The NSW Government has agreed to finalise the first private-sector tenancy agreement for the Bradfield City Centre’s First Building with global giant Hitachi, whose collaborative research model will attract advanced technology jobs to Western Sydney.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said the Japanese multinational would establish its Kyoso (collaborative creation) Centre alongside the Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility (AMRF) in the First Building in Australia’s newest city Bradfield, in 2023.
Mr Perrottet had a face-to-face meeting with Hitachi’s executives including the Vice President and Executive Officer, in charge of Regional Strategies [APAC] Mr Kojin Nakakita.
“This Japanese conglomerate Hitachi has recognised the value of establishing a presence in Australia’s newest city on the doorstep of the future Western Sydney International Airport and that will mean jobs and innovation in Western Sydney,” Mr Perrottet said.
“The Kyoso concept is about collaborative research between business, education institutions and government which aligns perfectly with the values of the AMRF, to bring industry and education providers together to test solutions to advanced manufacturing challenges and drive innovation”.
Minister for Enterprise, Investment and Trade and Minister for Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said this is an exciting step forward in the development of Bradfield City Centre.
“Hitachi will be the first non-government tenant in Bradfield City Centre. This signals high confidence in the private sector for the vision of the Western Parkland City. It means more premium, high-skilled jobs and global career opportunities for the residents of Western Sydney,” Mr Ayres said.
Hitachi’s Regional Vice President Mr Nakakita said: “Hitachi’s participation in Western Sydney reflects our confidence in the significant growth opportunities in NSW and Australia. We are delighted that Western Sydney will allow Hitachi to showcase our co-creation strategies and deliver our global capability and solutions, for the benefit of our customers and the community at large.”
The Hitachi agreement is a result of a public tender process and follows the NSW Budget commitment of $260 million to establish the Australian-first full scale AMRF, which will create new high-paying jobs of the future in Western Sydney and make Bradfield City Centre the national capital of advanced manufacturing.
Click here to download the current Bradfield City Centre flythrough video.
Flood recovery programs extended
Flood-affected communities are being further supported through the extension of a range of flood recovery programs to safely clear debris and hazardous chemicals from land and waterways.
Minister for Environment James Griffin said extending the NSW Environment Protection Authority’s (EPA) flood clean-up programs helps the flood recovery effort.
“Already this year, the EPA’s Shoreline Clean-up Program has made enormous progress, removing more than 9400 cubic metres of flood debris from waterways around NSW,” Mr Griffin said.
“By extending these programs, we’re helping our flood-affected communities recover faster, and restoring our environment both on the land and in the water.”
Extended programs include the Shoreline Clean-up Program, the Submerged Debris Program, the Land Based program, and Agricultural Chemical Clean Out program.
Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience and Minister for Flood Recovery Steph Cooke said a safe and quick clean-up is critical for helping flood-affected communities get back on their feet.
“Continuing these programs will provide a much needed boost for communities cleaning-up after yet another flood,” Ms Cooke said.
“We know debris can spread far and wide after a flood, like we’ve seen in the Northern Rivers, which is why we’re pulling out all stops to get the clean-up complete, so the long-term recovery can begin.”
Members of the community can report flood debris in local rivers and beaches or seek advice regarding the removal of hazardous materials through the Environment Line on 131 555 or info@epa.nsw.gov.auor flood.programs@epa.nsw.gov.au
Labor to Boost Biosecurity Efforts in NSW to ensure strong Agriculture and Farming Industry
A Minns Labor Government will strengthen and secure the resilience of our Agriculture industry, by legislating and funding an Independent Biosecurity Commission, that will be headed by a new Biosecurity Commissioner who will provide independent advice and report to Parliament on an annual basis.
Besides the existential threat of climate change – biosecurity, weeds and pests present the most significant threat to the environment and a productive primary industries sector.
In 2014 it was conservatively estimated that the cost to NSW agriculture from weeds is approximately $1.8 billion annually.
NSW needs a stronger voice to tackle the threat of biosecurity.
The Government’s approach has been piecemeal, lacks transparency and coordination, and is disproportionate to the economic and environmental threat posed by invasive species.
The first task of this Commission will be to work with the Natural Resource Commission to develop a clear picture of the extent of invasive species and the damage they are doing to both the environment and the agricultural industry, so appropriate action can be taken to better protect NSW farmers.
NSW Labor will also:
- Direct $10 million to a good neighbour program to tackle weed and pest infestations on government land neighbours private property.
- Re-engage a Dairy and Fresh Food Advocate to look at supply chains, address food security issues and be a voice for farmers.
