Category: Newcastle News

Police have charged a man and woman with more than 30 drug and firearm offences following investigations into the ongoing drug supply in the Port Stephens and Hunter areas.
Strike Force Callard was established by Port Stephens Hunter Police District detectives to investigate the ongoing supply of prohibited drugs in the area.
Following investigations, on Thursday 25 November 2021 detectives arrested a 42-year-old East Maitland woman and a 48-year-old Campbelltown man on Devonshire Street, East Maitland.
Police searched two vehicles at the location where they located 300g of methylamphetamine and over $55,000 in cash.
Further inquiries led police to execute a search warrant at a unit on Thompson Street, East Maitland, where police located further items including:
– more than $12,000 in cash,
– a money counting machine,
– an electronic stun device,
– three replica firearms,
– illicit drugs including LSD and methylamphetamine, and
– two vehicles – a Holden Commodore and Jaguar XF.
All items have been seized for forensic examination.
The pair was taken to Maitland Police Station, where the woman was charged with 33 offences including supply prohibited drug (24 counts), supply prohibited drugs on an ongoing basis, possess prohibited drug (two counts), knowingly deal with proceeds of crime (two counts), possess unauthorised prohibited firearm (three counts), and possess prohibited weapon without permit.
The woman was refused bail and appeared at Maitland Local Court today, where she was formally refused bail, to re-appear at Maitland Local Court on Tuesday 21 December 2021.
The man was charged with supply prohibited drug, knowingly deal with proceeds of crime, and possess prohibited drug.
He was refused bail and appeared at Maitland Local Court on Friday 26 November 2021, where he was formally refused bail and will re-appear at the same court on Wednesday 19 January 2022.

Locals are being encouraged to donate non-perishable food and toiletry items as part of the 2021 Newcastle Libraries Christmas Giving Appeal.
The donated items will be provided to local emergency relief charities Got Your Back Sista, Oz Harvest and Baptist Care, who will pass the items on to community members in need in the lead-up to Christmas.
After a challenging 2021, Christmas is the perfect time for locals to embrace the opportunity to support a worthwhile cause and give to those doing it tough.
The initiative started in 2016 as an amnesty to clear historical library fines and since then, community members have donated more than 10,000 items, which have been passed on to locals in need.
In 2020 a fines-free initiative was introduced to support library members during COVID-19 and has since been extended indefinitely, however those with historical unpaid overdue fines or fees associated with lost and damaged items can have these waived by donating non-perishable food and toiletry items.
Each donated item equates to five dollars, so a $20 fine could be waived with four donated items. There is no limit on the number of items that can be donated or the value of historical fees and charges that can be waived.
The Newcastle Libraries Christmas giving appeal runs until Friday 17 December and donations can be made at any library branch.

A woman has been charged with drug-related offences after being rescued from a drifting boat near Port Stephens yesterday.
About 3.45pm on Saturday (27 November 2021), Marine Rescue notified Port Stephens Water Police that a small boat was suffering mechanical issues and drifting a short distance off Tomaree Headland at Shoal Bay.
Water Police attended, navigating heavy rain and 25 knots south-westerly winds, and located a three-metre tinny with a 35-year-old woman on board.
The woman was given a life jacket by police, before being towed to the Shoal Bay Boat Ramp.
In a subsequent search of the vessel and woman’s belongings, officers seized methylamphetamine (ice) and cannabis.
Further inquiries identified that the boat was unregistered and without mandatory emergency equipment.
The Nelson Bay woman was issued a Court Attendance Notice (CAN) for two counts of possess prohibited drug.
She is due to appear at Raymond Terrace Local Court on Monday 10 January 2022.
The woman was also issued three infringements for master unregistered vessel, not wear PFD when boating along vessel less than 4.8 metres, and not carry specified safety equipment.

Strike Force Backhouse detectives have charged a man with murder and are seeking the extradition of a second man from the ACT as part of an ongoing investigation into the fatal shooting of a woman in Stockton earlier this year.
Just after 8pm on Wednesday 9 June 2021, emergency services were called to a home on Queen Street, Stockton, following reports of a shooting.
A 61-year-old woman answered her front door before she was shot; she died at the scene and was later identified as Stacey Klimovitch.
Officers from Newcastle City Police District established Strike Force Backhouse to investigate the circumstances surrounding Stacey’s murder.
Following extensive inquiries, detectives arrested a 29-year-old man on Wharf Road, Honeysuckle, about 11am yesterday (Friday 26 November 2021).
The 29-year-old man was taken to Newcastle Police Station where he was charged with murder.
Police will allege in court that the man orchestrated the murder.
He was bail refused to appear at Newcastle Bail Court today (Saturday 27 November 2021).
With assistance from Australian Federal Police (AFP), a 46-year-old man was arrested on a NSW warrant at a home in Chisholm, ACT, about 6.45pm.
He was taken to a local police station where the NSW warrant was executed.
The man will appear at court, and strike force detectives will apply for his extradition to NSW in the coming days, where he will be charged with murder.
Police will allege in court that the man discharged the firearm that killed Stacey Klimovitch.
Investigations are ongoing.

