Month: March 2024

SafeWork NSW, Building Commission NSW, and TAFE NSW have partnered to provide an online ‘Asbestos Awareness and Safety’ course free to the public to increase awareness of the safety risks relating to asbestos.

This short self-directed online course, called a microskill, is aimed at anyone likely to encounter asbestos in their workplace.

It is hosted on the Construct NSW digital learning platform, part of a wider suite of courses built in collaboration with the Department of Customer Service and Building Commission NSW.

The NSW Government priority is to ensure the safety of workers and the community when managing asbestos.

Recent reports of asbestos in mulching products has highlighted the need for readily available asbestos awareness training.

The ‘Asbestos Awareness and Safety’ microskill will be free to anyone in Australia for a period of 3 months, with the potential for extension pending public demand.

The 2-and-a-half-hour course covers:

• recognising the risk and serious long-term impacts of asbestos exposure
• recognising the roles, responsibilities, and legislation for asbestos related work
• how to determine if asbestos containing material may be present
• identifying asbestos containing materials and hazardous activities that lead to asbestos exposure
• identifying suitable control measures for asbestos and asbestos containing materials (ACM)
• how to safely handle asbestos and ACM
• inspecting worksites and communicating asbestos risks and asbestos controls with an informed perspective.

Completion of the course provides asbestos awareness training. Further training is required to conduct licensed asbestos removal work.  

Members of the public can register for the course at TAFE NSW.

NSW Minister for Work Health and Safety, Sophie Cotsis said:

“Everyone should know how to identify, and if necessary, handle asbestos in their home, workplace or in a public place because of the serious health issues this substance can cause.

“I fully endorse the proactive approach by SafeWork to ensure asbestos education is increased in the community and ensure this course is free.”

NSW Minister for Building, Anoulack Chanthivong said:

“Helping to develop and deliver this program is part the mandate we’ve given Building Commission NSW to ensure all those in the industry are up to date with rules and regulations designed to protect residents, workers and communities.

“Building Commission NSW is even more than just a tough cop on the beat, it’s also tasked with lifting skills across the sector. This fully discounted course on the Construct NSW digital learning platform provides greater opportunities for everyone, including small businesses and individuals, to upskill when it comes to asbestos risk.”

NSW Minister for Skills, TAFE, and Tertiary Education, Steve Whan said:

“This announcement reiterates the NSW Government’s commitment to providing training solutions for local communities across NSW.

“TAFE NSW will provide free access to this course, making it easier than ever for the community to gain asbestos awareness training.”

Head of SafeWork NSW, Trent Curtin, said:

“Asbestos is still found in 1 in 3 homes in Australia, meaning that everyone should know how to properly identify and safely handle products containing asbestos.

“Making the ‘Asbestos Awareness and Safety’ microskill course free and readily available ensures everyone who comes across potentially hazardous asbestos are equipped with the knowledge to manage the situation.

“Even if it is not a part of your day-to-day duties, knowledge on the proper processes for the management of asbestos is something you can use to not only protect your own health, but the health of those around you.”

NSW seniors are showing age is no barrier to fun with 30,000 people flocking to Darling Harbour to enjoy the NSW Seniors Festival Expo and Premier’s Gala Concerts on 13-14 March.

The Premier’s Gala Concerts and NSW Seniors Expo are highlights of the festival which features a fortnight of events running across NSW.

Minister for Seniors Jodie Harrison said more than 500,000 seniors attend activities during the NSW Seniors Festival, making it the biggest celebration for seniors in the Southern Hemisphere.

The NSW Seniors Festival and Gala Concerts are the government’s way of making sure seniors enjoy the benefits of living longer and have opportunities to participate in, contribute to and be included in their communities – key principles in our 10-year Ageing Well Strategy.

The sold-out Premier’s Gala Concerts will have seniors dancing in the aisles with performances by Damien Leith, Darren Coggan, Paulini, and Julie Lea Goodwin.

