Category: Newcastle News

Detectives investigating the alleged sexual assault of a young girl near Port Stephens over two years ago have released a COMFIT image of a man they believe can assist with their inquiries.
In December last year, detectives from the State Crime Command’s Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad commenced an investigation following reports a young girl had been sexually assaulted by an unknown man at Nelson Bay last year.
Investigators have been told the girl – then aged 11 – was at Dutchmans Beach Reserve when she was approached by an unknown man, before being taken to nearby bushes and sexually assaulted.
The incident is believed to have occurred between 11am to late afternoon on Sunday 27 January
2019.
As investigations continue, detectives have renewed their appeal for information and released a COMFIT image of a man who may be able to assist with ongoing inquiries.
The man depicted in the COMFIT image is described as being of Mediterranean/Middle Eastern appearance, aged in his 60s or 70s, with an olive complexion, grey hair and a moustache.
He is believed to have been wearing a black t-shirt at the time of the alleged assault.
Anyone who has information about the incident is urged to come forward immediately.
The Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad is comprised of detectives who are specially trained to investigate matters against children and adults, including sexual assault, serious physical abuse, and serious cases of neglect.
Anyone with concerns about suspected child abuse or exploitation should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page: https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au.
Information you provide will be treated in the strictest of confidence. People should not report crime information via our Facebook and Twitter pages.
 

Thousands of sports fans will descend on Newcastle this weekend as the city plays host to two major national events, offering a taste of what is to come during an action-packed April.
The harbour will become a hive of activity from Saturday when the Sailing Champions League Asia Pacific brings its qualifying regatta to Newcastle for the first time, with some of the country’s best sailors battling it out over two days of fast-paced action on the water.

Football fans in their thousands will converge on Newcastle when McDonald Jones Stadium hosts a historic A-league double-header on Sunday, with Wellington Phoenix clashing with Brisbane Roar before hometown heroes the Newcastle Jets take to the pitch against heavyweights Adelaide United.
Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the bumper weekend was just the beginning of what was to come over the next month, providing the city with world class events and generating a welcome economic boost for the city’s tourism and hospitality sectors.
“Newcastle has well and truly become your events city with an action-packed schedule, supported by the City of Newcastle, set to create a buzz across the region throughout the next month,” Cr Nelmes said.
“From all the action of the historic A-League double-header, to the excitement of welcoming the world’s best surfers back to Newcastle for the Rip Curl Newcastle Cup, there will be plenty to keep sports fans entertained, while a host of food festivals are sure to entice and provide a range of diverse culinary options.
“Events and festivals are providing a welcome economic boost for businesses still recovering from the impacts of COVID-19, while also creating an invaluable opportunity to showcase our city’s broader attractions to the visitors on the ground and those watching the televised events across Australia and around the world.”
The schedule kicks off this weekend with elite-level sailing and football, with both events delivered with the support of City of Newcastle’s event sponsorship programs. The Sailing Champions League will return in April for a finals series as part of SailFest on April 10 -11, adding another world class event to the schedule of the Newcastle Regatta.
Sporting stamina will be put to the test for a good cause when the Tour De Cure charity ride for cancer research powers out of Newcastle on 26 March for the 800km journey to Coffs Harbour.
The action-packed April begins with the world’s highest ranked surfers taking to the waves at Merewether Beach to kick off the Australian leg of the World Surf League’s Championship Tour, across an 11-day period from 1 April.
Newcastle Food Month will be cooking up a storm from 1 April, with local chefs, eateries and producers dishing up more than 30 feature lunches, tastings and masterclasses, three festivals and a world-renowned dining experience, Le Dîner en Blanc, during the month-long menu of culinary celebrations.
SailFest, Woman’s University Rugby 7s and Newcastle’s annual running festival, NewRun, will pick up the pace from the middle of April with more sporting spectacles to enjoy from the sidelines or as part of the action. Later that month the next generation of sports stars will put their skills to the test in the second half of the month at the Hunter Academy of Sport Your Local Club Academy Games.
To keep up to date with what’s on every month across the city, visit newcastle.nsw.gov.au/whatson
Upcoming City of Newcastle sponsored events

