Month: July 2024

The first of three public art murals at Blackbutt Village is taking shape this week as part of the $4.5 million upgrade of Orchardtown Road shopping precinct.

Newcastle social and artistic enterprise UP&UP Inspirations will produce the murals at three locations in Blackbutt Village following consultation with the New Lambton community and local businesses, with the first adding colour to the northern façade of the Blackbutt Village Grocer. 

IMAGE CAPTION: (l-r) City of Newcastle Project Manager Alex Altuneg, Councillor Peta Winney-Baartz, Councillor Margaret Wood, Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes, Minister for the Hunter Yasmin Catley, artist Olas One and UP&UP Inspirations co-founder Faith Curtis at Blackbutt Village.

The public art is one of the final elements of City of Newcastle’s Local Centre upgrade of Blackbutt Village. The upgrade has already delivered improved access for pedestrians and shoppers, upgraded drainage and enhanced footpath connections to the popular Blackbutt Reserve, which is an inspiration for the murals.

Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said Blackbutt Village will be a more walkable, greener village, filled with local character under the full scope of the improvements.

“Blackbutt Village is where New Lambton locals gather to support their local businesses, grab a coffee and connect with friends and family,” Cr Nelmes said.

“We’re committed to delivering a safer, more attractive place to shop for New Lambton residents through these upgrades, including the addition of 130 new trees and 23 landscaped garden beds, which will create a more appealing environment with increased shade and colour.

“The murals will add to this appeal, becoming a source of pride that captures how New Lambton locals feel about their green spaces, like the stunning Blackbutt Reserve.

“I’m thrilled with the improvements that have been completed so far in Blackbutt Village and can’t wait to see the final stage of the project taking shape over the next six months.”

The Blackbutt Village upgrades are made possible through $591,677 in support from the NSW Government. 

Minister for Regional NSW Tara Moriarty said Blackbutt Village will have a chance to flourish through the investment by state and local government.

“Blackbutt Village and New Lambton are unique places that deserve to have their character celebrated while providing enhanced facilities, infrastructure and amenity for the suburb,” Minister Moriarty said.

“I’m delighted the NSW Government is working alongside City of Newcastle and the New Lambton community taking pride in this beautiful neighbourhood.”

Minister for the Hunter Yasmin Catley said it’s wonderful to see the long-awaited project nearing completion. 

“Blackbutt has long been a great place for families to spend weekends together. The new murals will inject colour and character into the precinct so locals can enjoy all it has to offer,” Minister Catley said

“It’s fantastic that the NSW Government is supporting community projects like this and ensuring we have access to modern public spaces, facilities, and infrastructure. I can’t wait to see the rest of the upgrades to Blackbutt village.”

City of Newcastle will continue the delivery of the final project stage with new community spaces on Myra Street and Carnley Avenue, and upgrades to the intersection and signals on Carnley Avenue later this year pending design approvals through Transport for NSW. 

The completed works will deliver a shared zone for pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles, an off-road shared pedestrian and cycleway, and a new pedestrian crossing providing a safer link between the car park and shops. 

A community gathering is planned for August 10 in Blackbutt Village to mark the project milestones.

Blackbutt Village is being upgraded through City of Newcastle’s Local Centres program, which invests in communities across Newcastle. 

Other centres renewal delivered include Beresford Avenue, Beresfield; Mitchell Street, Stockton; Young Street, Carrington; James Street Plaza, Hamilton; Llewellyn Street, Merewether; Joslin Street, Kotara, Sandgate Road, Shortland; Nelson Street, Wallsend; and Darby Street.

Central Coast residents are invited to help shape the long-awaited Avoca Drive upgrade at Kincumber by having their say on proposed safety and efficiency improvements options.

To improve safety and reduce travel times the Albanese Labor Government is investing $100 million towards the upgrade project, while the Minns Labor Government is committing $30 million.

A current key feature of the overall design for comment includes providing two lanes in each direction on Avoca Drive between Boora Boora Road and Joalah Road.A new roundabout is also proposed at the intersection of Bungoona Road and Kincumber Street to further improve access.

Two options have been developed for the key intersection of Bungoona and Carrak roads, including split traffic signals at the Willesee Crescent intersection.

East of the town centre the proposal includes a new set of traffic signals at the intersection of Gunya Road and Tilba Street, combined with left in/left out restrictions at Davies Street on each side of Avoca Drive.

West of the town centre, the proposal includes a new set of traffic signals at the intersection of Algona Avenue, left in/left out restrictions at Island View Drive as well as restrictions to right-hand turns from Boora Boora Road onto Avoca Drive.

