Category: Newcastle News

Police are appealing for public assistance to help locate a woman missing from the state’s Hunter region.

Zharnee Mitchelmore, aged 18 was last seen about 6pm on Sunday 13 February 2022 at Fagans Parade, Rutherford.

When she did not return home, carers contacted police and officers attached to Port Stephens – Hunter Police District commenced inquiries into her whereabouts.

Police hold serious concerns for her welfare as she lives with an intellectual disability. 

Zharnee is described as being of Aboriginal / Torres Strait Islander appearance, 160cm tall, of solid build, with brown hair and brown eyes.

She is known to frequent the Rutherford and Morpeth areas.

Anyone with information regarding Zharnee’s whereabouts is urged to contact Raymond Terrace Police Station or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Workers were blindsided by this morning’s announcement that Origin is seeking to close its Eraring power station at Lake Macquarie up to seven years earlier than previously planned, the Mining and Energy Union (MEU) said today.

MEU Northern Mining and NSW Energy Acting District President Robin Williams said the union was seeking urgent meetings with Origin to understand the company’s plans and put measures in place to support the workforce of around 500 people, including permanent employees and contractors.

“Hundreds of local workers have been blindsided by Origin’s announcement this morning that the power station could close in 2025, not 2032.

“For the many Lake Macquarie and Hunter Valley families that rely on the Eraring power station for their livelihoods, today’s announcement creates uncertainty for the future.

“Origin has told workers that having made today’s announcement they will now engage in consultation. We urge them to engage in genuine two-way consultation with workers about the future and not just present them with decisions.

“The interests of workers, families and communities should be front and centre as the energy generation industry undergoes major transformation.

“In addition to measures to support workers at the company level, we need an industry plan to prevent forced redundancies, create job transfer opportunities for skilled energy workers and investment in the regions that have powered Australia for decades.”

Origin Energy has today announced it is bringing forward the closure of Australia’s largest coal fired plant – Eraring Power Station in the Hunter Valley, NSW – seven years earlier than planned, from 2032 to mid-2025.

The announcement comes as the price of renewable energy continues to drop, with it already supplying 30% of Australia’s electricity needs.

Eraring is the biggest of 16 remaining coal-fired power plants supplying the National Energy Market, with seven of those already scheduled to close by 2035 and the last planned to shut by 2051.

The following experts are available for comment (others may be available on request):

Sam Mella, Hunter Engagement and Project Lead, Beyond Zero Emissions, said:

“Origin’s announcement today highlights the urgency to ensure our energy jobs are protected. The Hunter has so much expertise in energy and a Renewable Energy Industrial Precinct is the right vehicle to keep the Hunter thriving through the massive changes. All levels of government should be focussed on this.”

Sam is lead author of the Hunter case study in the Million Jobs Plan. She has worked on renewable energy and energy exports since 2011. Sam is available until 4pm today Thursday 17 February.

Tim Buckley, energy market analyst and coal expert at Climate Energy Finance, said:

“Origin energy today announced the closure of its Eraring coal power station in the Hunter Valley by 2025, that’s Australia’s largest coal power plant in terms of capacity at a notional 2,880 MW. It will be replacing it with a 700MW battery.

“This follows news last week from AGL that they are bringing forward the closure of their two large coal power stations, Bayswater, which is also in the Hunter Valley, and Loy Yang A in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley.

“These announcements underscored the rapid technological, financial and policy changes coming globally with the transition to green energy, which are accelerating and inevitable.

“It is beyond time Australia actually had a government focussed on planning for the transition to green energy, rather than denying it.”

Dr Amanda Cahill, CEO of The Next Economy, a not for profit that works with business, local government and the community to manage the transition from fossil fuels to clean new industries, said:

“Early closure announcements like this are becoming increasingly common. We need to do more to support affected workers and communities years before any closures happen. We need to make sure workers have opportunities to retrain for new jobs or be redeployed to other plants.

“Communities need support to diversify their economic opportunities and attract new investment and industries that can be powered by renewable energy. All levels of government have a responsibility to manage these changes if regions are to prosper into the future.”

Dr Madeline Taylor, Climate Councillor, Senior Lecturer at Macquarie University, School of Law and energy expert:

“Coal is not a commercially viable industry any longer. Just like AGL last week , this is a commercial decision made by Origin Energy to close its Eraring coal power station seven years early.”