A Minns Labor Government will also ensure a strong and independent NSW Agriculture Commissioner to provide more protection for our best farmland, and ensure food security and a more sustainable and productive agriculture industry.
The current model lacks independence, and the teeth and resources to get the job done.
This commission will report back to NSW parliament and be tasked with addressing critical issues in the bush such as identifying and protecting state significant land and renewable energy projects.
Chris Minns, NSW Labor Leader said:
A strong agriculture sector underpins the success of our rural and regional communities – and our rural and regional communities underpin the success of our economy and our state.
“Today is an affirmation that a Minns Labor Government will work closely with NSW Farmers and more broadly the NSW food and agribusiness industry to make the most of the agricultural opportunities available to NSW.
“Biosecurity is the responsibility of everyone, and failures affect everyone.
“Regional NSW has had a difficult four years, moving from the grip of the worst drought in 100 years into a series of historic flood events. This in conjunction with the ongoing mice plague, biosecurity incursions such as Varroa mite and the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 have had mammoth economic impacts on the bush.
“NSW Labor is committed to supporting regional NSW and we will have more to say on this ahead of the 2023 election.
Mick Veitch, Shadow Minister for Regional NSW, Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Shadow Minister for Western NSW said:
“Many of the policies we are announcing are ones which should already be in place, however the NSW Government have increasingly taken our regional communities for granted and not put in the safeguards necessary for their livelihoods.
“Today NSW Labor has demonstrated our commitment to making the bush more resilient and to working hand in hand with our regional communities.
“These announcements are a first step in what will be an ongoing conversation with an industry foundational to our states economic health.
Critical Analysis Uncovers Failings of ANU Vaping Review
A new critical analysis has found Professor Emily Banks’ Australian National University review of vaping came to flawed conclusions and failed to achieve its objectives.
According to a peer-reviewed analysis published today in Drug and Alcohol Review, the Banks review is at odds with global evidence which suggests vaping nicotine is an effective smoking cessation aid and is likely to have a major net public health benefit if widely available to adult Australian smokers. Of all advanced countries, Australia is the most hostile to vaping.
The critical analysis comes as the government is set to crackdown on nicotine vaping, which will seriously impact adult smokers who can’t quit smoking using the available treatments.
Key takeaways from the critical analysis:
1. The ANU review ignored evidence that vaping is an effective smoking cessation tool.
· Vaping has proven to be effective in randomised controlled trials and this is supported by observational data, population studies and declines in national smoking rates
2. The ANU study confuses association with causation in claiming that youth vaping causes teens to take up smoking.
· Evidence suggests the opposite – that vaping diverts more young people away from smoking than encourages them to smoke.
3. The ANU review focussed solely on the harms of vaping and disregarded the key question of relative risk – is vaper safer than cigarette smoking?
· The critical message for adult smokers is that switching to vaping dramatically reduces their exposure to toxic chemicals, reduces toxic biomarkers (toxins in the body) and leads to health improvements.
4. The ANU review did not consider the critical issue of the net public health impact of vaping.
· Vaping has the potential to reduce smoking prevalence and improve public health more than any other intervention.
Please find the article here, an explanatory blog here, and statements from the authors below. All the authors are available for interview.
A recording of my statement is available here.
“The Banks review ignored key evidence and was fundamentally flawed. It emphasised the small and potential harms of vaping but failed to acknowledge that it is a far safer alternative to smoking – the key issue for current smokers. It also ignored the compelling evidence that vaping is beneficial to public health overall and could save the lives of millions of smokers.”
– Dr. Colin Mendelsohn
Clinician and academic in smoking cessation and tobacco harm reduction for 40 years
“The Banks review intended to examine the scientific evidence on vaping and provide guidance for future policy. However, we found several critical errors in their analysis, which meant the review’s key conclusions did not accurately reflect the science.”
– Dr Alex Wodak AM
Emeritus Consultant, Alcohol and Drug Service, St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney
“The Banks review made a fundamental error in confusing association and causation, claiming that vaping increases the uptake of youth smoking. Even if vaping does lead some non-smokers to take up smoking, the overall impact is to significantly reduce smoking rates. Youth smoking continues to decline in countries where smokers are encouraged to vape, such as the United Kingdom and New Zealand.”
– Emeritus Professor Wayne Hall
– Centre for Youth Substance Abuse Research, University of Queensland
“By disregarding much of the available evidence showing vaping is an effective quitting aid, the study erroneously concluded vaping was of little benefit to smokers. The overall body of evidence actually tells a very different story, and shows vaping is probably more effective than other quitting aids, often working where other treatments fail.”
