Category: Newcastle News

Police are appealing for public assistance to locate two vehicles, as an investigation continues into an alleged aggravated break and enter on the state’s north coast this morning.

About 2am (Thursday 21 July 2022), two unknown males stole a black BMW sedan – with NSW registration CMF78E – from the driveway of a home on Lakeside Drive, Swansea.

As the vehicle drove from the scene, a silver Mercedes sedan – with NSW registration DNM95U – drove to the same address and two unknown males left the vehicle and entered the same home.

The males left the scene a short time later with a number of items, before returning a second time and disturbing the occupant.

The occupant – a 43-year-old woman – confronted the males before being threatened with a knife.

The males left the scene in the Mercedes, which is believed to have been stolen from an address in Greenwich between 11pm on Tuesday 19 July and 7.30am on Wednesday 20 July 2022.

The woman was not injured during the incident.

About 2.25am, officers from Lake Macquarie Police District were notified when the drivers of the BMW and Mercedes failed to pay for petrol at a service station on the Pacific Highway, Swansea.

About 3.45am, the woman’s debit card was used at a fast-food restaurant on the Pacific Highway, Thornleigh.

Investigations into the incidents continue and police are appealing for anyone who may have sighted the BMW or Mercedes to contact police.

City of Newcastle (CN) is inviting tenders for the management of the city’s five inland swimming centres.

Acting Director City Wide Services Lynn Duffy said CN remained committed to ensuring the city’s swimming centres are affordable and accessible to all members of the community.

“With strong attendance figures and consistently satisfied responses from customer surveys, our community have told us how much they appreciate and enjoy our inland pools,” Ms Duffy said.

“This tender provides an opportunity to deliver an improved range of benefits for the community including greater access to inclusive aquatic programs and services reflective of Newcastle’s diverse population.​

“We also remain committed to maintaining access to affordable high-quality public pools, particularly for families in the western suburbs.”

The tender process has been collaborative in nature. The United Services Union (USU) representative Luke Hutchinson said CN had been working collaboratively with the USU throughout the process.

“City of Newcastle has proactively engaged with the United Services Union regarding the new tender for the operation of their inland pools. We are satisfied with the approach being taken to date to ensure the best outcomes for staff and the community,” Mr Hutchinson said.

The tender will be open from 30 July to 6 September, with a report on the preferred tenderer to be prepared for the consideration of the elected Council before the end of the year.

Elton John will rock McDonald Jones Stadium during an upcoming international tour as the first major event announced under a historic partnership between City of Newcastle and Venues NSW.

The Farewell Yellow Brick Road: The Final Tour concert will be the Rocket Man’s first performance in Newcastle and is expected to be a sellout, filling the stadium’s 30,000 seats with locals and visitors on January 10, 2023.

City of Newcastle and Venues NSW secured the show through a new Major Events Partnership, which builds on the history of the two organisations working together to land world-class events such as the Matildas match against the USA, and international rugby double-headers featuring the Wallabies, Argentina, South Africa and New Zealand.

Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the Elton John concert was a coup for the city and just one example of the diverse major events the new partnership is looking to achieve.

“Newcastle is once again showing Australia and the world that we’re a global events city, attracting one of the biggest names in music, Elton John, to play a stadium concert in front of thousands of cheering Novocastrians and tourists,” Cr Nelmes said.

“There was a time not so long ago that you would never imagine a name like Elton John playing in Newcastle, however we’re on a cusp of a new era thanks to a strategic focus led by City of Newcastle attracting events, the backing of the local business and tourism industry, and Venues NSW expanding its vision beyond sports for McDonald Jones Stadium.

“City of Newcastle and Venues NSW have been working together to bring various major sporting events to Newcastle for years and now we’ve made this partnership official with the vision to attract events that are new, unexpected and will bring more visitors to the city.”

Venues NSW and McDonald Jones Stadium CEO Kerrie Mather added: “We can’t wait to welcome Elton John to Newcastle as part of his Australian tour in what will be an unforgettable night for the region.

“We’re about to embark on the busiest concert season in New South Wales arguably ever, with Elton John to perform live in Newcastle and Sydney, while Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran, Guns N’ Roses, Harry Styles and Red Hot Chili Peppers are just some of the global superstars announced so far.

