16 News – Page 1258 – Newcastle and Australian News

Labor to fund $80.4M Ballina District Hospital re-development

A Daley Labor Government will provide $80.4 million to re-develop the Ballina District Hospital, as part of Labor’s Schools and Hospitals before Stadium plan.
NSW Labor leader Michael Daley made the announcement with Labor Candidate for Ballina Asren Pugh today.

This follows Labor’s earlier announcements to provide 5,500 more nurses; 1,500 more paramedics; 2,240 more cleaning, support personnel and allied health workers; and 250 more security staff to protect patients and health workers.
“Regional hospitals and health services around the State – particularly on the North Coast – have been neglected for too long under the Liberals and Nationals,” Mr Daley said.
Mr Pugh said the local area had been demanding better health services, but that the Liberals and Nationals were simply refusing to listen to the community.
Ballina District Hospital’s catchment area has experienced significant population growth over the last eight months.
Labor’s Ballina District Hospital Redevelopment project will deliver:

A fully operational Integrated Perioperative Unit including:
- an additional three-bed Recovery and two new Operating Theatres and a six-bed Recovery area;
Expansion and relocation of the remainder of the Medical Imaging Department;
Construction of a new Emergency Department, Ambulance Bay, Allied Health and Outpatient areas; and
Expanded medical and rehabilitation inpatient services, support services including pathology and pharmacy and the construction of a new integrated Ambulatory Care Precinct.

Recent independent data from the Bureau of Health Information (BHI), reveals that Ballina District Hospital is under pressure.
Its emergency department attends to more than 17,000 patients a year – with 17 per cent waiting longer than four hours. However, 10 per cent of patients waited longer than five hours and 21 minutes.
In addition, the average waiting time for “non-urgent” surgery was 242 days; this was an increase of 39 days over the previous year.
As of December 31, there were 238 patients waiting for non-urgent elective surgery.
“No one can forget the images of a patient several years ago lying on the concrete outside Ballina Hospital’s emergency department; it is time to fix this hospital,” Mr Pugh said.
Mr Pugh said the coming NSW election would be a referendum on health services on the North Coast.
“This is one of the most over-stretched hospitals in the state and the hospital upgrade and additional staff are desperately needed,” Mr Pugh said.

Labor commits to 21st century bridges for Kyogle

A Daley Labor Government in NSW will provide $9 million to replace and upgrade bridges in the Kyogle Council area.
This is part of Daley Labor’s plan to prioritise local infrastructure, such as bridges, schools and health facilities.

The commitment will support the Kyogle Council bridge renewal program and matches a $9 million commitment by Federal Labor. State and federal Labor’s total investment into Kyogle Council bridges is $18 million.
“The people of the Northern Rivers region have every right to safe bridges. This basic duty of Government – safe roads and bridges to drive on – must be a top priority,” NSW Labor Leader, Michael Daley, said.
Kyogle council manages 311 bridge, 150 of which are timber bridges mainly built in the 1940s.
The bridge network is critical for the transport of timber, dairy, livestock and other industries which sustain the region.
“Kyogle council residents deserve safe and secure bridges which they can use well into the future,” Shadow Minister for Transport Jodi McKay said.
“These funds will go toward rebuilding modern bridges that are safer, last longer and can handle higher loads,” Country Labor Candidate for Lismore, Janelle Saffin, said.
“I can’t understand why the Nationals will support knocking down and rebuilding huge Sydney stadiums that get used once or twice a week. Our bridges are used many times a day and are in far greater need of investment. I don’t want to see our taxpayer money splurged on those stadiums.”

NSW Labor to deliver $203 million upgrade to Coffs Harbour Hospital

A Daley Labor Government will deliver an additional $9 million to Coffs Harbour hospital – bringing the total investment into the facility to $203 million – as part of the Schools and Hospitals before Stadiums’ plan.
The additional Labor funding for Coffs Harbour hospital will go towards:

Replacement of the dental X-ray machine, which has been broken for at least six months – forcing patients to go “private”; and
Funding to deliver additional parking spaces to off-set the expected loss of 110 parking spaces under the current plan.