To discuss the upgrade options with the community, Transport for NSW team members will host drop in sessions at Kincumber Library on Tuesday 6 August from 9.30-11.30am and 4.30-6.30pm.

More information on how to have your say can be found at https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/projects/current-projects/avoca-drive-upgrade-at-kincumber with submissions closing on Sunday 25 August.

Once the feedback period ends Transport for NSW will finalise the preferred design of the upgrades and progress required environmental assessments that are necessary to enable the priority first stage of construction to get underway.

Federal Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Minister Catherine King:

“This upgrade will help reduce congestion and deliver improved safety on a critical stretch of road used by around 26,000 vehicles a day.

“Projects like this are part of our plan to help take the pressure off Central Coast commuters and make it easier for everyone to get around this beautiful region.”

NSW Central Coast Minister David Harris:

“Locals have long been frustrated with the traffic hold-ups during peak periods through Kincumber and now we’re finally seeing the upgrade plan progress.

“I encourage community members to take a look at what’s been proposed and have their say about what will be best for our region.”

NSW Regional Transport and Roads Minister Jenny Aitchison:

“The Avoca Drive upgrade is part of the NSW and Federal Labor governments’ plan to build even better communities and improve critical transport links right across regional NSW.

“Whether it’s the Central Coast Highway and Tumbi Road intersection upgrade or Avoca Drive, the Albanese and Minns Labor Governments are getting the Central Coast moving again.”

Federal Member for Robertson Dr Gordon Reid:

“I’m pleased to see the Avoca Drive upgrade project progressing and I encourage everyone to share their ideas so we can get work happening as soon as possible.

“When complete this upgrade will make a huge difference in our community and the whole of the Central Coast will be an easier place to get around for locals and to visit for tourists.

“I made a commitment to the people of the Central Coast that I would secure funding to upgrade Avoca Drive through Kincumber, I welcome the next step for this project”.

NSW Labor Spokesperson for Terrigal Mark Buttigieg:

“We are excited to involve Central Coast residents in shaping the long-awaited Avoca Drive upgrade at Kincumber.

“With $130 million from the Albanese and Minns Labor governments aimed at improving safety and reducing travel times, community input is crucial – I urge everyone to take advantage of the drop-in sessions to get your questions answered.”

The late Shirley Adams OAM name has finally been etched permanently into the streets of the town she loved so much.

At a small ceremony in the Clarence Valley Council chambers today, the Minister for Regional Transport and Roads, Jenny Aitchison, handed Mrs Adams’ family a replica of a street sign that officially recognises the name of the street over the new Grafton bridge as Shirley Adams Way.

Signs on either side of the Balun Bindarray Bridge were uncovered during the ceremony so the family could drive across the new bridge and see them in place.

The road was originally called Shirley Way but the family and Clarence Valley Council believed without using Shirley Adams’ full name, people might not associate the road name with the woman who was so loved by her community.

Mrs Adams was the first and only female Mayor of Grafton City Council in 145 years, before its amalgamation in 2004, a former Jacaranda Queen, Jacaranda Festival President in 1976 and 1977, a Jacaranda Festival Life Member and was deeply involved in NSW Girl Guides, the United Hospital Auxiliary, Meals on Wheels, the Clarence River Historical Society, Country Women’s Association, and many other organisations.

Shirley Adams OAM was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 1989.

Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Jenny Aitchison said:

“It gives me great pleasure to have been part of the move to ensure Shirley Adams is recognised fully in the community she worked so hard for, for so many years.

“Ensuring the road across the new Grafton Bridge is part of that recognition has taken time and effort. I thank everyone involved all for their hard work and look forward to their enjoyment of this recognition for years to come.”

Clarence Valley Council General Manager Laura Black said:

“Clarence Valley Council welcomes the renaming of Shirley Way to Shirley Adams Way.

“Council has been working for many years to see this the stretch of roadway named ‘Shirley Adams Way’ and appreciates the efforts of Transport for NSW and Minister Aitchison to make this a reality.”

Virginia Lambert, daughter of Shirley Adams OAM said:

“At heart, my mother was the quintessential public servant who listened to and acted on the expressed concerns and needs of those who came to her.

“I know she believed a life of service was a calling; a way to live with purpose, which she did so admirably.

“We hope that Shirley’s documented verve for life and her exemplary service will continue to inspire and ‘lead the way’ for future generations; especially for women.”

New preliminary data shows the overdue planned surgery waitlist at NSW public hospitals has reached its lowest level since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the Minns Labor Government established the Surgical Care Governance Taskforce in March 2023, NSW public hospitals have reduced the number of patients waiting longer than clinically recommended for a planned surgery by 86 per cent, from around 14,000 to around 1,900.