“This is an incredibly exciting result for Newcastle, and just a taste of the major events to come for the region.”

Major events are a key part of City of Newcastle’s Destination Management Plan as a primary driver of the local tourism economy, which was worth $1.27 billion pre-COVID.

The Major Event Partnership between City of Newcastle and Venues NSW will see the two organisations work together in attracting major and international events to McDonald Jones Stadium and the Newcastle Entertainment Centre.

For tickets and detailed information for Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road: The Final Tour at McDonald Jones Stadium on January 10, 2023 head to oznz.eltonjohn.com

Household bin collections are set to change for some properties across Newcastle to enhance service and processing efficiency at the kerbside.

The revised schedules will take effect from Monday 1 August, with about 20% of households experiencing a switch in the week their recycling and garden organics bins are collected. Two thousand Rankin Park and Wallsend residences will also be assigned a new service day.

City Wide Services Director Alissa Jones said the updated schedules will allow City of Newcastle to provide an optimised collection system that caters for the ongoing population growth being experienced across the city and particularly in the western suburbs.

“City of Newcastle is committed to meeting the needs of our city’s growing population, which has increased by around 14 per cent during the past decade and is forecast to pass 200,000 residents by 2041,” Ms Jones said.

“Amending our waste collection routes now will provide better outcomes for our existing customers while also future-proofing the efficiency and reliability of our kerbside service as waste needs continue to grow across the city and especially in our western suburbs, with an additional 4,000 homes anticipated in Fletcher, Minmi, Elermore Vale and Rankin Park alone by 2041.

“Changing service weeks, and in some cases service days, will allow for a more even spread of kerbside bins that require emptying throughout the week. This will help our collection crews provide a more reliable and punctual service to all residents across Newcastle.”

The revised collection routes have been modelled on the current and future waste needs across the city as well as customer feedback regarding service and processing efficiency to provide a more resilient and robust service for all residents.

The changes will apply to properties in parts of Adamstown, Beresfield, Blackhill, Elermore Vale, Hamilton East, Hamilton South, Jesmond, Maryland, Mayfield, Mayfield West, Merewether, New Lambton, New Lambton Heights, North Lambton, Rankin Park, Tarro and Wallsend.

Affected households will receive a letter this fortnight explaining the changes and their new collection schedules.

Residents can also look up their address on the City of Newcastle website at newcastle.nsw.gov.au/collection-days to find out if and how the changes apply to them.

Households retaining their existing collection schedule may notice a change in the time of day their bins are serviced, therefore it remains important that all residents have their bins on the kerb by 5am on collection day.

Newcastle yesterday.

About 6.40pm (Friday 15 July 2022), a BMW R1150 motorcycle was travelling south on Stewart Avenue, near the intersection of Parry Street, when he was hit by a small white sedan, possibly a Toyota Yaris.

The 25-year-old rider was thrown from his motorcycle onto the roadway as the sedan continued travelling south on Stewart Avenue.

The rider was treated at the scene and taken to John Hunter Hospital with shoulder and rib injuries. He remains in a stable condition.

Officer from Newcastle City Police Area Command attended and established a crime scene and have commenced inquiries into the circumstances surrounding the crash.

City of Newcastle has commenced the next stage of its award-winning Ironbark Creek rehabilitation project, targeting 350 metres of creek from Croudace Road, Elermore Vale, to Lewis Street Oval, Wallsend.

The $2.6 million stage of the project will significantly renaturalise the channel replacing weeds with thousands of native plants on the creek banks, and new rock work will better protect the creek as well as public and private assets.

The project will produce an environmentally friendly watercourse, which will improve flow and help make the creek and floodplain behave in more predictable ways during major floods.

Image: Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes inspects a previously rehabilitated section of Ironbark Creek with City of Newcastle staff (L-R) Sam Parker, Lindsay Nichols, Dean Jamieson, Ian Lacey, Stephen Long and Petra Freeman.

Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the complex project has been crucial in ensuring the health and long-term sustainability of the creek.

“City of Newcastle is committed to caring for and enhancing our natural environment and that is clear to see when you consider what we have achieved with Ironbark Creek. We started rehabilitation works 10 years ago and I’m proud to say that we are now continuing on with this next stage,” Cr Nelmes said.