The overall improvements – costing $194 million – include:

Expansion of the existing surgical and operating theatres;
New theatres;
A new short stay surgical unit;
Orthopaedic and vascular unit;
Ambulatory care area; and
The expansion of community health.

The region has experienced substantial population growth over the last eight years and the needs of the hospital have been neglected.
NSW Labor leader Michael Daley made the announcement with Country Labor candidate for Coffs Harbour Tony Judge.
The Coffs Harbour announcement follows NSW Labor’s commitment to employ 5,500 more nurses and midwives; 1,500 more paramedics; 2,240 more cleaning, support personnel and allied health workers; and 250 more security staff to protect patients and health workers.
In an earlier announcement, NSW Labor committed to capping hospital parking fees for health workers at $10 per week – subject to current contracts ending.
Coffs Harbour hospital is under enormous pressure with its emergency department seeing about 40,000 patients a year. About one in five (21.9 per cent) of patients waited longer than four hours. Ten per cent of patients waited longer than seven hours and 48 minutes.
As of December 31, there are 1,797 patients waiting for elective surgery at Coffs Harbour hospital with the median wait for non-urgent elective surgery is 240 days with 10 per cent of patients waiting longer than 348 days.
In addition, in 2018, there were 1,058 babies born at Coffs Harbour hospital.
Built in 2001 under then Labor Premier Bob Carr and Dr Andrew Refshauge, it is a major referral hospital for the Coffs Network of the Mid North Coast Local Health District.
With 292 beds, its services include general medicine, surgery, day surgery, planned and emergency theatre service, coronary care (including coronary angiography unit), intensive care, obstetrics, paediatrics, 24-hour Emergency Department, oncology, palliative care, rehabilitation, stroke, acute renal dialysis, high dependency and mental health and an extensive range of outpatient clinics.
Country Labor candidate for Coffs Harbour Tony Judge said: “The mid-North Coast has been neglected by the National Party and taken for granted.”
“Unfortunately, the National Party have the wrong priorities. They want to splurge $2.2 billion on stadiums and refuse to listen to the community on their health and hospital needs – while NSW Labor will invest in health and hospital services.
“Coffs Harbour deserves world-class health and hospital services in their local community.”

Labor unveils comprehensive plan to rebuild National Parks in NSW

Deputy Labor Leader Penny Sharpe today announced Labor’s plan to rebuild the National Parks estate of NSW and repair the damage to the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) that has occurred after eight years of cuts and neglect by the Liberals and Nationals.
Labor’s plan includes elevating the NPWS to report directly to the Minister, reinstating a formal establishment plan for National Parks, creating new National Parks and employing additional officers to manage and care for this precious public asset.
Key policies in Labor’s plan include:

Employing 200 additional field officers to undertake targeted pest control and boost firefighting capacity;
Investing in 60 new officers to restore the damaged mountain catchments of Kosciuszko National Park;
Creating a koala national park in south-west Sydney to protect the only disease-free koala colony in NSW;
Recommitting to a Great Koala National Park in northern NSW;
Nominating the Royal National Park for World Heritage Listing;
Returning Me-mel (Goat Island) to the Aboriginal people of NSW; and
Additional resources for weeds and pest management.

“Labor is very proud of building the National Parks estate across NSW. If elected, we will continue this legacy. We will start by going on an Australian and worldwide hunt for a highly skilled person to head up the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.
“After eight years of neglect, Labor will invest in new staff to protect threatened species, prevent further declines in biodiversity and safeguard our water catchments, wetlands and key habitats.
“Labor wants the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service to be the best in the world.”
Under the Liberals and Nationals our Parks have been under constant attack. Over the last eight years, Liberals and Nationals have:

Cut 493 full-time equivalent positions from the National Parks and Wildlife Service;
Cut more than $100 million from the National Parks and Wildlife Service’s budget;
Reduced the growth of the NSW National Parks estate by 95 per cent;
Allowed hunting in National Parks;
Tried to scrap the Murray Valley National Park to allow logging of the river red gum forests;
Passed legislation that threatens the native wildlife and alpine environment in the Kosciuszko National Park; and
Planned the flooding of large sections of the Blue Mountains National Park, risking its World Heritage Listing.