• Sailing Champions League Asia Pacific qualifying regatta, 20-21 March, Newcastle Harbour
• A-League double-header, Wellington Phoenix vs Brisbane Roar (4pm), Newcastle Jets vs Adelaide United (6.40pm), 21 March, McDonald Jones Stadium
• Tour De Cure charity ride, 26 March, setting off from Newcastle to Coffs Harbour
• Rip Curl Newcastle Cup, World Surf League Championship Tour event, 1-11 April, Merewether Beach
• Newcastle Food Month, 1-30 April, more than 30 events at various locations
• SailFest Newcastle Regatta and Sailing Champions League finals series, 10-11 April, Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club, Newcastle Harbour
• Newcastle Seafood Festival, 10-11 April, Throsby Creek Precincts and Surrounds
• AON Woman’s University Rugby 7s, 10-11 April, No.2 Sportsground Newcastle
• NewRun Newcastle Festival of Running, 11 April, Newcastle Foreshore

Hunter Academy of Sport – Regional Academy Games, 16-18 April, various locations

City of Newcastle’s timely and targeted response to COVID-19 has been praised as best practice crisis leadership delivering clear and measurable benefits to the community and local business.
An independent assessment by the Hunter Research Foundation (HRF) Centre at the University of Newcastle the City “acted quickly and decisively” in developing its Community and Economic Resilience Package (CERP), which was announced on 20 March last year, almost two weeks before NSW went into lockdown.
The $5.5 million package was unanimously endorsed by Councillors on 24 March, a week before the Federal Government announced its own rescue package for workers with the JobKeeper program.
Commissioned by the City of Newcastle, the HRF Centre report said the “well-rounded” nature of the package was one of its key strengths, giving careful consideration to those most likely to be affected by the pandemic including vulnerable populations, the unemployed and small business.
Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said she was proud of the way the City responded to what was the single largest social and economic crisis since World War Two.
Since adopting the initial support package, City of Newcastle has continued to invest significantly to assist the community’s recovery from COVID-19, with an additional $2.5 million added to a second phase of the CERP. The City pivoted a range of existing programs, grants and sponsorships to best serve the most vulnerable populations affected by COVID-19, while events such as New Annual provided a significant economic boost for the local arts sector and the community.
“Newcastle has a history of pulling together when faced with challenges, from the 1989 earthquake and closure of BHP to the devastation of the Pasha Bulker storms in 2007,” Cr Nelmes said.
“When the threat of COVID-19 began to take shape early last year, we very quickly considered how we could deliver social, economic and well-being outcomes that would support our community through the unknown impacts that were still to come
“It was important to give our community confidence that City of Newcastle was stepping up and leaning in at a time when there was so much social and economic disruption.
“The outstanding efforts of City of Newcastle staff meant that with early planning and quick mobilisation of resources, we were able to put together a meaningful package of actions that could be implemented swiftly to help those who needed it most.”
The CERP included 10 programs across a range of financial relief, business and community support:

• Rapid Response Grants provided urgent funds to assist local organisations servicing the most vulnerable community members with $172,466 for food, care packages and counselling.
• Boost Our City Community Grants provided 32 organisations with $512,172 to assist with increased demand for services including scaling food preparation and distribution, technology assistance for vulnerable communities and increased counselling.
• Rent Relief Program provided $732,000 in rent reductions for 60 local businesses and community organisations.
• Financial Hardship Program provided $1.25M in financial relief to 761 ratepayers.
• Lean in Newy enabled 2,349 members of the community to provide ‘acts of kindness’, with 60 businesses financially benefiting from rewards earned by participants.
• Online training programs provided 149 residents with access to tailored training packages during a time when businesses were unable to operate.

Cr Nelmes said the CERP was the catalyst for calling on 17 city leaders from business, industry, creative arts, social services and government to come together as the City Taskforce.
Meeting monthly to identify critical local issues, the Taskforce developed both immediate interventions as well as detailed analysis shared with State and Federal Government on the local impacts and opportunities for Government to provide meaningful and focused support.
The Taskforce demonstrated how City of Newcastle could provide community leadership by collaborating with institutions and service providers to help them do what they do best for the benefit of the community.
This included $500,000 in targeted support for the hardest-hit industries through the Industry Response Program, as well as the establishment of the Greater Newcastle Youth Employment Charter that provided a symbolic and tangible way for business to signal to our youth, the group most impacted by COVID-19, that we had their backs.
Dr Anthea Bill, HRF Centre Lead Economist and co-author of the report, said the City was an early mover, designing and presenting to Council executive almost two weeks before NSW went into lockdown.
“The approach was two-pronged: broad support for Newcastle residents generally, and targeted support, which anticipated larger impacts for particular parts of the community,” Dr Bill said.
“Targeted support included the City’s rapid roll-out of community grants to assist organisations helping those in urgent need. Feedback from the evaluation shows this enabled select not-for-profits to better meet the needs of their clients during the early-phase of the pandemic.”
Cr Nelmes said the legacy impacts from COVID are real and that the City was continuing to support the economic recovery and growth across the community, with the Economic Development Strategy, currently on public exhibition, outlining 68 actions to support local people and business.
A copy of the HRF Centre can be accessed online via the City of Newcastle website.

