Month: July 2023

As students head back to school on the first day of Term 3, the NSW Government is getting on with the job of putting students into permanent classrooms and giving teachers a stable future.

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Premier Chris Minns, Deputy Premier and Education Minister Prue Car, and Member for Riverstone Warren Kirby inspected progress on a major upgrade to John Palmer Public School in Sydney’s north-west growth area today, as they welcomed students and teachers back to the classroom.

By the end of this year, 20 demountable classrooms will be removed from the school, and a new 3-storey building will house 8 new teaching spaces.

The school will also have a new library, additional support learning spaces, an expanded hall and improved outdoor play and learning space.

The school’s capacity will increase from 917 to 1012 students, and the upgrade will also add new staff facilities and new amenities.

The Premier, Deputy Premier and local MP also took time to read books with students as part of the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge.

It comes as the government pushes forward with its election commitment of converting 16,000 teaching and support staff roles from temporary to permanent positions.

In under 4 months, more than 8500 teachers and support staff have accepted offers to convert their temporary contracts into permanent roles.

Across NSW, students at 4 upgraded schools also launched back into learning on the first day of Term 3 in new and upgraded classrooms following the completion of works, including:

• Darlington Public School: The upgrade has delivered a new 3-storey building with 19 learning spaces and 3 preschool classrooms, as well as new core facilities.
• Edmondson Park Public School: A second upgrade has delivered 16 additional teaching spaces, a preschool, play areas, and landscaping.
• Mosman High School: The upgrade has delivered 16 new learning spaces, a library, multipurpose gym and hall, among other core facilities and outdoor upgrades.
• Young High School: The major upgrade includes a new joint use library and community facility, funded under a partnership with Hilltops Council, which houses a range of specialised learning spaces and facilities to benefit the whole of the Hilltops community.

Students at Chatswood Public School can also look forward to the completion of their school upgrade, which includes 60 permanent classrooms, in week 3.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said:

“On the first day of Term 3 it is great to see children will soon be out of demountables at this north-western Sydney school.

“This major upgrade will make a world of difference for students, improving how they learn every single day of the school week.

“We are also so happy to see thousands more teachers and support staff are taking up our offer to convert from temporary to permanent roles.”

Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Car said:

“It is so exciting to be here with the premier and local member Warren Kirby, as the government gets ready to get these students out of demountables and into permanent classrooms.

“The number of demountable classrooms ballooned under the former government’s 12-year term by more than a third, and we are committed to addressing this issue.

“We are also so excited that more than 8500 temporary teachers and support staff have embraced our election commitment and are taking up permanent positions.

“This government knows how important it is to secure the careers of our educators, so we can safeguard our children’s futures.

“The first day of term is always a great day and I wish the students and teachers here at John Palmer Public School and across the state a happy and successful term of learning.”

Member for Riverstone Warren Kirby said:

“This school upgrade is vital for local families in The Ponds, and it has been keenly watched by our community.

“I am so delighted to hear it will be completed by the end of this year.”

John Palmer Public School Principal Lisa Crawford said:

“I’m so happy to welcome NSW Premier Chris Minns, Deputy Premier Prue Car and local MP Warren Kirby here to John Palmer Public School today.

“It’s so exciting for the students and our whole school community to watch our new school buildings being built.

“We are very proud of our school, and we look forward to celebrating the completion of these works and moving into our new facilities.”

Junior Medical Officers from Australia and overseas are invited to develop their medical careers within the country’s largest public health system, with NSW today opening applications for the 2024 Junior Medical Officer (JMO) recruitment campaign.

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Each year, NSW Health oversees a highly successful recruitment campaign for Junior Medical Officers who have completed their first 2 postgraduate years of medical practice.

As Australia’s largest health system, our Junior Medical Officers have the opportunity to work with some of the most experienced and skilled medical professionals in a variety of clinical settings. 

NSW Health offers a wide variety of vocational and non-vocational positions and specialty training programs, where Junior Medical Officers can gain valuable experience and progress their professional careers.

The recruitment campaign offers these junior doctors positions in a range of specialties including general medicine, intensive and emergency care, pain management, psychiatry, pathology and more. 

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said it is an exciting opportunity for JMOs to advance their medical careers in NSW Health.

“NSW employs more than 170,000 people in public hospitals across the state – making us the largest health system in Australia and an attractive choice for young doctors looking to train in a diverse range of clinical settings,” Mr Park said.

“Junior Medical Officers who work in NSW Health gain valuable experience working with world-class senior clinicians, and have the opportunity to train in rotations across different settings and geographic locations, working within state-of-the-art facilities.”

Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Regional Health Dr Michael Holland said the NSW Government is committed to growing the health workforce of the future.

“In 2023, NSW Health employed more than 6100 Junior Medical Officers through the annual recruitment campaign and we hope to see similar results this year,” Dr Holland said.

“The NSW Government is focused on supporting postgraduate education and training for the state’s Junior Medical Officer’s to ensure that our medical workforce has the skills to meet the changing health needs of the people of NSW.”

