An investigation is underway after five people were injured in a two-vehicle crash in the Newcastle area yesterday.
Just after 7.30pm (Saturday 13 February 2021), emergency services were called to Gordon Avenue, Hamilton, after reports of a crash between an Audi A4 and Hyundai Mighty small rigid truck.
Police have been told the vehicles collided near Everton Street, causing the Audi to hit a power pole, with the truck coming to rest on its side on top of the Audi.
The driver of the Audi, a 26-year-old man, was assessed at the scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics.
He was taken to John Hunter Hospital for treatment and mandatory testing, along with his passenger, a 31-year-old man, who suffered a suspected broken arm.
The truck driver, a 46-year-old man, was trapped for a short time and freed by Police Rescue.
The other occupants, a 41-year-old woman and a four-year-old boy, were able to free themselves. All three were taken to John Hunter Hospital for treatment for minor injuries.
Officers from Newcastle City Police District established a crime scene, which was examined by specialist police from the Hunter Crash Investigation Unit.
Investigations into the circumstances surrounding the crash are ongoing, and anyone who may have dashcam footage or information is urged to come forward.
Author: admin
Appeal to locate woman missing from Singleton
Police are appealing for community assistance to locate a woman missing from the state’s Hunter region.
Anne-Marie Munro, also known as Annie, aged 20, was reported missing to officers from Hunter Valley Police District when she failed to return to her home on Moore Close at Singleton yesterday (Saturday 13 February 2021).
She was last seen in the Singleton area around 8pm on Friday (12 February 2021) and has not been seen or heard from since.
Police and family hold concern for her welfare due to the disappearance being out of character.
Annie is described as being of Caucasian appearance, about 160cms tall, of medium build, with brown hair and brown eyes.
She was last seen wearing a white striped t-shirt, dark pants and black shoes, carrying a jacket and black backpack.
Anyone who may have information on Annie’s whereabouts is urged to contact Singleton Police Station on (02) 6578 7499 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Search for driver after car crashes into house – Raymond Terrace
Police are searching for a driver after a car crashed into a house in the Hunter region last night.
About 8.45pm (Friday 12 February 2021), a silver Nissan Maxima sedan left the road and crashed through a brick front fence, before hitting the house on Alma Street, Raymond Terrace.
Both the driver and front seat passenger of the vehicle ran from the scene prior to the arrival of police.
A couple who were inside at the time of the crash were not injured, however, the home was significantly damaged.
NSW Fire and Rescue attended to assess the house and an exclusion zone was established.
As inquiries continue, officers from Port Stephens-Hunter Police District are appealing to the public for information to identify the driver.
In particular, police would like to hear from anyone who might have dash cam footage of the incident or who might have been driving around Raymond Terrace at the time, to come forward.
Funding to support female leaders in Australian sport
More women will reach their leadership potential with the Australian Government investing an additional $3.4 million over four years for the highly regarded Women Leaders in Sport (WLIS) program.
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women, Senator the Hon Marise Payne, said more than 25,000 women across the country had benefited from the initiative since it started in 2002.
“WLIS is helping improve outcomes for Australian women in areas including job creation, workforce participation and leadership,” Minister Payne said.
“We are focused on ensuring women already working in our sport sector, and those interested in employment opportunities, have the professional development and dedicated support needed to reach their full leadership potential.”
“Our increased commitment to this important program will help support the success of women aspiring to leadership positions in Australian sport”.
The WLIS program is managed by Sport Australia and the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), under a partnership with the Office for Women.
In February, Sport Australia opened grant applications for the WLIS Development Grants and Leadership Workshops, which will provide:
- Individuals with a grant up to the value of $10,000 to support their professional development,
- Organisations with a grant up to the value of $20,000 to provide professional development courses to employees, and
- Opportunities for individuals to undertake online WLIS Leadership Workshops.
Minister for Sport, Senator the Hon Richard Colbeck, said the WLIS grants will provide women in Australian sport with opportunities to gain new skills, knowledge and qualifications to progress their leadership journey.
“One of our key objectives with WLIS is to support as many women in sport as we can, from the start of their careers, right through to the boardroom,” Minister Colbeck said.
