A significant part of Sydney’s harbour front has been given back to the community as a new pier, cove and foreshore boardwalk at Sydney’s iconic Barangaroo is now open to the public.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said opening up the foreshore and new Watermans Cove is a fundamental part of Barangaroo’s transformation into a world-class, waterfront precinct.
“It is with great excitement that we can release this stunning piece of the Sydney Harbour foreshore for the people of NSW to enjoy,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“Watermans Cove is a completely public space, and with steps down towards the water, it’s an incredible place for residents, workers and tourists to relax and take in the sights of our beautiful city.”
Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Rob Stokes said Barangaroo is the most important urban renewal project to happen in Australia in decades, transforming a once neglected and inaccessible area of the city into a dynamic cultural, residential, business and retail hub.
“Waterman’s Cove delivers more than a hectare of permanent and priceless waterfront parkland for the citizens of Sydney,” Mr Stokes said.
“It demonstrates our commitment to ensure more than half of the 22 hectare Barangaroo precinct is public open space for everyone to enjoy.
“Our vision is for public space to link our harbour all the way from Rozelle Bay to Woolloomooloo Bay. Waterman’s Cove liberates one of the final missing links in making this vision a reality”.
Watermans Cove and the foreshore was designed and delivered by Lendlease and Crown Resorts in partnership with the NSW Government and will provide space for events, celebrations and entertainment as well as leisure activities by the water’s edge.
Lendlease CEO Steve McCann said Barangaroo South was undoubtedly one of the most rewarding projects the company had been involved in.
“The scale of our ambition, in particular to long term sustainability, was challenging. From the outset Lendlease and the NSW government shared a vision to create a sustainable world-class place where the community – workers, residents and visitors – thrive.
“We’ve hit the mark at Barangaroo, delivering Australia’s first carbon-neutral precinct and returning more than half of this previously inaccessible space to the people of Sydney.”
Crown Resorts Chairman Helen Coonan said visiting the new precinct would soon be a must-do for anyone wanting to experience the best that Sydney has to offer.
“The new Watermans Cove and foreshore boardwalk will provide Sydney families and visitors with another amazing experience on our beautiful harbour. We are so proud of the final outcome and that Crown could play a part in making this happen.” Ms Coonan said.
Watermans Cove is also home to over 80 newly planted trees and a state-of-the-art marine system developed between Lendlease and Sydney Institute of Marine Science to provide an environment for marine life to live and grow.
Author: admin
EXPANDED ED OPENS AT BANKSTOWN-LIDCOMBE HOSPITAL
The south-western Sydney community will access world-class healthcare in the $25 million redeveloped Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital Emergency Department, now open to patients.
Minister for Health Brad Hazzard and Member for East Hills Wendy Lindsay today visited the Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital to see first-hand the expanded emergency department, which will deliver enhanced medical care to residents of south-western Sydney, one of the fastest growing populations in the state.
“This multi-million dollar upgrade is a fantastic boost for south-western Sydney, ensuring world-class healthcare at the community’s doorstep, and allowing more patients to be treated more quickly for better health outcomes,” Mr Hazzard said.
“Patients will have a better experience thanks to additional treatment spaces, a faster journey through the emergency department, and potentially a shorter stay in hospital.”
The emergency department redevelopment includes additional adult and paediatric treatment spaces, a dedicated waiting area, enhanced mental health care, additional resuscitation beds, increased capacity in the short-stay unit and a layout designed to better streamline the flow of patients.
Ms Lindsay said the project is evidence of the NSW Government’s commitment to enhancing healthcare services for the people of south-western Sydney.
“As our south-western Sydney population continues to boom, so do the health needs of our diverse community. This safe, modern health facility will provide enhanced emergency care to improve our community’s health outcomes,” Ms Lindsay said.
The $25 million Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital Emergency Department redevelopment is a combination of a new build and upgrade of the existing emergency department space.
The NSW Government has announced $1.3 billion to build a new Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital on a new greenfield site, with planning and site investigations underway. Also underway in south-western Sydney is the $632 million stage two redevelopment of Campbelltown Hospital and $740 million redevelopment of Liverpool Hospital.
