South Newcastle Beach project update

City of Newcastle will review the location of a proposed skate bowl at South Newcastle Beach following community consultation in December on the latest stage of the Bathers Way project.
While the overall project is strongly supported by the community, a number of respondents surveyed on the Newcastle Beach Bathers Way section expressed concerns about the design of the bowl – most notably its location on the beach.
inside2.jpgUpgrades at Newcastle Beach will be part of the next stage of the City’s Bathers Way project
Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the City was aware of the community’s concerns and would look to address the December feedback in a design review on a small part of the broader plans for Newcastle Beach.
“The Bathers Way – Newcastle Beach is the largest and most complex stage of the Bathers Way project,” Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said.
“It’s therefore critical that we continue to engage with people to enable us to consider what needs to be addressed so that we can deliver a project that is in the best interests of the community.
“Changes in State Government legislation, which came into effect in July 2018 for development in coastal areas, also means the planning pathway to approval is uncertain. At the least, additional assessment criteria would be required meaning the project would be under continued uncertainty for possibly another twelve months.
“Given this uncertainty and the community concern, the sensible action from Council is to re-examine the location of the skate bowl, with a view to potentially delivering the project within the existing footprint. This would enable the skate bowl to proceed but without it being located on the beach itself,” she said.
While the overall project was welcomed by those who attended the Bathers Way – Newcastle Beach drop-in sessions, concerns were raised regarding some aspects of the skate bowl design, mirroring the results of an online survey.
A total of 191 of the 335 people surveyed opposed the project, citing the skate bowl’s protrusion onto Newcastle Beach as their main concern.
The City will now undertake a review of the placement of the skate bowl to address community feedback, and enable the project to progress.
“This will ensure that we continue to achieve our vision of delivering this exciting public pathway along one of the most magnificent stretches of coastline in the country,” the Lord Mayor said.
“Currently the project timeline expects that design documentation could continue until the end of this financial year. The construction is scheduled to commence in 2019/20 and take up to two years to complete.”
In recent years, Council has invested around $27million in coastal revitalisation projects including the Bathers Way, along with significant investment in infrastructure renewal to support the delivery of this regionally significant project.

EQUIPPING OUR ADF PERSONNEL WITH GREATER CHOICE

A Shorten Labor Government will give our ADF members choice to select their issued boots for service – our ADF members aren’t one size fits all, and their boots shouldn’t be, either.
Our military personnel are our most critical ADF capability. It is vital they are well equipped to perform at their best and deliver on their mission.
ADF members work day in, day out, in their kit and, like us, our ADF personnel are not one-size fits all.
That’s why Labor will recognise the importance of our ADF personnel being fitted with a more individual approach.
Labor’s approach will see Defence provide a greater range of pre-approved boots to fit the needs of the ADF personnel and Defence’s requirements.
Labor will establish a panel of providers to let ADF members choose from a range of pre-approved boots that best meet their individual needs while also meeting the requirements of their service.
This will give members more choice and flexibility to suit their individual needs while maintaining ADF requirements.
The success of the ADF depends, in part, on the quality and appropriateness of personnel clothing and equipment.
Labor is committed to supporting the principle of greater choice for packs. We will work with experts in Government to determine the feasibility of expanding greater access to packs which suit both our ADF personnel and their operational requirements.
Our ADF personnel’s safety and wellbeing is a priority to Labor. That is why we are committed to ensuring our ADF members have the best possible equipment that meets their individual needs, ensures their physical health, and in turn produces better outcomes for the ADF.