Cubby house building, cooking demonstrations and a sports hub are just a few of the activities running at the NSW Seniors Festival Expo with a record 85 exhibitors offering something to suit everyone.

The Premier’s Gala Concerts will be live-streamed so people can watch no matter where they are.

The NSW Seniors Festival encourages older people to lead active lifestyles and participate at all levels in our community with activities running until 24 March. The NSW Government has provided $200,000 in funding to local councils and community groups to ensure there is something for everyone to enjoy during the festival.

For more information and to register for the concert live stream, visit the NSW Seniors Festival website.

Minister for Seniors Jodie Harrison said:

“It is an exciting time for our seniors as we celebrate and support their remarkable contributions to our communities through this fantastic event.

“It’s a privilege to deliver an event of this kind every year. With this year’s theme ‘Reach Beyond’, we are encouraging older people to seek new experiences and make new friends.

“This event is not to be missed and we can’t wait to see our seniors out and about enjoying the festivities.”

The NSW Government will today introduce a bill to parliament to ban LGBTQ+ conversion practices, fulfilling a key election commitment.

Conversion practices, which can include so-called “conversion therapy” and suppression practices, are formal or informal practices based on the false ideology that LGBTQ+ people have a ‘disorder’ or require treatment. Evidence shows that conversion practices are dangerous and damaging.

The legislative reform has been carefully considered and developed to protect LGBTQ+ people, while acknowledging and respecting longstanding religious and cultural beliefs and practices.

The Department of Communities and Justice and NSW Ministry of Health were tasked with jointly leading a working group who consulted extensively with a range of stakeholders.

These stakeholders included members of the health, education, legal and government sectors, faith and multicultural organisations, LGBTQ+ community advocates and victim-survivors, academics, and researchers, as well as others nominated by these stakeholders as having relevant views or expertise.

The Government has also considered legislation in other jurisdictions where conversion practices are outlawed, including in Victoria, Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory, New Zealand and Canada.

The proposed reform integrates feedback received through this process, while also reflecting the government’s continued commitment to supporting religious freedom.

Expressing a belief through sermon, taking offence at religious teachings, and seeking guidance through prayer will not be included in the ban.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said:

“Every person in NSW deserves to be respected for who they are and that’s exactly what these new laws will do.

“It is intolerable that we have a situation in NSW where children can be told something is wrong with them and that they need to be fixed.

“I’ve personally met with survivors of conversion practices and know how important it is that we put an end to this.”

Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council Penny Sharpe said:

“LGBTQ+ people are fine just the way they are.

“There is no place in NSW for harmful conversion and suppression practices.

“Thank you to advocates from the LGBTQ+ community, in particular victim survivors who have told their stories so that others will no longer be harmed.”

Minister for Health Ryan Park said:

“Conversion practices are incredibly harmful and have severely damaging health impacts. I am proud to be part of a government that is delivering on its commitment to stop them.

“These landmark reforms are the result of diligent and extensive work and consultation across a wide range of stakeholders to ensure the model is tailored to NSW. We want them to function effectively and as we intend.

“We have worked closely with a wide range of health experts to ensure that this Bill is fit for purpose and provides clarity around obligations for practitioners.”

Attorney General Michael Daley said:

“Conversion practices are known to cause significant ongoing trauma because they try to force LGBTQ+ people to change or suppress their sexual orientation or gender identity.

“We have carefully considered this legislation, developing it thoughtfully following extensive consultation to ensure that it strikes the right balance between protecting vulnerable communities as well as legitimate religious and cultural practices.

“The Government does not intend to ban the teachings of a religious leader or expression of a religious belief through sermon.

“We have been guided by a core principle – that all people across NSW should be able to live free of practices that cause harm and be protected by evidence-based protections which the community expect, deserve and can rely upon.”

The NSW Government has launched a new Vehicle Emissions Star Rating website to help drivers consider sustainability when making their next vehicle purchase.

A simple six-star rating system will allow consumers to compare the carbon dioxide emissions of new and second-hand cars, utes and vans. The more stars a vehicle has, the lower the vehicle’s CO2 emissions.

