Category: Newcastle News

Two men have died following a truck and car crash at Ferodale, near Port Stephens.
Emergency services were called to the intersection of the Pacific Highway and Medowie Road about 11.30am today (Tuesday 9 April 2019), after a sedan and truck collided.
The two male occupants of the car died at the scene. They haven’t yet been formally identified.
The driver of the truck wasn’t injured but has been taken to John Hunter Hospital for mandatory blood and urine testing.
Officers from Port Stephens-Hunter Police District have established a crime scene and are investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash.
A report will be prepared for the Coroner.
As inquiries into the crash continue, motorists are urged to avoid the area as significant delays are expected. Visit www.livetraffic.com for details.

Police are appealing for public information and dashcam footage as they continue to investigate the death of a man after he was hit by a truck, 17km south of Maitland, last month.
Emergency services were called to the Hunter Expressway at Buchanan about 2pm on Wednesday 27 March 2019, after a 58-year-old man was struck by a semi-trailer. He died at the scene.
The truck driver, a 42-year-old man, was taken to Maitland Hospital for mandatory testing.
Officers from Hunter Valley Police District established a crime scene and launched an investigation into the incident.
As inquiries continue, officers are appealing for anyone who witnessed the incident or who may have dashcam footage from the area, particularly from the Pacific Motorway near the Wattaka Rest Stop, to come forward.
A report will be prepared for the Coroner.

Police have commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of a pedestrian at Newcastle overnight, after he was struck by several vehicles.
Shortly after 8.35pm on Friday 5 April 2019, emergency services were called to Maitland Road at Sandgate after reports that a pedestrian had been struck and could not be revived.
Officers from Newcastle City Police District attended and established a crime scene.
They believe a 72-year-old man walked from the medium strip in a northerly direction and was struck by an east bound vehicle.
The impact threw the man into the second lane where he was struck by three other east bound vehicles.
All drivers involved were taken to hospital for mandatory blood and urine testing.
Inquiries into the crash continue with officers to prepare a report for the Coroner.

The Parliamentary Select Committee looking into the implementation of the National Redress Scheme has released a damning unanimous report saying the scheme ‘is at serious risk of not delivering on its objective of providing justice to survivors’.
The extraordinary report, which was supported by opposition, crossbench and government members, contains 29 wide-ranging recommendations including restoring the maximum payment to $200,000 and establishing a minimum payment of $10,000 as recommended by the Royal Commission.
Federal Member for Newcastle and Deputy Chair of the committee Sharon Claydon said many failings of the scheme came from the Government ignoring the considered recommendations of the Royal Commission.
“The Royal Commission spent five years in a gruelling forensic examination of all the available evidence, providing a benchmark for best practice,” Ms Claydon said.
“Every time the Government has deviated from the Recommendations of the Royal Commission without sound evidence, it has been to the detriment of the scheme and against the interests of survivors.”
Ms Claydon said the Committee also recommended the consideration of measures to compel institutions to participate in the scheme, including the suspension of tax concessions and charitable status.
“Last month, a third of survivors who had put in applications were stuck in limbo because the institutions they were abused in still hadn’t signed up for the scheme. This is untenable,” Ms Claydon said.
“I expect every institution to sign up for redress before the deadline, but if this doesn’t happen, governments must look at every option they have at their disposal to ensure all institutions sign up.”
Ms Claydon said the level of counselling offered was another key problem identified by the Committee.
“Again, State and Federal Governments need to look to the recommendations of the Royal Commission and deliver adequate counselling services that extend over the course of a person’s life as needed, not a capped dollar value that could be exhausted in a matter of months,” Ms Claydon said.
“We offer lifelong counselling support to our veterans suffering from PTSD, as we should, so why can’t we provide the same thing to survivors of institutional child sexual abuse?”
Other recommendations of the committee include:

• Revisiting the Assessment Framework, especially the controversial Assessment Matrix
• Extending the scheme to people in prison or with criminal records
• Ceasing the indexation of past payments
• Ensuring that survivors have access to free and appropriate financial counselling services

A man has been charged after he climbed onto the roof of a Newcastle primary school and had a seven-hour stand-off with police.
About 1.15pm yesterday (Tuesday 2 April 2019), officers from the Newcastle City Police District attended a primary school on Union Street, The Junction, after reports a man had climbed onto the roof of the single-story building and refused to get down.
Police were told the man had already been escorted from school grounds but jumped over the school’s rear fence and climbed onto the roof.
The man refused police instruction to get down and instead began throwing tiles and items of clothing off the building.
The school was placed in lockdown before, after several hours, all staff and students left the school grounds.
At about 8:30pm (Tuesday 2 April 2019), the man surrendered to police and was arrested.
No one was injured during the incident.
The 43-year-old man was taken to Mater Hospital for assessment before he was taken to Newcastle Police Station where he was charged with enter inclosed land not prescribed premises without lawful excuse (three counts), destroy or damage property (two counts), and common assault.
He was refused bail to appeal at Newcastle Local Court today (Wednesday 3 April 2019).

Investigations are continuing into a home invasion in the state’s Hunter region yesterday.
Police have been told a man answered a knock at his front door on Heaton Street, Jesmond, about 10.45pm (Tuesday 2 April 2019), when two men with balaclavas forced their way into the house and demanded cash and jewellery.
The 26-year-old man was assaulted and threatened, before the two men fled the scene with cash and a credit card.
He attended John Hunter Hospital for treatment of a broken nose and facial fracture, and has since been discharged.
Officers from Newcastle City Police Area Command attended the house and established a crime scene.
As investigations continue, police are urging anyone who may have information to come forward.

