Officers from Hunter Valley Police District have served a licensed premises on George Street, Singleton, with an order to close today (Saturday 16 October 2021), due to alleged repeated breaches of the public health orders.
The closure order follows a number of previous interactions with the licensee – a 57-year-old man – due to repeated and continued breaches of the Public Health Order by allegedly allowing – and not taking steps to prevent – unvaccinated people being at the premises.
Police have attended the venue numerous times in the past week and issued the licensee three PINs and staff members three PINs for breaching the public health orders.
The venue will remain closed until midnight on Tuesday (19 October 2021).
Category: Newcastle News
All the news happening in the Newcastle and Hunter Region
Funding programs offer $1.25 million boost for COVID-affected sectors
Two street art festivals will help draw visitors into the city centre, increase spending with local businesses and showcase the talents of local artists, thanks to support from City of Newcastle.
The large-scale murals of Big Picture Fest will return to Newcastle in 2022 as one of 16 projects awarded a share of almost $800,000 through the City Centre and Darby Street Special Business Rate funding program, while the inaugural Little Festival will bring miniature street art to hidden locations across the CBD as one of 59 projects sharing in more than $450,000 of Community Support and Infrastructure Grants.
Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the funding being distributed across a range of grant programs will support industries hardest hit by COVID-19 and ensure that as restrictions continue to lift the city is ready to respond.
“City of Newcastle is committed to supporting our city as it emerges from the social and financial impacts of this pandemic and will continue to direct much-needed funds into developing opportunities in the local economy,” Cr Nelmes said.
“Supporting initiatives such as Big Picture Fest and Little Festival will not only provide a welcome influx of commissions for artists, it will also drive visitors into the city centre, increase expenditure at local businesses and help create more vibrant, activated spaces throughout the course of the events and beyond.”
Councillor Carol Duncan said Newcastle’s arts sector had been hit hard by the impacts of COVID-19, with lockdown restrictions curtailing opportunities for creatives, visual and performing artists.
“Newcastle is known for its thriving arts scene, but the challenges presented by COVID-19, including the recent lockdown restrictions, have had a massive impact on our creative communities,” Cr Duncan said.
“I can’t wait to see our creative communities emerge from the lockdown to deliver some of the fantastic initiatives being supported by these funding programs.”
Little Festival organiser Jacinta Fintan said the event would feature 40 tiny street art installations that would transform everyday city spaces into a canvas for storytelling and interaction, encouraging visitors to experience Newcastle on a different scale.
“City of Newcastle’s financial support for Little Festival has been a crucial step in turning my little idea into a brave new festival. After 18 long months of the pandemic flatlining the arts industry, it is really heartening to see bold and enterprising art funding underpin Newcastle’s arts recovery process.”
The Community Support and Infrastructure Grants assist a wide variety of projects across diverse funding streams including business façade improvements, recreational facility upgrades, sustainability and environmental programs and social inclusion initiatives. Arts, culture and heritage projects are also funded under this program, with successful applicants including the National Young Writers Festival, the next instalment in the Stories of Our Town documentary series, the Newcastle Music Festival and a multidisciplinary program of exhibitions and live events at The Lock-Up.
Special Business Rates are collected from businesses in Newcastle City Centre / Darby Street, Hamilton, Mayfield, New Lambton and Wallsend for the promotion, beautification and development of those precincts.
Other successful projects under this round of City Centre and Darby Street funding include the mouth-watering return of Newcastle Food Month, the inspiring creations of Chalk the Walk Newcastle, and a new project by Makers and Traders Newcastle.
Festival Director Katerina Skoumbas said Big Picture Fest is looking forward to bringing even more of Newcastle’s personality out onto the streets.
“This art is for everybody. It’s so important to reflect our local culture and to include the artists in this phase of change, a time when Newcastle’s urban landscape is shifting. There are so many blank walls throughout the city that we pass on our daily commutes and when you turn that blank wall into a canvas, you bring colour, joy and life to the whole community.”
Missing man located – Newcastle
A man reported missing from the Newcastle area has been located safe and well overnight.
The 62-year-old man was last seen in the vicinity of Vickers Street, Mayfield, about 9.40am yesterday (Friday 15 October 2021).
He was reported missing to officers from Newcastle City Police District, who commenced inquiries to locate him.
Following extensive inquiries, the man was located safe and well about 11pm at a house in nearby Warabrook.
Police would like to thank the community and the media for their assistance.
A teenage boy reported missing from Singleton has been located
Great news! A teenage boy missing from the Hunter region has been found safe and well.
The 13-year-old was last seen leaving a school on York Street, Singleton, about 2.45pm yesterday (Friday 15 October 2021).
Officers from Hunter Valley Police District commenced inquiries to locate him and he was found earlier today (Saturday 16 October 2021).
