Category: NSW News

Primary producers and small businesses impacted by recent fires in the Northern Tablelands, North Coast and Mid North Coast have received welcome relief with the announcement today of $15,000 recovery grants.
Minister for Agriculture and Member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall welcomed the announcement, saying it was critical to help farmers get back on their feet.
“Our State’s farmers have already been battling the worst drought on record and recent fires have been an absolute kick in the teeth,” Mr Marshall said.
“Today’s announcement of $15,000 recovery grants for farmers and small businesses impacted by the fires is welcome news, and will help our hard-working farmers get back on their feet.
“This cash will assist farmers to rebuild their businesses and fix the damage caused by these unprecedented fires.
“For many it will mean cash in the pocket to rebuild fences, purchase new equipment and procure feed and fodder.”
The $48.5 million recovery package announced today also includes $18.2 million in funding for targeted community projects as well as mental health support.
“These fires have not only devastated farms and small businesses – they’ve also sent an absolute shockwave through entire communities,” Mr Marshall said.
“That’s why I’m pleased the fire recovery package includes grants for targeted community projects as well as mental health support.
“I encourage farmers and small businesses who have been impacted by the recent fires to get in touch with the NSW Rural Assistance Authority and apply for grant assistance.”
To apply for a recovery grant contact the NSW Rural Assistance Authority on 1800 678 593 or visit www.raa.nsw.gov.au

Parramatta’s transformation into a cultural, economic and education precinct is another step closer thanks to the NSW Government’s approval of a new Engineering Innovation Hub in the heart of the CBD.
Planning and Public Spaces Minister Rob Stokes said the new 19-storey education hub will be shared by Western Sydney University and the University of NSW.
“The hub will be used by 1,600 engineering and architecture students and will bring world-leading research and innovation to Sydney’s second CBD,” Mr Stokes said.
“The hub will also create almost 1,000 construction jobs and more than 1,300 full-time ongoing jobs close to the ferry, train station, main bus routes and the future light rail.
“Open space in Parramatta will be improved with new public space in the form of terraces and a ground level plaza that connects Hassall Street to Lancer Barracks.”
Skills and Tertiary Education Minister and Member for Parramatta Geoff Lee said education and innovation opportunities are soaring in Parramatta.
“This will be the third high-rise education building approved in the Parramatta CBD, following Western Sydney University’s campus at Parramatta Square and the nearly completed Arthur Phillip High School,” Mr Lee said.
“A shared vision and collaboration is crucial to delivering great results and this innovative partnership between two universities will see Parramatta continue to develop into an economic and knowledge-based powerhouse.”
Construction of the new education facility will continue from the early works approved by Council and is expected to be welcoming students in 2021.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW John Barilaro, along with the entire State Cabinet, today travelled 770km from Sydney into outback NSW to hold a Cabinet meeting in Bourke.
Ms Berejiklian said it is the first time in the State’s history a formal cabinet meeting has been held in Bourke.
“I want to thank the Mayor of Bourke Barry Hollman and the entire community for inviting the NSW Cabinet to the outback, and undertaking the huge task of hosting the NSW government in town for the day,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“I know that these communities are suffering through this devastating drought.
“The most critical issue in Bourke right now is of course access to water and so, today we are announcing $2 million in immediate funding for the construction of an additional bore and pipeline in Bourke to increase the towns’ long-term water supply.”
Mr Barilaro said Bourke fortunately fell under a rain cloud earlier this month, receiving 100ml, extending the town’s water supply in the immediate future but more urgent measures are still needed to guarantee the town’s long-term water security.
“Bourke was facing the prospect of running out of water in the near future but fortunately Mother Nature intervened and extended their water supply for six months,” Mr Barilaro said.
“The $2 million in emergency water funding for Bourke, announced by the Premier and I today, is one example of the emergency measures we are undertaking across the state to prevent towns and cities from running out of water.
“Recent rain has brought a green tinge to the region and a pulse down the Darling River but this drought is pushing our country resilience to the edge. I want Ministers to roll up their sleeves and get dust on their boots today to see first-hand what we need to do to keep our regional communities going.
“NSW needs towns like Bourke to grow and to continue to carry on the tradition of strong outback communities contributing to our State’s history and prosperity.”
We have committed close to $3 billion to drought relief and water security since 2017, which includes funding for 60 bores across 23 communities and 14 pipelines, such as that from Wentworth to Broken Hill.