“This program is playing a key role in developing our next female leaders across the industry and ultimately what we want to see is a more balanced workforce that is more representative of our diverse sporting community”.
Eligibility criteria and information on how to apply for the WLIS Development Grants and Leadership Workshops can be found here. Applications close March 17.
The Program is funded under the Government’s Women’s Leadership and Development Program (WLDP).
EXXONMOBIL CLOSURE – A DEVASTATING BLOW FOR WORKERS
Labor demands that Scott Morrison intervene to save thousands of jobs in Victoria following the announcement of the closure of ExxonMobil oil refinery at Altona.
This is devastating news for hundreds of local workers and for the future of Australia’s fuel security.
This decision will cost hundreds of direct jobs and impact thousands of workers in downstream industry. This is further proof that the Government has no plan for workers affected by these decisions.
Australia’s petrochemical manufacturers all rely on by-products produced from the ExxonMobil refinery. These manufacturers will likely need assistance, given the year they’ve had through COVID, to ensure they don’t close.
Following just months after the closure of the refinery at Kwinana in Western Australia, the Morrison Government has overseen the closure of half of our domestic refineries in the last six months.
The Government announced a $211 million so-called fuel security package in September last year to keep refineries on line.
Six months later another refinery will close its doors.
Morrison and Angus Taylor said their fuel security plan would ‘create 1,000 new jobs and protect workers in the fuel sector and in fuel-dependent industries’.
Instead, their ‘stewardship’ has seen the loss of 600 jobs at Kwinana, and the imminent loss of 350 direct jobs at Altona, and many thousands more if they continue to sit on their hands.
Another hollow headline and empty promise never delivered by Scott Morrison.
Labor warned then that the package was inadequate and failed to address Australia’s fuel security needs. Today’s announcement clearly shows this Government has no real plan.
Scott Morrison’s policy vacuum has left hundreds of workers without jobs and the nation without a sovereign supply of domestic fuel.
Supporting Victoria through COVID-19
The Morrison Government will lift mutual obligation requirements for job seekers in Victoria from today 12 February 2021 to Monday 22 February 2021inclusive.
This follows an announcement by the Victorian Government that the state of Victoria is under a five-day lockdown as a short, sharp circuit breaker to curb a COVID-19 outbreak in the state.
No job seeker in the affected areas will face payment suspension or financial penalties for failing to meet their mutual obligation requirements such as not being able to attend appointments or activities.
Job seekers are still being encouraged to remain connected to employment services to ensure they are supported to access the full range of assistance including mental health services, if required.
These arrangements will apply to job seekers in jobactive, Online Employment Services, Disability Employment Services and participants in ParentsNext.
The Morrison Government will continue to closely monitor the situation in Victoria.
More information about mutual obligations requirements can be found at www.dese.gov.au/covid-19/job-seekers
New Annual brings city to life with busy opening weekend of cultural events
City of Newcastle’s inaugural festival of arts and culture will officially get underway today with a mix of live music, quirky theatrics and thought-provoking visual and performing art.
The first iteration of New Annual offers an eclectic and dynamic program running from 12 to 21 February, kicking off with a packed schedule of free and ticketed events this weekend.
Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said more than 100 individual event sessions including over 50 free activities throughout the 10-day period will allow everyone to experience the fun and festival atmosphere of the City’s newest flagship event.
“In 2019 we embarked on an ambitious journey to create and deliver a first-class cultural festival, which will one day become a leading arts event on the national calendar,” Cr Nelmes.
“Funding from Create NSW has assisted with the planning and delivery of this inaugural event, including the commissioning of five festival-specific works from local artists and companies, and we thank the NSW Government and the Minister for the Arts Don Harwin for their support.
“Months of planning and hard work will culminate this weekend in a dynamic event with broad appeal, attracting new audiences to the wealth of talent that exists within our thriving grassroots arts and cultural scene.
“Our focus for the program has been to provide a mix of free and ticketed events, which will ensure every member of our community can enjoy the New Annual experience, and I can’t wait to see everything it has in store for us.”
New Annual’s 10-day program will feature more than 100 artists involved in dance, live music, art displays, exhibitions, talks, workshops and community activations.