– Professor Ron Borland
– School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne
Reference
Blog. The Banks review of vaping is flawed and misleading. 22 July 2022
Abortion should be available in public hospitals
Responding to comments by Anthony Albanese today around abortion, Greens spokesperson on Women Senator Larissa Waters said:
“I urge the Prime Minister to rethink his hasty dismissal of Labor’s 2019 position of requiring public hospitals to provide abortion services as a prequisute for Commonwealth funding.
“Abortions should be available through the public health system, and Albanese has the power to deliver that through using the federal funding lever. He shouldn’t avoid responsibility for it as he sought to do today.
“Access to safe, legal abortion remains a postcode lottery in Australia, with different rules, costs and availability depending on where you live. Some people are having to travel for hours at significant expense to access this basic healthcare service.
“The Health Minister should concurrently extend Medicare coverage to reduce out of pocket fees for abortion services performed in private practices.
“The Commonwealth can also facilitate access to medical abortions by allowing mifepristone to be prescribed up to two weeks later in gestation, in accordance with international best practice, and could also support nurse-led models of care for administering it. The Health Minister should also ensure that telehealth access is maintained.
“Including more long-acting reversible contraceptives on Medicare would make a significant impact in reducing unplanned pregnancies.
“The Greens support calls for national consistency on abortion laws, provided they are best practice. The Women’s Safety Ministers should work towards that goal, and also ensure that the National Plan to End Violence Against Women addresses reproductive coercion.”
Appeal to locate vehicles following aggravated break and enter in Swansea
Police are appealing for public assistance to locate two vehicles, as an investigation continues into an alleged aggravated break and enter on the state’s north coast this morning.
About 2am (Thursday 21 July 2022), two unknown males stole a black BMW sedan – with NSW registration CMF78E – from the driveway of a home on Lakeside Drive, Swansea.
As the vehicle drove from the scene, a silver Mercedes sedan – with NSW registration DNM95U – drove to the same address and two unknown males left the vehicle and entered the same home.
The males left the scene a short time later with a number of items, before returning a second time and disturbing the occupant.
The occupant – a 43-year-old woman – confronted the males before being threatened with a knife.
The males left the scene in the Mercedes, which is believed to have been stolen from an address in Greenwich between 11pm on Tuesday 19 July and 7.30am on Wednesday 20 July 2022.
The woman was not injured during the incident.
About 2.25am, officers from Lake Macquarie Police District were notified when the drivers of the BMW and Mercedes failed to pay for petrol at a service station on the Pacific Highway, Swansea.
About 3.45am, the woman’s debit card was used at a fast-food restaurant on the Pacific Highway, Thornleigh.
Investigations into the incidents continue and police are appealing for anyone who may have sighted the BMW or Mercedes to contact police.
Greens to begin formal negotiations on climate bill
The Australian Greens Party Room has met and had its first discussion regarding the government’s Climate Change Bill and has empowered Greens Leader Adam Bandt MP to enter formal negotiations with the government on the Bill.
Areas of concern remain the adequacy of the target, the need for targets to be ratcheted up and for the bill to operate as a floor not a ceiling, the lack of enforcement mechanisms, and new coal and gas projects that would lift pollution.
Greens Party Room will continue to get updates on the negotiations, on the basis of which a final position on the bill will be reached in the coming weeks.
Adam Bandt MP said:
“The Greens will begin formal negotiations with the government on its climate bill, but we’re concerned that the government’s desire to open new coal and gas mines will make the climate crisis worse.
“Europe is burning and Australia’s environment is collapsing, but the government wants to open new coal and gas mines. You don’t put the fire out while pouring petrol on it.
“As well as the weak target that means more fires and floods, the Greens are concerned that the bill as drafted is a barrier to government lifting the weak 43% targets, isn’t ‘Dutton-proof’ against a future government that wants to lower the targets, doesn’t require government to actually do anything to cut pollution and allows more coal and gas.
“We will engage in good faith negotiations with the government, and we hope the government will drop its insistence on having a weak target and opening more coal and gas.
“The State of the Environment report and the Pacific Island leaders give the government all the justification it needs to do more. Our preference is to improve and pass this bill, but the government must come to the table.”
City of Newcastle set to open tender for inland pools
City of Newcastle (CN) is inviting tenders for the management of the city’s five inland swimming centres.
Acting Director City Wide Services Lynn Duffy said CN remained committed to ensuring the city’s swimming centres are affordable and accessible to all members of the community.