A new digital data service will record information relating to rough sleepers in real-time to better facilitate collaboration between service providers for those experiencing homelessness in NSW.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said global tech giant Microsoft has partnered with the NSW Government and the Act to End Street Sleeping Collaboration to bring the project to fruition.
“Every day more than 37,000 people in NSW experience homelessness and this new initiative will provide us with a more accurate understanding of the challenges they face,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“By using technology to collect a range of social and demographic data on rough sleepers, we can improve the way we respond to homelessness.”
Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services Gareth Ward said the launch of the initiative comes during the inaugural Connections Week, which aims to create a by-name list of people sleeping rough in Sydney’s CBD.
“The homelessness targets our Government has set require an innovative approach as well as collaboration with our non-government partners,” Mr Ward said.
“By compiling a database of rough sleepers, our assertive outreach teams and NGOs will be able to better collaborate towards a common goal.”
Minister for Customer Service Victor Dominello said the data will be captured using a mobile device and include geolocation technology.
“We are using digital technology to make life easier for some of the most vulnerable people in the community.”
Act to End Street Sleeping Convener Graham West said the aim is to create a vulnerability index of rough sleepers across the state, to determine risk and help prioritise specialist services.
Data collected this week will be used to inform potential expansion of the program across the state.

A clearer and simpler rating system for early childhood services was announced today, making it easier for parents to understand how their service rates under the National Quality Framework (NQF).
Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning Sarah Mitchell said the change is something both parents and services have been calling for.
“All providers will be required to display their National Quality Standard (NQS) rating in the format of four stars that correlate to their NQS rating level,” Ms Mitchell said.
“Services will display the stars where parents can see them clearly, and will be requested to provide more detailed rating information to parents and families at enrolment from July 1, 2020.
“A fifth star can be obtained through an additional application to Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority.
“We have worked with the sector and families to find a better way for promoting and understanding the quality ratings, and have set aside a further $8 million to support providers to improve the quality of their services, building on the $5 million already invested.
“Ensuring parents and carers understand the rating of their early childhood service is essential for families, and also for maintaining and improving quality.”
Early Childhood Australia CEO Samantha Page said the Quality Ratings Guide will be a great way for families to start a conversation with services.
“Parents should play an active role in communicating with services about all aspects of quality, and the star graphic invites them to learn more about quality improvement,” Ms Page said.
“It also gives services the opportunity to pro-actively engage and focus on quality as an ongoing priority.”
The new four star format will display a service’s NQF rating as:

• Exceeding NQS = 4 stars
• Meeting NQS = 3 stars
• Working towards NQS = 2 stars
• Significant Improvement Required = 1 star

For more information on the new Stars system visit the website: https://www.education.nsw.gov.au/early-childhood-quality

People who lose important identity documents in the bushfires can have them replaced for free to help them recover as quickly as possible, Attorney General Mark Speakman and Minister for Customer Service Victor Dominello announced today.
“The fire emergency has wreaked untold havoc on many people’s lives and we want them to be able to get back on their feet with a minimum of fuss,” Mr Speakman said.
“Anyone who has lost paperwork such as a birth certificate or marriage certificate can apply to have them replaced at no cost as a priority.”
“The NSW Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages (BDM) can assist people who have lost documents in the fire to quickly re-establish their identity,” Mr Dominello said.
“For those who were born or married interstate, BDM will coordinate with other Australian State and Territory registries to obtain replacement certificates.”
Those affected can visit their nearest Service NSW  where the team will assist them in applying for their official certificates.
Customers requiring a new driver’s licence will be issued with an interim licence on the spot allowing them to get back on the road immediately, with the new licence card being delivered 7 to 10 days after the transaction.
Service NSW’s Mobile Service Centres have visited bushfire affected communities to assist customers with government transactions, including replacement identity documents.
Useful contacts:
Please visit Service NSW website for resources on dealing with bushfire. For bush fire information and updates contact the Public Information Enquiry Centre on 1800 222 228.
Office of Emergency Management information is available here evacuation centres.
Fire updates are available at www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/fire-information.

23 new metro trains will be ordered as part of a contract package to extend and operate Sydney’s first driverless Metro railway beyond Chatswood – into the city and on to Bankstown, delivering a 66 kilometre line by 2024.
Minister for Transport Andrew Constance announced the NSW Government has approved Sydney Metro exercising a pre-agreed extension to the existing Northwest Rapid Transit Public Private Partnership contract, which was awarded in 2014.
The contract has been extended to deliver a seamless customer experience on the new metro, with Northwest Rapid Transit (NRT) to operate and maintain the full metro line from Rouse Hill to Bankstown – in total 66 kilometres of rail and 31 metro stations.
The contract package includes $1.7 billion for new metro trains and core rail systems as well as a $2 billion operations and maintenance component for NRT to operate the combined Northwest and City and Southwest lines for a period of 15 years until 2034.
Metro Trains Sydney, the railway operator appointed by NRT, will operate the metro railway in accordance with strict operational requirements set by Sydney Metro.
The NSW Government will own all the metro rail infrastructure, including the stations, tracks and trains.
Five years ago, following a competitive procurement process, NRT was awarded a contract to operate and maintain the North West Metro Line between Rouse Hill and Chatswood for 15 years. It included a pre-agreed option to operate the line beyond Chatswood to Bankstown