LABOR WILL INVEST IN 100 EXTRA JOBS FOR CAIRNS

A Shorten Labor Government will create 100 permanent full time Department of Human Services jobs in Cairns.
These 100 new and secure jobs will inject up to $7.2 million into the local economy each and every year.
This announcement will further cement Cairns as a national hub for Commonwealth Government service delivery and administration.
It is a further example of Federal Labor’s commitment to the decentralisation of Commonwealth Government service delivery.
The 100 jobs will include local service delivery and call centre roles that will provide support for people across Australia.
Regional centres like Cairns have been ignored when it comes to decentralising Government service delivery.
The Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government has turned its back on North Queensland, with a campaign of cuts to DHS and Centrelink that are leaving Cairns residents waiting longer to receive support.
Medicare and Centrelink services help the Cairns community when they need it the most – when people are sick, processing aged care pensions, child care support, disability support pensions and carers allowance payments.
These jobs will improve access to Medicare and Centrelink and reduce waiting and processing time for older Australians – important services that have been left to deteriorate under the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government.
Income support is complex and that’s why it is important there are properly trained and permanent staff who are familiar with the personal circumstances facing income support recipients.
There are 13,000 age pensioners in Cairns, who have endured lengthy phone wait times to Centrelink as well as lengthy wait times for their pensions to be approved. There are 1,700 young people on youth allowance, who are studying or undertaking an apprenticeship – all who will benefit from the increased support as a result of these jobs.
The truth is Centrelink is in crisis under the Turnbull Government. It’s under staffed and under resourced.
The Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government has cut and outsourced over 1,700 staff from DHS and Centrelink and cut thousands of public sector jobs in regional Australia.
These cuts have coincided with increased Centrelink phone wait times, and income support recipients being pushed to the edge of poverty waiting months for their payments.
These roles will be permanent and full time, and staff will be properly trained to assist Australians on income support.
Labor can afford this because we have made the tough decisions to make multinationals pay their fair share of tax, close tax loopholes used by the top end of town.
We will also clamp down on blowouts in spending on contractors and consultants, and unnecessary and unreasonable travel.
Labor’s focused on Cairns jobs and Cairns services – we’re listening to the local community and making the investments needed to build a stronger local economy and create genuine job opportunities.

LABOR WILL INVEST IN 200 EXTRA JOBS FOR TOWNSVILLE

A Shorten Labor Government will create 200 permanent full time Department of Human Services jobs in Townsville.
These 200 new and secure jobs will inject up to $14.4 million into the local economy each and every year.
This announcement will further cement Townsville as a national hub for Commonwealth Government service delivery and administration.
It is a further example of Federal Labor’s commitment to the decentralisation of Commonwealth Government service delivery.
The 200 jobs will include local service delivery and call centre roles that will provide support for people across Australia.
Regional centres like Townsville have been ignored when it comes to decentralising Government service delivery.
The Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government has turned its back on North Queensland, with a campaign of cuts to DHS and Centrelink that are leaving Townsville residents waiting longer to receive support.
Medicare and Centrelink services help the Townsville community when they need it the most – when people are sick, processing aged care pensions, child care support, disability support pensions and carers allowance payments.
These jobs will improve access to Medicare and Centrelink and reduce waiting and processing time for older Australians – important services that have been left to deteriorate under the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government.
Income support is complex and that’s why it is important there are properly trained and permanent staff who are familiar with the personal circumstances facing income support recipients.
There are 15,000 age pensioners in Townsville, who have endured lengthy phone wait times to Centrelink as well as lengthy wait times for their pensions to be approved. There are 2,700 young people on youth allowance, who are studying or undertaking an apprenticeship – all who will benefit from the increased support as a result of these jobs.
The truth is Centrelink is in crisis under the Turnbull Government. It’s under staffed and under resourced.
The Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government has cut and outsourced over 2,700 staff from DHS and Centrelink and cut thousands of public sector jobs in regional Australia.
These cuts have coincided with increased Centrelink phone wait times, and income support recipients being pushed to the edge of poverty waiting months for their payments.
These roles will be permanent and full time, and staff will be properly trained to assist Australians on income support.
Labor can afford this because we have made the tough decisions to make multinationals pay their fair share of tax, close tax loopholes used by the top end of town.
We will also clamp down on blowouts in spending on contractors and consultants, and unnecessary and unreasonable travel.
Labor’s focused on Townsville jobs and Townsville services – we’re listening to the local community and making the investments needed to build a stronger local economy and create genuine job opportunities.

