Month: September 2023

Australian soldiers killed in the country’s deadliest air disaster, on 7 September 1943, are being commemorated today at a service at the Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park Sydney

No Australian battalion suffered a greater loss than the 2/33rd Battalion did 80 years ago when, in a matter of seconds, it lost 60 men, killed or mortally injured, and another 90 injured as a result of the US Liberator B-24 Bomber crash in Port Moresby.

In pre-dawn darkness, the Liberator was taking off for a reconnaissance mission with four 500-pound bombs fitted as opposed to the carrying capacity of 12 bombs. For reasons unknown, the Liberator failed to gain sufficient height and hurtled towards the men on the ground in the convoy of trucks lining the airstrip. The bomber came crashing down, spilling forward a wave of burning aviation fuel engulfing the 5 lorries and causing catastrophic damage.

Survivors were sworn to secrecy and details of the crash were kept from the families of those who died to keep up morale during the Second World War.

Minister for Veterans David Harris will attend the special commemoration service with members of the 2/33rd Australian Infantry Battalion AIF Association and the veteran community to lay a wreath in honour of all those who served, their families and loved ones.

Minister for Veterans David Harris said:

“Today we remember the members of the 2/33rd Battalion who sadly lost their lives 80 years ago in one of the darkest days of the Second World War. 

“In the blink of an eye our nation lost 62 men, 60 soldiers of the 2/33rd Battalion as well as 2 Australian truck drivers.

“We pay tribute to the ultimate sacrifice they gave for their country, to keep us safe. We also remember the 11 airmen of the United States who also perished during the crash. Lest we forget.”

Mrs Yvonne Unitt, President of the 2/33rd Australian Infantry Battalion AIF Association, also laid a wreath to honour the association’s fallen comrades.

“Today’s commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Liberator crash, Australia’s deadliest air disaster, marks another milestone in our association’s important work of honouring and remembering not only the courage, service and sacrifice of our 2/33rd Battalion soldiers.

“Formed in August 1945, 4 days after the Americans dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima our association’s work has become even more important because it is one of the few Second World War associations still in existence and has a strong support from the relatives of the 3065 men who wore the battalion’s famous red and brown colour patches into battles in the Middle East, Papua New Guinea and Borneo.”

The Minns Government will deliver a $1.8 billion boost to help rescue NSW’s energy transition, including establishing the Energy Security Corporation and investing to connect new projects to the grid.

The commitment will help put transmission and energy storage projects back on track, as the Labor Government works hard to keep the lights on during NSW’s switch to cleaner, affordable electricity.

The investment forms part of the government’s commitment to rebuilding the essentials in our state, including ensuring homes and businesses have reliable power at the lowest possible cost.

The government will commit an additional $800 million to the Transmission Acceleration Facility to connect the state’s Renewable Energy Zones (REZ) to the grid sooner and bring forward the benefit schemes for communities.

The NSW Government’s funding injection will support early works in the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone, around Dubbo.

This renewable zone, the first in NSW, is expected at its peak to support around 5000 construction jobs and bring up to $10 billion in private investment in the region by 2030.

The funding will also maintain momentum in the other planned REZs, the Hunter Transmission Project and the Waratah Super Battery. 

The Transmission Acceleration Facility speeds up the delivery of new transmission projects by funding early work in the zones, along with funding community benefit schemes.

Investments will be ultimately recouped from the private sector developers of the REZ projects once projects reach financial close. That money will then be recycled back into the facility to support the development of future REZ projects.

This takes the total government commitment to the Transmission Acceleration Facility to $2 billion since its establishment in 2022. The facility is administered by the Government’s Renewable Energy Zone infrastructure planner, EnergyCo.

The NSW Budget will also confirm $1 billion to establish the Energy Security Corporation, delivering on another election commitment.

The Energy Security Corporation will make investments in storage projects, addressing gaps in the current market, and improving the reliability of our electricity network as we transition to renewables. 

This could include investing in community batteries and virtual power plants that will allow households and communities to pool electricity generated from rooftop solar, reducing their reliance on the grid and cutting their power bills.

