterans and Western Sydney David Elliott today officially opened the new car park which has delivered 135 additional parking spaces for North Rocks commuters.
“Making public transport more accessible is a key commitment of the NSW Government and this project is a great example of the projects undertaken as part of our Commuter Car Park Program which will invest $351 million during the next four years,” Mr Elliott said.
“As the population of Western Sydney grows it is important we continue to deliver for families, businesses and commuters by providing more convenient access to public transport at key interchanges.
“The construction of this new car park means North Rocks commuters now have 135 additional spaces to the 88 car spaces currently available at the Barclay Rd commuter car park.
“The new car park, which has delivered safety and security improvements, including accessible spaces, improved lighting and wayfinding signage, provides greater public transport options for north-west Sydney commuters and helps reduce congestion on local roads.
“Commuters will also benefit from Park&Ride boom gates which will be installed in the coming weeks to provide up to 18 hours of secure free parking per day when customers tap onto a connecting public transport journey with their Opal, credit or debit card.”
This project has also provided a boost to the local economywith 845 cubic metres of concrete, 101 tonnes of Australian steel used and a total of 52,045 hours of work carried out by 531 workers across the lifespan of the works.
The NSW Government’s Commuter Car Park Program has now delivered more than 14,000 commuter car spaces across Sydney since 2011 – these include Edmondson Park South, Leppington, St Marys, Wentworthville, Schofields, West Ryde, Winston Hills and Warwick Farm.
The program also has another 4000 additional spaces on the way at locations including Edmondson Park North, Emu Plains, Casula, Como, Riverwood, Beverly Hills and Revesby.
Month: October 2022
WestInvest funding for heart of Penrith
Penrith residents can soon enjoy a new city centre in St Marys and a huge new recreation precinct thanks to the $5 billion WestInvest Program.
Premier Dominic Perrottet, Treasurer Matt Kean, Minister for Western Sydney David Elliott and Minister for Local Government Wendy Tuckerman today announced more than $28 million in WestInvest funding for Penrith:
- $21 million for the St Marys City Heart and Entertainment Canopy project to deliver a new civic park and state of the art performance centre
- $7 million towards the $41 million Gipps Street Recreation Precinct project to transform a 32-hectare former landfill site in Claremont Meadows into a multipurpose open space facility for the community.
Penrith City Council is contributing $34 million towards the Gipps Street Recreation Precinct project.
Mr Perrottet said the projects put forward by the Penrith City Council would transform the local area.
“St Marys is evolving into a resilient hub connected by the city-shaping Sydney Metro Western Sydney Airport project that, once complete, will connect the new airport and aerotropolis to St Marys,” Mr Perrottet said.
“This unprecedented boost through WestInvest will capitalise on the major investments we have made in critical projects, such as Metro West and Western Sydney Aerotropolis, to transform Western Sydney.”
Mr Kean said the St Marys City Heart and Entertainment Canopy project will revitalise the centre of St Marys to support future growth.
“This project will develop a city heart with an accessible civic park and state of the art performance space for local concerts, festivals, markets, fetes and celebrations,” Mr Kean said.
“There’ll be a performance stage, public artwork, a big screen and a huge central lawn for people to gather.”
Mr Elliott said the Gipps Street Recreation Precinct will include spaces for adventure play and a flood-lit pump track, the first of its kind in the local area.
“This former landfill site will be transformed to deliver a new sporting precinct that will benefit the growing community and local families,” Mr Elliott said.
Mrs Tuckerman said the WestInvest Community Project Grants – Local Government Allocation is funding council-led projects to ensure communities benefit sooner.
“Councils play an essential role in delivering services and facilities that meet the needs of locals. WestInvest is accelerating projects, put forward by councils, that will deliver benefit on the ground,” Mrs Tuckerman said.
Member for Penrith Stuart Ayres said the Gipps Street Recreation Precinct project will create new sporting fields, multi-courts designed for basketball and futsal, children’s play areas, netball courts, cricket nets, a skate bowl with youth zone, an outdoor gym, a village green, nature trails and much more.
“These WestInvest projects will deliver an exceptional upgrade to sport and open recreation space to Penrith and St Marys communities,” Mr Ayres said.
Penrith Mayor Tricia Hitchens said the projects funded in Penrith show the council and NSW Government are listening to the needs of locals.
