All the news happening in the Newcastle and Hunter Region
Good news!
A man missing from the Hunter Region has been found safe and well today.
The 41-year-old was last seen in bushland at Moonan Brook about 2pm yesterday (Saturday 19 February 2022).
Following a large-scale search, the man was found about 11.30am today (Sunday 20 February 2022) along Barrington Tops Forest Road, Barrington Tops.
Police would like to thank the public and media for their assistance.
A land search for a man missing in bushland in the Hunter Region is currently underway.
Michael Chalmers, aged 41, was last seen at Pol Blue Creek, Tubrabucca Road, Moonan Brook – approximately 65km east of Scone – about 2pm yesterday (Saturday 19 February 2022).
At the time, Michael had been fishing when he became separated from his companion.
When Michael could not be located, officers attached to Hunter Valley Police District were notified and commenced a search to locate him.
Police hold concerns for his welfare and will be searching the area where he was last seen with assistance from the Dog Unit, PolAir, Police Rescue, and State Emergency Services.
Michael is described as being of Caucasian appearance, 185cm tall, of large build, with brown hair and blue eyes.
He was last seen wearing black joggers, blue pants, dark coloured t-shirt and black hat with the letters BTS in red on the front of the hat.
Anyone with information about Michael’s whereabouts, or has dashcam vision from the area, is urged to contact police.
The long-awaited revitalisation of the Newcastle Ocean Baths will kick off on March 14 with stage one works to improve the safety, water quality and accessibility of the much-loved community facility.
The $14.5m first phase will focus on the pools, lower promenade and pumping system, addressing key issues identified through detailed community engagement and engineering advice.
The Ocean Baths will be closed for the duration of the work, which is expected to be completed by mid-2023.
Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said City of Newcastle (CN) had worked with the construction contractor on a program to limit the overall disruption to users and impact just one summer season.
“City of Newcastle has worked closely with the Newcastle Ocean Baths Community Reference Group and other stakeholders during the planning and design stages of this project, with improved public health and safety, accessibility, and community preferences among the key considerations,” Cr Nelmes said.
“Staff have worked closely with the contractor on a plan to limit disruption to users, including keeping the Baths open through this current summer season and aiming to open prior to summer 2023.
“With the Newcastle Ocean Baths turning 100 this November, we are committed to ensuring this upgrade meets the needs of current and future users and look forward to this project delivering significantly improved facilities, which can be enjoyed for the community for years to come.”
As part of the upgrade, the iconic bleacher seating will be retained, the boardwalk will be renewed, and a new pump system will be installed that can replace the water of the baths within six hours, significantly improving water quality.
The sand floor amenity will be retained while capping the undulating rock bottom of the pool with concrete to ensure the pool can continue to be used for walk based activities, as well as to improve safety and water quality. Sand will continue to build up on the floor by the same processes as today with sand washing into the pool via ocean waves. CN will also consider manually replacing fresh sand in the pool following its annual clean depending on forecast swell and weather conditions.
The stage one work will deliver significant improvements for people with a disability or low mobility, including ramp access and improved handrail support into the pool.
The $9.5 million recovered from the sale of CN’s Fred Ash building is helping fund the Newcastle Ocean Baths Stage One upgrade along with $3 million in funding from the NSW Government’s Public Spaces Legacy Program.
The next stage of the Newcastle Ocean Baths upgrade will focus on the pavilion and surrounding public areas. This phase is subject to community consultation which is expected to start this year.
City of Newcastle has thrown its support behind the LGBTIQ+ community by flying the Progress Pride Flag at City Hall for the first time, to coincide with the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the importance of celebrating our diverse community could not be underestimated at a time when fostering inclusivity is one of City of Newcastle’s main priorities.
“City of Newcastle is committed to ensuring our city celebrates diversity and advocates for inclusivity in support of our LGBTIQ+ community,” Cr Nelmes said.
“As the city with the highest ‘Yes’ vote in regional Australia in support of marriage equality, we want to ensure that our community feels safe and supported, which is why we’ll be flying the Progress Pride Flag on days and for events that hold significance amongst Newcastle’s LGBTIQ+ community.
“Flying the flag demonstrates to our local lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer community members that our city stands with them, not only during Mardi Gras, but at all times.
“I’m incredibly proud to witness the flying of the Progress Pride Flag, which has become a widely recognised symbol to represent all LGBTIQ+ community members, for the first time at Newcastle’s City Hall.”