LABOR WILL INVEST IN A NEW ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE FOR PROSERPINE

A Shorten Labor Government will invest $5 million to rebuild the Proserpine Entertainment Centre – generating 43 local jobs in construction and giving the local community a vote of confidence in the future of their region.
The entertainment centre is a central part of the town’s identity, but it was badly damaged through Cyclone Debbie in 2017 and has been closed since, forcing events to relocate and limiting the region’s capacity to attract new events.
Rebuilding it is an integral step in helping the community’s ongoing recovery efforts, and to boost tourism and economic opportunities in the region – one of the most unique and beautiful parts of Australia.
Labor’s investment will go towards reconstruction of a new complex, including:

  • The capacity for a 300 seat auditorium for live shows and movies.
  • A conference and function space with a capacity for 256.
  • Full access for people with disability.
  • Enhanced facilities including green room, change rooms, loading dock and prop storage.

It’s estimated that some weeks more than 1,000 people will use the centre – providing an economic and social boost to Proserpine and the broader Whitsunday community.
A new entertainment centre would also provide a large air conditioned facility for local community groups to use, particularly local senior citizen groups.
During construction the project is forecast to have an economic output of $16.7 million and create 43 jobs during construction, and once fully operational it will generate an annual $3.3 million output and 16 fulltime equivalent jobs.
This investment is the result of the hard work and advocacy of Labor candidate Belinda Hassan – who has been listening to the local community about what they want for their region.
Residents in Proserpine and the Whitsundays have done the hard work to rebuild their community after Cyclone Debbie, and Labor’s investment will give them extra support in continuing these efforts.
This is a beautiful part of Queensland – it deserves a government in Canberra that listens and acts on the things that matter. That’s what Labor will do.

Free Higher Education Essential for Jobs of the Future

Australian Greens Senator for NSW and Education Spokesperson, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, has said free higher education is the key to ensuring equitable access to jobs of the future. An Alphabeta ‘Future Skills Report’ has found that Australians will need new skills to adjust to the future of work and will need to spend an additional three hours a week in education and training and that the average Australian worker will likely change jobs 2.4 times over the next two decades.
Details of the Greens free higher education package for universities and TAFEs can be found here.
Senator Faruqi said:
“Technology is rapidly changing the way we work and learn. Students graduating today will be working in industries we haven’t even imagined yet. If we are to take advantage of automation and technological change, we need to ensure that people are able to retrain and re-skill without incurring crushing debts over and over again.
“Automation offers incredible opportunities but if we do not properly plan for it, we are open to the risk of leaving huge numbers of people behind. We know that learning, upskilling and reskilling are essential for workers to be able to thrive in the jobs of the future, particularly those whose industries will be disrupted by technology.
“Removing fees for higher education will mean people will be able to move seamlessly between jobs and careers without the threat of huge debts. It’s time to make education free again,” she concluded.

Research demonstrating marriage equality postal survey was harmful to LGBTIQ+ people not a surprise, Greens

New research showing the harm caused to LGBTIQ+ people by the marriage equality vote including elevated levels of depression, anxiety and stress, is not a surprise, say Greens.
“We all knew the postal survey was going to cause harm to LGBTIQ+ people – everyone from medical experts, mental health organisations, community groups and LGBTIQ+ people continuously warned against it,” said Senator Janet Rice, Australian Greens LGBTIQ+ spokesperson.
“This research reiterates that we never should have had a public vote to determine something that we already knew – that the vast majority of Australians support marriage equality.”
“Instead of politicians doing the job we were elected to do, Malcolm Turnbull capitulated to the hard right of the Liberal party and put LGBTIQ+ communities through months of torment.”
“The postal survey legitimised homophobia and transphobia, it gave a platform to hateful views and speech that would normally not be acceptable in our community.”
“There must never again be a public vote on a matter of human rights.”
“I’m relieved that we finally achieved marriage equality, but LGBTIQ+ people remain under threat. The anti-LGBTIQ+ movement have now turned their attention to further entrenching discrimination in our schools.”
“Schools, indeed our society, must be discrimination-free zones for all LGBTIQ+ people.”