“The people of our community told us they want to see more parks and better community infrastructure, and that is exactly what WestInvest is delivering for the people of Penrith,” Cr Hitchens said.
As part of the WestInvest Fund, $2 billion was reserved for priority Community Projects. This included $400 million for 15 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in West and South West Sydney, with each local council eligible for between $20 million and $35 million, depending on population size.
Announcements on other LGAs will be made soon.
The $5 billion WestInvest program was made possible by the Government’s successful WestConnex asset recycling strategy.
A further $1.6 billion from the $2 billion Community Project Grants is available to local community groups.
A total of $3 billion is also set aside to deliver transformational projects that will benefit local communities, led by NSW Government agencies.
To find out more about WestInvest visit www.nsw.gov.au/grants-and-funding/westinvest
IMPROVING CANCER CARE IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA
The Australian Government is fully committed to delivering the Western Australia Comprehensive Cancer Centre, to provide world class care and better health outcomes for people with cancer.
Cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in Australia, and in Western Australia three in every ten deaths occurs as a result of cancer.
The new centre will improve patient survival rates, enhance quality of life, and help reduce the necessity to travel long distance for treatment.
Establishing the centre will create around 500 new jobs during the construction phase.
The facility will also be key to developing a world leading Centre of Excellence for research, clinical teaching and training in Western Australia in the future, which will contribute to better care across the country.
It’s estimated that 65 percent of the people utilising the Western Australian Comprehensive Cancer Centre will be public patients.
While funding for the centre will not appear as a specific new measure in the 2022- 23 October Budget, the funding is included in Department of Health and Aged Care administered expenditure and will be delivered to this project.
The Prime Minister said:
“My Government is committed to the Western Australia Comprehensive Cancer Centre and we’ll work with the State Government to deliver on this project.
“No one should have to choose between accessing world class cancer care and staying close to home, family and friends.
“This facility will provide excellent care for patients, while also develop a world leading Centre of Excellence for research and training in Western Australia.”
Health Minister Mark Butler said:
“For too long people living with cancer in Western Australia have had to settle for fewer services because of the distance to major centres in the east, it is an unfair situation they have endured for too long.
“The Western Australia Comprehensive Cancer Centre will be a research driven care hub, and patients can expect the very best care from highly qualified staff, and outreach services to rural and remote communities, as well as vulnerable groups.”
SUPPORT FOR CRITICAL MINERALS BREAKTHROUGHS
The Albanese Government is accelerating the growth of the critical minerals sector and supporting clean-energy technologies through new initiatives as part of efforts to reach net zero.
A new National Critical Minerals Strategy is being developed in consultation with industry and community stakeholders, including traditional owners.
Australia has some of the world’s largest reserves of critical minerals and a new National Critical Minerals Strategy will set out a clear vision for the sector.
The Strategy will complement other Government initiatives including the National Battery Strategy and the Electric Vehicle Strategy.
The National Reconstruction Fund will include the $1 billion Value Adding in Resources Fund which will work alongside the $2 billion Critical Minerals Facility.
These initiatives will expand Australia’s mining science technology capability, diversify supply chains, create local jobs and help drive growth in the critical minerals sector including rare earths – a key component of low-emissions technologies, such as batteries, electric vehicles and solar panels.
Additionally, next week’s Budget will include $50.5 million over four years to establish the Australian Critical Minerals Research and Development Hub to help unlock our nation’s critical minerals potential.
The Hub will combine expertise from Geoscience Australia, the CSIRO and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation to work with Australian industry to
address technical challenges and support international research and development collaborations.
The Government will also allocate $50 million over three years to the Critical Minerals Development Program for competitive grants to support early and mid-stage critical minerals projects, building on the $50 million recently committed to six key projects across Australia.
The International Energy Agency projects mineral demand for use in electric vehicles and battery storage could grow at least thirty times to 2040.
Australia is the world’s largest lithium producer, and latest figures forecast the value of lithium exports are due to increase more than 10 fold over two years, from $1.1 billion in 2020-21 to almost $14 billion in 2022-23, with continued growth over future years.
