The CSIRO will have up to 450 of the science agency’s staff and researchers based at a new state of the art facility in the heart of the Western Sydney Aerotropolis.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the current CSIRO plan is to relocate many of its Sydney-based staff into a purpose-built facility that would support collaboration and the delivery of cutting-edge science.
The Aerotropolis will be a new focal point for Australian innovation, research and productivity, which is why it is the perfect home for Australia’s national science agency,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“CSIRO is a national icon and would set the tone for the Aerotropolis as an innovation hub which will drive the creation of more than 200,000 jobs across the Western Parkland City.”
Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said the successful conclusion of negotiations will pave the way for construction on CSIRO’s facility in the Aerotropolis Core to start in mid-2023 and be complete by 2026.
“The addition of CSIRO to the Aerotropolis would confirm the precinct as the future epicentre for science, research, innovation and industry collaboration in the Asia-Pacific,” Mr Ayres said.
CSIRO Chief Executive Dr Larry Marshall said the agency’s presence at Aerotropolis would support collaboration and put science and technology right at the heart of this new smart and liveable city.
“The more we can put science in the hands of real people to solve real problems, the better our future will be, so the collaboration and connectedness of the Western Sydney Aerotropolis is an immense opportunity for CSIRO and the future we are shaping for Australia,” Dr Marshall said.
“The Aerotropolis reflects the new generation of CSIRO, agile and diverse, while building on a great 100 year legacy of innovation through collaboration. Sydney is where CSIRO invented fast WiFi and where we will invent the next innovations for our future prosperity and sustainability.”
The plan is for a CSIRO facility of up to 18,000m2 with collaborative workshops and meeting spaces alongside state-of-the-art facilities and laboratories.
The proposed CSIRO facility will benefit from the $11 billion Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport rail which will service the greater Western Sydney region, in time for the opening of Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport in 2026.
Author: admin
REFORMS FOR A WORLD CLASS PLANNING SYSTEM
Drastically reduced planning assessment times, less red tape, and user friendly e-planning tools will help turbo-charge the economic recovery, through an $83 million NSW Planning Reform Action Plan revealed today.
Speaking at a Committee for Economic Development Australia (CEDA) event, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the plan would build on momentum created by the NSW Government’s efforts to use the planning system to keep people in jobs and keep the economy moving during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The planning system has proved an incredibly powerful tool in our fight against the economic impacts of the pandemic,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“This plan takes us into the next phase of reform, creating a system that is efficient, rigorous, supports our economy and our environment, is accessible online and is easy for anyone to use.”
The changes will slash times as follows;
- Rezoning decisions cut by 191 days (33% time savings)
- Decisions on Development Applications (DAs) for larger, regionally significant projects cut by 91 days (25% time savings)
- Decisions on major projects of significance to the State cut by 20 days (17% time savings).
The Government has also invested almost $10 million to enhance its ePlanning platform and ensure all councils can get online to process DAs more quickly and transparently slash DA processing times by more than half.
“Homeowners can now lodge DAs online from the comfort of their home, making renovating quicker, easier and hassle-free,” Ms Berejiklian said.
All councils will have to adopt the online system by 1 July 2021.
Planning and Public Spaces Minister Rob Stokes said the NSW Planning Reform Action Plan builds on the momentum underway to create a more timely, certain and transparent planning system.
“In the past 10 weeks alone, we’ve approved projects worth more than $1 billion a week, unlocking the potential to create more than 30,000 jobs, 2 million sqm of open space and more than 8,000 new homes,” Mr Stokes said.
“This plan will cut unnecessary duplication of processes and boost resources in our assessment team, so that we can keep as many people in jobs and keep our State moving both now and in the months and years ahead.
“NSW Government agencies are also on notice as part of this plan both to reduce the number of unnecessary concurrences and referrals cases, and reduce those that are outside statutory timeframes, with support from the newly established Planning Delivery Unit that is unblocking projects that are stuck in the system.”
The NSW Planning Reform Action Plan also includes:
- Implementing the next phase of the ePlanning Program to make it easier to interact with the planning system;
- A reduction in applications requiring agency concurrences and referrals, and new benchmark timeframes on key assessment and planning functions;
- Complying development reforms to support emerging industries and fast track government projects; and
- Boost the role and resourcing of the Land and Environment Court by establishing a new class of appeals for rezonings to help unblock the planning system and appoint an additional two commissioners to enable more cases to be heard each year.