Man charged after alleged $220,000 worth of fraudulent charges on company-issued card

A man will face court for alleged fraud committed against a cinema company over seven years.
It’s alleged between 2010 and 2017, a 40-year-old man used a company-issued credit card to fraudulently create and register three businesses, accumulating over $220,000 worth of fraudulent charges.
The man was employed by the same cinema company between 2006 and his resignation in 2017, at the locations of Tuggerah Lakes, Lake Macquarie, Glendale, and Kotara.
On 12 December 2017, the company launched an internal investigation after discovering charges to company accounts, before it was raised with police at Sydney Police Station two days later.
The matter was referred to detectives from Newcastle City Police District who commenced an investigation.
Following inquiries, on Tuesday 22 January 2019, police spoke with the 40-year-old man, before issuing him a Future Court Attendance Notice for the offence of dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception.
He is due to appear at Newcastle Local Court on Thursday 14 March 2019.

NSW NOT SAFE AS HOUSES

The Coalition government is due to return Australia to surplus from next financial year.
Despite the improving financial standing of the nation, the Labor Party proposes to hit the economy with $200 billion in new taxes.
Labor will turn Australia into a high tax paradise. There will be brand new taxes on houses, shares, superannuation funds, trusts and there will be higher personal income taxes for millions.
Small businesses, typical “mum and dad” investors and the economy at large will suffer from this swag of unnecessary taxes.
One of the worst new taxes is Labor’s housing tax.
The housing tax has two elements: (1) a ban on negative gearing on existing homes and (2) a reduction on the capital gains discount for assets held for more than one year from 50 to 25 per cent.
This proposal will end the practice of deducting investment costs (such as loan interest) against wage and salary income unless the investment is a new house. This overturns a fundamental principle that expenses are deductable for tax purposes.
There are three significant problems with this new tax.
Firstly, this will do nothing to boost housing affordability – indeed it will likely increase rents.
Labor’s attack focuses on the evils of negative gearing exercised by “property barons” and have promised to improve housing affordability.
Labor says: “this policy will see a boost in new housing and will provide young families with the chance to find a home, and will take pressure off inner city housing markets that are predominantly made up of existing dwellings”
Any link between banning negative gearing and increasing affordability is totally confused.
How would increasing housing taxes which reduces investment in housing create more homes?
With studies showing the policy will dry up investment into both new and existing houses, it is more likely we will end up with fewer houses which are worth less with higher rents.
Cadence Economics’ study for the Master Builders Association shows the housing tax will reduce supply of housing in Australia:
“Changes to limit negative gearing to new dwellings and reduce the CGT discount to 25% are estimated over the next five years to reduce new dwelling starts by between 10,000 and 42,000.”
Meanwhile according to housing market experts Corelogic Data, the prospect of misguided tax policies are already impacting the supply of new homes:
“Potentially investor sentiment is being weighed down by the potential for changes to taxation policies related to housing should there be a change of government.”
Secondly, Labor’s housing tax is poorly targeted.
Australians with more modest assets will suffer the worst consequences. The policy cancels the ability to deduct investment expenses against wages but not against non-wage income.
70 per cent of people using negative gearing have one property and have a net rental loss of less than $10,000.
Treasury says people earning less than $100,000 will be able to claim on average 28 per cent of their investment costs (unless they invest in new housing). Whereas people earning more than $109,000 will be able to keep claiming 86% of their investment costs in existing housing.
Big wig investors will be able to use income derived from non-wage income such as investments in other houses or complicated investment schemes.
Property tycoons win out whilst the nurses, teachers and police investors miss out.
The Centre for Independent Studies has said: “the proportional benefit of negative gearing is substantial at low income levels. This could include non-working spouses holding negatively geared property. Abolishing negative gearing will disproportionately hurt the lower income earners.”
Thirdly, it is unclear what the purpose of this policy is; and when it starts.
On purpose, despite the policy being likely to reduce housing supply and therefore affordability, its confused stated aim is to improve housing affordability by reducing investment.
Even one of Labor’s key budgetary advisers Bob Officer says “What is the social cost associated with home ownership or investment in housing? As a generality there is none. In fact, one could argue for a social benefit in that providing housing encourages better citizenship and social cohesion.”
Why would any political party want to reduce investment in housing?
In reality, it is a populist exercise which has the illusion of smashing rich people when it simply reduces opportunities available to all working Australians.
Surely now that Sydney and Melbourne house prices are falling by 9 and 6 per cent respectively, even Labor will not maintain the lie this policy will increase affordability.
On timing, Labor’s official website says:  “Labor will limit negative gearing to new housing from a yet-to-be-determined date after the next election.”
Newspaper reports claim the Opposition Leader is “unsure” when the policy would start. Sound good? Only if you don’t want to buy a house, rent a house or invest for the future.
Australia is soon to be back in surplus and cannot afford amateur hour economic management.
Andrew Bragg is the Liberal Senate camdidate for NSW