The main round of Junior Medical Officer recruitment opens 18 July 2023 and closes 8 August 2023.

Second round advertising will open 3 October 2023 and close 19 January 2024. Junior doctors recruited will start in their new positions in February 2024.

Find more information on 2024 Junior Medical Officer recruitmentlaunch on the NSW Health website.

Related information

• More GPs and ED doctors for regional NSW: expanding Single Employer Modeleast
• NSW Healthlauncheast

NSW businesses are being encouraged to apply for a grant under a new $60 million national program to transform plastic waste into valuable products.

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The Australian Government’s Recycling Modernisation Fund (RMF) Plastics Technology stream will boost existing recycling infrastructure and uncover new methods of processing plastics that are difficult to recycle.

NSW businesses can apply for grants of between $1 million and $20 million per project.

There will be a focus on projects that take hard-to-recycle plastics, including soft plastics like shopping bags, bread bags and cling wrap, and recirculate them back into the economy in a safe and sustainable way.

Projects can include new infrastructure or improvements to existing machinery, equipment, technology and processes.

This program will help NSW drastically reduce its reliance on plastic and progress towards NSW’s target of tripling the recycling rate by 2030.

For further information on the program and application process visit the NSW Environment Protection Authoritylaunch.

NSW Minister for the Environment, Penny Sharpe said:

“NSW generates around 800,000 tonnes of plastic waste every year, but only 10% is currently recycled. This is significantly below recycling rates for all other types of waste.

“This funding aims to triple the plastic recycling rate by 2030.

“By recycling plastic, we’re not only limiting impacts on the environment, but we can also transform waste materials into valuable assets.

This Federal Government investment will support NSW to take another huge step forward towards the circular economy we’re striving for.”  

Federal Minister for the Environment and Water, the Hon Tanya Plibersek MP said:

“Australians use about 3.8 million tonnes of plastic a year and dispose of about 2.7 million tonnes.

That’s about 50 times the weight of the Sydney Harbour Bridge being thrown out each year.

“And we’re only recycling about 13% of it.

“We can do better. That’s why we’re investing $60 million to boost Australia’s recycling and recovery rates for hard-to-recycle plastics.

“The funding will invest in exciting technologies that could help solve challenges in recycling plastic waste like soft plastics going into landfill.

“Labor is driving the transition to a circular economy by 2030. It’s good for the economy and great for the environment.”

A1 Arbor Tree Services Pty Ltd has been convicted and fined $2.025 million dollars in the NSW District Court over the death of a worker who was killed while using a woodchipper in 2019.

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The multi-million-dollar penalty is the single largest court imposed fine for a business in the state.

The court heard on 7 September 2019, A1 Arbor Tree Services was in Lindfield to remove trees from the grounds of a local school, where a 40-year-old victim, a Fijian national, was fatally injured.

The court heard A1 Arbor did not complete a risk assessment of the equipment, which had several defects. The court also heard there was little supervision of workers and workers did not receive training to operate the equipment.

A1 Arbor Tree Services Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to failing to comply with its safety obligations under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.

Her Honour Judge Strathdee noted during sentencing on 14 July the foreseeable harm to the 40-year-old man was extreme and determined the record $2.025 million fine was appropriate.

A1 Arbor has a right to appeal the decision.

Minister for Work Health and Safety Sophie Cotsis said:

“My heart goes out to the family and friends of this 40-year-old worker who didn’t make it home.

“This is yet another shocking fatality that was completely unavoidable. The lives of workers must be priority number one. No excuses, no exceptions.

“This is a landmark conviction that puts everyone across NSW on notice.”

The NSW Opposition is calling on the Minns Government to urgently consider bidding for the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

Leader of the Opposition Mark Speakman said NSW hosted the best Olympic Games ever in 2000, and is the perfect home for international sporting events thanks to the Olympics infrastructure and the sporting infrastructure built by Coalition Governments.

“Our state has the best sporting infrastructure, the best sports fans and puts on the best global events,” Mr Speakman said.

“The Minns Government should make the most of the sporting and transport infrastructure they have inherited and urgently consider bidding for the 2026 Games abandoned by the Victorian Government.

“This broken commitment by the Victorian Labor Government to host the games, despite making an international commitment just a year ago, is a strong reminder of why good economic management matters.

Shadow Minister for Tourism Gurmesh Singh said bringing the Commonwealth Games to NSW would be huge boon for our tourism industry, which is still recovering from COVID.

“From small businesses to large, everyone will benefit from the interstate and international visitors that the Games will bring,” said Mr Singh. “It would also be great for the tourists, who would be visiting the best city and state in Australia.”

Between appointments of ‘Minns mates’ to senior positions and sacking senior public servants via a media release or e-mail, the Minns Government has developed a concerning culture in just 100 days.

Leader of the Opposition Mark Speakman said the Minns Government needs to exercise proper governance and transparency, rather than running the public service as their own plaything.

“Media reports that the Fire and Rescue NSW Commissioner was sacked with just an e-mail would be at least a second time that the Labor Government has chosen to dismiss a senior public servant in an unceremonious, undignified and disrespectful manner – having dismissed the administrator for NSW’s cemeteries with a media release,” said Mr Speakman.