Once established, the ESC will make investments in commercial projects, similar to the way the Clean Energy Finance Corporation operates. 

The ESC will be established with funding from Restart NSW. The government will be consulting with stakeholders through the development process.

The NSW Government is also announcing a key milestone in the delivery of the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone.

The government will this month submit the project’s Environmental Impact Statement to the Department of Planning and Environment for approval, and it will go on public exhibition within weeks.

These investments support the government’s response to the Electricity Supply and Reliability Check Up and will help deliver the target of 12 gigawatts of new renewable energy generation and 2 gigawatts of long duration storage by 2030.

Premier Chris Minns said:

“We inherited a renewable energy roadmap that was off course.

“We’re determined to get NSW back on track when it comes to the energy transition, and this announcement is part of that.

“We need to get back on track so that we can produce cleaner, more affordable energy for the people of this state.

“We want the state to be able to invest in solutions that ensures reliability in the system, keeps the lights on, and creates new jobs for the state.

“This is a serious, long-term step towards ensuring we get the transition right.”

Minister for Energy Penny Sharpe said: 

“This additional $1.8 billion investment puts the renewable energy roadmap back on track. It will accelerate the transition to renewables, to ensure NSW households and communities have a reliable supply of clean, affordable electricity.

“This is a once-in-a-generation transition that requires massive investment and coordination from government and cooperation with the private sector.

“These investments will reignite the first of our Renewable Energy Zones in the Central West-Orana and make sure local communities see early benefits.

“We’re not just investing in large, grid-scale projects. We want to give households and communities more power to make choices about how they generate and use energy. That’s why the Energy Security Corporation will invest in projects like community batteries to help more households use their rooftop solar to become self-sufficient.”

On the first Wednesday in September, Australians come together for Battle of Australia Day, to honour the service and sacrifice of all those who served in defence of Australia in 1942 and helped contribute to the defeat of Japan during the Second World War.

Minister for Veterans David Harris laid a sprig of wattle today, alongside members of the veteran community at the Cenotaph in Martin Place Sydney on the 81st anniversary of the day.

Prime Minister John Curtin used the term ‘Battle for Australia’ after the fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942. Soon after, Australia suffered direct Japanese attacks, including the bombing of Darwin, with many merchant and Navy ships sunk defending our shores.

Over 39,000 Australians died during the Second World War, most of them in the campaigns in Asia and the Pacific. Many more were wounded in action and approximately 22,000 Australians became prisoners of war.

During the Great War, the golden wattle was used as a symbol of unity on the home front, and this continued through the Second World War. The resilience of wattle, to withstand our nation’s harsh weather of droughts, winds and bushfires, represents the spirit of the Australian people and sprigs of wattle are laid as a tribute for the Battle of Australia commemoration.

Minister for Veterans, David Harris said:

“The Second World War was the first time that our nation and our land was under attack.

“Today we come together to remember the efforts of our veterans who protected our nation. Who fought to defend our border, our mainland and throughout the Pacific to keep us safe.

“Their efforts, eighty-one years ago, contributed to the first defeat of Japanese forces on land in New Guinea, with the Battle of Milne Bay.

“Whilst the early years of the war focused on Europe, it was during 1942 that Australian forces drew on the spirit of the Anzacs to hold off and eventually overcome the Japanese along the Kokoda Track and other significant battles in New Guinea and throughout the Pacific.

“On the home front, we defended the attacks in Darwin and later in Sydney Harbour. All these efforts helped to win the war against Japan.

“It is these efforts and sacrifices that we remember today. Lest we forget.”

Immediate past President of the Battle for Australia Association in NSW, Colonel Davis Ross CSC (Ret’d) said:

“Today we honour the service and sacrifice of our solders, sailors and air crew as well as all the efforts on the home front. We remember their contributions against the aggression of the Japanese forces, that led to a victory in the Battle for Australia.”

The Minns Labor Government’s $2.7 billion coal tax grab will risk jobs, increase energy prices, and add to a growing list of broken promises.

“This is a Government that can’t be trusted – before the election Chris Minns matched the Coalition’s promise not to raise taxes, and now he’s done exactly that to pay for his unfunded election promises,” Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said.