The rating applies to vehicles across Australia and was developed in collaboration with Commonwealth, state and territory governments.

The Vehicle Emissions Star Rating website has launched with ratings for light vehicles dating back to 2004. Consumers can compare more than 16,000 different models and variants.

The website has fully customisable calculators that allow consumers to input the actual price they pay for fuel or electricity, and consider annual costs based on the distances they drive, rather than just being offered information based on averages that can vary widely.

The information on emissions and efficiency is provided in a simple, visual format to help consumers make choices.

It is supported by useful articles and information on vehicle emissions, how different vehicles are powered, and how driving style and maintenance may reduce emissions.

The Vehicle Emissions Star Rating website also provides information on electric vehicles, including locations of charging infrastructure, battery recycling and the differences between electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles and internal combustion engine vehicles.

Consumers are encouraged to visit www.vesr.gov.au

Minister for Climate Change and Energy Penny Sharpe said:

“The Vehicle Emissions Star Rating website offers information on emissions and efficiency in a simple format so consumers can choose a new or used car which reduces their emissions.

“This is both good for their hip pocket, and good for the environment.

“Battery EVs are the cleanest light vehicles, receiving a six-star rating because they do not produce any tailpipe emissions. The NSW Government is supporting their uptake by growing the network of EV chargers across the state.”

Community assets in 4 severely flood impacted Central West Local Government Areas will be repaired and upgraded to protect from future disasters through the Albanese and NSW Governments’ Community Assets Program.

The $25 million program will enable the Cabonne Shire Council, Forbes Shire Council, Lachlan Shire Council and Parkes Shire Council to repair, restore and improve the resilience of community infrastructure directly damaged by storms and floods in August and September 2022.

Councils can apply for up to $4 million for individual projects to repair assets and bring them to a standard that is more resilient and better able to withstand future natural disasters.

The types of damaged community infrastructure eligible for funding include parks, walkways, community buildings, and tourism and recreational facilities.

The program is jointly funded under the Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA), with project funding to be administered by the Department of Regional NSW.

Find out more about the community assets program.

Federal Minister for Emergency Management Murray Watt said:

“This significant investment by both the Albanese and Minns Governments will provide support for the ongoing reconstruction in these communities, which have withstood several years of consecutive flooding events.

“This program will help to rebuild playgrounds, walkways and community facilities to a more resilient standard so they are able to withstand future disasters.

“This is another example of both levels of government working together to change the way we recover from and prepare for disasters, so that communities are less exposed in the future, as disasters become increasingly frequent and intense.

“We continue to work with the Minns Government in supporting long-term recovery needs in the Central West.”

Minister for Regional NSW Tara Moriarty said:

“In recent years, severe weather and flooding events have caused significant damage to local community infrastructure across our regions, including in Central West NSW.

“Regional communities need this support to repair damaged local community infrastructure.

“The Australian and NSW Governments are helping disaster impacted communities work towards rebuilding their communities and spirits while ensuring that their community assets are more resilient than ever.”

Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib said:

“The NSW Government is deeply committed to the wellbeing of local communities and is pleased to be joining the Commonwealth in providing funds to build more resilient local infrastructure.

“These facilities can be a focal point bringing community together and this investment is one way we can assist. We urge Councils to get their applications in so the assessment process can begin and residents can see their vitally needed community facilities back in place and built to withstand future events.”

NSW hospitals have seen modest but promising progress in emergency department (ED) wait times, with the Health Minister Ryan Park saying there’s more room for improvement.

The latest Bureau of Health Information Healthcare Quarterly report shows the majority of patients (68.3 per cent) started their ED treatment on time and almost 80 per cent (79.9 per cent) of patients who arrived by ambulance had their care transferred to ED staff within 30 minutes, both measures reflecting small improvements compared with the same quarter in 2022.