Police would like to thank the community and media for their assistance.
Community satisfaction increases as major projects are delivered throughout the city
Independent research shows commun
ity satisfaction with City of Newcastle (CN) has increased progressively since 2012, correlating with increased investment in capital works of almost 200 per cent in the same period.
CN undertakes a quarterly Community Survey to understand key issues, obtain community input to inform decision making, and measure satisfaction with the services and facilities it provides.
The latest results show that in 2020 and 2021, satisfaction with CN’s overall performance rose to 55% and 61% respectively, up from 41% in 2019. Dissatisfied or very dissatisfied fell from 36% to just 13% during the same period. The mean satisfaction score in the 2021 survey is a favourable 3.7 out of 5.
Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said City of Newcastle’s leadership team and staff have remained focused on delivering projects in line with Newcastle 2030, City of Newcastle’s Community Strategic Plan (CSP), particularly amidst the challenging COVID-19 period.
“City of Newcastle has delivered The Bathers Way, Stockton Active Hub, Blackbutt Reserve upgrade and improved cycleways throughout the city, demonstrating our commitment to supporting our growing population with key infrastructure renewal and revitalisation projects,” Cr Nelmes said.
“We have continually met the objectives set out in our Community Strategic Plan, Newcastle 2030, which was developed based on extensive community consultation and has guided each and every project delivered under record capital works budgets in recent years.
“I’m also incredibly proud of the way City of Newcastle’s staff have adapted to COVID-19 restrictions in order to continue delivering for the community while coming up with meaningful ways to support vulnerable people and the local economy.
“During the early and uncertain days of the pandemic, we responded quickly to our community’s needs by implementing an award winning $5 million community and economic resilience package, along with additional investment in infrastructure to support 700 jobs.
“This year, we’re committed to continuing that support and recently announced a $10 million increase to our 2021/22 works program to help create more than 100 new jobs in the local government area and increase total economic output by more than $27 million.”
City of Newcastle regularly seeks opinions and ideas from the community across a range of topics from parks, playgrounds, beaches and ocean baths, to events, heritage, climate action and cycling.
In the past year, City of Newcastle has received feedback from over 20,000 people across 33 projects.
The 2021 Winter Quarterly Community Survey was carried out by Woolcott Research and Engagement, using a combination of random telephone surveying and online surveying. In total 409 people completed the survey from across the local government area, allowing CN to report the results at a 95% confidence level, with accurate representation in terms of respondent age, location and gender.
The survey report can be downloaded at newcastle.nsw.gov.au/quarterly-community-survey
Areas with strong improvement in satisfaction since 2016:
ity satisfaction with City of Newcastle (CN) has increased progressively since 2012, correlating with increased investment in capital works of almost 200 per cent in the same period.CN undertakes a quarterly Community Survey to understand key issues, obtain community input to inform decision making, and measure satisfaction with the services and facilities it provides.
The latest results show that in 2020 and 2021, satisfaction with CN’s overall performance rose to 55% and 61% respectively, up from 41% in 2019. Dissatisfied or very dissatisfied fell from 36% to just 13% during the same period. The mean satisfaction score in the 2021 survey is a favourable 3.7 out of 5.Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said City of Newcastle’s leadership team and staff have remained focused on delivering projects in line with Newcastle 2030, City of Newcastle’s Community Strategic Plan (CSP), particularly amidst the challenging COVID-19 period.
“City of Newcastle has delivered The Bathers Way, Stockton Active Hub, Blackbutt Reserve upgrade and improved cycleways throughout the city, demonstrating our commitment to supporting our growing population with key infrastructure renewal and revitalisation projects,” Cr Nelmes said.
“We have continually met the objectives set out in our Community Strategic Plan, Newcastle 2030, which was developed based on extensive community consultation and has guided each and every project delivered under record capital works budgets in recent years.
“I’m also incredibly proud of the way City of Newcastle’s staff have adapted to COVID-19 restrictions in order to continue delivering for the community while coming up with meaningful ways to support vulnerable people and the local economy.
“During the early and uncertain days of the pandemic, we responded quickly to our community’s needs by implementing an award winning $5 million community and economic resilience package, along with additional investment in infrastructure to support 700 jobs.
“This year, we’re committed to continuing that support and recently announced a $10 million increase to our 2021/22 works program to help create more than 100 new jobs in the local government area and increase total economic output by more than $27 million.”
City of Newcastle regularly seeks opinions and ideas from the community across a range of topics from parks, playgrounds, beaches and ocean baths, to events, heritage, climate action and cycling.
In the past year, City of Newcastle has received feedback from over 20,000 people across 33 projects.