“It’s clear that Chris Minns can’t keep his word. He promised to roll over Active Kids and then slashed the program by 85%, he promised that he would deliver Metro West and now there is a question mark over the project, he promised no privatisation but is looking to sell off public land, and he committed to end secret rent bidding before backflipping – the list goes on.”

“The Labor Government’s coal tax grab is needed to plug the budget blackhole created by another Labor broken promise, namely no unfunded public sector wage increases.”

Shadow Treasurer Damien Tudehope said this was the Minns Labor Government’s attempt to fix the Budget black hole of their own making, which is risking our state’s fiscal security and Triple A credit rating.

“This is a Government that in the past 24 hours alone has announced an unfunded deal with the Teachers Federation and flagged an extension of Eraring without any idea of how long or how much it will cost the NSW Budget.”

“This tax grab risks higher energy prices and jobs across NSW, not just in the mining industry but for small businesses that no longer have the margins to absorb the increased input costs.”

The Minns Labor Government has caved under union pressure to sign a one-year deal with the Teachers Federation, driving the NSW Budget further into the red with unfunded wage offers.

Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said the deal is another example of a broken election promise by the Minns Government.

“Before the election, Chris Minns promised that public sector wage increases wouldn’t cost anything – they would be paid for with productivity offsets,” Mr Speakman said. “Now we know that the Labor Government promises to its union bosses will cost the NSW Budget billions of dollars, and the Government has yet to tell us which programs, services and infrastructure will have to be cut,” Mr Speakman said.

Shadow Treasurer Damien Tudehope criticised the Treasurer for not revealing the true cost of this deal with the Teachers Federation, which is tipped to exceed over $1.4 billion over four years, in addition to the cost of any future wage increases.

“The Government seems to be confused about exactly how much this offer will cost, because they have a Treasurer who just makes things up as he goes along,” Mr Tudehope said.

“This Budget won’t be worth the paper it’s written on because we know that Labor will give into every other union’s demands, no matter the expense.”

Shadow Education Minister Sarah Mitchell called for more certainty for teachers into the future.

“We all want the best outcome for our teachers, but there is a serious concern here about what will happen in 12 months when a new deal will have to be negotiated”, Ms Mitchell said.

“The union was adamant that 2.5% in the years ahead was not enough, so Labor needs to come clean about what have they promised for future years and what price they will pay to deliver those promises.”

The NSW Opposition has welcomed today’s announcement by the Minns Labor Government that it is committed to delivering the Coalition’s Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap.

Leader of the Opposition Mark Speakman said that the Government has wasted nearly six months commissioning a review which tells us what we already knew.

“Our Roadmap is the right approach to ensure NSW has a successful transition to reliable, clean and affordable energy,” Mr Speakman said.

“The Government needs to get on with its job of delivering the Roadmap – and it needs to stop looking in the rear-view mirror for excuses.”

“We know the energy industry and market needs certainty to operate as effectively as possible and every day that NSW Labor sat on their Energy Check Up was another day of uncertainty.”

Shadow Minister for Energy and Climate Change James Griffin stressed that keeping the lights on and having affordable energy were paramount.

“What today’s report doesn’t tell us is how much consumers or taxpayers will pay if Eraring’s life is extended. Nor has the Government sufficiently outlined the need to extend Eraring and if so for how long, in light of what AEMO’s 2023 Electricity Statement of Opportunities, released 31 August, told us about reliability in NSW,” Mr Griffin said.

“Any decision to extend the life Eraring comes with consequences and what is needed from the Government now is an open and transparent process between the Government and the owners of Eraring to ensure taxpayers get the best outcome.”

Since the election of the Minns Labor Government, households across NSW have been left to fend for themselves as Labor still can’t explain what support they will be providing, how their state-owned energy corporation will function or when it will begin providing relief.

“After six months Chris Minns has finally realised that reliable, cheap and clean energy should be the focus of his Government, so it’s time the Premier stops trying to score cheap political points. NSW led the nation and we can continue to do so if the Government gets on with the job,” Mr Griffin concluded. 

The Opposition will consider the NSW Electricity Supply and Reliability Check Up and its recommendations in detail.