Category: Newcastle News

City of Newcastle has embraced the return to face-to-face citizenship ceremonies following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, welcoming more than 130 new citizens from 34 countries on Wednesday afternoon.

The first opportunity to gather in person in 12 months, conferees, their families and friends joined with dignitaries to make the pledge of commitment to Australia at the iconic Civic Theatre.

Hailing from all corners of the globe, from Germany and Brazil to South Africa and Afghanistan, the city’s newest citizens further add to Newcastle’s rich multicultural tapestry, where 14 per cent of residents were born overseas and more than 14,000 speak a secondary language at home.

Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the COVID-19 pandemic had presented unique challenges to the way in which citizenship ceremonies were conducted, with City of Newcastle continually adapting to changing restrictions to ensure conferees had the option to participate in online ceremonies.

“Since the start of the pandemic, City of Newcastle has welcomed 786 new citizens, and today’s cohort takes that tally to just shy of 1,000, keeping the waitlist down and upholding democratic processes, allowing our new citizens to enrol to vote, apply for an Australian passport and employment opportunities,” Cr Nelmes said.

“A number of ceremonies were held online via Zoom during lockdowns, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for myself as Lord Mayor and for the many faces smiling back at me.

“It is heartening, two years later, to see face-to-face ceremonies in full swing once more, representing a very special occasion in our new citizens’ lives, the photos and memories of which they will cherish forever.”

Wednesday’s ceremony featured a traditional didgeridoo performance by the Deadly Callaghan Yidaki Group, as well as musical items by The Grainery Church.

Proud Newcastle Aboriginal Elder Aunty Cheryl Smith continued the tradition of her father, the late Uncle Bill Smith, in delivering a powerful Welcome to Country that acknowledged the lifestyles, cultures and spiritual beliefs of the traditional custodians of the land.

City of Newcastle’s next citizenship ceremony will be held on Wednesday 7 September 2022 at the Civic Theatre.

Community and sporting groups, businesses and tourism and event operators can now apply for close to $1 million of community grants and sponsorship funding from City of Newcastle.

Applications are open for projects and initiatives under four categories to support social, cultural, environmental and economic initiatives.

Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the funding is aimed at initiatives that activate public places, enhance community wellbeing and strengthen the city’s reputation as a tourism, business and events destination.

“City of Newcastle’s grants and sponsorships provide vital funding to benefit community initiatives through enhancing wellbeing and contributing to our city being a great place to live, work, play, visit and invest,” Cr Nelmes said.

“We provide funding to a variety of activities, projects and events annually, including recreation facilities, businesses façade improvements, community initiatives, arts, culture and heritage, as well as environmental and social inclusion projects.

“Last year City of Newcastle funded a wide range of community-building initiatives such as improvements to local sporting facilities at New Lambton’s Alder Park, Cook Park in Shortland, Corroba Oval in Stockton Stevenson Park in Mayfield and Hamilton Park Tennis Club, inclusive festivals and events including Surfing the Spectrum, technology proficiency events for seniors and an Afghan community festival.

“Also funded were creative arts projects such as the National Young Writers Festival and the Spirit of Newcastle project from Curious Legends, along with environmental and sustainability initiatives the Seaside Scavenge and Go Circular’s Circular Economy Leadership project, among many others.”

Glenn Dormand of Stories of Our Town received grant funding for a last year for a film which focuses on the missionary Reverend Threlkeld and Biraban, who worked to preserve local Aboriginal language 200 years ago.

“Biraban and The Reverend Threlkeld: Finding the Third Space has at the heart of it two men looking for connection. We have the Aboriginal space and the European space and now more than ever we need to find a space for all of us in between. If these two men could find it 200 years ago in this town we can do it again,” Mr Dorman said.

“We made this documentary using a stellar collection of both First Nation and European Academics and it only exists because of the generous support of City of Newcastle through their grant funding. This is the third film they’ve helped with and easily the most important. How wonderful to have our local government put such a value on this important piece of our history.”

Image: Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes reading Threlkeld books from the Newcastle Libraries rare books collection with University of Newcastle Archivist Gionni Di Gravio and 2021 City of Newcastle grant recipient Glenn Dormand, Stories of Our Town Director.

Community grant funding is available to help community groups, sport and recreation clubs and service organisations in areas including arts, culture and heritage, environment and social inclusion.

Grants that target minor infrastructure improvements for recreational facilities, sustainability and façade upgrades are also available under the infrastructure grants category.

Event sponsorships are open for events that promote active and vibrant spaces, attract local and out of region visitation and enhance Newcastle’s profile as an events city, while economic development sponsorships will be provided for activities that enable skills and innovation, and are considered city-shaping initiatives.

Applications for grants and sponsorship funding are open now until 30 May 2022. Online community workshops outlining the application process will be held on Wednesday 11 and Monday 16 May. Further details can be viewed on City of Newcastle’s website by clicking here.

A man has died following a fatal two-vehicle crash near the Barrington Tops National Park today.

About 12.50pm (Wednesday 4 May 2022), emergency services were called to The Bucketts Way, Stroud Road – 200m north of Reidsdale Road – following reports a Nissan X-Trail SUV and a truck had collided.