“There is a very clear choice at this election. A vote for Labor is a vote for our National Parks to be cared for, celebrated, and given the funding they need to be the best in the world. A vote for the Liberals and Nationals will see our National Parks fall into further disrepair and further threaten our biodiversity.”
Key facts – NSW National Parks and reserves:

Cover more than seven million hectares of land;
Represent around nine per cent of the total land area of NSW; and
51 million visits are made to National Parks each year.

$40 million to support people living with dementia

The Morrison Government will provide a further $40 million in grants to better support people living with dementia.
Applications are now open under the National Dementia Support Program for funding from 2019-20 to 2021-22.
Funding of $36 million will support education programs, services and resources to improve interactions between people living with dementia and those around them.
This could include projects to raise awareness and understanding about dementia, and increase the skills and confidence of people living with dementia, their carers, families, health professionals, volunteers, and contacts within their communities.
Grants may also be used to:

support primary health care practitioners, including GPs, to improve early diagnosis of dementia;
reduce stigma about dementia which can exist in the community;
support people and families at or after the diagnosis of dementia;
provide culturally appropriate education and information on dementia and support services for people, families and carers from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

This funding includes $5 million to Dementia Australia to enable the organisation to continue to provide its services for five months to 30 November 2019 while the grant process is undertaken.
This investment will ensure people living with dementia, their families and carers are continually provided the support they need during this process.
The remaining $4 million focuses on the use of innovative technology for people living with dementia.
These grants will aim to:

assist people living with dementia to sustain their independence and remain in their own homes for longer;
improve the quality of life of people living with dementia in both home and residential aged care; and
support families and carers to develop skills and strategies for caring.

Dementia is one of the biggest health and social challenges facing our nation, and other developed countries around the world.
The number of Australians living with dementia will increase rapidly over the next 30 years because we are living longer and the population is ageing.
Earlier this month, the Morrison Government announced funding for a world-first national network of specialist care units for patients with severe dementia. At full roll out, funding of $70 million a year will support more than 30 specialist care units to provide best practice person-centred care for these vulnerable people.
The Morrison Government also provides $50 million each year for a number of dementia specific programs to support quality of life and care for people living with dementia.
It’s also on top of the $200 million over five years for the Boosting Dementia Research Initiative, of which $15 million is earmarked for Implementing Dementia Risk Reduction and Prevention Research Priority projects.
Applications for the National Dementia Support Program can be downloaded from the GrantConnect website by searching for GO1777 at www.grants.gov.au.

Greens Statement on Christchurch terror attacks

I offer my deepest sympathies to the New Zealand Muslim community in the wake of today’s senseless right wing terrorist attack in Christchurch. I extend these sympathies to Muslims in Australia and indeed around the world. My heart aches with yours on this dark and terrible day.

We must unite, as one community, against the plague of hatred and violence that is ricocheting around the world. Silence is not an option. This is a time for us to call out racism and islamophobia in all its forms, and the politicians and media commentators who enable it.
Innocent New Zealanders are lying dead in the streets of Christchurch tonight because a climate of fear and division has fueled this kind of murderous behaviour. It must stop.
Muslims contribute so much to the fabric of our great multicultural nation, a fact I’m reminded of every time I have the honour of being welcomed into their community.
We stand with the Muslim community at this time of suffering and grief, and pledge to end this senseless violence, and the hateful rhetoric that fuels it.

