Rating agency S&P Global has affirmed Australia’s AAA credit rating, citing Australia’s strong economic recovery from the pandemic and track record of sound economic and fiscal management.
Australia remains one of just nine countries to hold a AAA credit rating from the three major rating agencies.
After balancing the Budget for the first time in 11 years, Australia entered the crisis from a position of strength that provided it with the capacity to respond to the crisis.
S&P attributes this to the fact that “Australia’s budget improved in recent years on the back of tight fiscal discipline, strong labour market conditions, and high commodity prices. The general government budget was effectively balanced…”
Since the onset of the pandemic, the Morrison Government has committed $337 billion, or 16.3 per cent of GDP, in direct economic and health support.
This has supported household and business confidence and spending at time of extreme uncertainty and helped ensure that Australia’s economy recovered sooner than any major advanced economy.
Reflecting Australia’s strong economic recovery, the unemployment rate in Australia fell to 4.2 per cent in December, its lowest rate in more than 13 years.
S&P is confident that the government will continue to secure Australia’s economic recovery, noting that “Australian governments have demonstrated a willingness to implement reforms to sustain economic growth and ensure sustainable public finances and have a strong track record from managing past economic and financial crises.”
Sustainable public finances is key to retaining our AAA credit rating and only the Coalition has a strong track record of fiscal discipline and repairing the Budget.
Australia cannot afford the threat of a high taxing and big spending Labor Government who at the last election proposed $387 billion of higher taxes and sought to divide Australians with their class war rhetoric.
Author: admin
Increasing access, reducing wait times – Applications open for $44 million in headspace grants
To continue our unprecedented investment into improving the mental health of all Australians, the Morrison Government is investing a further $44 million to increase access and reduce wait times at headspace services for young people aged 12 to 25 years.
Minister for Health and Aged Care Greg Hunt said both mental health and suicide prevention remains one of our Government’s highest priorities.
“One in four young Australians are affected by a mental health illness every year and as we continue to battle COVID-19 it’s more important than ever that we prioritise mental health,” Minister Hunt said.
“The disruption to normal life caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has had profound impacts on young Australians and we are ensuring that they can access the mental health supports they may need to help them get back on track and minimise longer-term impacts.”
“These grants form part of the Morrison Government’s headspace Demand Management and Enhancement Program – an investment of $152 million over 7 years from 2018. Through three funding rounds to date, this program has supported 28 PHNs and 86 headspace services to reduce wait times and invest in capital and infrastructure.”
Australia’s headspace centres, for young people aged 12 to 25 years, are a single-entry point for holistic, wrap around mental health services. Services provided through headspace centres are a safe place to turn to, somewhere young people can get professional help, peer support and feel comfortable enough to tackle their challenges in a way that is right for them.
The Government encourages Primary Health Networks (PHNs) across the nation to apply for up to $1.8 million each in wait time reduction grants. In addition, grants of up to $940,000 are available for capital and infrastructure improvements to existing headspace services.
Together, the grants will:
- increase access to high quality and more timely youth-friendly mental health support
- enhance the quality of service experience for young people
- boost the physical capacity of headspace facilities and enhance the accessibility of services through refurbishment or relocation.
Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, David Coleman said these new grants added to the Government’s significant support for headspace around the nation.
“Our Government is providing unprecedented funding and support for mental health, investing a record $2.3 billion in the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan” Minister Coleman said.
“There is nothing more important than the mental health of our young people. headspace makes a real difference in the lives of young people across Australia, and this funding will help to increase access to these important services.”
Australians looking for support throughout the COVID-19 pandemic can also access the Beyond Blue Coronavirus Wellbeing Support Service any time via telephone at 1800 512 348 or online at coronavirus.beyondblue.org.au.
Anyone experiencing distress can seek immediate advice and support through Lifeline
(13 11 14), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800), or the Government’s digital mental health gateway, Head to Health.
If you are concerned about suicide, living with someone who is considering suicide, or bereaved by suicide, the Suicide Call Back Service is available at 1300 659 467 or www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au.
Guidelines for grant applications are available on the GrantConnect website: www.grants.gov.au
Newcastle Art Gallery expansion set to start Monday
Newcastle Art Gallery will hold a special Sunday evening viewing to the general public before closing its doors and reopening in two years’ time to allow its long-awaited $40 million expansion to occur.
The City has received the certainty needed to progress with the expansion following a $10 million grant from the Commonwealth and NSW Governments announced in Newcastle this morning by Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and NSW Deputy Premier Paul Toole.
Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said it was the beginning of an exciting new era for Newcastle Art Gallery, which will celebrate its final weekend of operation with extended hours and special activations on Sunday before closing doors for the expansion’s early works.
“After more than 16 years of effort to make the expansion a reality, the commitment of $10 million from the Commonwealth and NSW Governments allows us to start the project immediately,” Cr Nelmes said.
“This is both a regionally and nationally significant project and I’d like to thank the Deputy Prime Minister and NSW Deputy Premier for their support of the arts and Newcastle Art Gallery.
“This funding will add to the $16.5 million already committed by the City of Newcastle and $10 million bequeathed by the late Val Ryan. City of Newcastle will partner with the Newcastle Art Gallery Foundation and the community to raise the remaining several million dollars as the expansion works commence.
“City of Newcastle will now issue a national tender to decant the Newcastle Art Gallery and securely store its 7,000 works, which are collectively valued at more than $115 million.
“By doubling the size of the Gallery, significantly increasing the exhibition space and delivering a suite of modern facilities, this project will deliver an expanded and upgraded gallery of international standing that will offer a valuable cultural tourism opportunity for Newcastle and the Hunter.
“This weekend is your last opportunity to visit the Gallery to celebrate the beginning of an exciting new era, before we close the doors to the public and get to work delivering our shared vision for one of the city’s cultural landmarks.”
The expansion project includes an additional 1,600 square meters of exhibition space with dedicated areas for the Gallery’s collection on the lower level, while the upper level will cater for a variety of travelling exhibitions, including international shows.
The project will deliver a new café and retail shop, multi-purpose and educational program space, a secure international standard loading dock, and will extend the building’s footprint east along Darby Street and Queen Street.
Newcastle Art Gallery Director Lauretta Morton OAM said the expanded Gallery would be a major drawcard for the city.
“The long-awaited expansion of the Gallery, which our Foundation, Society and the community have worked tirelessly towards, will offer the ability to share more of our collection, displaying works of art of local, national and international importance for visitors to view and enjoy,” Ms Morton said.
“This project is about more than just increasing the exhibition space; it’s about reimagining the Art Gallery to redefine what we offer as a destination and launch a new era of cultural tourism that will consolidate the Hunter’s reputation as an active and vibrant centre for the arts in NSW.”
City of Newcastle CEO Jeremy Bath said work to make the project a funded reality began in earnest in mid-2017, after many years of false starts.
“Today’s $10 million grant from the Federal and NSW Governments is the result of an incredible amount of hard work and advocacy by so many people from across the region,” Mr Bath said.
“The expanded Art Gallery will not only display some of Australia’s most famous pieces of art but will also attract international exhibitions; giving tourists a compelling reason to include Newcastle and the Hunter in their holiday itinerary.”
City of Newcastle will now call for tenders for an experienced Fine Art Handler to help relocate the collection into secure, temperature-controlled storage to ensure the protection and preservation of the valuable works during the expansion project.
Moving the collection will be completed in parallel with external early works, including the relocation of telecommunication assets from the site and mine void remediation, which will ensure the Gallery is vacant and ready for the main construction work to begin mid-year. The project is expected to be completed by mid-2024.
The collection will still be available online and will be represented across digital screen sites throughout the city during the expansion project, while outreach programs, special activations and partnerships will be developed to allow the community to continue to engage with the Gallery.
Newcastle Art Gallery will have extended opening hours from 10am to 8pm this Sunday, 30 January, with music, food and activations from 12pm and a pop-up bar on-site from 3pm.
Fast Facts
The City has received the certainty needed to progress with the expansion following a $10 million grant from the Commonwealth and NSW Governments announced in Newcastle this morning by Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and NSW Deputy Premier Paul Toole.
Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said it was the beginning of an exciting new era for Newcastle Art Gallery, which will celebrate its final weekend of operation with extended hours and special activations on Sunday before closing doors for the expansion’s early works.
“After more than 16 years of effort to make the expansion a reality, the commitment of $10 million from the Commonwealth and NSW Governments allows us to start the project immediately,” Cr Nelmes said.
“This is both a regionally and nationally significant project and I’d like to thank the Deputy Prime Minister and NSW Deputy Premier for their support of the arts and Newcastle Art Gallery.