Formalising a long-standing relationship, City of Newcastle has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Fort Scratchley Historical Society (FSHS) Incorporated, in a shared commitment to uphold the significant military history and cultural importance of Newcastle’s iconic Fort.
The MoU was signed today by Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes and FSHS President Frank Carter in the presence of Newcastle Councillor Peta Winney-Baartz, who represents City of Newcastle on the FSHS Committee.

The MoU sets out to guide the joint partners on how they will work together to uphold Fort Scratchley as a treasured part of Newcastle’s military history as well as being an important city tourist attraction.
Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the City looked forward to continuing to build on the momentum established over the years with FSHS, in a new shared commitment to jointly uphold the cultural significance of the landmark site to the benefit of the community.
“Fort Scratchley is consistently recognised as one of Newcastle’s premier cultural tourist destinations,” Cr Nelmes said.
“It is important that both the community and visitors can experience one of Newcastle’s most iconic landmarks for generations to come and learn all about the role the Fort has played in our city’s military history.
“City of Newcastle will continue to play a significant role in providing FSHS with financial, promotional and management support in their work toward advocating for one of our City’s most iconic attractions.”
Newcastle Councillor Peta Winney-Baartz, who represents City of Newcastle on the FSHS Committee, said she was delighted to witness the signing of the MoU and to formalise the long-standing relationship.
“Both parties acknowledge the significant historical and cultural importance of Fort Scratchley, and the signing today formally recognises the important work undertaken by the FSHS and its dedicated volunteers,” Cr Winney-Baartz said.
“FSHS are passionate volunteers who work tirelessly to maintain the Fort’s museum rooms and offer the community guided tours, conduct tunnel tours, and fire the historic guns each day.
“City of Newcastle’s shared commitment with FSHS to uphold the Fort’s cultural significance will ensure it is preserved for future generations to experience.”

A man will face court next month charged over a serious crash in Lake Macquarie last year.
About 9.15pm on Monday 19 October 2020, emergency services were called to Bareki Road, Eleebana, following reports a Honda Civic travelling north and a Ford Mondeo travelling south collided at the intersection of Eleebana Road.
The driver of the Honda – a 46-year-old man from Abermain – was trapped for a short time before being taken to John Hunter Hospital with serious internal injuries; he has since been released from hospital.
Two children in the Ford – aged five and six-weeks-old – suffered serious head injuries and were taken to John Hunter Hospital. They have since been released from hospital.
The male driver of the Ford, aged 36, and his female passenger, aged 31, were uninjured during the crash.
Officers attached to the Hunter Crash Investigation Unit commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash.
Following extensive inquiries, police attended a home on Cessnock Road, Abermain, and spoke with a 46-year-old man.
He was issued with a future court attendance notice for the following offences:

• Dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm – drive manner dangerous
• Cause bodily harm by misconduct in charge of motor vehicle (x2)
• Negligent driving (occasioning grievous bodily harm)
• Negligent driving (no death or grievous bodily harm)
• Drive vehicle illicit drug present in blood
• Not keep left of dividing line-not class B/C vehicle

He is due to appear at Belmont Local Court on Wednesday 21 April 2021.

Two people have been charged over the fatal stabbing of a man in Broadmeadow earlier this month.
About 8.20pm on Sunday 7 March 2021, 56-year-old Christopher Ward suffered a critical stab wound to his stomach.
He was taken to John Hunter Hospital, where later died on Tuesday 9 March 2021.
Detectives from Newcastle City Police District, with assistance from the State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad, established Strike Force Mailey to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death.
Following extensive inquiries, strike force detectives arrested a 46-year-old man and a 47-year-old woman at Honeysuckle Drive, Honeysuckle, about 3pm today (Tuesday 16 March 2021).
The man was taken to Newcastle Police Station and charged with murder.
The woman was taken to Waratah Police Station and charged with accessory after the fact to murder.
Police will allege in court that the 56-year-old man was fatally stabbed during an altercation with the younger man at a Broadmeadow home earlier this month.
The pair were refused bail to appear at Newcastle Local Court tomorrow (Wednesday 17 March 2021).
All three people were known to each other.

