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Department of Customer Service Secretary

The Secretary for Digital and the NSW Department of Customer Service, Emma Hogan, will leave her role with the NSW Government later this year. 

Miss Hogan joined the NSW Government as the Public Service Commissioner in May 2018 and was appointed as Secretary of the Department in October 2019.

Miss Hogan will remain in the role until the end of November, unless a new Secretary is appointed earlier.  

Minister for Customer Service Jihad Dib said:

“Emma Hogan has led the department through a period of significant challenges in NSW, including natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“Through her time as Secretary, she has demonstrated her absolute commitment to delivering digital innovation and improved customer outcomes for the NSW community.”

“The NSW Government thanks Miss Hogan for her skill, service and dedication in leading the Customer Service team, and I am personally grateful for her assistance during this transition to the Minns Labor Government. I wish her all the very best for the future.”

Secretary Emma Hogan said: 

“It has been the greatest privilege of my professional career to have worked for NSW.”

“After 4 years as Secretary, I have decided the time is right to step aside, take a break, and make space for a change of leadership and some fresh energy during the next era for the department.”  

“I couldn’t be prouder to have worked with my 13,000 teammates across the department during some unprecedented times, and I’m excited to see what they do next for and with our community under our new government’s agenda.”  

$200,000 Medium Business Support Grant extended to Central West and Southern NSW

Flood-impacted medium-size businesses across the central west and southern NSW can now apply for up to $200,000 in support through a jointly-funded Albanese and Minns Government grant program, delivered by Service NSW.

The Medium Business Support Grant is available to business and non-profit organisations with more than 20 and less than 200 full-time equivalent employees who were directly impacted by storms and floods from August to September 2022.

Funds can be used to help offset the costs of recovery and re-establishing a business, including for safety inspections, building repairs, cleaning equipment, materials needed to resume trade, disposing of debris and spoiled stock or leasing temporary space.

The Medium Business Support Grant will be available in the local government areas (LGAs) of Balranald, Berrigan, Bogan, Bourke, Brewarrina, Cabonne, Carrathool, Central Darling, Cobar, Cowra, Dubbo Regional, Edward River, Federation, Forbes, Griffith, Gunnedah, Hay, Junee, Lachlan, Leeton, Moree Plains, Murray River, Murrumbidgee, Narrabri, Narrandera, Parkes, Wagga Wagga, Walgett, Warren, Warrumbungle and Wentworth.

The grant is jointly funded by the Australian and NSW Governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.

For more information and to apply, visit the Service NSWlaunch website or call Service NSW on 13 77 88launch.

Federal Minister for Emergency Management Murray Watt said:

“By expanding the Medium Business Support Grant to an additional 31 flood-affected LGAs, both levels of government are directly supporting flood-affected businesses to get back on their feet and help with the costs of clean-up.

“We know that these businesses play an important role in driving regional economies. Supporting them to get back up and running as soon as possible will benefit the broader community.

“This support is now available, and we encourage businesses to apply.”

Minister for Regional NSW and Western NSW Tara Moriarty said:

“From Dubbo to Bourke and Wentworth to Wagga Wagga, the Medium Business Support Grant will deliver more support and security for businesses and communities across the central west and southern NSW to reopen or continue operating through the recovery process.

“We know how badly regional communities have been impacted by storms and floods and this grant will complement the support already available to small businesses, primary producers and non-profit organisations and help get local economies moving again.”

NSW Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib:

“The NSW Government is committed to the long-term recovery of flood-affected communities and the $200,000 Medium Business Support Grant will help ensure these businesses bounce back stronger than ever.

“Service NSW business concierge staff will be proactively reaching out to business owners to provide support with applications and help ensure funds are provided where they are needed as quickly as possible.”

Putting truckies in the driver’s seat on plans for heavy vehicle rest area in Western Sydney

The NSW Government has begun work to deliver a heavy vehicle rest area in Sydney for truck drivers to rest, park, shower and access services.

Currently there are very limited rest areas that are fit for purpose for truck drivers between Pheasants Nest to the south of Sydney and Wyong to the north – a distance of 180km and nearly 2 hours driving.

There are other minor rest areas that provide single direction opportunity to stop but have limited facilities, including some with no toilet and wash facilities or capacity to host larger trucks.

This means truck drivers need to take significant detours off the motorways in order to take a break.