“This funding will add to the $16.5 million already committed by the City of Newcastle and $10 million bequeathed by the late Val Ryan. City of Newcastle will partner with the Newcastle Art Gallery Foundation and the community to raise the remaining several million dollars as the expansion works commence.
“City of Newcastle will now issue a national tender to decant the Newcastle Art Gallery and securely store its 7,000 works, which are collectively valued at more than $115 million.
“By doubling the size of the Gallery, significantly increasing the exhibition space and delivering a suite of modern facilities, this project will deliver an expanded and upgraded gallery of international standing that will offer a valuable cultural tourism opportunity for Newcastle and the Hunter.
“This weekend is your last opportunity to visit the Gallery to celebrate the beginning of an exciting new era, before we close the doors to the public and get to work delivering our shared vision for one of the city’s cultural landmarks.”
The expansion project includes an additional 1,600 square meters of exhibition space with dedicated areas for the Gallery’s collection on the lower level, while the upper level will cater for a variety of travelling exhibitions, including international shows.
The project will deliver a new café and retail shop, multi-purpose and educational program space, a secure international standard loading dock, and will extend the building’s footprint east along Darby Street and Queen Street.
Newcastle Art Gallery Director Lauretta Morton OAM said the expanded Gallery would be a major drawcard for the city.
“The long-awaited expansion of the Gallery, which our Foundation, Society and the community have worked tirelessly towards, will offer the ability to share more of our collection, displaying works of art of local, national and international importance for visitors to view and enjoy,” Ms Morton said.
“This project is about more than just increasing the exhibition space; it’s about reimagining the Art Gallery to redefine what we offer as a destination and launch a new era of cultural tourism that will consolidate the Hunter’s reputation as an active and vibrant centre for the arts in NSW.”
City of Newcastle CEO Jeremy Bath said work to make the project a funded reality began in earnest in mid-2017, after many years of false starts.
“Today’s $10 million grant from the Federal and NSW Governments is the result of an incredible amount of hard work and advocacy by so many people from across the region,” Mr Bath said.
“The expanded Art Gallery will not only display some of Australia’s most famous pieces of art but will also attract international exhibitions; giving tourists a compelling reason to include Newcastle and the Hunter in their holiday itinerary.”
City of Newcastle will now call for tenders for an experienced Fine Art Handler to help relocate the collection into secure, temperature-controlled storage to ensure the protection and preservation of the valuable works during the expansion project.
Moving the collection will be completed in parallel with external early works, including the relocation of telecommunication assets from the site and mine void remediation, which will ensure the Gallery is vacant and ready for the main construction work to begin mid-year. The project is expected to be completed by mid-2024.
The collection will still be available online and will be represented across digital screen sites throughout the city during the expansion project, while outreach programs, special activations and partnerships will be developed to allow the community to continue to engage with the Gallery.
Newcastle Art Gallery will have extended opening hours from 10am to 8pm this Sunday, 30 January, with music, food and activations from 12pm and a pop-up bar on-site from 3pm.
Fast Facts
- Newcastle Art Gallery was Australia’s first purpose-built regional art gallery, opened by her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1977.
- The Gallery is home to the most valuable collection in regional Australia, with more than 7,000 works valued at $115 million. Significant and diverse, it provides a time capsule of Australian art dating back to the earliest days of Newcastle more than 200 years ago when it became Australia’s second city to be settled.
- The collection includes works by Arthur Boyd, William Dobell, Margaret Olley, John Olsen, Patricia Piccinini, Gwyn Hanssen Pigott and Brett Whitely.
- At present, only 1% of Newcastle Art Gallery’s works can be displayed in any year due to a lack of space.
- The expansion is expected to create 170 jobs, including 152 in construction and 18 ongoing once it is complete.
- It is also expected to inject more than $1 million into annual regional revenue by attracting more than 14,000 additional local visitors and tourists each year.
- Early construction works have been approved and will commence on Monday. The City will shortly tender for a Fine Art Handler to undertake the decant the collection, and separately tender for the major construction works.
- Community contributions to the Art Gallery expansion are welcomed and are tax deductible.
Health system boost with record intern intake
More than 1,000 medical graduate interns have this week joined the ranks of the NSW Health system – a record number of new starters and the most of any state or territory in Australia.
Premier Dominic Perrottet said that a record number of 1,073 interns are joining the NSW Health team this year, an increase of 32 positions compared with the previous year.
“We owe a debt of gratitude to the intern class of 2022, many of whom have already worked either as Assistants in Medicine or student vaccinators as part of the COVID-19 workforce response,” Mr Perrottet said.