For more information on the Planning Reform Action Plan visit www.planning.nsw.gov.au/Planning-reforms
NSW TO LEAD THE NATION IN VIRTUAL HEALTHCARE
The NSW Government will investigate a wider roll-out of virtual healthcare services following the successful expansion of the NSW virtual health system during COVID-19.
The success complements the NSW Government’s record spend on health, with more than $26 billion invested in the NSW health care system over the past 12 months.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said NSW patients and clinicians have embraced virtual healthcare, with a 700 per cent increase in the use of virtual health services over the four months from February to May 2020, compared with the same period last year.
“The social distancing requirements that became a necessity with COVID-19 led to a rapid ramp-up of NSW Health’s virtual care system – with more than 82,000 outpatient appointments delivered via videoconference over four months,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“Virtual healthcare has proven to be particularly effective for follow up and secondary appointments, after a patient’s initial diagnosis at a face-to-face consultation.
“Traditionally, less than a quarter of a per cent of all outpatient services are delivered via videoconference in NSW. However, by May 2020 this had risen to four per cent.
“This rapid expansion allowed patients to be cared for in their own homes without the inconvenience of travelling outside their home.
“Virtual health technology is proving to be a game-changer for both patients and clinicians – and that’s why the NSW Government will continue to invest in the technology which provides easy to access, hospital in the home style care.
“We are already nation leaders with our record health infrastructure program and now we want to lead the country in virtual health technology”.
A recent survey of patients treated by the new RPAvirtual model in Sydney Local Health District found:
- 89 per cent said the technologies used by RPAvirtual improved their access to care and treatment;
- 80 per cent felt confident at home knowing their symptoms were monitored daily; and
- 72 per cent said the wearable monitoring devices they were provided were easy to use.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said virtual health had proven to be particularly useful in rural, remote and regional areas of NSW, where residents have been able to access a wider range of services without travelling long distances.
“Patients have said while initial face to face contact with their treating clinician is important, follow up appointments by telehealth are well received,” Mr Hazzard said.
“It means patients in regional and rural areas don’t have the stress of travelling long distances to hospital and have better access to specialists.”
Hunter New England and Western NSW Local Health Districts have been early adopters of virtual healthcare, which has been further expanded over recent months.
It is a Premier’s Priority to reduce preventive visits to hospital by five per cent by 2023 and virtual health is an important element in achieving this goal.
The NSW Government has invested $75 million over two years to support virtual health services
Licensed premises fined over public health breach – Jindabyne
A licensed premises in Jindabyne has become the first venue in NSW to be shut down for a period of time following serious concerns and breaches of public health and safety during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Between Tuesday 5 May 2020 and Saturday 11 July 2020, police issued a premises in Jindabyne with three formal and several informal warnings relating to intoxication levels and public health and safety issues, including large groups of people failing to social distance.
About 7.30pm on Saturday 11 July 2020, officers from Monaro Police District attended the premises and forced closure of the venue.
The premises remained closed for a 72-hour period and has since been spoken to by police regarding their COVID-19 safety plan.
Following extensive inquiries, the venue was issued with a $5000 fine earlier today (Tuesday 14 July 2020), for failing to comply with requirements of a Public Health Order – COVID-19.
The maximum penalty for contravening a Public Health Order is a fine of up to $11,000 and/or six months imprisonment.
The standard penalty is a fine by way of an on-the-spot Penalty Infringement Notice (PIN) – $1000 for individuals and $5000 for businesses.
Monaro Police District Commander, Superintendent Paul Condon, said police will continue to work with businesses in relation to their COVID-19 safety plans and provide advice and guidance.
“The safety of the Snowy Mountains community is paramount, and we will continue to take action against those businesses that choose to ignore ministerial directions,” Supt Condon said.
“When we launched Operation Snow Safe last month, we made it clear to the community that this season will not be business as usual.
“We have been working closely with our partner agencies and local businesses to make sure everyone is on the same page when it comes to the health and safety of our community.”
Investigations are continuing in relation to other offences under the Liquor Act.
Anyone who has information regarding individuals or businesses in contravention of a COVID-19-related ministerial direction is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report crime via NSW Police social media pages.
Woman charged with ongoing drug supply – Cessnock
A woman will face court today charged with alleged ongoing drug supply in the Hunter region.