The development of a battery industry could contribute $7.4 billion annually to our economy and support 34,700 jobs by 2030.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said:
“Australia’s natural resources have powered our nation and we are committed to supporting the critical minerals sector and new clean technologies to reach our target of net zero, and make our nation an economic powerhouse with a clean energy future.
“Today’s new initiatives will ensure we can create and support local jobs, diversify global supply chains and meet the growing demand for batteries, electric vehicles and clean energy technology.
“These minerals will be critical to Australia achieving net zero emissions, and to helping the rest of the world make that transition as well.”
Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Madeleine King said:
“This package of measures demonstrates our commitment to net zero and the important role the resources sector can play in our energy transition.
“We are investing in the science and R&D collaborations. We are backing projects that are early to mid-stage, as well as helping to fast-track financing for projects which are further along in their development.
“The new Critical Minerals Strategy will be developed in consultation with the industry and experts, and will help the government identify how it can best support the growth of a sector that will be crucial to help the world reach its low-emissions goals.
“The new measures will help bring online new sources of supply, support robust supply chains, and create high-paying regional jobs for Australians while improving Australia’s export resilience.
“Building on the sector by generating new downstream industries and diversifying global supply chains will help Australia and its partners to meet net zero commitments.
“Without Australia’s resources, the world will not reach net zero.”
Cost of Driving on WestConnex Set to Rise by 6.1% as Inflation Takes its Toll
Thanks to Dominic Perrottet and the Liberal’s tollmania, new forecasts confirm the WestConnex toll will rise on 1 January 2023 by a record 6.1 per cent, with further significant toll increases expected during the 2023 election period.
The increase means a one way trip on the M8 goes up to $7.98 one way, and on the M4 to $6.82 one way.
Western Sydney households will be hardest impacted by the increases. The government’s own data shows that 17 of the top 20 most tolled postcodes are in Western Sydney.
A driver going from Penrith into the Sydney CBD for work every day using the M4 could now potentially pay $3,410 a year on tolls.
The figures were revealed in a release to the stock exchange by tolling company Transurban to co-incide with its Annual General Meeting.
It was also revealed that April 2023 to September 2023 will see the ‘peak’ toll increases as inflation forecasts spike.
Peak toll inflation will impact on a further seven Sydney toll roads (Northconnex, Westlink M7, Cross City Tunnel, Hills M2, Lane Cove Tunnel, M5 South West and the Eastern Distributor) each quarter and will then further flow through to Westconnex on 1 January 2024.
Because of Dominic Perrottet, motorists in Sydney pay tolls on over a million trips per day, totalling about $2.3 billion annually.
Over the remaining life of existing toll road contracts, this will leave Sydney motorists paying over $100 billion in tolls – all going to private toll road operators.
| OLD | NEW | |||
| Cars | Trucks | Cars | Trucks | |
| Westconnex M8 | $7.52 | $22.56 | $7.98 | $23.94 |
| Westconnex M5 East | $7.52 | $22.56 | $7.98 | $23.94 |
| Westconnex M4 (max toll) | $8.87 | $26.61 | $9.41 | $28.23 |
NSW Labor Leader Chris Minns said:
This will be a massive hit to the family budgets of people in Western Sydney.
“And what we can be certain of is that tolls will continue to go up and up and up because of this privatisation obsession of Dominic Perrottet.”
“And in the middle of a cost of living crisis, Sydney households are getting slammed for it. We’re already the most tolled city in the world.”
NSW Shadow Minister for Roads John Graham said:
“This is the worst ever New Year’s Day gift as tolls on Westconnex leap 6.1%.
“This market reporting predicts it will then get worse.
“The report shows that peak toll inflation will hit Sydney just as voters go to the polls in March.
“That will have drivers upset and the Government worried.”
Woman missing from Lake Macquarie located
A woman reported missing from the Lake Macquarie area has been located this morning.
The 61-year-old was last seen about 7pm on Wednesday 12 October 2022, when she was dropped at Wellington Street, Umina Beach.
She was reported missing to officers attached to Brisbane Water Police District on Tuesday (18 October 2022), who commenced inquiries to locate her.
Following inquiries, including a public appeal for information, police located the woman safe at Blackwall Mountain about 7.30am today (Friday 21 October 2022).
Police thank the community and media for their assistance.
Appeal to locate woman missing from Lake Macquarie
Police are appealing for public assistance to locate a woman missing from the Lake Macquarie area.
