Month: February 2024

Newcastle theatregoers rose to their feet to perform one final ‘Time Warp’ and a standing ovation as the curtains went down on The Rocky Horror Show’s record-breaking season at the Civic Theatre.

More than 30,000 theatregoers, hailing from every state in Australia, travelled to Newcastle to experience one of the world’s most popular rock and roll musicals, which wrapped up a three-week season in the city yesterday.

Starring Australian superstar Jason Donovan as Frank N Furter and Myf Warhurst as the Narrator, The Rocky Horror Show is the most successful production ever staged at the Civic Theatre, eclipsing the record set by Broadway smash Come From Away last year.

Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the Civic Theatre was a jewel in the city’s cultural crown and a major driver of visitation to Newcastle.

“I’m thrilled to have kicked off 2024 with a record-breaking season of the fabulous Rocky Horror Show, which will be the first in a new line-up of world class productions brought to Newcastle by leading British theatre producer Sir Howard Panter of Trafalgar Entertainment,” Cr Nelmes said.

“The successful season of The Rocky Horror Show and last year’s performances of Come From Away demonstrate the huge demand there is in the market for top quality Broadway and West End productions in Newcastle.

“Major events are a clear economic driver for our city. By attracting such high calibre shows, the Civic Theatre provides a significant drawcard that delivers considerable benefits for Newcastle’s visitor economy.”

Of the more than 30,000 theatregoers who watched The Rocky Horror Show, more than 60 per cent of tickets were purchased by visitors outside of Newcastle, delivering a ripple effect to accommodation providers, local businesses and the wider visitor economy.

Leading British theatre producer Sir Howard Panter of Trafalgar Entertainment said he was thrilled by the reception audiences gave The Rocky Horror Show in Newcastle.

“What a way to start 2024 with The Rocky Horror Show financially being the best-selling show of all time at Newcastle’s Civic Theatre,” Sir Howard Panter said.

“With more than 30,000 tickets sold and half the audience coming to the Civic Theatre for the very first time, we are thrilled with what is just the beginning of our journey together.

“At Trafalgar Entertainment Group we are committed to bringing the best of the international theatre scene to Newcastle’s doorstep and starting with this star-studded legendary production, Newcastle firmly has brought in the new year with a party!”

Civic Theatre Manager Leonie Wallace said the iconic venue has been recognised as a valuable destination to include on the national touring circuit for live theatre and musical productions.

“On the back of the success of Come From Away we have developed associations with a number of national promoters to ensure the city attracts more major touring productions at the Civic Theatre for extended seasons,” Ms Wallace said.

“Aside from the astounding success of The Rocky Horror Show, we’ve also locked in a one-week season in March of Broadway smash hit RENT as part of a national tour by award-winning producer LPD Productions, while the world’s longest-running play, Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, will kick off its national tour in May with two weeks in Newcastle, presented by John Frost for Crossroads Live and Shake & Stir Theatre Co.

“It’s incredible to be able to bring the best national touring productions here to Newcastle, ensuring you no longer have to travel to Sydney to see an award-winning international theatre performance or musical.”

They are the eyes in the sky helping to get traffic moving faster after road incidents and inspecting hard-to-get-at parts of bridge and road infrastructure.

Over 70 drones are being deployed to give traffic responders unprecedented visibility from above, supporting the work of the Transport Management Centre (TMC).  

They are being deployed around road crashes and peak hour choke points, with the visibility they provide allowing detours to be put in place sooner to ease delays and clear traffic jams. Clearing traffic sooner lowers the risk of bump-on crashes that can occur at the end of traffic snarls.

The drone fleet is also helping to improve real-time information relayed on apps like Live Traffic.

Led by a new chief pilot, Transport for NSW will deploy drones during morning and afternoon peaks and during holiday traffic periods when the network is under pressure and incidents can have negative knock-on effects.

Providing a dependable line of sight outside of TMC’s existing traffic-monitoring camera network, drones were used in the most recent school holidays, with 160 traffic monitoring and incident response missions totalling nearly 100 hours in the air.

They have provided invaluable assistance in understanding holiday traffic in bottleneck areas like Blackheath in the Blue Mountains and will be used when race fans head to Bathurst for the start of the Supercars season opener this month.

In an Australian first, Transport for NSW pilots are now able to remotely launch and operate drones mounted to TMC response vehicles, getting an eye in the sky sooner.

Transport uses drones for asset inspections, including bridges and roads, and is investigating how they can be used to assist with other high risk work activities carried out by staff.

Projected cost-saving to the people of NSW is more than $71 million in travel time, $24 million in secondary incidents and $23 million in vehicle operating costs.

Minister for Roads John Graham said:

“With an eye in the sky, detours can be put in place faster and information provided on apps like Live Traffic. No one wants to be stuck at the back of a queue of traffic and drones will help reduce the severity of traffic jams around road incidents.”