The Progress Pride Flag will be flown together with the Australian, United Nations, New South Wales, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags at City Hall for the duration of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras from today until Sunday 6 March.
It will also be flown to coincide with future days and events including International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia & Transphobia, Pride Month, Wear it Purple Day, Newcastle Pride Festival and Trans Day of Remembrance.
City of Newcastle has demonstrated support of the LGBTIQ+ community through a number of initiatives in recent years, including the establishment of a rainbow walk in Islington Park, support of the ‘yes’ campaign and marriage equality, sponsorship of Newcastle Pride Festival and previously flying the Rainbow Flag at City Hall.
The flying of the Progress Pride Flag was an initiative brought about via a Lord Mayoral Minute and supported unanimously by the elected Council in September 2021.
The Progress Pride Flag was designed by non-binary artist and graphic designer Daniel Quasar in 2018 and incorporates the existing six-coloured Rainbow Flag, widely recognised as the symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities, which was designed by Gilbert Baker for the 1978 San Francisco Freedom Day Parade. The Progress Pride Flag also includes a multicoloured chevron (a V-shaped element) to represent trans, nonbinary and gender diverse people. The chevron comprises black and brown for Indigenous people and people of colour, as well as white, pink and blue, the colours of the Trans Pride Flag designed by American trans woman Monica Helms in 1999.
Police are appealing for public assistance to help locate a woman missing from the state’s Hunter region.
Zharnee Mitchelmore, aged 18 was last seen about 6pm on Sunday 13 February 2022 at Fagans Parade, Rutherford.
When she did not return home, carers contacted police and officers attached to Port Stephens – Hunter Police District commenced inquiries into her whereabouts.
Police hold serious concerns for her welfare as she lives with an intellectual disability.
Zharnee is described as being of Aboriginal / Torres Strait Islander appearance, 160cm tall, of solid build, with brown hair and brown eyes.
She is known to frequent the Rutherford and Morpeth areas.
Anyone with information regarding Zharnee’s whereabouts is urged to contact Raymond Terrace Police Station or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Workers were blindsided by this morning’s announcement that Origin is seeking to close its Eraring power station at Lake Macquarie up to seven years earlier than previously planned, the Mining and Energy Union (MEU) said today.
MEU Northern Mining and NSW Energy Acting District President Robin Williams said the union was seeking urgent meetings with Origin to understand the company’s plans and put measures in place to support the workforce of around 500 people, including permanent employees and contractors.
“Hundreds of local workers have been blindsided by Origin’s announcement this morning that the power station could close in 2025, not 2032.
“For the many Lake Macquarie and Hunter Valley families that rely on the Eraring power station for their livelihoods, today’s announcement creates uncertainty for the future.
“Origin has told workers that having made today’s announcement they will now engage in consultation. We urge them to engage in genuine two-way consultation with workers about the future and not just present them with decisions.
“The interests of workers, families and communities should be front and centre as the energy generation industry undergoes major transformation.
“In addition to measures to support workers at the company level, we need an industry plan to prevent forced redundancies, create job transfer opportunities for skilled energy workers and investment in the regions that have powered Australia for decades.”
Origin Energy has today announced it is bringing forward the closure of Australia’s largest coal fired plant – Eraring Power Station in the Hunter Valley, NSW – seven years earlier than planned, from 2032 to mid-2025.
The announcement comes as the price of renewable energy continues to drop, with it already supplying 30% of Australia’s electricity needs.
Eraring is the biggest of 16 remaining coal-fired power plants supplying the National Energy Market, with seven of those already scheduled to close by 2035 and the last planned to shut by 2051.
The following experts are available for comment (others may be available on request):
Sam Mella, Hunter Engagement and Project Lead, Beyond Zero Emissions, said:
“Origin’s announcement today highlights the urgency to ensure our energy jobs are protected. The Hunter has so much expertise in energy and a Renewable Energy Industrial Precinct is the right vehicle to keep the Hunter thriving through the massive changes. All levels of government should be focussed on this.”
Sam is lead author of the Hunter case study in the Million Jobs Plan. She has worked on renewable energy and energy exports since 2011. Sam is available until 4pm today Thursday 17 February.
Tim Buckley, energy market analyst and coal expert at Climate Energy Finance, said:
“Origin energy today announced the closure of its Eraring coal power station in the Hunter Valley by 2025, that’s Australia’s largest coal power plant in terms of capacity at a notional 2,880 MW. It will be replacing it with a 700MW battery.