Man charged following alleged public place shooting in the Hunter
A man will face court today charged over an alleged public place shooting in the Hunter region yesterday.
About 12.15pm (Wednesday 30 September 2020), police were called to Lang Street, Kurri Kurri, following reports of shots fired.
Officers from Hunter Valley Police District attended and established a perimeter, assisted by Port Stephens-Hunter Police District.
A large-scale search of the area was conducted with the assistance of PolAir and Operation Utah officers and a 40-year-old man was arrested on Lang Street about 1.40pm.
Police attended a nearby residence and located the rifle in a vehicle. It was seized along with 16 other registered firearms and ammunition.
The man was taken to Cessnock Police Station and charged with use unauthorised firearm, steal firearm, not keep firearm safely-not prohibited firearm/pistol, use intimidation/violence to unlawfully influence person, and fire firearm in or near public place.
Police will allege in court that the man, armed with a rifle, confronted trail bike riders in nearby bushland before discharging the firearm into the air.
He was refused bail to appear at Maitland Local Court today (Thursday 1 October 2020).
Teenager dies in single-vehicle crash near Cessnock
A teenager has died in a single-vehicle crash in the state’s Hunter Valley yesterday.
About 8pm (Wednesday 30 September 2020), emergency services were called to Mount View Road, Mount View, following reports a Ford Falcon had left the roadway and crashed into a tree.
The male driver – and sole occupant of the vehicle – suffered fatal injuries and died at the scene. He is yet to be formally identified, however is believed to be an 18-year-old.
Officers from Hunter Valley Police District attended and established a crime scene.
Police have launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash.
A report will be prepared for the information of the Coroner.
Search suspended for reported surfer in distress at Newcastle Beach
Newcastle City police have suspended a search for a surfer reported to have been in difficulties off Newcastle Beach overnight.
About 6.20pm yesterday (Wednesday 30 September 2020), emergency services responded to reports a surfer appeared to be struggling in the water at Newcastle Beach.
The female witness told police that she saw what she believed was a surfer having some difficulties during choppy surf conditions about 100m offshore.
Officers attached to Newcastle City Police District conducted a search of the beach and water, with the assistance of a rescue helicopter, Police Rescue and NSW Ambulance.
The search continued this morning (Thursday 1 October 2020) – with the assistance of the Marine Area Command and NSW Surf Lifesaving – with nothing adverse located.
As no missing persons have been reported in the area, the search has been suspended.
Police would like to thank the media and the public for their assistance.
Man charged after suspicious item found at Hunter defence facility
A man has been charged after a suspicious item was located in the Hunter yesterday.
About 1.40pm (Wednesday 30 September 2020), officers attached to Port Stephens-Hunter Police District were called to a defence facility at Williamtown after a suspicious item was located.
An exclusion zone was established and with the assistance of specialist resources, the scene was declared safe about 4pm.
Officers launched an investigation into the incident and following extensive inquiries, a 60-year-old man was arrested at a Lake Macquarie home later that afternoon.
He was taken to Belmont Police Station and charged with leave/send substance/article create false belief of danger.
He was granted conditional bail to appear at Raymond Terrace Local Court on Monday 19 October 2020.
Investigations are ongoing.
Tehan Scrambles To Patch Up Uni Funding Disaster
Australian Greens Education spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has said the Education Minister’s announcement the Commonwealth will fund 12,000 more student places for 2021 is a last-minute scramble to drum up support for unpopular university fee hikes and funding cuts.
Senator Faruqi said:
“Universities need a guaranteed, long-term funding boost, not a cynical injection of last-minute cash as the disastrous job-ready bill hangs in the balance.
“Universities are shedding tens of thousands of jobs and facing multi-billion dollar cuts. The government proposes putting a tiny band-aid on an open wound.
“While money for student places is always welcome, this is effectively an admission that the places promised in Job-ready Graduates come nowhere near satisfying demand for next year. Even with these new places, it won’t be anywhere near enough.