The opening weekend includes a fantastic line-up of ticketed shows as well as plenty of free events in the city, such as the Olive Tree @ New Annual market in Civic Park, the first of the Locally Made and Played live music shows across 16 Newcastle venues and family-friendly Up and Up street art workshops in Museum Place.
Cr Nelmes said the festival offered a diverse and inclusive program, with City of Newcastle working collaboratively with members of local indigenous communities including Worrimai man Luke Russell, a member of the Guraki Aboriginal Advisory Committee, to ensure it also reflected Newcastle’s rich indigenous culture.
“New Annual provides a vehicle through which we can tell our city’s story, share our histories and understand our identity,” Cr Nelmes said.
“The Awabakal and Worrimai communities have cared for this country we call Newcastle for more than 60,000 years and have carried rich and diverse arts and cultural practices and knowledge through many generations to contemporary life.
“New Annual is committed to working alongside the local Aboriginal community to provide a space to understand and celebrate the extraordinary contribution of our indigenous population to our city life.”
One of the spaces being used to explore these cultural practices will be the ‘Pavilion of Sand’ in Wheeler Place, where a range of free workshops led by representatives of the Worrimai and Awabakal communities and demonstrations will be on offer throughout the festival including net weaving, song and dance demonstrations and an Awabakal language workshop and storytelling.
An exhibition of significant Aboriginal artists from around Australia, curated by Emily McDaniel, will be on show at Newcastle Art Gallery, while Speaking in Colour will deliver weaving workshops to create three sculptures inspired by the coastal landscapes of the Awabakal and Worrimai country.
Newcastle Museum will also provide an insight into traditional cultural life with its Nourishing Waters exhibition, which gives viewers a glimpse into the cultural practices and stories behind the fishing tree, spear and kuueeyung (traditional canoe) that are on permanent display.
The exhibition uses a viewer’s smartphone to deliver an augmented reality experience where they can see and hear how the Worrimai people worked in close community to fish for food in the rivers and bays of Mulumbimba (Newcastle).
The augmented reality experience is voiced (partly in language) by Mr Russell, who said New Annual provided the perfect opportunity to share traditional practices with the wider community.
“As we continue to reawaken the knowledge and stories of the Worrimai people, we are thankful to have the continued support of City of Newcastle,” Mr Russell said.
“Working towards the New Annual to showcase our old people’s traditional practices has been another exciting step forward for us and City of Newcastle.”
New Annual’s program has been designed with the flexibility to operate as a COVID-19 Safe event. To find out more visit www.newannual.com.
New Annual – Opening Weekend FREE Events
SATURDAY 13 FEBRUARY
All day
- Chalk the Walk, Newcastle CBD
- Makers & Traders Audio Station and Map, starts at Civic Digest
From 9am – The Savage Divide, The Owens Collective
From 10am
- We Can Be Heroes and VOID, Newcastle Art Gallery
- Up & Up: Create Your Place, Museum Lawn
- The Olive Tree Market at New Annual, Civic Park
- Pavilion of Sand: Net weaving workshops, Wheeler Place
- The Hangar: Family Fun, Civic Park
- 1×4, Nourishing Waters and Sea, Space & Beyond, Newcastle Museum
- False Sense of Security, The Lock-Up
10.30am – Art Cart with Jasmine Craciun, Newcastle Art Gallery
2pm – VOID: Opening Weekend Talk, Newcastle Art Gallery
3pm – Meet the Artists: Pony Express & False Sense of Security, The Lock-Up
5pm – Civic Bar Beats: DJ Chuan
7.30pm – The Looby Film, Civic Playhouse
SUNDAY 14 FEBRUARY
All day
- Chalk the Walk, Newcastle CBD
- Makers & Traders Audio Station and Map, starts at Civic Digest
From 9am – The Savage Divide, The Owens Collective
From 10am
- We Can Be Heroes and VOID, Newcastle Art Gallery
- Up & Up: Create Your Place, Museum Lawn
- Pavilion of Sand: Eel and fish trap weaving workshops, Wheeler Place
- 1×4, Nourishing Waters and Sea, Space & Beyond, Newcastle Museum
- The Savage Divide, The Owens Collective
From 11am – False Sense of Security, The Lock-Up
4pm – Civic Bar Beats: DJ Tone
PM must boot Nats from water portfolio
The Prime Minister must take the water portfolio out of the hands of the climate-denying National Party, the Greens say, after a Productivity Commission report released today calls on governments to recognise the impact of the climate crisis on water security.