The 2021 Winter Quarterly Community Survey was carried out by Woolcott Research and Engagement, using a combination of random telephone surveying and online surveying. In total 409 people completed the survey from across the local government area, allowing CN to report the results at a 95% confidence level, with accurate representation in terms of respondent age, location and gender.
The survey report can be downloaded at newcastle.nsw.gov.au/quarterly-community-survey
Areas with strong improvement in satisfaction since 2016:
Officer charged – Northern Region
An officer has been charged with assault following an investigation into an alleged incident last year.
About 11am yesterday (Wednesday 13 October 2021), a 54-year-old male senior constable – who is attached to a police district in the Northern Region – was issued with a Court Attendance Notice for common assault.
It will be alleged in court that the officer assaulted another man in the Hunter Valley area while on duty on Sunday 13 September 2020.
He is due to appear before Kurri Kurri Local Court on Tuesday 23 November 2021.
The officer is currently suspended from duty with pay.
Statement on pools and staged resumption of services
City of Newcastle will continue to focus on the health and safety of our community as we take a staged approach to the safe reopening of services and facilities this week in line with NSW Government Public Health Orders (PHOs).
The NSW Government’s PHO came into effect on Monday 11 October after NSW reached the 70 per cent double dose vaccination target.
The PHO requires visitors attending public swimming pools to have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. Proof of vaccination is required as a condition of entry to all City of Newcastle pools, and all adults (aged 16 years and over) will need to show their COVID-19 certificate to pool staff to gain entry.
Several other City of Newcastle services have resumed. Blackbutt Reserve has reopened its wildlife boardwalk and shelters, while Newcastle Libraries has commenced a Reserve & Collect service where members can place reservations online and pick up from their preferred library branch.
Library return chutes reopened last week, and the Library 2U service is operating where members can borrow up to five items via home delivery or collection.
The City of Newcastle is taking a measured, safety-first approach to reopening our facilities, with most services to resume closer to or after NSW reaches the 80 per cent double dose vaccination target, noting that vaccination rates in the Hunter are behind the state average.
Newcastle Museum will open its doors on Tuesday 19 October and will welcome visitors back to the Castanet Club exhibition which has been extended until 13 November.
Planning is also underway to resume services at the Newcastle Visitor Information Centre on Monday 18 October, and Newcastle Art Gallery on Tuesday 19 October.
Newcastle Library branches will start to reopen from Monday 25 October, and Civic Theatre will reopen in time for their first scheduled show on Wednesday 10 November.
COVID safe plans will be in place for all sites in accordance with the NSW Government’s latest PHO to ensure we can adhere to the required safety measures, which include one person per four square metres, mandatory mask wearing, and proof of full vaccination upon entry. Visitors will also be required to check in to all venues using a QR code.
We will continue to monitor information as it is released by the NSW Government and appreciate the community’s patience and understanding as our staged reopening begins.
The NSW Government’s PHO came into effect on Monday 11 October after NSW reached the 70 per cent double dose vaccination target.
The PHO requires visitors attending public swimming pools to have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. Proof of vaccination is required as a condition of entry to all City of Newcastle pools, and all adults (aged 16 years and over) will need to show their COVID-19 certificate to pool staff to gain entry.
Several other City of Newcastle services have resumed. Blackbutt Reserve has reopened its wildlife boardwalk and shelters, while Newcastle Libraries has commenced a Reserve & Collect service where members can place reservations online and pick up from their preferred library branch.
Library return chutes reopened last week, and the Library 2U service is operating where members can borrow up to five items via home delivery or collection.
The City of Newcastle is taking a measured, safety-first approach to reopening our facilities, with most services to resume closer to or after NSW reaches the 80 per cent double dose vaccination target, noting that vaccination rates in the Hunter are behind the state average.
Newcastle Museum will open its doors on Tuesday 19 October and will welcome visitors back to the Castanet Club exhibition which has been extended until 13 November.
Planning is also underway to resume services at the Newcastle Visitor Information Centre on Monday 18 October, and Newcastle Art Gallery on Tuesday 19 October.
Newcastle Library branches will start to reopen from Monday 25 October, and Civic Theatre will reopen in time for their first scheduled show on Wednesday 10 November.
COVID safe plans will be in place for all sites in accordance with the NSW Government’s latest PHO to ensure we can adhere to the required safety measures, which include one person per four square metres, mandatory mask wearing, and proof of full vaccination upon entry. Visitors will also be required to check in to all venues using a QR code.
We will continue to monitor information as it is released by the NSW Government and appreciate the community’s patience and understanding as our staged reopening begins.
Online vote crowns People's Choice for Kilgour Prize
A first-time entrant has taken out the People’s Choice award in this year’s Kilgour Prize after attracting 19 per cent of the total votes, which were cast online due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Tinonee artist Nathan Paddison picked up the $5000 prize for his colourful self-portrait Flour Sail, which reflects on one of the tougher periods in his life.