Officers from Hunter Valley Police District established Strike Force Lirki to investigate the death of a 36-year-old man at Cessnock on 25 September 2018.
A 34-year-old man was charged over the death and remains before the courts.
During the course of the investigation, detectives received information about the ongoing supply of methylamphetamine and cannabis in the Hunter region.
Following extensive inquiries, strike force detectives arrested a 33-year-old woman at a facility at Silverwater about 12pm on Thursday (2 July 2020).
She was charged with three counts of supply prohibited drug on an ongoing basis and one count of supply indictable quantity of prohibited drug.
The woman was remanded in custody to appear at Newcastle Local Court today (Wednesday 15 July 2020).
Missing man located – Lake Macquarie
A missing Lake Macquarie man has been located safe and well.
The 59-year-old Macquarie Hills man was reported missing this morning by members of his family.
About 5pm today (Wednesday 15 July 2020), the man was located in Cronulla.
Police would like to thank the public and the media for their assistance.
Extra support urgently needed for disabled people & carers
The Australian Greens have reiterated their calls for people on the Disability Support Pension (DSP) and Carer Payment to receive extra economic support to help them get through the COVID-19 crisis.
Spokesperson for Families, Ageing and Community Services Senator Rachel Siewert said that in the wake of the second wave of the COVID-19 crisis we are now seeing, especially Victoria, the Government must urgently top up the DSP and Carer Payments so that disabled people and carers can meet the additional costs they are facing because of the pandemic.
“Disabled people and carers have been doing it extremely tough for the last few months without extra support to assist them with the higher costs they’ve been facing for groceries, transport and access to essential supports and medical supplies,” Senator Siewert said.
“With further lockdowns and economic hardship now inevitable, it is incumbent on this government to acknowledge the thousands of Australians on the DSP and Carer payment who need extra support.”
Spokesperson for Disability Rights and Services Senator Jordon Steele-John said people had been desperately holding out for the second $750 economic support payment, which will be paid today and should be reaching people over the course of this week.
“Frankly, this extra payment has been barely enough for people to hold on,” Steele-John said.
“Since this crisis began my office has been flooded with calls and emails from people saying they are struggling to make ends meet, and that the first payment was only able to cover things like rent arrears, bills that had been piling up or had simply enabled them to buy fresh fruit and vegetables for the first time in months.
“I know that this second payment will be the same; people will use it to cover the costs of essentials and very quickly it will disappear, putting many thousands of disabled people and carers back in a precarious financial position if they don’t receive extra, ongoing support from the government.
“We are once again calling on the Government to provide a top-up payment to Disability Support Pension and Carer Payment recipients so that these payments are equal to the new rate of Jobseeker Payment to make sure that eveyrone has the support they need to get throught his crisis.”
PRIVATISED REEF PROTECTION PLAN STILL IGNORES CLIMATE CRISIS
The release of the 2020-2021 workplan for the Reef Trust Partnership once again shows the Reef requires comprehensive, science-based protection by its proper management authority, and government-wide action on the climate crisis, says Greens Leader in the Senate and Queensland Senator Larissa Waters
“The Liberals would privatise their mothers if they could, and the Great Barrier Reef is the latest casualty of this ideology,” Senator Waters said.
“The Great Barrier Reef has faced three of the worst coral bleaching episodes in its long history in the last five years because of coal-driven climate change. This workplan talks about the need to tackle climate change and transition to clean energy, but does nothing towards that goal.”
“The proposal for tackling coral bleaching is not job-creating climate action, but research into shadecloths.
“The proposal for a ‘national behavioural change challenge’ to tackle climate change focuses on community projects, not changing the behaviour of the fossil fuel industry.
“The climate crisis worsens as the Morrison government dances to its fossil fuel donors’ tune, and now they want praise for researching a glorified sun umbrella for the 50% of coral left in the Reef.
“Shadecloths and Crown of Thorns starfish research are bandaid solutions while the big threats to the Reef – climate change and water quality – continue to be ignored or underfunded.
“This workplan is more rearranging of the deck chairs on the Titanic by a federal government that ignores and worsens the climate crisis, and underfunds water quality improvement by orders of magnitude.
“The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and Australian Institute of Marine Science, who have an actual mandate to protect and manage the Reef, have been undermined and continue to be underfunded by the Morrison Government.