Minister for Health Ryan Park said the positive results are a testament to NSW’s highly-skilled healthcare staff whose hard work, combined with the strategic direction of the Surgical Care Governance Taskforce, is ensuring more people throughout NSW receive their surgical procedures in a timely manner.

The Taskforce has made sustainable long-term changes to the way NSW Health delivers planned surgery. The Taskforce has successfully implemented a range of innovative statewide strategies to cut down wait times as well as improve and maintain access to planned surgery.

The most recent Bureau of Health Information Healthcare Quarterly report showed 86.2 per cent of all planned surgeries were performed on time in NSW public hospitals during the January to March quarter this year, an improvement of 11.2 per centage points compared with the same quarter in 2023.

Overall, NSW public hospitals performed 51,149 planned surgeries in the first quarter of this year, with almost all urgent planned surgeries (98.7 per cent) performed on time. These planned surgeries were in addition to 26,000 emergency surgical procedures which were performed during the same period.

The taskforce forms one part of the NSW Government’s plan to build a better health system and alleviate pressure on the state’s busy hospitals, including:

• Investing $480.7 million in an ED relief package which will help to avoid an estimated 290,000 visits to emergency departments each year by providing alternatives to EDs and improving patient flow.
• Boosting staff and treatment spaces
• Reducing overdue surgeries by safely increasing short stay procedures
• Empowering pharmacies to prescribe low complex medications, relieving pressure on our GPs.
• The NSW Government has committed $124 million over two years to deliver 25 urgent care services in NSW by mid-2025. A further $100 million has been provided as part of the 2024-25 NSW Budget to continue the urgent care services program for a further two years to June 2027. It is also supported by funding from the Commonwealth Government.

NSW Health has also established the Surgical Care Strategic Committee to continue the important and positive work of the Taskforce on an ongoing basis.

These measures form part of the Government’s comprehensive plan to deliver the long-term repair of healthcare across NSW.

After 12 years of neglect and a lack of investment in our health system, the Minns Labor Government is rebuilding this essential service we all rely on.

Minister for Health Ryan Park:

“I’m pleased to announce today this significant milestone in our efforts to reduce overdue surgeries, this reduction is a massive turnaround and finally we’ve reached pre-pandemic levels.”

“Tackling the number of patients sitting on overdue surgery waitlists has been a priority of mine since the first day in this job.”

“In close to 15 months, the number of patients waiting longer than they should has been reduced by 86 per cent.”

“While we are really impressed with the progress to date, we know that there is still more to be done, as people waiting for surgeries longer than clinically recommended are often in a lot of discomfort, which has a major impact on their day to day life.”

Member for Liverpool Charishma Kaliyanda:

“These results are a testament to the hardworking and dedicated clinicians not just here at Liverpool Hospital, but across the entirety of NSW, without them none of this would have been possible.”

“Getting a much-needed planned surgery on time, means that patients can be on the road to recovery sooner, find relief and have enhanced long-term outcomes.”

The NSW Government and the South Australian Government are partnering to deliver a first of its kind two-day, two-state Social Media Summit to be held in October this year.

The summit comes amid mounting concern among experts and the community more broadly about the adverse impact of social media on children, including exposure to inappropriate, illegal and restricted content, cyber bullying and negative impacts on children’s mental health and development.

The NSW Government will host the first day of the summit at the ICC Sydney on Thursday 10 October, with the South Australian Government hosting the second day of the Summit in Adelaide on Friday 11 October.

The two-day summit will bring together a diverse group of experts, policymakers, academics, young people, and the wider community to explore key areas including the impacts of social media on children and young people, online safety, social media’s role in disinformation and misinformation, addressing online hate and extremism, and how social media is changing the way government delivers services.

The two-day summit will explore themes including:

• Formulating a public health response to social media harm minimisation
• Opportunities to address social media harms within educational settings
• Understanding the role of social media in identity, belonging and worldviews
• Unpacking links between extremism, misogyny and social media
• Reclaiming the digital town square – creating positive digital communities

The summit will help inform the design and delivery of a range of policies, programs and resources to address the challenges posed by social media.

Further details on keynote speakers, panellists and detailed event schedules will be released later in the year.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said:

“The parents I speak to and increasingly the evidence internationally, is that we’re doing an enormous amount of damage to young people as a result of them being on social media.

“It seems to be this giant global unregulated experiment on children, and we have to change that.

“This really is an opportunity for the NSW and SA Governments to lead the country on this and hear from experts including internationally, as well as young people and the community to look at the impact of social media on our young kids.”