Greens Water Spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said:
“We’ve now got economists saying what scientists have been warning for years. The Federal Government needs to start preparing a water security plan that takes climate change seriously.
“The PM needs to start by getting the National Party out of the water portfolio.
“Australia’s water security will never be managed properly while the climate change deniers in the National Party hold the country’s water portfolio and are in charge of Australia’s water policy.
“The Nationals and Barnaby Joyce do not accept the science of climate change let alone the economics. They’re putting drinking water in our cities and our regional towns at risk, killing our river systems and putting the interests of miners ahead of small family farmers.
“Even the Productivity Commission can see miners are getting special treatment over farmers which is putting everyone’s water supply at risk.
“The PM cannot allow this PC report to be ignored. How many warnings does he need before he acts to protect all Australians not just the National Party’s mates.”
Morrison Govt’s leaked standards condemn environment to more destruction
The Morrison Government’s leaked environmental standards make a mockery of the yearlong review into environment laws by Professor Graeme Samuel and condemn Australia’s environment to more destruction, the Greens say.
Greens Environment Spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said:
“This leaked document shows the Morrison Government’s plan is for more pollution and destruction of our environment and a death sentence for Australia’s koalas and wildlife.
“The Morrison Government has shown nothing but contempt for the Samuel Review since the beginning. They drafted legislation to weaken laws before the interim report was complete, have failed to respond to the final report after more than 100 days, and now are going to put forward standards that maintain the status quo of the EPBC Act which is failing our environment and wildlife.
“Suggesting these standards will lift environmental protections is deceitful. The claims by the PM that the states and territories supported this government’s reforms is also clearly rubbish with the NSW Liberal Environment Minister reportedly calling for improved standards and an independent regulator again today.
“The Greens will be doing everything we can to ensure the Morrison Government does not further entrench the unsustainable environmental trajectory Professor Samuel has warned about.
“We need strong environmental standards that protect our iconic natural places and precious wildlife and an independent watchdog to hold governments and corporate interests to account.”
City supports live music and creative industries by raising resident awareness of vibrant night-time
Planning certificates provided by the City of Newcastle to people considering buying a property will now include reference to strategies supporting live music and the night time economy.
Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the new planning certificate notification informs prospective property purchasers that Newcastle supports live-music and advises that the City has a vibrant night time economy.
“This is a key action from our After Dark and Live Music strategies to support our local live music and creative industries while raising awareness among residents,” The Lord Mayor said.
“Newcastle boasts almost 100 live music venues, with many operating in mixed uses areas with residential neighbours.
“Placing information about live music and night time activities on planning certificates will assist in managing the expectations of those who move into the city and are surprised by the levels of background noise.”
City of Newcastle Councillor Carol Duncan said the addition of a planning certificate notice demonstrates a strong commitment to developing an activated and vibrant City.
“This initiative recognises that Newcastle is increasingly a creative and global city that must be shared by its residents in order for our night time economy to be strong, which in turn makes the city safer and economically stronger” Cr Duncan said.
“The new notification provides greater transparency for purchasers on the importance and significance City of Newcastle gives to our live music and creative industries.
“The new notification supports a vibrant City with a growing night time economy by acknowledging that noise can be experienced from live music venues and events.
“While the right of residents to not be unduly impacted by noise late at night remains in place, this is a way we can support Newcastle’s rich creative scene which is a major contributor to our local economy.
“A truly thriving and diverse night time economy will play a part of the city’s growth and success moving forward.”
City of Newcastle’s Live Music Strategy (2019) and Newcastle After Dark: Night Time Economy Strategy (2018) were unanimously supported by Council and support live music and the night-time economy which play a key role in accommodation, events, cultural and business uses in the City Centre and Town Centres.