“With strong attendance figures and consistently satisfied responses from customer surveys, our community have told us how much they appreciate and enjoy our inland pools,” Ms Duffy said.
“This tender provides an opportunity to deliver an improved range of benefits for the community including greater access to inclusive aquatic programs and services reflective of Newcastle’s diverse population.
“We also remain committed to maintaining access to affordable high-quality public pools, particularly for families in the western suburbs.”
The tender process has been collaborative in nature. The United Services Union (USU) representative Luke Hutchinson said CN had been working collaboratively with the USU throughout the process.
“City of Newcastle has proactively engaged with the United Services Union regarding the new tender for the operation of their inland pools. We are satisfied with the approach being taken to date to ensure the best outcomes for staff and the community,” Mr Hutchinson said.
The tender will be open from 30 July to 6 September, with a report on the preferred tenderer to be prepared for the consideration of the elected Council before the end of the year.
Elton John rockets into Newcastle on back of new City partnership with Venues NSW
Elton John will rock McDonald Jones Stadium during an upcoming international tour as the first major event announced under a historic partnership between City of Newcastle and Venues NSW.
The Farewell Yellow Brick Road: The Final Tour concert will be the Rocket Man’s first performance in Newcastle and is expected to be a sellout, filling the stadium’s 30,000 seats with locals and visitors on January 10, 2023.
City of Newcastle and Venues NSW secured the show through a new Major Events Partnership, which builds on the history of the two organisations working together to land world-class events such as the Matildas match against the USA, and international rugby double-headers featuring the Wallabies, Argentina, South Africa and New Zealand.
Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the Elton John concert was a coup for the city and just one example of the diverse major events the new partnership is looking to achieve.
“Newcastle is once again showing Australia and the world that we’re a global events city, attracting one of the biggest names in music, Elton John, to play a stadium concert in front of thousands of cheering Novocastrians and tourists,” Cr Nelmes said.
“There was a time not so long ago that you would never imagine a name like Elton John playing in Newcastle, however we’re on a cusp of a new era thanks to a strategic focus led by City of Newcastle attracting events, the backing of the local business and tourism industry, and Venues NSW expanding its vision beyond sports for McDonald Jones Stadium.
“City of Newcastle and Venues NSW have been working together to bring various major sporting events to Newcastle for years and now we’ve made this partnership official with the vision to attract events that are new, unexpected and will bring more visitors to the city.”
Venues NSW and McDonald Jones Stadium CEO Kerrie Mather added: “We can’t wait to welcome Elton John to Newcastle as part of his Australian tour in what will be an unforgettable night for the region.
“We’re about to embark on the busiest concert season in New South Wales arguably ever, with Elton John to perform live in Newcastle and Sydney, while Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran, Guns N’ Roses, Harry Styles and Red Hot Chili Peppers are just some of the global superstars announced so far.
“This is an incredibly exciting result for Newcastle, and just a taste of the major events to come for the region.”
Major events are a key part of City of Newcastle’s Destination Management Plan as a primary driver of the local tourism economy, which was worth $1.27 billion pre-COVID.
The Major Event Partnership between City of Newcastle and Venues NSW will see the two organisations work together in attracting major and international events to McDonald Jones Stadium and the Newcastle Entertainment Centre.
For tickets and detailed information for Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road: The Final Tour at McDonald Jones Stadium on January 10, 2023 head to oznz.eltonjohn.com
Former real estate operator penalised
The Fair Work Ombudsman has secured court orders for a total of $36,000 in penalties and back-payment against the former operator of a real estate agency in northern NSW.
The Federal Circuit and Family Court has imposed a $4,000 penalty against David Stuart McElveney, a sole trader who formerly operated an agency based in Lennox Head trading as ‘One Agency Ballina-Lennox Head’.
The penalty was imposed in response to Mr McElveney failing to comply with a Compliance Notice requiring him to back-pay entitlements to a worker he employed as a real estate agent under a commission-only written agreement between November 2018 and February 2021.
In addition to the penalty, the Court has ordered Mr McElveney to pay the worker $32,000 in commissions owed, plus interest and superannuation.
Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said business operators that fail to act on Compliance Notices need to be aware they can face court-imposed penalties on top of having to back-pay workers.
“When Compliance Notices are not followed, we are prepared to take legal action to ensure workers receive their lawful entitlements,” Ms Parker said.
“Any employees with concerns about their pay or entitlements should contact us for free advice and assistance.”
The FWO commenced an investigation after receiving a request for assistance from the affected worker.
The Compliance Notice was issued in April 2021 after an inspector formed a belief that the worker had not been paid commission payments he was entitled to on the sale of two properties.