“Some of Australia’s biggest power companies are not able to compete from a price perspective and policy perspective, as the states and territories cash-in on a net zero future, bringing with it cheaper renewable power, economic investments and new clean jobs. The newly announced Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) is set to provide 100 Terawatt hours of power by the mid 2020s, which is almost double the generation of NSW’s entire coal fleet. The new Hunter REZ is just one of the state’s four proposed REZs.”

“Coal is not going to cut it anymore when we have cheap and reliable renewable energy and storage that’s already powering over a third of Australia’s largest electricity grid and providing almost 25 percent of NSW’s power.”

Detectives have commenced an investigation after a man presented at Muswellbrook Hospital last night with a gunshot wound to the leg.

Around 9.15pm (Wednesday 16 February 2022), officers attached to Hunter Valley Police District were contacted by staff at Muswellbrook Hospital advising that a 28-year-old man had presented with an injury consistent with a gunshot wound to his upper left thigh.

Officers later attended a home on Richmond Street, Muswellbrook, where they established a crime scene and seized a number of items for further examination.

The man was taken to John Hunter Hospital for further treatment; his injury is not considered life-threatening.

Police are investigating an armed robbery near Singleton overnight.

Officers from Hunter Valley Police District were called to a service station on Bridgman Road, Donolly, just before midnight (Wednesday 16 February 2022).

Police have been told two men – armed with knives – entered the store before they threatened a female attendant and demanded cash.

The employee handed over a sum of money before both men ran from the store and were last seen headed towards Bridgman Road on foot.

The woman was not injured during the incident.

One of the men is described as being of Caucasian appearance, aged in his late teens to early 20s, of thin build, wearing a black t-shirt, light brown pants and black joggers, with his face covered.

The second man is described as being of thin build and aged in his late teens to early 20s. He was seen wearing a white one-piece suit, with a white shirt covering his face, sunglasses and boots.

Officers attended and established a crime scene, which was examined by specialist police.

Driving a circular economy, harnessing nature-based solutions and taking action on climate change have been identified as priority areas for discussion as City of Newcastle (CN) develops its new Environment Strategy.

The strategy will help define CN’s key environmental objectives and initiatives during the next decade and is designed to align with the sustainability outcomes of the draft Community Strategic Plan, Newcastle 2040, which itself is on public exhibition until 28 February.

The draft Newcastle Environment Strategy will be informed by extensive community consultation before being finalised and presented to the Council for adoption.

More than 4500 pieces of feedback collected during the development of the Community Strategic Plan, quarterly surveys, Climate Action Plan engagement and a waste specific survey have already been reviewed to understand the community’s priorities for our environment.

Targeted stakeholder consultation will commence this week, with key priority areas helping to facilitate discussion during the workshops. This will include looking at the options for a circular economy that would design out waste, keep materials in use and turn waste into a resource; exploring how to build resilience to the effects of climate change; and looking at how natural solutions to social problems can allow us to protect, manage or restore our environment in a way that benefits both communities and ecosystems.

Community members will be given additional opportunities to comment on the draft strategy during its public exhibition, which is scheduled to occur later this year.

City of Newcastle (CN) is dishing up a taste of the cultural delights that will be on the menu when its flagship arts festival returns later this year.

Three of the performances originally commissioned by CN for last year’s postponed New Annual have been rescheduled in March, allowing locals to whet their appetites for the official return of the festival from 23 September to 2 October.

Explore the Indigenous roots of Carrington Foreshore with towering, illuminated puppets created by Curious Legends in partnership with local Worimi people, meet local artists and take part in community art projects on the Studio Arts Trail in Hamilton and check out a thought-provoking one-woman show that summons the spirit of iconic French solider and Saint, Joan of Arc.

Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said maintaining support for the local arts community had been an important consideration when the decision was made to postpone last year’s event.

“After the success of the inaugural New Annual in February 2021, City of Newcastle was looking forward to following it up bigger and better in September last year before we made the tough call to postpone it in light of the growing COVID-19 case numbers at the time,” Cr Nelmes said.

“Despite our disappointment, we were committed to maintaining support for the local arts community, who have been heavily impacted during the past two years as a result of COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions.