The NSW Government is calling for feedback from the freight industry and truck drivers to inform the development of the new proposed rest area for Western Sydney. This area will provide heavy vehicle drivers with a safe and accessible area to rest as part of their journey.

Roads are the workplace for heavy vehicle drivers, and rest areas are important facilities that support driver wellbeing and compliance with mandatory rest breaks.

Options for a rest area are being considered across 6 local government areas: Blacktown City, Penrith City, Fairfield City, Liverpool City, Camden and Campbelltown City.

Transport for NSW will be engaging with the road freight industry and heavy vehicle drivers, including the potential location, services and facilities, as well as consideration of oversize and dangerous goods requirements.

Heavy vehicle drivers and the road freight industry are invited to participate in an online survey to provide their insights and advice.

Have your saylaunch. Consultation will be open until Sunday 1 October 2023. 

The NSW Legislative Council Transport and Arts Committee has also commenced a parliamentary inquiry into pressures on heavy vehicle drivers. The inquiry will explicitly consider how these pressures impact on the use of rest areas and other fatigue management practices.

To make a submission to the parliamentary inquiry visit the NSW Parliamentlaunch website.

Submissions to the inquiry will be accepted until Monday 18 September 2023.

NSW Minister for Roads John Graham said:

“Truck drivers have said to me Sydney is the least friendly city for truckies on the east coast. That’s partly because there is nowhere to rest. We are determined to change that.

“We are committed to providing a new heavy vehicle rest area in Sydney for truckies travelling the 2 hours between Pheasants Nest and Wyong.

“Truckies are the backbone of our economy; we all rely on our goods getting to us in a timely, efficient, and safe manner.

“Current arrangements are simply not good enough for drivers, and we are working with the industry to do better.

“The Western Sydney area needs more parking facilities so our truckies can rest, stage their longer journeys, or if they are early for their timeslot and simply need a place to park.”

Member of the Transport and Arts Committee Dr Sarah Kaine MLC said:

“The parliamentary inquiry is examining the pressures on heavy vehicle drivers. This is a critical issue as freight volume are expected to rise 56% by 2061 in Greater Sydney alone.

“There has been decades-long research into the relationship between pay and conditions and wellbeing of heavy vehicle drivers and mortality rates, for not just heavy vehicle drivers but also other road users. Understanding the pressures on heavy vehicle drivers in NSW is a step in the right direction to decreasing the fatalities in this industry, and our community.”

“This year alone there have been 28 fatal vehicle crashes resulting in 40 fatalities in NSW. A large body of established research shows the wellbeing and pay and conditions of truck drivers is intimately linked to safe driving and reducing fatalities on our roads – providing adequate rest areas has an important part to play in the wellbeing of drivers.

“We look forward to helping shape a positive way forward for drivers and the industry.

“Western Sydney is the perfect spot to service the industry due to its proximity to major freight routes across Sydney, connecting the north-south, east-west axis between ports and where freight needs to go.

“A new rest stop would remove semi-trailers parked in Western Sydney streets and would also provide essential facilities between Pheasants Nest and Wyong where there are limited rest stops for truckies.”

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Rallying call to stop Voice

As the Prime Minister announces the date for the Voice Referendum, October 14th, we face a critical juncture in our nation’s history. In these last remaining weeks before the referendum, the Left will be more resolved than ever to rally all their resources for the Yes campaign and redouble their efforts to turn around the disastrous polling that they have been facing these last few months.

We mustn’t allow them to hoodwink voters in this final stretch before polling day. Those of us who stand against this madness mustn’t get complacent. Voters have woken up to Albanese’s divisive agenda, but we must continue fighting until this threat to our national unity is buried.

As Australians who cherish the values that have defined our great nation, we cannot allow this left-wing lunacy, which has already infiltrated so much, to enter even our Constitution.

What is at stake here is the very core of our national identity. The radicals pushing for this change want nothing more than to undermine our values, our traditions, and our unity. They seek to create a parallel structure that would only fracture our society and provide an opening for those who want to undermine the foundations of our democracy.

We have seen the devastating consequences of these left-wing ideologies in other parts of the world; we cannot stand by and allow our great nation to be consumed by the same divisive forces. We must stand firm to show everyone who wants to divide and subvert our foundational institutions that we are still One Nation. We must redouble our efforts to ensure Australians stop this divisive agenda and Vote No.