“When Covid-19 hit, the Liberals should have shown some leadership, provided a rescue package for universities and made university free for all students to aid our recovery.
“The grim reality is the government is crying poor on university funding while drawing up plans to bring forward billions in tax cuts for the wealthy,” she said.
New funding and support strategy for younger people living in aged care
The Morrison Government today announced new funding and a strategy for reducing the number of younger people living in residential aged care.
Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, Stuart Robert, and Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians, Senator Richard Colbeck said the initiative includes $10.6m in the 2020-21 Budget for a national network of system coordinators to help younger people find age-appropriate accommodation and supports to allow them to live independently in the community.
Minister Robert said the Younger People in Residential Aged Care (YPIRAC) Strategy charts the course to meet the strengthened targets set by the Government in late 2019 and builds upon the YPIRAC Action Plan released in March 2019.
‘The Morrison Government is committed to ensuring no younger person needs to live in residential aged care,’ Mr Robert said.
The YPIRAC targets seek to ensure, apart from in exceptional circumstances, there are no people under the age of 65 entering residential aged care by 2022; no people under the age of 45 living in residential aged care by 2022; and no people under the age of 65 living in residential aged care by 2025.
‘The experiences and needs of younger people living in residential aged care, their families and carers, are central to this strategy,’ Mr Robert said.
‘It recognises and prioritises the rights of younger people to determine where and how they choose to live.
‘Priority areas of work have been co-designed with key stakeholders, with input from state and territory governments.
‘These include supporting greater choice and control, improving pathways and linkages across the disability, aged care, housing and health systems, and providing age-appropriate accommodation and ongoing support options.
‘Under the NDIS, we have seen significant progress in reducing the number of participants in residential aged care.”
From the launch of the Government’s YPIRAC Action Plan (March quarter 2019) to 30 June 2020, there has been a 39 per cent reduction in younger people entering residential aged care from 407 to 247, a 22 per cent reduction in people under the age of 45 living in residential aged care from 167 to 130, and a 15 per cent reduction in people under the age of 65 living in residential aged care from 5,715 to 4,860.
Minister Colbeck said the system coordinator initiative, funded in the 2020-21 Budget, will assist the Government to achieve and report against the targets in the YPIRAC Strategy.
‘As part of the 2020-21 Budget, the Government is establishing a national network of up to 40 system coordinators to directly help younger people living in, or at risk of entry to, residential aged care,’ Senator Colbeck said.
‘People who want to live on their own terms and with independence in the community will be supported to navigate Commonwealth and state and territory systems.
‘System coordinators will work with younger people and their families to support younger people to access the disability services, health services, housing and social supports they need.’
‘The initiative will go a long way to support younger people to move from residential aged care to age-appropriate accommodation and supports by 2025.’
The Younger People in Residential Aged Care Strategy 2020-2025 can be found here:
www.dss.gov.au/ypirac.
Additional protection for Victorian aged care services
The Australian Government is extending testing and bolstering the supply of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) throughout residential aged care facilities across Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire to further supress COVID-19 infection rates.
To support the Victorian Government, capacity for asymptomatic testing of aged care workers will be extended and an additional seven million P2/N95 respirator face masks will be provided as the Commonwealth continues to help the sector drive down case numbers.
In making the announcement, Minister for Health, Greg Hunt, said the distribution of additional masks for aged care facilities reinforced the existing health safeguards for residents, workers and families.
“We are committed to ensuring all aged care facilities across the country have access to the critical PPE they require to keep residents and staff safe,” Minister Hunt said.
“To date, we have provided more than 12 million masks and approximately 3.5 million goggles and face shields to Victorian aged care services.”
Urging providers and staff to remain vigilant, Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians, Richard Colbeck, said “the decrease in community transmission in Victoria was cause for optimism.”
“All facilities will be able to request P2/N95 respirator masks to support their delivery of safe care,” Minister Colbeck said.
He said capacity would also be extended to continue to regularly test aged care workers in Victoria.
“In July, we established Mobile Testing Clinics to test asymptomatic staff and residents in residential aged care facilities in Melbourne and Mitchell Shire,” Minister Colbeck said.