“We expect this work will also improve the local tree canopy and habitat in the area, making the creek line friendlier for native plants, birds and other animals.”

The Ironbark Creek project began in 2011 and by using nature-based solutions, aims to rehabilitate the creek from Elermore Vale Park, downstream to Wallsend Park where the creek flows into a Hunter Water Channel.

“Ironbark Creek is the city’s largest tidal creek draining to the Hunter River. Its catchment covers nearly 13,000 hectares and is crucial to the health of our local catchment,” Cr Nelmes added.

“We have invested over $4.1 million into rehabilitating Ironbark Creek over the past decade, which provides flow on benefits beyond the creek, including into Hexham Swamp. Hexham Swamp is a fresh water and estuarine wetland, of ecological importance, which was once the largest predominantly freshwater wetland on the near north coast of New South Wales. The benefits will also reach as far as the Hunter River mouth at Sandgate.”

Work on this stage of the project is scheduled to be completed in November, weather dependent, with the next two stages currently in the design phase.

To find out more about the project, visit www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/ironbark-creek

A man will face court today after being charged with break and enter, drug and traffic offences in the state’s Hunter Region.

About 11am yesterday (Monday 11 July 2022), officers from Port Stephens-Hunter Police District stopped a Ford Territory travelling along the New England Highway, Rutherford.

Police spoke to the driver – a 42-year-old man – and, following inquiries relating to a break and enter offence, he was arrested.

Officers searched the man and allegedly located methylamphetamine.

The man – who is disqualified from driving – was taken to Maitland Police Station and charged with:

• aggravated break and enter dwelling etc in company steal <$60000,
• drive motor vehicle during disqualification period,
• use class A vehicle displaying altered number-plate,
• drive motor vehicle during disqualification period – 2^nd offence, and
• possess prohibited drug.

It will be alleged in court that the man and two other males broke into a four-wheel drive equipment store on Mustang Drive, Rutherford, about 4.10am last Saturday (9 July 2022) where several items were stolen.

It will be further alleged that the men drove to the store in a Ford Territory with stolen number plates registered to another vehicle.

The Rutherford man has been bail refused to appear at Maitland Local Court today (Tuesday 12 July 2022).

Investigations into the incident are continuing.

Large and powerful surf conditions combined with high tides have impacted sections of Newcastle’s coastline over the weekend. This has been compounded by recent severe weather events.

Newcastle’s southern beaches have been significantly affected, with Bar Beach again stripped of sand, while beach accessways at Merewether Beach, Bar Beach, Dixon Park Beach and Stockton Beach remain closed.

All of Newcastle’s beaches are currently closed due to ongoing dangerous surf conditions. City of Newcastle is undertaking daily inspections of all Newcastle beaches to ensure public safety.

Repair work in response to repeated recent East Coast low events are due to commence this month (weather dependent) at Cooks Hill Surf Life Saving Club and accessways at Merewether Beach, Bar Beach, Dixon Park Beach and Stockton Beach. Once the repair work is complete, all safe accessways will reopen to the public.

A man will face court charged over an alleged carjacking and pursuit in the Hunter.

Officers attached to Port Stephens-Hunter Police District attempted to stop a black Mazda on Cumberland Street, Cessnock, about 3.40pm on Thursday 7 July 2022. When the driver allegedly failed to comply a pursuit was initiated. It was terminated a short time later due to safety concerns.

Police will allege the vehicle stopped in Weston, where the driver left the vehicle and approached a Mitsubishi Magna parked nearby. 

The man allegedly forced the driver, a 67-year-old woman, from the vehicle and drove it away.

The woman and her female passenger were not injured.

With the assistance of PolAir, officers located the vehicle on Anderson Drive, Beresfield, and – a short time later – a 33-year-old man was arrested after allegedly attempting to access another two vehicles in a garage on Emerson Street.

He was taken to Raymond Terrace Police Station where he was charged with police pursuit – not stop – drive dangerously, assault with intent to take/drive motor vehicle, negligent driving (two counts), drive motor vehicle during disqualification period, and enter dwelling with intent to steal.

The Raymond Terrace man was refused bail to appear before Newcastle Local Court on Friday 10 July 2022. He was formally refused bail and will appear before Maitland Local Court on Wednesday 13 July 2022.