APPOINTMENT OF NEW SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FORESTRY

I am pleased to announce the Governor-General has accepted my recommendation to appoint Adam Fennessy PSM as Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

Mr Fennessy is an accomplished public sector leader including as the Secretary of the Victorian Department of Environment and Primary Industries and then the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning between 2013 and 2017. Mr Fennessy was the Victorian Public Service Commissioner between 2020 and 2022. He was awarded a Public Service Medal in 2018 in recognition of his outstanding public service to government departments in Victoria.

Mr Fennessy is currently the Dean and CEO of the Australia and New Zealand School of Government.

With his strong subject matter knowledge in primary industries, including well-established relationships with industry, and significant experience in organisational transformation, Mr Fennessy will be able to make an immediate contribution to the strategic leadership of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the broader Australian Public Service.

The five year appointment begins on 18 September 2023.

The office of the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry was vacated on the retirement of Mr Andrew Metcalfe AO, on 4 August 2023. On behalf of my government I thank Mr Metcalfe for his dedicated service and leadership, including as Secretary of three Departments of State since 2005.

$6 million to address Speers Point bottleneck

Lake Macquarie locals are a step closer to smoother and faster journeys through Speers Point with the NSW Government today announcing $6 million in funding to progress plans for an upgrade of the Speers Point roundabout.
The NSW Government has been working with stakeholders including Lake Macquarie City Council to support the growth of the North West Lake Macquarie area.
Improving transport movements in this key growth area for the region is essential, with predicted increases of nearly 12,000 residents and 6,000 jobs over the next 20 years.
Transport for NSW is focusing on providing a safe and reliable road network in the area along with increased opportunities for people to walk, ride and use public transport.
We’ll begin to develop a range of opportunities aimed at reducing congestion on Five Islands Road and TC Frith Avenue.
These plans will then be presented to the community and other stakeholders, allowing them to provide feedback which Transport will use to refine these plans and deliver the best possible outcome for all.”

NSW Premier Chris Minns said:
“The NSW Government is delivering on our commitment to a further $6 million towards an upgrade of this busy intersection.
“We want to get more motorists home quicker by ensuring a smoother and safer journey and clearing this notorious bottleneck.
“We made a clear commitment to put regional infrastructure at the core of our agenda. To demonstrate our commitment, this funding more than doubles funding promises made by the former government.
“We’re keen to leave dithering commitments and empty promises by governments of the past in the past.”

Minister for the Hunter Yasmin Catley said:
“This funding is an investment in our future and will ensure that the right infrastructure is in place to support growth in the Hunter.
“We know the community has been desperate for an end to the frustrating and lengthy traffic delays at this bottleneck, this funding will go a long way towards addressing that.”

NSW Regional Transport & Roads Minister Jenny Aitchison said:
“We know the Speers Point roundabout is a local bottleneck, causing long delays during peak hours.
“The funding we’re providing today will allow Transport for NSW to examine the best way of improving the traffic flow around this key intersection.
“This could involve changes to the layout of the existing roundabout, adding traffic signals and may also include changes at surrounding intersections.
“Transport will also use this funding to develop cost estimates and schedules to help inform decision making about the project.”

STATE AND FEDERAL LABOR GOVERNMENTS FAST-TRACKING EXTINCTION OF GREATER GLIDER THROUGH DESTRUCTION OF THEIR NATIVE FOREST HABITAT

The Greens have condemned the Forestry Corporation of NSW for threatening endangered species by logging the habitat of the great glider in Tallaganda state forest.

They are calling on state and federal governments to urgently act to scrap the Regional Forest Agreements to end native forest logging and protect endangered species.

Australian Greens’ spokesperson for forests Janet Rice said: 

“This forest and these gliders are national heritage – the Commonwealth has a responsibility to protect them, particularly in light of how much forest burnt in 2019 in NSW and Victoria. 

“It shouldn’t be up to the vandals of the NSW forestry commission to send greater gliders closer and closer to extinction. 

“If we want zero extinctions as Tanya Plibersek has promised then we need to end native forest logging across the country immediately.

“Forests are going to be under even greater threat from fire in the future with more extreme conditions due to global heating.

“The Regional Forest Agreements have allowed for decades of reckless destruction of native forests across Australia, pushed native wildlife to the brink of extinction, endangered our water supplies, heightened bushfire risk, and made the climate crisis worse.

“Native forest logging is a dying industry and there’s no way around it. 

“We need a permanent, national ban on native forest logging and a just transition plan for forestry workers.” 