– Richard Di Natale, Leader of the Australian Greens

Greens launch $2.2 billion battery storage fund

From July 1, 2019, the Greens will introduce a $2.2 billion battery storage fund providing household battery storage incentives of up to $7000 per battery (tapering down annually to July 1, 2023). Each quarter, $137.5 million will be made available for use from the fund.
Battery storage in Australia is taking off, with household battery storage uptake tripling in 2017 and expected to reach 33,000 in 2018. However, the Greens recognise the industry is still developing and this boost will improve access for households and help manufacturers reduce costs and increase production.
As the landscape and economics of battery storage are changing rapidly, the size of the grant will taper down annually and a review will be conducted halfway through the scheme to assess the size of the grant, taking into account battery prices in each state of the scheme, the resulting payback periods and the performance of the scheme. If any changes to the size of the grant in years 3 and 4 are required, 3 months advance notice will be provided.
The opportunities presented by the huge growth in distributed energy storage will be missed if the ‘behind the meter’ technology is unable to coordinate. The aggregation of home battery systems provides the opportunity to save consumers money while adding additional flexibility and security to the grid when required. To be eligible for the scheme, households will need to use qualified system providers installing battery systems that meet a set of minimum technical requirements, so batteries are safe and capable of (where technology permits) participating in a sophisticated distributed energy arrangement, such as a virtual power plant.
The goal of the scheme is to reduce the consumer’s effective payback period of batteries to as close to 3 years as possible, close to the best payback period for average solar PV systems in some parts of Australia. Guidelines will be developed to determine the precise level of subsidy provided to achieve this goal, having regard to:

The size of the desired battery storage system;
The cost of the desired battery storage system;
Which state the consumer is in.

10% of the funding cap each quarter will be set aside for low income households, who will be eligible to receive double the allocated grant in that year.
The scheme will work in harmony with state-based schemes by ‘topping up’ state based grants. For example, if a household receives the Victorian Labor subsidy of $4838 in 2019, they will still be eligible to receive up to $2162 from the Federal Government grant.
This policy will be fully costed by the Parliamentary Budget Office.
Quotes attributable to Adam Bandt MP, Greens climate change and energy spokesperson:
“We want to supercharge demand for batteries in households and businesses,” said Mr Bandt.
“Instead of a one-way street, our energy system needs to transform into a distributed, coordinated smart grid with battery storage at the heart of that transformation.
“Two million Australians have already embraced solar. The next step is battery storage.
“70% of home owners with rooftop solar want batteries, but research indicates a lack of government incentives have inhibited the uptake of batteries. Instead of encouraging the uptake of batteries, the government is just spruiking coal.
“Our $2.2 billion plan will help households and businesses embrace and enjoy the benefits of battery storage and extra support will be given to low-income households to ensure they don’t miss out.
“Battery storage will help people reduce their energy bills while reducing demand on the network during peak times.
“Not only can distributed battery storage technology create virtual power plants, but they can almost double a household’s self-consumption from their solar panels.
“More battery storage will help Australia reach 100% renewables as soon as possible by keeping pollution and power prices down.”
Scheme design:

YEAR	GRANT	FUNDING CAP
1	Up to $7000	$550 million ($137.5M limit each quarter)
2	Up to $5950	$550 million ($137.5M limit each quarter)
REVIEW	REVIEW	REVIEW
3	Up to $5355	$550 million ($137.5M limit each quarter)
4	Up to $4820	$550 million ($137.5M limit each quarter)
TOTAL	N/A	$2.2 billion

Small Business:
Under the Greens’ scheme, small businesses will have access to loans up to $15,000 (tapering down to $9300 in 2023) administered by the CEFC to assist with the installation of battery storage. These loans will be repayable over a 10 year period.

Greens announce LGBTIQ+ election policies to achieve equality for all LGBTIQ+ people