“After consultations with the artists, we are thrilled to be able to include these performances and activities in March this year as an initiative of our COVID-19 Community and Economic Resilience Package.

“This decision enables upwards of 50 artists, musicians and performers to remain involved with these three events and benefit from the exposure and performance opportunities they provide.

“This will also give people a chance to soak up Newcastle’s live events atmosphere with a taste of what’s to come when the full New Annual festival returns in September.”

For more details visit whatson.newcastle.nsw.gov.au

Event details

Gimbay Gatigaan: 3-5 March (Carrington Foreshore)

In collaboration with the Newcastle Worimi community, Curious Legends will present Gimbay Gatigaan, an outdoor, site-specific family-friendly production exploring Aboriginal life and stories from Onebygamba (known locally as Carrington).

Studio Arts Trail: 5 March (Hamilton precinct)

Follow the Art Trail map to discover some of the most collaborative spaces for eclectic art projects in Newcastle including Hudson St Hum, Newcastle Arts Space, Clyde St Studios and Creative Incubator.

Voices of Joan: 3-6 and 9-12 March (Hamilton North)

Voices of Joan, by Newcastle theatre maker Janie Gibson, unravels the tangled threads of misogyny and Catholicism as she searches for Joan’s story in fragments of words. What is revealed is a voice of courage amidst adversity and an ancient story about gender, truth, and power, themes that still resonate today.

A landmark design to reimagine the former Spotlight and Anaconda building has been unveiled following a targeted architectural design competition.

A three-member independent jury unanimously selected the innovative design by Plus Architecture for the proposed redevelopment of 711 Hunter Street, Newcastle West, which extends from Hunter Street to King Street and along the northern side of National Park Street.

The winning design has an overall height of 90 metres and features 267 dwellings across two towers, as well as 1400 square metres of commercial floorspace and 322 parking spaces, with an estimated construction cost of $100 million.

Stand out design elements strongly supported by the jury include the ‘meeting place’ concept – a public domain to facilitate and encourage people to meet, and the visual link between National Park Street to the Army Drill Hall, with jury members also supporting the design’s warm tonal palette and horizontal staked layers.

Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the architectural design competition had delivered design excellence for the redevelopment of 711 Hunter Street which will lead to positive outcomes for the city.

“Newcastle’s city skyline is set to be further transformed when this significant redevelopment in the West End comes to life,” Cr Nelmes said.

“City of Newcastle congratulates Plus Architecture on their winning design and commends the joint venture partners, St Hilliers and The Spotlight Group, for their commitment to the ongoing revitalisation of Newcastle’s West End.

“The construction associated with a redevelopment of this size will generate jobs and help buoy Newcastle’s economy which is a positive as we come up against the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 and look to the future.”

Manager Regulatory, Planning and Assessment, Michelle Bisson said the competition will raise the benchmark of architectural design excellence in Newcastle.

“Ongoing revitalisation and development is continuing to transform Newcastle particularly in the West End, and 2022 is shaping up to be another exciting and busy year for our city,” Ms Bisson said.

“Once constructed, 711 Hunter Street will boast a hallmark building that will stand the test of time for future generations to admire.”

The architectural design competition was run by an independent jury process under the governance of City of Newcastle and the NSW Government Architect’s Office. Consultants Urbis administered the design competition on behalf of property developers St Hilliers and The Spotlight Group.

St Hilliers Property Project Director Paul Smith said the design competition has been a great way to bring the best architectural talent and ideas to the fore for this prominent site in Newcastle’s West End.

“The quality of architectural design presented by Plus Architecture is really impressive and we look forward to further refining the design by incorporating the jury’s recommendations before proceeding to the next phase,” Mr Smith said.

“With a development of this significance, we will work closely with Plus Architecture to set sustainability targets and quality design outcomes during the more detailed development application phase, including a focus on thermal comfort, energy, waste and water.”

A development application for the site is expected to be lodged by St Hilliers and The Spotlight Group in the first half of 2022.

New local jobs have already been created through the attraction of 30 entrepreneurs to Newcastle as part of an Australian-first economic stimulus program initiated by City of Newcastle.

The New Move program, which was adapted from the hugely successful US Tulsa Remote initiative, has seen 30 bright minds relocate to Newcastle, attracting new skills and talent to the region, whilst also raising long-term awareness of the city’s diverse economic opportunities.