“The 60,000 people who rely on a healthy Reef, and the World Heritage status of this biodiversity icon, demands so much better from the fossil fuel donation-hooked large political parties.”
More Australian Defence Force Personnel To Join Victoria’s Coronavirus Response
A further 1000 Australian Defence Force personnel will be deployed to Victoria to support the coronavirus response.
Since the offer from the Commonwealth Government of additional resources was accepted on Sunday, the Victorian Government has been working with the Emergency Management Commissioner and the Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police to determine their best use.
Due to the evolving situation, from today an open Request for Assistance model will be in place for ADF personnel to be deployed. The additional ADF support will be deployed across the following areas, based on need:
- State Control Centre planning, logistics and intelligence reporting
- Public health response focusing on contact tracing data management and analysis, information flow as well as the allocation and tracking of tasks and the onboarding staff to undertake interviews
- Support for supply and logistics to ensure physical care packages such as food and toys and other essential supplies are provided to public housing residents
- Support focusing on testing in metro, regional/rural and tourist locations
- Assisting relevant agencies with community engagement focusing on community awareness and outreach, particularly in high risk areas as well as critical infrastructure and regional workplaces
- Partnering with Ambulance Victoria paramedic response crews to expand Ambulance Victoria’s response capabilities by providing personnel to act as a second crew member that can support paramedics at scenes and drive back to hospital
- Compliance checking to support Victoria Police’s enforcement of the Chief Health Officer’s stay at home orders
- Surge capacity as required in relation to vehicle check points
It is expected this will see the current contingent of over 400 personnel remain in Victoria for at least the duration of the Stage 3 restrictions set to conclude on Wednesday 19 August. The extra 1,000 ADF personnel will begin to deploy in coming days and it is expected this will continue over the next four weeks.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Commonwealth Government would continue to work with Victoria to support the state’s response to the deadly virus.
“We will help Victoria with whatever it takes to save lives and to save livelihoods,” the Prime Minister said.
“Our highly trained ADF personnel will work alongside state authorities to surge support for Victoria to ensure they get the backing they need to help respond to the situation. This is a serious situation facing not just Victoria, but the whole country.”
Premier Daniel Andrews thanked the Commonwealth and other states for their continued support and collaboration to help slow the spread of coronavirus.
“This is a public health bushfire – just as we help out other states in summer, help is coming from across the nation now, including Australian Defence Force personnel in addition to the strong support provided over recent months – and we are grateful for that,” the Premier said.
“As all Victorians work together to follow the rules they should be assured we have a massive team working around the clock to keep every Victorian family safe.”
At the request of the Victorian Government, the Commonwealth through the National Cabinet last week also agreed to extend the cancellation of all scheduled international passenger airline services to Victoria until further notice.
New map offers helicopter view of local development
A bird’s eye view of all development applications in Newcastle is now available online via an interactive aerial map on the City’s website.
The map makes it easy for residents and interested parties to access information about current development applications (DAs), modifications, reviews and complying development certificates (CDCs), as well as all development determinations made in the 12 months prior.
Development locations are marked on a Google Earth-style map with a pin showing properties, street names, suburbs and local landmarks.
The coloured markers represent applications on exhibition (yellow), pending applications (blue) and those approved (green) or refused (red) in the past 12 months.
Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the map was a great way to see what development was underway in any part of the city.
“The map is a great convenience for residents and customers who previously had to search individual properties or streets on our website to obtain a list of proposed or approved developments,” the Lord Mayor said.
“For the first time, Novocastrians can, from the convenience of their phone or computer, scroll through an aerial map of developments across the city and see what’s happening and where.
“Users can also link to our development application tracker via the “more info” option when they scroll down in the pop-up box, which links to relevant documents, plans and application details.”
The map’s launch comes amid marginally increased development activity across Newcastle, despite the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The City received six more development applications in the three months from March (332) than it did during the corresponding period last year (326).
“The number of development applications being lodged with the City of Newcastle this year is consistent with last year, including through the period since COVID-19 started to impact the economy,” the Lord Mayor said.
“Development applications for the three months were worth $141 million, which is estimated to sustain up to 830 local jobs.
“This indicates that there continues to be opportunities in the construction sector in Newcastle with a mix of development types – the majority on existing sites or home improvements.
“The HomeBuilder program, which is offering $25,000 to build a new home or substantially renovate an existing one, may create further opportunities for the construction industry in Newcastle over the coming six to 12 months.”