Three people have been charged after a police operation in the Lake Macquarie region overnight.
The operation began about 10.30pm yesterday (Saturday 30 March 2019), when officers from Lake Macquarie Police District went to speak to a man at a home in Quarry Road, Speers Point.
When the man allegedly refused to leave the building – and made a number of threats – police established a perimeter and began negotiations.
Shortly after 8am today (Sunday 31 March 2019), the 41-year-old man was taken into custody by specialist police.
Two women, aged 40 and 29, were also arrested at the time.
The man was taken to John Hunter Hospital before being taken to Belmont Police Station and charged with detain person with intent to obtain advantage (x2), assault actual bodily harm, steal motor vehicle, take and drive conveyance without consent of owner, drive conveyance without consent of owner, use offensive weapon to prevent lawful detention, and drive whilst disqualified.
The 40-year-old woman was charged with detain person with intent to obtain advantage (x2), steal motor vehicle, and take and drive conveyance without consent of owner.
The 29-year-old woman was charged with larceny.
All three were bail refused to appear at Newcastle Local Court tomorrow (Monday 1 April 2019).

Young Novocastrians under 25 have been invited to nominate to take part in the 2019 Newcastle Youth Forum which will be co-convened next week by Shadow Minister for Young Australians and Youth Affairs, Terri Butler MP.
Federal Member for Newcastle Sharon Claydon said she had invited Ms Butler to Newcastle to co-host the forum and give young people a voice in the things that matter to them.
“I was really bolstered by the incredible energy and commitment to change displayed by thousands of young people at the recent Strike for Climate Action. This is one of many issues that young people care passionately about.
However, the rally also demonstrated the acute frustration they are feeling with the political process,” Ms Claydon said.
“Government should be for all Australians, but too many young people have told me that important decisions are being made against their best interests and they feel powerless to do anything about it.”
Ms Claydon said the forum would be held on Friday 5 April in Newcastle.
“I would encourage anyone with great ideas about the things we need to do to make a better community and a better country to get in touch,” Ms Claydon said.
“To nominate to take part, people should call my office on 4926 1555 or email me on Sharon.Claydon.MP@aph.gov.au with your details and a short outline of why you want to attend.”
Ms Claydon said the forum would complement the Newcastle Youth Survey which has been launched at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2019NewcastleYouthSurvey.
“Together, the forum and the Youth Survey will help me to understand the issues that matter to young Novocastrians, so I can better represent everyone’s interests in the Federal Parliament.”

City of Newcastle will build the city’s first fenced dog park where owners can legally let their dogs roam free inside their very own playground.
The 1.5-hectare fenced area will be built at Acacia Avenue reserve, North Lambton, as part of the City’s Dogs in Open Space Plan. The plan was adopted by council last night to cater for the 44,300 registered dogs in the Newcastle local government area.

The project will provide separate areas for big and little pooches and include additional natural shade, shelter and seating for owners, plus drinking water for their four-legged friends.
Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the plan would guide the provision, improvement and management of off-leash parks across Newcastle over the next 10 years.
“Novocastrians absolutely love their dogs, with more than 50 per cent of households across the City owning at least one pooch,” Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said.
“This places us at the top-end of the list in terms of dog ownership across the country, so I’m delighted that this long-term plan has been adopted to cater for what is certainly a growing community need.
“Dogs are becoming an increasingly popular addition to the family household, so it was no surprise that many submissions to the draft plan provided positive feedback around the provision of more fenced parks and increased off-leash areas.”
^{A snapshot of what’s proposed in the 10-year Dogs in Open Space Plan} 
Merewether’s Jane Garrick, a long-time supporter of fenced dog parks in Newcastle, is the doting owner of five-year-old Evee, a Ridgeback-Kelpie crossbreed.
Ms Garrick said she was elated to hear that she’ll be able to take Evee across town to Lambton rather than drive the longer journey to Speers Point.
“We take her to Speers Point where there’s a fenced park and this works really well for her,” she said.
“I’ll definitely take the trip to Lambton for future visits but ideally I’d still love something a bit closer where I can walk her to and from home.”
Ms Garrick said fenced parks where perfect for keeping Evee from straying on to nearby roads.
“She’s easily distracted by birds and cats and often won’t listen or come back when she’s called.”
Based on the likely success of the new fenced park at Acacia Avenue, the City will explore other possible sites at Lambton Park, O’Connell Reserve, Carrington Foreshore, Maryland Drive Reserve and Stevenson Park.
Where size permits we will aim to provide separate small and large dog parks and dedicated quiet zones for temperamental breeds.
For more information and to view the full plan, visit http://www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/Living/Residents/pets-and-animals/Dogs

A man has died after being struck by a truck near Maitland.
About 2pm today (Wednesday 27 March 2019), emergency services were called to the Hunter Expressway at Buchanan after a 58-year-old man was struck by a semi-trailer.
He died at the scene.
Officers from Hunter Valley Police District established a crime scene and commenced inquiries.
The truck driver, a 42-year-old man, was taken to Maitland Hospital for mandatory blood and urine testing.
A report will be prepared for the Coroner and inquiries continue.