The Australian Greens have announced their first suite of policies aimed at achieving full equality for all LGBTIQ+ people.
“The Greens policies will mean LGBTIQ+ people have the right to be free from discrimination, have autonomy over their bodies, and have access to holistic and comprehensive health services and secure housing.”
“LGBTIQ+ people continue to face many challenges in our society, such as students and teachers being expelled and fired from religious schools, higher rates of mental health issues and homelessness, and enduring sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts,” said Senator Janet Rice, Australian Greens LGBTIQ+ spokesperson.
“We can and must do better. The Greens plan removes religious exemptions in federal anti-discrimination laws, creates an LGBTIQ+ health strategy, replaces religious chaplains in public schools with trained, secular counsellors, and appoints an LGBTIQ+ Human Rights Commissioner and Minister for Equality, and more.”
“We especially want to stamp out dangerous sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts. We know from survivors that the ex-gay and ex-trans conversion movement extends beyond formalised ‘therapies’ in subtle and insidious ways. These change efforts pervade some religious communities, faith-based organisations, schools and the counselling industry.”
“The Greens plan will support survivors of sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts and their allies to stamp out these practices and fund $1 million for LGBTIQ+ faith organisations to build capacity for self-advocacy and $500,000 into a public health and awareness campaign.”
“The Greens have always stood with LGBTIQ+ people, and we will continue fighting for the rights of every member of our community,” said Adam Pulford, Australian Greens candidate for Wills.
“As a gay man, I am proud to be part of announcing our first set of policies to help end discrimination against LGBTIQ+ people and provide the support we need when we need it.”
The Greens plan will:

Protect LGBTIQ+ rights in law, through a Charter of Rights and removing religious exemptions in federal anti-discrim laws
Create a national LGBTIQ+ health strategy
Ensure secular student support is provided in all schools
Address the crisis in housing and homelessness for LGBTIQ+ people
Establish a ministerial advisory group on LGBTIQ+ issues
Stamp out sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts
Appoint an LGBTIQ+ Human Rights Commissioner
Appoint a Minister for Equality

Policy document available here.

EXPANDING METRO NETWORK TO CONNECT SYDNEY LIKE NEVER BEFORE

The world class Sydney Metro rail network will be expanded to connect even more of Sydney and free up capacity on the existing network under a NSW Liberals & Nationals Government.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the NSW Liberals & Nationals Government’s strong economic management has made it possible for planning to begin on four additional Metro routes.
The new Metro routes will be:

Metro West extension – Westmead to Western Sydney Airport
North South Rail Line extension –
- St Marys to Rouse Hill via Schofields.
- Western Sydney Aerotropolis to Macarthur.
Metro South West extension – Bankstown to Liverpool

“The NSW Liberals & Nationals Government is delivering Australia’s first Metro network. It will provide turn-up-and-go trains services up to every two minutes and complement the existing Sydney Train network,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“The four additional Sydney Metro projects announced today are on top of the five Metro projects the Government already has underway.”
Work will start over the next four-years on the early planning for these projects, as part of the Government’s long-term transport vision.
“Metro North West from Rouse Hill to Chatswood is almost complete, under budget and will open in May,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“The second and third stages, Sydney Metro City and South West, are under construction and we are accelerating Sydney Metro West, and the North South Rail Line to the new Western Sydney Airport.”
Construction on Sydney Metro West will start next year. Construction on the North South Rail Line to the Western Sydney Airport will start in 2021 and will be complete for the Airport’s opening in 2026.
Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Andrew Constance said only the NSW Liberals & Nationals Government will be able to deliver the Metro rail network across Sydney.
“When Labor were last in office they announced 12 rail projects and only delivered half of one,” Mr Constance said.
“It is clear Labor has not learnt. They have already committed to cancel the Sydenham to Bankstown Metro upgrade.
“The NSW Liberals & Nationals are committed to develop a Metro Rail network across Sydney. Labor’s only plan is to cancel projects.”
Tunnelling is well underway on the first section of the new City Metro tunnels, where more than five kilometres of tunnelling is already finished.
Tunnel Boring Machine Nancy has built nearly 2.5 kilometres of tunnel while TBM Mum Shirl has excavated just under 2 kilometres. Both machines will pass underneath the Sydney CBD as they dig 8.1 kilometres via new metro stations at Waterloo, Central, Pitt Street and Martin Place, on their way to Barangaroo.
TBMs Wendy and Mabel have dug about 732 and 101 metres respectively from Chatswood towards Sydney Harbour.