Susan Chiddy, aged 61, was last seen about 7pm on Wednesday 12 October 2022, when she was dropped at Wellington Street, Umina Beach.
She has since failed to contact family or friends and officers attached to Brisbane Water Police District were notified on Tuesday (18 October 2022) and commenced inquiries to locate her.
As part of inquiries, it has been established Susan visited the Deepwater Plaza, on Railway Street, Woy Woy, about 4pm on Wednesday 12 October.
Susan is described as being of Caucasian appearance, about 170cm tall, of thin build, with shoulder length blonde hair.
CCTV shows she was last seen wearing a purple jacket, pink pants, a green cap and was carrying a black handbag.
Anyone who may have seen Susan, or may know of her whereabouts, is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Further actions in response to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine
Australia has imposed additional costs on Russia for its unprovoked, illegal, and immoral war on Ukraine.
The Australian Government is extending the application of a punitive tariff on goods imported from Russia and Belarus for a further 12 months until October 2023.
The additional 35 per cent tariff on Russian imports, together with the prohibition on energy imports, has had a significant impact on trade.
The Australian Government has also directed Export Finance Australia to reject any requests for loans or other finance that support trade with, or investment in, Russia or Belarus. This legal direction will ensure Russia and Belarus do not benefit from any financing provided by Export Finance Australia.
These measures are intended to undermine Russia’s ability to fund its invasion of Ukraine.
We call on Russia to immediately withdraw its forces from Ukrainian territory.
the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Hon Penny Wong said:
“Russia’s war on Ukraine is an attack on the UN charter. It impacts all nations and all peoples. Australia is working together with the international community to diminish Russia’s ability to fund its illegal, immoral war.”
the Minister for Trade and Tourism, Senator the Hon Don Farrell said:
“The Australian Government condemns in the strongest possible terms Russia’s unprovoked, unjust and illegal invasion of Ukraine. We are maintaining the economic costs on Russia and Belarus by extending the application of an additional tariff on imports from these countries for a further 12 months. We reiterate our strongest support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and for the people of Ukraine.”
More questions than answers on Marinus
Today’s announcement on Marinus Link raises far more questions than answers on what was already a dubious project, the Greens say.
Tasmanian Greens Energy spokesperson Dr Rosalie Woodruff MP said:
“Tasmanians have a right to know what impact Marinus would have on people’s energy bills, as well as what thesubsequent debt would mean for the state.”
“The Treasurer refused to answer our question in Parliament today about what the debt would mean for Tasmanians, or to table the cost allocation methodology that will be used. We are already in a cost of living crisis – to burden households with even higher power bills would be devastating.”
“There are also serious questions about the environmental impacts of this proposal, particularly on sensitive ecosystems in the North West.”
“Tasmanians were promised the world and delivered an atlas with Basslink – this can’t happen again with Marinus.”
Greens Senator for Tasmania Nick McKim said:
“Basslink proved to be a boon for coal-fired generators in the Latrobe Valley, and the very real danger is that Marinus will be the same.
“Marinus cannot be allowed to prolong the life of the dinosaur coal fired power stations in Victoria by providing another outlet to get their dirty electricity into Tasmanian homes and businesses.
“The federal government has serious questions to answer about the costs and benefits of this project including ecological harm and its impact on domestic and small business power bills.
“They need to explain why it would be more efficient than funding local renewable energy generation and storage, like rooftop solar and batteries, close to demand centres across the southern states.”
Cost of top end tax cuts surges past a quarter of a trillion dollars
Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ revelations that the cost of the Stage 3 tax cuts for CEOs, politicians and billionaires has surged over a quarter of a trillion dollars is further confirmation they should be scrapped, the Greens say.
“$254 billion is a staggering amount of money that would be far better spent putting mental and dental health into Medicare, wiping student debt and making childcare free,” Greens Economic Justice spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said.
“Giving massive tax breaks to CEOs and billionaires while inequality and the cost of living are surging is a choice this government is making.”
“Next week’s budget will be a statement of this Government’s priorities – it is still not too late to scrap the Stage 3 tax cuts and invest in genuine, immediate cost of living relief.”
“Keeping them in place will be a slap in the face to all the Australians who are struggling to make ends meet.”