“This will be continued by the Australian Government’s dedicated aged care in-reach pathology service that prioritises COVID-19 testing for aged care residents and workers.
“Under the ‘in-reach’ program, more than 152,000 tests at more than 11,000 site visits to almost 2000 residential aged care facilities across Australia have been conducted.”
The Australian Government has already provided further support by funding bulk-billed Medicare tests for asymptomatic Victorian aged care workers which they will continue to take at any time.
This work helps detect areas of community transmission before outbreaks in aged care services occur. To date, more than 10,500 tests have been conducted.
New Funding In Budget To Deliver Australian Screen Content
The Australian Government is supporting Australian screen content by simplifying regulations and injecting $53 million into the development and production of local film and television as part of the 2020-21 Federal Budget.
Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher MP, said that a vibrant local screen industry was essential to Australia’s cultural identity, while also supporting jobs and economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Government is providing $30 million in funding to Screen Australia over two years to support the production of Australian drama, documentary and children’s film and television content,” Minister Fletcher said.
“Screen Australia will also receive an additional $3 million over three years to establish a competitive grants program to cultivate quality Australian screenwriting and script development.
“We are also providing $20 million to the Australian Children’s Television Foundation over two years to boost the development, production and distribution of high-quality Australian children’s content.”
As part of these changes, the Producer Offset – a key screen funding mechanism through which producers receive a refund of part of the production budget through the tax system – will be set at a harmonised 30 per cent for all domestic film and television production.
‘The old approach of treating film and television differently no longer makes sense. Increasing the offset to 30 per cent for television will mean additional funding for Australian television production – and in turn support higher production values and programs with a better prospect of being sold into the global content market, taking advantage of the opportunity created by the explosion of streaming video services like Netflix, Disney+, Stan and Amazon Prime.”
These measures will be complemented by changes to streamline and simplify the drama, documentaries and children’s content ‘sub-quota’ Australian content rules for broadcasters.
The sub-quotas were temporarily suspended as an emergency measure during COVID-19, but will be reintroduced from 1 January 2021.
Content will count towards the new, simplified requirement if it is either drama, or children’s content, or documentary content. With the minor exception of a cap on the number of hours of documentary content that can be counted towards meeting the requirement, the particular mix chosen will be a matter for each broadcaster based on its business strategy and judgement of audience appeal.
Commercial broadcasters will continue to be required to provide 55 per cent overall Australian content on their primary channels between 6:00 am and midnight, and to provide 1,460 hours of Australian content per year on their multi-channels.
The points scheme underpinning the sub-quotas will give more points to higher-budget productions, creating a stronger incentive to commission bigger budget drama which is more likely to be sold globally rather than only be seen in Australia.
The Government will also legislate to reduce the existing Australian content spend obligation on selected subscription television channels from ten per cent to five per cent.
The Government has moved quickly to implement this package of reforms in the first budget brought down after the Supporting Australian Stories on our Screens options paper and consultation process.
It forms part of the Government’s 2019 commitment, in response to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s Digital Platforms Inquiry, to a staged process to reform media regulation towards an end state of a platform-neutral regulatory framework covering both online and offline delivery of media content to Australian consumers.
Work will continue under that process, including examining whether to introduce an Australian content spend obligation on streaming video on demand services above a minimum size threshold in the Australian market.
As an initial measure, the largest streaming video services will be asked to commence reporting to the Australian Communications and Media Authority on Australian content acquisition from the 2021 calendar year.
“The Government very much appreciates the strong engagement we received during our consultations this year,” Minister Fletcher said.
“The views of stakeholders and interested parties were very clear – we need to continue our support for the production of Australian content, but we also need to remove unsustainable obligations on industry and tailor our interventions to match the new and diverse ways Australian content is being produced and consumed.”
“The measures announced today are designed to do just that. They begin to rebalance our regulatory framework and provide Australians with the opportunity to access Australian content across a range of media, regardless of whether they want to watch free-to-air television, subscription television or streaming services.”
More information on this package can be found here.