Shadow Minister for Emergency Services Gurmesh Singh said the lack of appropriate processes raises serious questions about the Minns Government’s approach to hiring and firing senior public servants, and its respect for the NSW public service.

“If such high-ranking employees are treated with this level of contempt, we are forced to question the government’s regard for the everyday employees,” said Mr Singh.

Mr Singh also expressed concern that the Minns Government’s recent ‘Jobs for the Boys’ approach to appointing the Transport Secretary should not be replicated with the FRNSW Commissioner.

“FRNSW provides critical services to our community, keeping us safe, and we urge the Labor Government to commit to a transparent recruitment process for the new Commissioner.”

“We also wish the former Commissioner Paul Baxter all the best in his future endeavours.”

Questions Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib must answer

• Who made the decision to sack Mr Baxter?
• Whom did the Minister consult, apart from the unions, prior to the decision?
• What role did the unions play in the sacking of Mr Baxter?
• How and by whom was the decision to terminate Mr Baxter first communicated? Is it true that it was by email?
• What is the cost to the taxpayer of terminating Mr Baxter’s employment at this time?
• What process will be used to appointment Mr Baxter’s successor?
• Will the process be managed by the independent Public Service Commissioner?
• What role will the unions play in the recruitment process?

Shadow Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Scott Farlow, has called on the NSW Government to help address the impact of the Labor cost-of living crisis by deferring the introduction of increased BASIX standards for twelve months, in line with other States, saving home buyers costs and not jeopardising additional housing supply.

“As a result of the NSW Labor Government’s decision to reintroduce crippling stamp duty on first-home buyers, and to address our current housing supply shortage, we’re calling for the deferral of the implementation of increased BASIX standards for twelve months,” Mr Farlow said.

“This would bring NSW into line with other States, reduce housing costs, and not jeopardise home construction in NSW. States across the country have deferred their implementation of the National Construction Code to give industry sufficient time to implement these significant changes to how buildings are constructed.”

“The feedback from industry is clear – if these changes are implemented on 1 October they will threaten the supply of housing and add significant additional costs to purchasers at a time when they’re already being impacted by the largest interest rate rises in a decade.”

“The construction industry has seen costs escalate by more than 12% in the last year, if these changes are implemented on 1 October, purchasers will be footing additional bills that they simply can’t afford, with thousands of dollars in additional costs to build a new house.”

“This is in addition to some first home-buyers having to foot additional stamp duty costs of up to $66,000 on median priced houses as a result of Chris Minns’ repeal of the First Homebuyers Choice scheme.”

“Less than three months out from the proposed implementation, the Government’s DIY tool has not been made available to industry, which doesn’t allow them to properly cost and design the right materials to comply with the regulation.”

“The building industry has been plagued with significant material shortages and the feedback from industry is that there simply isn’t the material in the country to comply with the SEPP, which means that homes will take longer to deliver and jeopardise the 314,000 homes the Government needs to deliver over the next five years.”

“We remain committed to the Sustainable Buildings SEPP but call on the Government to defer its implementation to ensure these reforms will be achievable and not jeopardise new homes in NSW,” MrFarlow said.

Young people and their families across NSW are set to benefit from wrap around mental health care and wellbeing services with the announcement of 4 Head to Health Kids Hubs in NSW.

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The Kids Hubs are a $35.8 million joint investment by the Australian and NSW Governments and will provide comprehensive, multi-disciplinary mental health and wellbeing care for children under 12, and their families.

Services are fully government-funded and offer a range of specialist medical and allied health services provided by teams, which may include psychiatrists, psychologists, paediatricians, nurses, social workers, peer workers and Aboriginal health workers.

The services will be rolled out progressively until 2027 when all 4 Kids Hubs will be operational.

The Kids Hubs will be located in:

• Wollongong with outreach to Shoalhaven
• Central Coast
• Orange with outreach to Bathurst
• Penrith.

The governments agreed to co-fund the establishment and operation of the Head to Health Kids Hubs under the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement.

Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, Emma McBride said:

“The Australian Government is partnering with NSW to fund Head to Health Kids Hubs in NSW so children and their families can get the help they need when and where they need it.

“The Kids Hubs will provide a welcoming environment to help children and their families discuss the concerns they have and give them the tools they need to deal with any issues.”

“It’s about providing an accessible place and the right mental health and wellbeing services that will support them now and lay the groundwork for the future.”

Minister for Mental Health, Rose Jackson said:

“The increase in children experiencing mental health challenges is a serious call to action for government. We know we must do more to support young Australians who are struggling with poor mental health.”

“We want to make sure that vulnerable families are receiving the support they need and the Head to Health Kids Hubs are 1 way we are aiming to support children and their families to lead happier and healthier lives.”

“The Kids Hubs will make it easier to access holistic, wrap-around mental health and wellbeing care for our youngest community members. They are free services which are embedded in communities, available when and where people need them.”

“There is a lot of work to do to ensure we are providing the mental health support people need but this is a strong step in the right direction.”