Deputy Lord Mayor Declan Clausen said the attraction of skilled professionals under the New Move program has tangible benefits for the city.

“Newcastle’s position as an economic hub is driven by innovation and skills. By attracting new talent to the city, New Move is boosting Newcastle’s economy and creating new local jobs,” said Cr Clausen.

“The positive impacts of the relocation of 30 New Move grant recipients have already been felt and REMPLAN economic modelling has shown that the program will create up to 75 new local jobs and up to $25 million in additional local economic output.”

New Move grant recipient Nicole Shelley was born in Newcastle and returned to her hometown after 14 years in Sydney to expand her marketing agency, pepperit.

New Move is an initiative of Newcastle’s Economic Development Strategy, adopted unanimously by the elected Council in May 2021, and complements programs targeted at Novocastrians including the City’s popular New Skills program which helping to address industry specific skills gaps.

“Although I have lived away from Newcastle since 2007, I’ve witnessed the transformation the city has undergone to become a hub of innovation and creativity, which is one of the reasons I was attracted to move back,” Mrs Shelley said.

“Since moving to Newcastle, I have opened a local pepperit office, employed three locals in full-time positions and our business is currently supporting two internships for University of Newcastle students, with plans to grow our team to eight within 12 months.

“I look forward to continuing to give back to the local community and am eager to play a part in the ongoing transformation of this amazing city.”

Newcastle’s newest residents have relocated from across the globe and throughout Australia, with some moving from Sydney and Melbourne, as well as expatriates returning to Australia for the New Move program from Hong Kong and The Netherlands.

Co-founder of Art Thinking Maria José Sanchez-Varela Barajas made the move from Mexico and has already helped bring festivals and ideas to Newcastle.

“I love the way that culture and heritage are embraced throughout global destinations like Singapore, Dubai and Barcelona, to create a unique vibrancy through art, science and innovation and I see the same potential in Newcastle, which is why I made the move here, ” said Ms Sanchez-Varela Barajas.

“For me, Newcastle has the perfect combination of creativity, a great location, art, innovation and entrepreneurship to thrive within and I’m keen to play my role in driving innovation and new ideas forward.”

Cr Clausen said New Move recipients have committed to becoming ambassadors for our city through event attendance, mentoring, volunteering and knowledge sharing to develop local skills and create further economic opportunities.

“Research has demonstrated that talent attraction has a higher marginal rate of return than business attraction, which is why the New Move program will prove beneficial to our local economy,” Cr Clausen said.

New Move participants will be provided access to co-working spaces and networking events to build business and community connections.

Police have been told a 35-year-old woman, a 36-year-old man and two children – aged 9 and 11 – were leaving a home on Dunkley Road, Mount Hutton, about 9pm (Wednesday 9 February 2022), when a 33-year-old man – who is known to them – entered a Toyota Prado and began following their vehicle, allegedly driving dangerously.

They were followed to Waratah Police Station where, shortly before 11pm, they reported the incident. The driver of the SUV allegedly continued to drive in an erratic manner outside the police station and in nearby streets.

Officers from Newcastle City Police District and Traffic and Highway Patrol attempted to stop the vehicle; however, the driver allegedly ignored the police direction and drove off at speed along Georgetown Road, Waratah.

Several pursuits were initiated through nearby streets but all were terminated due to the dangerous manner of driving.

It is further alleged the man continued through a number of Newcastle suburbs, hitting multiple parked vehicles, including one at the intersection of Centenary Road and Merewether Street, and a power pole on King Street.

About 11.40pm, the driver of the SUV attempted to overtake a tram travelling east on Scott Street, when the vehicle mounted a concrete median strip and became stuck.

Police approached the vehicle and – as they attempted to arrest the driver – a struggle ensued with officers deploying OC spray.

A 33-year-old man was taken to the Mater Hospital for treatment to minor injuries before being charged with six offences including drive recklessly/furiously or speed/manner dangerous, stalk/intimidate intend fear physical etc harm (DV), police pursuit – not stop – drive dangerously, and hinder police in execution of duty.

He remains under police guard in hospital and is due to appear at Newcastle Local Court via a bedside hearing later today.