A man has been charged with murder following the death of a teenage boy in Lake Macquarie earlier today.
About 12.30am (Tuesday 16 March 2021), police were called to a unit on Charlestown Road, Charlestown, following reports a teenage boy was found unresponsive.
Upon arrival, police located the body of a 16-year-old boy inside the unit.
Officers from Lake Macquarie Police District established a crime scene and commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the teenager’s death.
Following inquiries, a 24-year-old man was arrested in a carpark on Weakleys Drive, Thornton, about 2.10am.
The man was taken to Maitland Police Station, before being transferred to the Mater Hospital.
He was subsequently released and taken to Belmont Police Station, where he was charged with murder.
The man was refused bail to appear at Belmont Local Court tomorrow (Wednesday 17 March 2021).
The pair are known to each other.
Investigations are ongoing.

Two people have been arrested in relation to the fatal stabbing of a man in Broadmeadow earlier this month.
About 8.20pm on Sunday 7 March 2021, 56-year-old Christopher Ward suffered a critical stab wound to his stomach.
He was taken to John Hunter Hospital where later died on Tuesday 9 March 2021.
Detectives from Newcastle City Police District, with assistance from the State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad, established Strike Force Mailey to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death.
Following extensive inquiries, strike force detectives arrested a 46-year-old man and a 47-year-old woman on Honeysuckle Drive, Honeysuckle, about 3pm today (Tuesday 16 March 2021).
The pair have been taken to Newcastle Police Station as inquiries continue.

A man has been arrested following the suspicious death of a teenager in Lake Macquarie overnight.
About 12.30am (Tuesday 16 March 2021), police were called to a unit on Charlestown Road, Charlestown, following reports a teenage boy was found unresponsive.
Upon arrival, officers located a 16-year-old boy deceased inside the unit.
Officers attached to Lake Macquarie Police District established a crime scene and commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the teen’s death.
As a result of inquiries, a 24-year-old man was arrested in a restaurant carpark on Weakleys Drive, Thornton, about 2.10am.
He was taken to Maitland Police Station before being transferred to the Mater Hospital for treatment.
Upon his release, he was taken to Belmont Police Station where he is currently assisting police with their inquiries.
Investigations are ongoing.
The pair are known to each other.

Storytime sessions at Newcastle Libraries are helping to introduce Newcastle families to Indigenous perspectives on early learning.
Newcastle Libraries collaborated with Rainbow Crow Cultural Collective on an innovative program that transforms its popular Storytime and Babytime sessions into an Aboriginal-led early literacy program.

The free Wayapa Babytime and Storytime programs are being delivered by qualified Aboriginal Health Practitioner and Cultural Consultant Sarah Corrigan, with around 20 families taking part in the booked-out trial running at the City Library during March. A four-week term will begin at Wallsend Library from 4 May, with bookings opening in early April.
Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes welcomed the new addition to the Libraries’ stimulating suite of Early Literacy programs
“City of Newcastle is committed to supporting initiatives that encourage social inclusion and community connections,” she said.
“The Wayapa programs are open to all families, fostering knowledge sharing and community building.”
Councillor Carol Duncan said the program was an important addition to the Libraries’ programming.
“This program will help embed Aboriginal perspectives into our early literacy programs, providing an opportunity for Indigenous and non-Indigenous families to experience cultural connections and early learning experiences in a welcoming and inclusive space,” Cr Duncan said.

Wayapa is an earth, mind, body, spirit practice that promotes wellbeing. It is based on ancient Indigenous knowledge about living in harmony with the environment and connection with the world’s oldest living continual culture.
Wayapa Babytime provides an opportunity for carers to slow down and connect inwards with themselves, their baby and the environment, while Wayapa Storytime uses storytelling, movement and nature-based craft to introduce children to Aboriginal-based earth mindfulness, promoting sustainability, connection and community.
Ms Corrigan said the program introduced parents to Aboriginal ways of learning, showing them how they can use easily accessible household and natural resources to stimulate their child’s development.
“Wayapa connects everyone, regardless of background or age, to Indigenous Australians’ deep, spiritual connection to Country,” she said.
“For children the natural environment is the best playground and for parents it’s the cheapest. Wayapa offers a way for parents, aunts, uncles, siblings, grandies and carers to use the natural environment as a starting point for sensory play.
“The collaboration with Newcastle Libraries has been a wonderful opportunity share and show the strength and value of Aboriginal culture with everyone.
“It makes me happy that the families who come along are growing up bubs and little ones who will have a greater respect and understanding of First Nation Australians’ beliefs and culture. The future generations will hopefully be able to walk together to care for Country in partnership.”