The People’s Choice award is usually decided by votes cast by members of the public when they visit the annual Kilgour Prize exhibition at Newcastle Art Gallery.
However, with the gallery closed due to the COVID lockdown, the exhibition was forced to go completely digital for the first time in its 16-year history, with an online voting system used to determine the most popular entry from among the 30 finalists.
Despite the challenges, it was a milestone year for the Kilgour Prize, which attracted 476 entries from across every state and territory in Australia, an increase of more than 100 entries from 2020 and the highest number overall since it was established in 2006.
Almost 2900 works overall have been entered into what has become one of Australia’s major art competitions, which presents some of the finest examples of contemporary Australian portrait and figurative painting.
The Kilgour Prize is administered by Newcastle Art Gallery and funded by a bequest from artist Jack Noel Kilgour, providing $50,000 to the winner each year and an additional $5,000 for the painting voted most popular by the general public.
According to Nathan’s artist statement, Flour Sail is a “self portrait of harder times, the flowers representing anything I could find to make a quick buck even a droopy flower“.
“Everyone has hard times in life and is always searching for who they are and where they belong in the world. Spelling the words wrong is a way to make the viewer take a second look and to understand better rather than just to read words. Figuring out meanings brings a new understanding that would otherwise be left to be forgotten.”
The People’s Choice award is the first prize won by the Mid North Coast artist, who only started painting four years ago.
Nathan said it was unbelievable to win this award in such a prestigious prize and against such talented finalists, noting it was the “greatest validation” for the “endless hours days, weeks and years” he put into his art.
ABOUT THE KILGOUR PRIZE
Jack Noel Kilgour (1900–1987) was an Australian artist well-known for his academic approach to landscape and portrait painting. In 1987 Kilgour bequeathed funds for the creation of a major figurative and portrait art competition to be run in perpetuity. As one of Australia’s major art prizes, Newcastle Art Gallery is proud to be the home of the KILGOUR PRIZE.
More information: https://www.nag.org.au/Kilgour-Prize
Health and wellbeing at the heart of City of Newcastle’s local business support
City of Newcastle has marked World Mental Health Day by launching an eight-week campaign to encourage the community to improve their physical and mental health whilst earning discounts that can be redeemed at local businesses.
‘Healthy Hearts & Minds’ involves a series of active challenges, mindfulness programs and online workshops run through the Lean in Newy app which translates good deeds into credits and discounts to use at 130 local businesses.
Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the Healthy Hearts & Minds program was a fun and innovative way to improve community wellbeing while providing direct economic support for small businesses given the impacts of COVID-19.
“We understand that this is a challenging time with many in our community facing isolation, economic downturn and uncertainty which is affecting people’s physical and mental health,” Cr Nelmes said.
“Healthy Hearts & Minds is run through the Lean in Newy app and features a range of challenges which can be done at home or require you to get out and use a range of facilities across the local government area like exercise equipment and walking trails.
“Challenges include swimming 500 metres at your local pool, running on Bathers Way, doing push ups at one of City of Newcastle’s outdoor fitness stations, and participating in a free online mental health workshop.
“As the weather warms up and we gradually emerge from lockdown, we hope the campaign will help people reset with their health, re-engage with their local environment and provide a timely boost for local businesses.”
Headspace Newcastle’s Community Development Officer, Byron Williams said the Healthy Hearts and Minds campaign aligns with Headspace Newcastle’s theme this year of ‘small steps start big things’.
“This is a great initiative that will encourage our community to prioritise their physical and mental health, whilst knowing they are doing something good by supporting small local businesses,” Mr Williams said.
Small business owner, Grace McMahon of Gem Ceramics said she has experienced an increase in sales as a result of participating in Lean in Newy.
“With the support of Lean in Newy and its members, I have been able to grow my small ceramics business and even launch my website in the midst of lockdown by reaching more people,” Ms McMahon said.
Lean in Newy is part of City of Newcastle’s COVID-19 Community Economic Resilience Package.
Download the Lean in Newy app free from the App Store.
Two critical after single-vehicle rollover near Cessnock
An elderly man and woman have been taken to hospital in a critical condition following a single-vehicle crash in the state’s Hunter Region.
About 10.30pm yesterday (Monday 11 October 2021), emergency services were called to Wine Country Drive, North Rothbury – about 19km north of Cessnock – following reports a Toyota Corolla had left the road and rolled.
The male driver and female passenger – both aged 94 – were trapped in the vehicle, before being freed a short time later.
The pair were taken to John Hunter Hospital with critical injuries.
Officers from Hunter Valley Police District, with assistance from the Crash Investigation Unit, established a crime scene and commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash.
As inquires continue, anyone with information, or dashcam footage from the area, is urged to come forward.