The driver of the SUV – a 63-year-old man – died at the scene. 

The driver of the truck – a 31-year-old man – was taken to Taree Base Hospital for mandatory testing.

Officers from Port Stephens-Hunters Police District established a crime scene and commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Food and garden waste recycling in the Hunter and surrounding areas has been future-proofed thanks to Australian and NSW government grants totalling two million dollars. 

Recognising the success and ongoing potential of REMONDIS’ Lake Macquarie Organics Resource Recovery Facility (ORRF) at Awaba, the Federal Government has awarded a one-million-dollar expansion grant through its Food Waste for Healthy Soils Fund.

The grant has been matched by the New South Wales Environmental Trust.

The funding will support expansion work that will lift processing capacity by 16,000 tonnes to 60,000 tonnes and assure operations for another twenty years.

Lake Macquarie ORRF facility manager Gunther Neumann said the funding was a turning point for the facility.

“Given REMONDIS’ experience with operating more than 80 such organic recycling facilities around the world, we always knew the potential of the Lake Macquarie facility,” Mr Neumann said.

“Community demand for organics recycling via Lake Macquarie City Council’s green bins has exceeded expectations, and this support enables us to match growing demand.

“Homes and businesses are more attuned to environmental responsibility these days, which is why so many people are filling their green bins with food scraps and garden waste or delivering such waste themselves.

“People and businesses are just as eager to buy the compost products we produce, which is used for many things including landscaping, farming and erosion control.”

REMONDIS said it was eager to commence expansions as soon as possible, subject to development approvals.

Central to the expansion will be the addition of further composting tunnels enabling more processing capacity, increased retention time and improved compost quality.

Lake Macquarie City Council engages REMONDIS to perform waste management and recycling services. The city’s Mayor, Kay Fraser, said the grants were a win for the community.

“Lake Macquarie City Council, in partnership with Remondis, has been a trailblazer in organics waste processing and we are pleased to see both the federal and state governments supporting our innovative and sustainable approach to waste management,” Cr Fraser said.

“The Organics Resource Recovery Facility at Awaba keeps waste out of the ground, which is not only better for the environment but reduces pressure on our limited capacity for landfill and is a more cost-effective outcome for our ratepayers.”

REMONDIS’ grant application was prepared in-house by Gunther Neumann and Technical Manager Jan Duebbelde, with support from Environment & Sustainability Manager Helen McCarthy.    

FUTHER INFORMATION

www.awe.gov.au/environment/protection/waste/food-waste/food-waste-for-healthy-soils-fund/projects

www.environment.nsw.gov.au/funding-and-support/nsw-environmental-trust/grants-available/organics-infrastructure/stream-1-processing-infrastructure

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REMONDIS is one of the world’s largest privately run recycling, service and water companies with around 900 business locations in over 30 countries and across four continents. Founded in 1934, this family-run business employs more than 38,000 people and generates a turnover of €8.3 billion (2020). Each year, it processes more than 30 million tonnes of recyclable materials and provides services for local authorities, small and medium-sized businesses and industrial firms as well as for around 30 million people. Operating in many different fields of business, REMONDIS makes an important contribution towards protecting the environment and conserving natural resources – from recovering valuable raw materials from industrial and household waste, to producing high quality recycled raw materials, all the way through to transforming non-recyclable materials into a range of different fuels. Moreover, the company is increasingly helping to advance the switch from fossil fuels to renewables by using biomass as a source of energy. REMONDIS sees itself as an adviser and point of contact for industrial, commercial and retail businesses as well as for local authorities as it helps them to find regional and bespoke solutions. REMONDIS Australia commenced operations in 1982 and now services more than 20,000 customers nationally.

A man will appear in court next month over alleged assault and intimidation offences at a correctional centre in the state’s Hunter Region.

On Sunday 20 February 2022, detectives from Hunter Valley Police District commenced an investigation after receiving reports a female Corrective Services NSW officer had been allegedly assaulted and detained by an inmate at a Muswellbrook correctional facility.

Following inquiries, a 50-year-old man was arrested at a correctional facility in Goulburn about 9am yesterday (Tuesday 3 May 2022).

He was taken to Goulburn Police Station, where he was charged with five offences:

– Inflict actual bodily harm with intent to have sexual intercourse with victim,

– Kidnap with intent to commit serious indictable offence occasion actual bodily harm,

– Assault law enforcement officer (not police) inflict actual bodily harm,

– Stalk/harass/intimidate law officer (not police officer), and

– Commit s114 offence, having previous conviction.

The man was issued a Court Attendance Notice and remanded in custody, to appear at Muswellbrook Local Court on Tuesday 28 June 2022.

A man has been charged with high range PCA near Newcastle today.

About 1.50pm (Tuesday 3 May 2022), emergency services were called to Nelson Bay Road, Fern Bay, following reports a Subaru Tribeca had hit a brick fence.

The driver – a 47-year-old man – was assessed by NSW Ambulance paramedics; however, he was uninjured during the incident.