“This follows news last week from AGL that they are bringing forward the closure of their two large coal power stations, Bayswater, which is also in the Hunter Valley, and Loy Yang A in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley.
“These announcements underscored the rapid technological, financial and policy changes coming globally with the transition to green energy, which are accelerating and inevitable.
“It is beyond time Australia actually had a government focussed on planning for the transition to green energy, rather than denying it.”
Dr Amanda Cahill, CEO of The Next Economy, a not for profit that works with business, local government and the community to manage the transition from fossil fuels to clean new industries, said:
“Early closure announcements like this are becoming increasingly common. We need to do more to support affected workers and communities years before any closures happen. We need to make sure workers have opportunities to retrain for new jobs or be redeployed to other plants.
“Communities need support to diversify their economic opportunities and attract new investment and industries that can be powered by renewable energy. All levels of government have a responsibility to manage these changes if regions are to prosper into the future.”
Dr Madeline Taylor, Climate Councillor, Senior Lecturer at Macquarie University, School of Law and energy expert:
“Coal is not a commercially viable industry any longer. Just like AGL last week , this is a commercial decision made by Origin Energy to close its Eraring coal power station seven years early.”
“Some of Australia’s biggest power companies are not able to compete from a price perspective and policy perspective, as the states and territories cash-in on a net zero future, bringing with it cheaper renewable power, economic investments and new clean jobs. The newly announced Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) is set to provide 100 Terawatt hours of power by the mid 2020s, which is almost double the generation of NSW’s entire coal fleet. The new Hunter REZ is just one of the state’s four proposed REZs.”
“Coal is not going to cut it anymore when we have cheap and reliable renewable energy and storage that’s already powering over a third of Australia’s largest electricity grid and providing almost 25 percent of NSW’s power.”
Detectives have commenced an investigation after a man presented at Muswellbrook Hospital last night with a gunshot wound to the leg.
Around 9.15pm (Wednesday 16 February 2022), officers attached to Hunter Valley Police District were contacted by staff at Muswellbrook Hospital advising that a 28-year-old man had presented with an injury consistent with a gunshot wound to his upper left thigh.
Officers later attended a home on Richmond Street, Muswellbrook, where they established a crime scene and seized a number of items for further examination.
The man was taken to John Hunter Hospital for further treatment; his injury is not considered life-threatening.
Police are investigating an armed robbery near Singleton overnight.
Officers from Hunter Valley Police District were called to a service station on Bridgman Road, Donolly, just before midnight (Wednesday 16 February 2022).
Police have been told two men – armed with knives – entered the store before they threatened a female attendant and demanded cash.
The employee handed over a sum of money before both men ran from the store and were last seen headed towards Bridgman Road on foot.
The woman was not injured during the incident.
One of the men is described as being of Caucasian appearance, aged in his late teens to early 20s, of thin build, wearing a black t-shirt, light brown pants and black joggers, with his face covered.
The second man is described as being of thin build and aged in his late teens to early 20s. He was seen wearing a white one-piece suit, with a white shirt covering his face, sunglasses and boots.
Officers attended and established a crime scene, which was examined by specialist police.
Driving a circular economy, harnessing nature-based solutions and taking action on climate change have been identified as priority areas for discussion as City of Newcastle (CN) develops its new Environment Strategy.
The strategy will help define CN’s key environmental objectives and initiatives during the next decade and is designed to align with the sustainability outcomes of the draft Community Strategic Plan, Newcastle 2040, which itself is on public exhibition until 28 February.
The draft Newcastle Environment Strategy will be informed by extensive community consultation before being finalised and presented to the Council for adoption.
More than 4500 pieces of feedback collected during the development of the Community Strategic Plan, quarterly surveys, Climate Action Plan engagement and a waste specific survey have already been reviewed to understand the community’s priorities for our environment.
Targeted stakeholder consultation will commence this week, with key priority areas helping to facilitate discussion during the workshops. This will include looking at the options for a circular economy that would design out waste, keep materials in use and turn waste into a resource; exploring how to build resilience to the effects of climate change; and looking at how natural solutions to social problems can allow us to protect, manage or restore our environment in a way that benefits both communities and ecosystems.
Community members will be given additional opportunities to comment on the draft strategy during its public exhibition, which is scheduled to occur later this year.