Households across NSW are expected to save $40 per year on their electricity bills and the State will have one of the highest reliability targets in the world under the NSW Electricity Strategy, released today.
Energy Minister Matt Kean said the Strategy will ensure reliable and affordable electricity supply for the people of NSW, particularly in peak summer periods.
“We want to create a competitive, low-cost market that delivers resilient energy supply while putting downward pressure on electricity prices,” Mr Kean said.
“Not only does this Strategy help us achieve that, it will attract $8 billion in investment for emerging energy technologies in NSW, diversifying our energy supply and creating jobs for the future.”
The Strategy includes a new Energy Security Safeguard to drive the roll-out of energy efficiency technologies and smart appliances that use electricity when it is cheap and off-peak, and an Energy Security Target to ensure there is enough capacity in the electricity grid on the hottest days, even with the two largest generating units offline.
It will also include a plan to deliver Australia’s first coordinated Renewable Energy Zone in the Central-West to support the new generation needed to get energy bills down.
“As our existing power generators approach the end of their lives, we need to ensure low-cost alternatives are coming online,” Mr Kean said.
“By focusing on reliability, we can ensure that we can get the benefits of renewables without the reliability problems we have seen in other states.
“While there will always be extreme events which impact the grid’s reliability, our Electricity Security Target will mean that changes to the State’s energy mix do not come at the expense of our system’s reliability.”
The NSW Electricity Strategy is available here and is published ahead of today’s COAG Energy Council meeting in Perth.

Sydney, Blue Mountains and the Illawarra will soon experience Level 2 water restrictions from 10 December to continue to protect Greater Sydney’s water supply from drought conditions.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Minister for Water Melinda Pavey announced the restrictions will take effect when the dam levels in the region reach 45 per cent which is expected around mid-December. To give the community certainty, the water restrictions will be in place from 10 December.
Ms Berejiklian said dam levels are currently close to 46 per cent and continue to drop every week.
“Usually, we would expect to have Level 2 water restrictions come into effect when dam levels reached 40 per cent. But given the rapid rate of decline of our dam levels we have decided to enact the next level of restrictions sooner than planned,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“We’re experiencing one of the most severe droughts on record and we expect introducing Level 2 restrictions to save 78.5 gigalitres of water per year.
“We all need to do our bit to ensure we are using water wisely and these restrictions will help secure water for Sydney, Blue Mountains and Illawarra.”
More than 85 per cent of Greater Sydney’s water is supplied by captured rainfall and because of the current drought dam levels have reached the lowest levels seen since the Millennium drought.
Under the new Level 2 water restrictions people will be required to use a bucket or watering can to water their gardens between approved times, cars can only be washed with a bucket or taken to a commercial car wash and topping up of pools and spas is limited to 15 minutes a day with a trigger nozzle.
Ms Pavey said the Bureau of Meteorology has predicted another hot summer ahead with on-going dry conditions.
“We’re doing the work to save as much drinking water as we can to ensure there is enough if the drought persists,” Ms Pavey said.
“Businesses who rely upon outdoor water use as part of their operations need to get an exemption.
If a business applied for and received a permit under the previous level of restrictions, they’ll need to contact Sydney Water to confirm it’s still valid.”
Fines will still apply for breaches of water restrictions – $220 for residential breaches and $550 for businesses. For up-to-date information on Level 2 restrictions visit lovewater.sydney/restrictions

Paramedics will be fitted with high-tech body cameras from tomorrow as part of the NSW Government’s $48 million reform package to improve the safety of frontline health staff.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said paramedics from Liverpool, Sydney Ambulance Centre at Eveleigh, and Hamilton in suburban Newcastle will be part of a 12-month voluntary trial.
“We need to look after the people who look after us and if this technology can help deter abuse and assaults against frontline paramedics, we need to give it go,” Mr Hazzard said.
“Hopefully, agitated individuals will modify their behaviour when they realise their actions are being recorded because our paramedics are not a punching bag for anyone’s frustration.
“Paramedics are there to help us and it is never OK to abuse them. Assaults carry heavy penalties and, if needed, bodycam footage will be used as evidence when prosecuting people.”
NSW Ambulance Chief Executive Dr Dominic Morgan said 60 body cameras will be used in the trial by paramedics and if it is successful, more could be rolled out state-wide.
“When the idea of body cameras was raised at the paramedic roundtable, the NSW Government listened and worked with us to introduce the technology,” Dr Morgan said.
“The cameras will be another set of eyes for our paramedics and in addition to hopefully deterring abuse, there is scope to use them for training purposes further down the line.”
The body cameras pilot follows additional NSW Government reforms introduced over the past 12 months to improve paramedic workplace safety including:

• $24 million for a technology upgrade including:

1. upgrade of mobile data terminals to pinpoint the location of paramedics.
2. new in-vehicle radios to ensure enhanced reception.
3. enhanced duress procedures and reporting.

• $3.3 million for face-to-face occupational violence training.
• $ 4 million for high-tech smartphones to overcome radio blackspots.

The NSW Government is investing more than $1 billion in NSW Ambulance in 2019-20, including $27 million to employ 221 extra paramedics and call centre staff. These staff are the second tranche of a record workforce boost of 750 to be deployed over four years.