NSW Greens’ spokesperson for forests Sue Higginson said:

“The NSW Government must immediately pause all plans to log Tallaganda Forest. We can not allow Greater Glider extinction logging and make no mistake, that’s what this is. 

“There are dozens of Greater Glider den trees in Tallaganda that are proposed to be logged, but Forestry Corporation have only mapped a single tree for habitat protection across the 5,000 hectares that they want to destroy.

“Forestry Corporation are legally required to conduct pre-logging fauna and flora surveys but they can not have done this adequately as their report has drastically under-assessed the Greater Glider habitat and population in this area that is critical for the survival of the Greater Glider.

“I’ve called on the NSW Minister for Environment and the Environment Protection Authority to use their powers and issue an immediate stop work order for logging operations in Tallaganda State Forest until an independent review of the Greater Glider habitat can be undertaken.

“The NSW Government has committed to zero extinctions in NSW but the continued logging of critical Greater Glider Habitat, one of only two remaining in the state, is a blatant failure to take the necessary actions to prevent the extinction of Greater Gliders.”

SA MAKE OR BREAK IT STATE IN THE REFERENDUM

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young is urging all South Australians to support the YES campaign as it kicks off in Adelaide today.

“Today’s YES campaign launch is a historic moment for our country, and it’s taking place in Adelaide because South Australia is a crucial state in this referendum.

“SA is the make or break state in this referendum. The positive polling results we have seen today show the Yes vote leading narrowly, but that it can’t be taken for granted.

“There will be no “maybe” box on the ballot paper. It is either Yes or No. Yes for doing what is right, or No for continuing the wrongs of the past.”

“SA was the first State to give women the vote and now we can take Australia forward again. 

“Now that the official YES campaign has kicked off, I urge all South Australians to get involved and help us get this really important reform across the line.

“Over the coming weeks, we will be out and about around the state campaigning to make sure South Australia returns a strong YES vote.”

Senator Hanson-Young will be attending the announcement of the date event in Adelaide this morning.

GREENS WELCOME REFERENDUM ON 14 OCTOBER, SUPPORT THE CAMPAIGN FOR YES

The Greens have warmly welcomed the announcement of the referendum on 14 October and recommitted their support for the campaign for Yes.

South Australian Senators Sarah Hanson-Young and Barbara Pocock represented the Australian Greens party room at the government’s announcement in Adelaide this morning, and Greens Leader Adam Bandt campaigned in Melbourne this morning and will visit Adelaide on Friday.

Greens Leader Adam Bandt MP said:

“As the first political party to endorse the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full, the Greens are proud to support the campaign for Yes.

“First Nations people are the experts on First Nations policy. When they give advice, governments must listen and act.

“A successful Yes vote at this Referendum is a step towards justice for First Nations people, and towards the solutions that First Nations people have been fighting for for decades.”

Greens portfolio holder for First Nations and Yamatji Noongar woman, Senator Dorinda Cox said:

“A successful Referendum will amplify First Nations voices. Our voices will be heard, and the government will have a responsibility to listen and act.

“First Nations self-determination will lead to better outcomes in housing, health, education and more.

“Together we demand a future where no matter who we are, we are all treated equally, and First Nations people are no longer left behind.

“I want to see this happen in my lifetime, for my children, for my Elders, for my mob, for every First Nations person and for every Australian. We must not squander this moment.

“The Greens were the first party to support the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full. The first step is a successful Yes at the Referendum in October.”

Joint statement on the nuclear-powered submarine propulsion challenge

The Opposition is calling on the Prime Minister to stand up to his union mates and reaffirm Labor’s commitment to AUKUS.


Reports that the Australian Education Union (AEU) are considering boycotting a STEM program, inviting high school students to participate in a competition to design nuclear-powered submarines (the Nuclear-Powered Submarine Propulsion Challenge), are concerning.

Australia is less than four years away from Submarine Rotational Force-West (SRF-West) at HMAS Stirling. We face a massive task ahead to prove to our partners that we can safely own, operate, maintain, and regulate nuclear-powered submarines.

We all have a responsibility to encourage young Australians to get involved in this nation-building task and educate them about the benefits AUKUS will have for generations to come.

But commentary coming out of Labor and the unions is unsettling and puts our requirement to be ‘sovereign ready’ at risk.

The Prime Minister must show leadership by standing up to the AEU and guarantee that the Nuclear-Powered Submarine Propulsion Challenge will go ahead.