“We’ve also utilised this technology during major events, including Sydney World Pride, providing vital information to deploy extra public transport services and monitoring for emergencies.

“There are more than 1700 CCTV cameras across the Greater Sydney Road network, and our drone capabilities supplement these, by providing an extended line of sight in areas not covered by CCTV.”

Transport for NSW Executive Director Customer Journey Management Craig Moran said:

“Drones are incredibly effective at closing gaps in what we can see across the network. Not every location is suitable for CCTV installation, whereas one drone can be deployed from almost anywhere across the network to survey a wide range of areas.

“As part of the project Transport for NSW has appointed a Chief Pilot to manage the fleet of 70 drones across Transport, set up live streaming capabilities, establish a drone maintenance and innovation hub, and become accredited to remotely fly drones in the field from the Transport Management Centre.

“The drone team carry all maintenance and develop our innovative field operations solutions from the new Leichhardt drone hub.”

The Albanese Government will provide $1.5 million to accelerate the collection of cancer stage and recurrence data in Australia.

This data is critical for identifying patterns of delayed diagnosis, cancer recurrence and survival, and will help drive equity in cancer outcomes.

This work builds on the recently announced Australian Cancer Plan and responds to the Breast Cancer Network Australia Time to Count People with Metastatic Breast Cancer: A Way Forward report.

This investment includes funding for the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare to establish the Australian Cancer Data Alliance, and funding for jurisdictional population based cancer registries to boost their capability to collect these data.

The Government recognises the work of the Breast Cancer Network Australia in highlighting the need for more comprehensive cancer data collection.

We particularly recognise the advocacy of people with metastatic breast cancer, including the late Peta Murphy MP, in ensuring their voices are heard and they are reflected in our national policies and actions.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said:

“Even in what turned out to be the final week of the late Peta Murphy’s life, she travelled to Parliament to help launch a new report with Breast Cancer Network Australia calling for a national picture of metastatic cancers.

“Today, we are announcing a $1.5 million investment to better track cancer stages and recurrence data – because the more we know, the better we can help.

“Having this information in one place will make our screening and testing processes better to make sure we’re putting resources where it’s needed most.”

Minister for Health and Aged Care, Mark Butler said:

“The Albanese Government is committed to delivering equitable, world leading cancer care to all Australians based on the best evidence available.

“More comprehensive data collection on cancer stage and recurrence means a better understanding of the symptoms people have, how their cancer is diagnosed, how they respond to treatment and how their cancer progresses over time.

“These data are key to understanding how we can improve cancer outcomes for all Australians.”

Vicki Durston, Director Policy, Advocacy & Support Services, Breast Cancer Network Australia said:

“The late Peta Murphy would have been so incredibly proud that we are now closer to ensuring that the many thousands of invisible Australians with metastatic breast cancer will no longer be hidden in plain sight.

“This funding is a significant step forward and will help the sector lead and pioneer the collection of these important data to inform and drive policy, innovation, planning, treatment and care.

“Now we can begin consolidating a way forward for better quality data, not just for breast cancer, but for all metastatic cancers.”

I welcome the high demand for the Shingrix vaccine with over 487,000 doses already administered in the first 3 months of the program – and wish to assure the community the Australian Government is doing all it can to ensure eligible Australians have timely access to this important shingles vaccine.

I acknowledge some people may currently be experiencing difficulties accessing the vaccine because of this high demand, but there are vaccines ready to be administered all around the country and more being delivered on a regular basis.

Across the country, there are approximately half a million doses of Shingrix that are available to be administered – and more than 100,000 additional doses will be distributed nationwide over the coming fortnight.

The Australian Government is working closely with state and territory governments to ensure the distribution of Shingrix doses is equitable and adjusted to meet demand. The distribution of vaccines to local providers is managed by individual states and territories to ensure local supply is managed equitably and efficiently.

The Government is also working closely with the vaccine supplier, GSK, to explore options to bring forward additional deliveries of Shingrix into Australia.

Changes to the provision of the shingles vaccine under the Government’s National Immunisation Program came into effect on 1 November last year – with Shingrix replacing Zostavax. It takes time to distribute a new vaccine to healthcare providers across the country with the assistance of state and territory health departments.

Shingles vaccination is an ongoing program that is available to everyone over 65, First Nations people over 50, and immunocompromised people. For healthy individuals eligible for the program, there is no rush for a second dose, which can be given anytime between 2 and 6 months after the first dose of the vaccine.

It is also important to note that shingles is not contagious; it is a reactivation of the chickenpox virus. Vaccination is the best protection to individuals, but shingles does not pose the same public health threat as communicable diseases.

People wishing to receive their shingles vaccine are encouraged to let their local GP or pharmacist know, and they can book you in when doses are available.

Further information about the shingles vaccine is available on the Department of Health and Aged Care website.