Progress on City admin buildings

City of Newcastle has completed the sale of its Roundhouse building to Crystalbrook Collection for 22 per cent above valuation and will offer the Fred Ash Building (FAB) for sale or lease later this year to capitalise on its location next to the city’s first five-star hotel.
A portion of the funds from the Roundhouse sale will go to fitting out the City’s new administration building on the corner of Stewart Avenue and Hunter Street. The tender for this contract will close on Tuesday 19 March.
Once awarded, the contract will allow for the entire southern tower and the top floor of the northern tower to be prepared for staff occupation before the end of the year. The second floor of the northern tower will be offered for lease.
The fit out has been estimated at $8.5 million with the actual price to be determined by the competitive tender process.
It includes the installation of a mobile Council Chamber on the ground floor, allowing the space to be used for a variety of community purposes when not being used for formal Council meetings, which occur twice a month.
The new City Administration Building will see the relocation of 425 staff spread across the 41-year-old Roundhouse, the 114-year-old FAB and the 90-year-old City Hall. The actual cost of relocating from the three buildings to the new single office location will be around $145,000.
The fit out will for the first time provide staff with kitchen and dining facilities. A rooftop terrace on the sixth floor, accessible to all staff, will create an outdoor work space as well as a dedicated lunch area. Part of the rooftop will be fitted for civic functions.
The rear of the sixth floor will house the office of the Lord Mayor and CEO and staff. The floor will also include a function/meeting room capable of hosting civic events, a kitchen for catering events, and meeting rooms accessible to all staff.
The new building will incorporate meeting rooms on each floor to encourage better communication and collaborative decision-making. Due to overcrowding in the City’s current staff buildings, entire floors have no dedicated meeting rooms.
The Stewart Avenue building is located across from the former Store site where construction is set to start later this year on a $200 million residential and commercial site as well as bus interchange. In addition to access to nearby public transport including train and light rail, several large spaces have been allocated within the building to encourage staff to ride to work.
The two buildings are the foundation of the City’s new CBD which has attracted more than half a billion dollars in development during the past two years. The NSW Government recently confirmed it had entered a 10-year agreement to be the anchor tenant at the new office development to be built on the site of the former Store building.
City of Newcastle CEO Jeremy Bath said the full fit out contract would be brought to Council in April for consideration.
“The estimated cost is $8.5 million, which is more than the $7 million we predicted 18 months ago. That’s an estimate which hopefully will come in lower due to the competitive tender process,” Mr Bath said.
“It’s worth also noting the Council made the decision late last year to relocate the Chamber to the new building, freeing up the existing one to be used by school and community groups. The Chamber in its current location at City Hall is closed to the public because of the need to protect the audio-visual equipment used to record and webcast Council meetings.
“The move to the Stewart Avenue building also provides City of Newcastle the opportunity to re-invent the way our staff work. We will be using an activity-based work model, which has been successfully introduced in many corporate offices in Sydney including Macquarie Bank, Blacktown Hospital, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
“Staff workshops are currently underway to finalise the layout of each floor with more than 100 staff volunteering to be part of the process.
“The advice of the Commonwealth Bank and many others is that activity-based working improves staff communication, collaboration and interaction, which in turn delivers better decision making.
“The building will largely be free of traditional IT infrastructure, with the City last year commencing the process of relocating its servers to the Cloud. By relocating data and software applications to the Cloud, security is significantly enhanced.
“Critically, it also allows staff to access information anywhere and at any time. Under the IT model employed until recently, staff had to be seated at their allocated desk to access information and undertake their job.”
Mr Bath said the FAB was pulled from sale last year when it became apparent that the likely buyer of the Roundhouse was going to convert it to a five-star hotel.
“The decision was made to pull the sale of the second building late last year to ensure we captured the increase in property value that comes from being located next to a five-star hotel,” he said.
“The community’s response to the imminent arrival of a five-star hotel and the initial concept designs has been overwhelmingly positive. It’s wonderful to know our exit from the Roundhouse has created arguably the most significant opportunity in our city’s tourism industry since the closure of BHP more than 20 years ago.”