ED activity continued to remain higher than pre-pandemic levels, with 798,813 ED attendances including a record 6,649 triage 1 (resuscitation) and 119,389 triage 2 (emergency) presentations during the last quarter of 2023.

NSW hospitals have also significantly reduced the number of people whose planned surgery is overdue, reducing the overdue planned surgical waitlist by almost 90 per cent in one year.

Public hospitals performed 59,422 planned surgeries in the October to December quarter in 2023, 5,099 more procedures than in the October to December 2022 quarter.

Overall, 83.6 per cent of all planned surgeries were performed on time in NSW public hospitals during the October to December quarter in 2023, an increase of seven percentage points compared with the same quarter in 2022. Almost every urgent planned procedure (99.5 per cent) was performed on time.

The NSW Government’s Surgical Care Governance Taskforce has helped to drastically reduce the number of patients exceeding the clinically recommended timeframe for planned surgery by 87.5 per cent, from 17,070 in December 2022 to 2,133 in December 2023.

The NSW Government is working to improve access to care and reducing wait times, including through:

• establishing an emergency department taskforce – to safely find innovative strategies to treat patients more effectively;
• boosting staff – making 1,112 temporary nurses permanent and recruiting an additional 1,200 nurses and midwives;
• boosting infrastructure – working to deliver 600 more treatment spaces in Western Sydney;
• embracing Healthdirect and the single patient front door – connecting more patients to care options outside the hospital; and
• rolling out 25 urgent care services across the state relieving pressure on our EDs.

Minister for Health Ryan Park said:

“Everyone should be able to access quality health care when they need it, where they need it. Patients shouldn’t have to wait hours longer than necessary in our hospitals or emergency departments. Having people and their loved ones waiting around in our hospitals for lengthy periods of time is not good for them, our staff, or other patients.

“I want to make it very clear – we are far from mission accomplished. While this is a promising improvement, too many people are still waiting too long in our EDs.

“We are throwing everything in our rucksack at improving access and reducing wait times in our hospitals.

“This includes boosting staff and infrastructure; but also rolling out urgent care and providing those alternate pathways to care, to treat people outside the hospital; and establishing an ED taskforce to drive improvements in wait times and access to care.

“When we reduce the proportion of people who can be treated outside of hospitals entering our EDs, our patients as a whole benefit.”

Labor’s Minister for Planning and Public Spaces continues to show a lack of understanding when it comes to the impact on heritage of his own ‘biggest rezoning in Australia’s history’, attempting to outline the ‘truth about planning reforms and heritage’ the Minister has shown that he either lacks understanding of his own policy or is deliberately misleading people across NSW.

“It’s time for a few home truths for Minister Scully when it comes to the impact of his ‘biggest rezoning in Australia’s history’ on heritage across New South Wales,” Shadow Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Scott Farlow said.

“Minister Scully today claimed that ‘the reforms do not apply to individual heritage items’, which has been roundly rebuked by his own officials.”

“Following questioning in Budget Estimates the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure confirmed that the Labor Government’s one-size-fits-all Low and Mid-Rise Reforms will apply to both Heritage Conservation Areas and heritage listings.”

The following extract is from the Hansard:

MONICA GIBSON: The low- and mid-rise reforms do apply to heritage conservation areas and heritage listings.

The Hon. SCOTT FARLOW: It applies to heritage listings as well?

MONICA GIBSON: It does.

“The Labor Government’s own Heritage Council ‘strongly recommend[s] the government enable local councils to undertake strategic planning within a defined time frame to deliver housing targets before activating the proposed new planning controls over existing heritage conservation areas.’”

“The National Trust is concerned the proposals ‘will have a dramatic and permanent effect on heritage’ and calls ‘the current one-size-fits-all housing reforms put forward by the NSW Government … the biggest threat to the heritage of NSW that have ever been proposed.’”

“Minister Scully seems confused about the impact of Labor’s lazy, one-size-fits-all policies on yet another area – heritage. It’s clear that Chris Minns’ approach simply isn’t working,” Mr Farlow said.