SA Premier Peter Malinauskas said

“We know that social media is causing our children harm, and we’re determined to make a difference.

“At my request, former Chief Justice of the High Court Robert French is conducting a significant legal examination into banning children under the age of 14 from having social media accounts, and requiring parental consent for 14 and 15 year-olds.

“This summit will present a significant opportunity for parents to understand the scientific evidence underpinning our decision, and hear ideas on how to improve the wellbeing of our most important resource – our children.”

The Minns Labor Government is delivering on its election commitment to improve rental laws and help make renting fairer, announcing new laws to end no-grounds evictions.

This change will be the one of the biggest reforms to the rental market in a decade and will help to ensure we get the balance right between renters and homeowners.

We have a housing crisis in NSW. In fact, housing is the largest single cost of living issue facing the people of NSW.

More people are renting than ever before, with around 33 per cent of the NSW population renting, an increase of 17.6 per cent since 2016.

However, the current rental market in NSW is the toughest that renters have seen for decades with historically low vacancy rates, median rent prices increasing by around 7 per cent over the last 12 months, and a system that leaves them vulnerable to eviction at any time.

These changes bring NSW into line with other states including the ACT, South Australia and Victoria who have legislated their own model to end no grounds evictions.

Ending no grounds evictions

Under the existing law, the owner of a rental property can choose to end a residential periodic lease at any time for any reason or no reason at all.

This creates insecurity and financial pressure for renters whose lives can be upended at any time.

Under our proposed reforms, homeowners will now need a reason to end a tenancy for both periodic and fixed term leases.

These will include commonsense and reasonable reasons such as:

• The existing rules where the renter is at fault, because of a breach of lease, damage to the property, or non-payment of rent.
• Where the property is being sold or offered for sale with vacant possession.
• Where significant repairs or renovations make inhabiting the property too difficult or it will be demolished.  If a homeowner seeks to renovate or repair a home, it cannot be relisted for a period of at least 4 weeks.
• If the property will no longer be used as a rental home, i.e a change of use.
• Where the owner or their family intend to move into the property.
• If the renter is no longer eligible for an affordable housing program or if the property is purpose-built student accommodation and the renter is no longer a student.

If the homeowner wishes to end a lease, evidence must be provided with a termination notice, with penalties payable by homeowners providing non-genuine reasons.

For those on fixed term agreements of less than 6 months, the termination notice period to tenants will be increased from 30 days to 60 days.  For fixed term agreements of more than 6 months, the termination notice period will be increased from 60 days to 90 days.

There will be no change to notice periods for those on periodic agreements.

The package follows a comprehensive consultation process with more than 16,000 submissions and survey responses received from the general public and multiple sector based roundtables.

The Minns Labor Government will now begin stakeholder engagement on these reforms and will aim to introduce new legislation in the September sittings of Parliament to end no grounds and provide more security and stability for renters.

The new reforms are set to begin early next year, subject to this consultation.

Premier Chris Minns said:

“Bad tenants will still be able to be evicted. We don’t want homeowners to have to put up with bad behaviour.”

“But anyone who rents in NSW knows just how anxious and challenging renting can be at the moment. We’ve all seen the lines on a Saturday morning with hundreds of people waiting to inspect new properties.

“We believe this reform gets the balance right, but importantly, this will give both homeowners and renters more certainty, more peace of mind, so they can build a home and a life on surer ground.”

Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading Anoulack Chanthivong said:

“Around a third of the people in NSW rent and they deserve secure and fair housing.

“Getting this model right has been a long journey but the overwhelming message from the community has been that people rent a home, not just a house.

“There’s no national consistency on these rules, so we’ve been careful to design a package that works for the NSW market.”

Minister for Housing and Homelessness, Minister for Youth Rose Jackson said:

“Creating a fairer rental system in NSW is crucial to rebuilding our housing system.”

“For too long renters have faced an unprecedented amount of uncertainty – making it harder to secure jobs, start families and develop community links.

“Renters who do the right thing – pay their rent, look after the house – should not have to be in a constant limbo with the possibility of an eviction for no reason just around the corner.

“They deserve more security and ending no grounds evictions is an important first step.”

NSW Rental Commissioner Trina Jones said:

“Putting together this package has required bringing together renters, owners, agents, advocates, and industry leaders to make renting fairer in NSW.

“The commitment to ending no grounds evictions is a major step in a broader effort to create a fair, quality, and affordable rental market where both tenants and landlords are treated with respect and fairness.

“It’s about striking a balance that upholds the rights and responsibilities of all involved.”