LIFESAVING FUNDING BOOST TO PROTECT BEACHGOERS

Beachgoers will be safer across the state, thanks to a major funding increase for Surf Life Saving NSW from the NSW Liberals & Nationals Government.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Minister for Emergency Services Troy Grant said Surf Life Saving NSW will receive an extra $16 million over four years for new jet skis and vehicles, additional emergency response beacons, community engagement officers and an innovative new beach wi-fi project to educate tourists.

“This investment is another major boost for Surf Life Saving NSW,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“Surf Life Saving NSW’s volunteers and staff do an amazing job keeping our beaches safe and this latest increase to their funding will enable them to save more lives.
“We have invested heavily to ensure that Surf Life Saving NSW and our volunteers have got all the tools and technology they need to do their jobs.”
Mr Grant said, “Our lifesavers do an outstanding job across our coastline each year, and the NSW Liberals & Nationals Government has been a very proud supporter of their efforts.”
“This funding would strengthen that support, and lead to new staff across a number of areas including East Ballina, Warriewood, Nowra, Tathra and Tighes Hill in the Hunter region.”
Community engagement staff work in the community and run programs to help educate people about beach safety.
Mr Grant said the investment announced today will also enable Surf Life Saving to improve safety at more remote locations.
“As part of the package, 10 new Emergency Response Beacons (ERBs) will be installed at coastal black spots to better protect swimmers,” Mr Grant said.
“This new technology has already been a great success, and allows beachgoers to access help in secluded, unpatrolled areas, with the beacon sending a quick alert to have support dispatched during emergencies when any time saved could mean a life saved too.”
Mr Grant said funds will also be allocated for an exciting beach wi-fi trial to better communicate with and educate swimmers, particularly international visitors.
“This will involve real-time safety alerts being issued to beachgoers’ digital devices within the red and yellow flags, translated into seven different languages,” Mr Grant said.
“These crucial updates could prevent drownings, especially for people who may not speak English and aren’t as familiar with the conditions.”
Surf Life Saving NSW CEO Steve Pearce welcomed the Government’s pledge and said it will also provide major operational support across the organisation’s 129 clubs.
“This would allow us to purchase more jet skis and the wetsuits, lifejackets and helmets needed to operate them safely, while also increasing our training efforts,” Mr Pearce said.
“More jet skis in the water, more emergency vehicles on the land, and more training for staff all equals better outcomes for coastal communities, and ultimately more lives saved.”
Today’s investment comes on top of strong support for Surf Life Saving NSW and water safety initiatives:

  • Over the 3 years from 2016/17, the NSW Government has committed more than $9 million in water safety funding including:
    • $4 million over three years to enhance rescue capabilities, $220,000 of which ensured all Surf Life Saving branches had a new jet ski;
    • $1.7 million annually to provide essential lifesaving services; and,
    • $202,000 over three years for a pilot program to install emergency markers at key risk areas along the NSW coastline.
  • $4 million to upgrade and build new Surf Life Saving Clubs – a doubling of the previous funding.
  • Investments in new technology, such as drones, to assist lifeguards and prevent drownings.