Officers from Traffic and Highway Patrol Command attended, and the man was subjected to a roadside breath analysis which returned a positive result.

The man was arrested and taken to Raymond Terrace Police Station where he underwent a secondary breath analysis which returned an alleged reading of 0.316.

The man was issued a Court Attendance Notice for drive with high range PCA and his NSW drivers licence was suspended.

He will appear at Raymond Terrace Local Court on Monday 20 June 2022.

A man has died following a fatal two-vehicle crash near Muswellbrook today.

About 12.40pm (Monday 2 May 2022), emergency services were called to the New England Highway, about 1km north of Muswellbrook, following reports a utility travelling south and a Pantech truck travelling north had collided.

The driver of the utility – a man believed to be aged in his 70s – died at the scene. He is yet to be formally identified.

The 36-year-old male driver of the truck was taken to Muswellbrook Hospital for mandatory testing.

Officers attached to Hunter Valley Police District attended and established a crime scene.

The New England Highway remains closed in both directions, diversions are in place with motorists advised to avoid the area. Heavy vehicles are urged to check the Live Traffic NSW website for the latest information: https://www.livetraffic.com.

A man has died after a car crashed into a home in the Hunter region yesterday.

About 3pm (Sunday 1 May 2022), a Toyota Landcruiser was travelling north on High Street, Largs, when it left the roadway and hit the front of a home at the intersection of Morpeth Street.

The home sustained structural damage and the occupant, an 74-year-old man, who had been asleep in a front bedroom, was taken to John Hunter Hospital in a critical condition, where he died earlier today (Monday 2 May 2022).

The driver, a 69-year-old man, was also taken to John Hunter Hospital, where he remains in a critical condition.

Officers from Port Stephens-Hunter Police District attended and established a crime scene.

The Toyota has been seized for forensic examination.

Initial inquiries suggest the driver suffered a medical episode prior to the collision.

As inquiries continue, police are appealing for any witnesses or anyone who may have dashcam footage to contact Maitland Police Station or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

A report will be prepared for the information of the coroner.

Two men have been hospitalised after a car crash into a home in the Hunter region today.

About 3pm (Sunday 1 May 2022), a Toyota Landcruiser was travelling north on High Street, in the Maitland suburb of Largs, when it left the roadway and hit the front of a home at the intersection of Morpeth Street.

The home sustained structural damage and the occupant, an 84-year-old man, who had been asleep in a front bedroom was injured.

Officers from Port-Stephens Hunter Police District attended along with NSW Ambulance paramedics.

The driver, a 69-year-old man was revived and both he and the 84-year-old man were taken to John Hunter Hospital where they remain in a critical condition. 

A crime scene was established, and the Toyota has been seized for forensic examination.

Initial inquiries suggest the driver have suffered a medical episode prior to the collision.

Analysis of coal mining electorates has found that over a quarter of a billion dollars a year is lost from local economic activity in the Hunter region due to aggressive wage cutting-strategies by mining companies.

A new McKell Institute report released today analyses the impact on local economic activity of mining companies’ widespread replacement of permanent mining jobs with lower-paid labour hire workers. 

It found that in the electorates of Hunter and Paterson, which have the highest proportion of coal employment in NSW, up $235.85 million per year is taken out of the local economy. 

The report contains a detailed analysis of how the labour hire employment model has systemically been used to reduce wages that would otherwise have circulated through local mining regions. Across the five electorates with the highest proportion of coal mining activity nationally, there is nearly a billion dollars a year in lost economic activity. 

“Outsourcing jobs to labour hire companies is a way for mining companies to get around Enterprise Agreements that have been negotiated by workers over decades,” said Mining and Energy Union Northern Mining and NSW Energy District President Robin Williams.  

“By using this wage-cutting strategy, some of our wealthiest corporations have been able to strip up to 40 per cent from the wages of Hunter Valley coal miners and remove conditions like redundancy entitlements. 

“In our local towns like Singleton, Cessnock and Muswellbrook, well-paid mining jobs have traditionally formed the backbone of local economic activity. 

“Secure jobs have been an important part of the social compact between mining companies and host communities. But this report shows how mining companies have washed their hands of this responsibility and communities are being ripped off.” 

One Hunter Valley labour hire coal miner said she joined the industry over five years ago hoping to learn new skills and progress her career.  

“Due to the industry employment practices in the Hunter Valley, this is no longer something that I consider a possibility going forward. I do not see the prospect of moving into a permanent role in the near future, and I now have to consider my options for the security of my family,” said the mineworker, who did not want to use her name for fear of losing her job.

“You can spend years at a site working the same job, on the same roster only to earn up to $60,000 less annually than a permanent mineworker. 

“It is degrading and demoralising to have no choice but to be put in this position just to get a start in the industry with a very minimal chance of gaining a permanent shirt for years to come.” 

Mr Williams said the Mining and Energy Union would continue to campaign for ‘Same Job Same Pay’ laws in the upcoming federal election, so labour hire could be used to address genuine temporary or specialist labour needs but not to undercut wages and conditions in existing Enterprise Agreements. 

Read the report.