“We have invested record amounts in our health system throughout the pandemic and these new interns will play a significant role in bolstering the ranks of our health workers as we continue to deal with the challenges of COVID-19.”
Minister for Health Brad Hazzard extended a warm welcome to the new interns and thanked them for their readiness to join their dedicated fellow health workers during such a pivotal time in the State’s history.
“Our selfless health heroes have worked tirelessly to keep the people of NSW safe and well throughout the enormous challenges of this one-in-one-hundred year pandemic,” Mr Hazzard said.
“These new interns are starting their careers at a critical time in our battle against COVID-19 and will play a vital role in supporting existing health staff during our COVID-19 response.”
Minister for Regional Health Bronnie Taylor said that of the 1,073 positions, 162 belong to the Rural Preferential Recruitment scheme – an increase of 12 positions compared with the previous year.
“The innovative Rural Preferential Recruitment Scheme allows interns to undertake the majority of their training in our rural hospitals, encouraging Junior Medical Officers (JMOs) to continue working in rural and regional NSW once they complete their training,” Mrs Taylor said.
“I am so pleased that the intern class of 2022 also includes 24 JMOs recruited via the Aboriginal Medical Workforce Pathway.”
Interns are medical graduates who have completed their medical degree and are required to complete a supervised year of practice in order to become independent practitioners.
The new doctors who commenced orientation this week will be entering a training program with networked hospitals throughout the state, providing on the job training.
They receive two-year contracts to rotate between metropolitan, regional and rural hospitals to ensure the diversity of their experience. They also join different units in each hospital, including surgery and emergency medicine.
In the largest ever health workforce boost in the state, the NSW Government has invested a record $2.8 billion to recruit an additional 1,060 doctors, 5,000 nurses, 880 allied health staff and 1,360 hospital support staff over a four year period.
More information on the recruitment of JMOs can be found here: www.heti.nsw.gov.au/education-and-training/courses-and-programs/medical-graduate-recruitment
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Woman subject to Extended Supervision Order charged over alleged sexual touching
Detectives have charged a woman over the alleged sexual touching of a man at a facility in Sydney’s south-west earlier this month.
Last Thursday (20 January 2022), a 55-year-old man attended a police station and reported several incidents of alleged sexual touching by a woman known to him.
The matter was referred to officers attached to the Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad’s Extended Supervision Order Investigation Team (ESOIT), who commenced an investigation.
Following inquiries, police arrested a 75-year-old woman at a facility in Campbelltown just before 10.30am today (Friday 28 January 2022).
The woman was taken to Campbelltown Police Station and charged with four counts of sexually touch another person without consent.
She was refused bail and is due to appear at Campbelltown Local Court later today.
ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE IN GUAM FOR EXERCISE COPE NORTH 22
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) will deploy aircraft and personnel to Guam and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, to conduct Exercise Cope North 22 with the United States Air Force (USAF) and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (Koku-Jieitai) from 2 to 18 February, 2022.
The trilateral exercise is focused on increased interoperability of the RAAF, USAF and Koku-Jieitai, through combined tactics, techniques and procedures for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations and Large Force Employment.
The RAAF Task Unit Commander, Group Captain Andrew McHugh, said Cope North 22 will be an excellent opportunity to further enhance interoperability between the tri-lateral forces.
“We are very pleased to be heading back to Guam for Cope North 22 which will provide invaluable experience for our personnel and enhances the effectiveness of the RAAF,” Group Captain McHugh said.
“Through Cope North 22, we are focused on deepening relationships and strengthening engagement with the USAF’s Pacific Air Force and the Koku-Jieitai, to contribute to our shared vision of an open, inclusive and resilient Indo-Pacific.”
The RAAF will deploy the E-7A Wedgetail, C-27J Spartan, KC-30A multi role tanker transport and F-35A Lightning II, alongside a contingency response squadron focused on HADR training.
“Cope North 22 will enhance the tri-lateral forces’ capability for HADR in the Indo-Pacific, ensuring a highly effective and professional response, when needed,” Group Captain McHugh said.
“We are committed to developing an intelligent and skilled workforce with exercises such as Cope North providing the opportunity to operate as a combined force with the United States and the Japan, and ensure our people can deliver air power when required.”
Exercises remain critical to preparedness of the Australian Defence Force. RAAF personnel deploying for Exercise Cope North 22 have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19 prior to their departure and will comply with all directions as required.