A man will appear in court next month, charged with the alleged sexual assault of two women in the Lake Macquarie area.
In October 2021, officers attached to Lake Macquarie Police District commenced an investigation into reports two women – aged 41 and 50 – had been sexually assaulted by a man they had met on a social media dating application.
Following extensive inquiries, detectives arrested a 48-year-old man at an address on Owen Avenue, Wyong, about 8.50am yesterday (Thursday 25 November 2021).
He was taken to Wyong Police Station where he was charged with four counts of sexually touch another person without consent.
Police will allege in court that the man sexually assaulted the women in separate incidents in Fernleigh and Wyong after meeting them on a social media dating application.
The man was refused bail to appear in Belmont Local Court on Wednesday 15 December 2021.
Investigations are ongoing.

An off-duty police officer has been charged with high-range PCA in Lake Macquarie yesterday.
About 11.30pm (Thursday 25 November 2021), officers attached to Lake Macquarie Police District attended Palmers Road, Freemans Waterhole, after reports a white Volkswagen Amarok was parked in the middle of the road.
Members of the public observed the driver standing outside the vehicle and assisted in moving the car off the road.
The driver – an off-duty probationary constable attached to the Northern Region – participated in a roadside breath test that returned a positive result.
The 39-year-old man was arrested and taken to Toronto Police Station where a subsequent breath analysis returned an alleged reading of 0.218.
The officer, from West Gosford, was issued a Court Attendance Notice for drive with high range PCA and is due to appear at Toronto Local Court on Tuesday 18th January 2022.
His licence has been suspended

City of Newcastle is leading the trial and implementation of a new sustainable technology that improves cleanliness of stormwater runoff through an innovative filtration system used in garden beds along our city streets.
Filter soils have been installed at test sites in Newcastle suburbs using compost soil and specially processed recycled materials like glass and green waste.
Raingardens are small garden beds located along the street featuring soil and plants that slow down and filter pollution in stormwater, so it doesn’t harm waterways and beaches.
The raingardens are usually found on street corners where cars can’t park and have more grass-like shrubbery than usual roadside plantings and are set in lowered beds over drains.
Recycled glass and green waste is now being used as a filter material that creates a healthy environment for plants increasing biodiversity in the suburbs. In addition to filtering the water, the raingardens also create a habitat for flora and fauna and absorb heat, meaning our streets are cooler in summer.
Data collected from these test sites will be verified by University of Newcastle as part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Centre for Organic Research and Education (CORE) and City of Newcastle.
City of Newcastle is the first council to use the biofilter material that contains recycled products within the soil mix, such as crushed recycled glass instead of virgin sand, and organic composted waste products instead of artificial fertiliser and clay.
The unique material can remove pollutants such as sediment and heavy metals that come from our tyres and brake pads as they wear down; grease, oil, petrol and air conditioner coolant that drips from motor vehicles; and excess nutrients from parks and gardens that can cause algal blooms.
The water is carried away through drains, pipes and channels to local creeks, wetlands, estuaries and finally to the ocean, which is a great outcome for the environment.
Biofilter raingardens have now been installed at sites in Cooks Hill, Merewether, Mayfield West, Stockton, The Junction and Wallsend. Existing systems in Beresfield and Fletcher will soon be renewed with biofilter material.
Costa Georgiadis, Chair Centre for Organic Research and Education Eric Love, City of Newcastle Asset Services Manager Peter McMurray and City of Newcastle Asset Engineer Luke Jaszczyk at a biofilter raingarden in Wallsend.

City of Newcastle has welcomed the NSW Government’s decision to amend its unpopular infrastructure contributions scheme following the Council’s advocacy.
Planning Minister Rob Stokes has confirmed that proposed reforms to the State’s infrastructure contributions scheme will be modified to ensure City of Newcastle and other local councils can continue to fund community infrastructure from developer contributions.
Advocacy led by Local Government NSW and City of Newcastle had raised concerns about the potential impacts of the proposed reforms on councils’ financial sustainability if the funds had been redirected for distribution by the NSW Government as originally proposed.
The modified reforms will also ensure state contributions are spent in the region where they are collected rather than be spent in regions at the discretion of the NSW Government.
City of Newcastle CEO Jeremy Bath welcomed the changes as a win for Newcastle and communities across the state.
“I would like to thank the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces for listening to feedback from City of Newcastle and working with Local Government NSW to address our concerns,” Jeremy Bath said.
“Newcastle will welcome 23,000 new residents and house 11,500 new dwellings by 2036. Developer contributions provide vital funds that help deliver community infrastructure such as cycleways, bus shelters, parks and playgrounds, sporting grounds, recreation facilities and town centre public domain improvements.
“We need to ensure public infrastructure keeps pace with growth and is equitably funded, while also protecting current ratepayers from being financially burdened by the infrastructure requirements that result from future development.”
The NSW Government’s Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Infrastructure Contributions) Bill 2021 was introduced into NSW Parliament with the NSW Budget.
A Notice of Motion moved at City of Newcastle’s August Council meeting called on the NSW Government to undertake further consultation with the local government sector on any proposed reforms to the infrastructure contributions system.

Detectives have charged two men over alleged child sexual abuse uncovered as part of inquiries into the disappearances of young women in the Lake Macquarie area in the late 1970s.
Strike Force Arapaima was established in April 2019 by Lake Macquarie detectives to re-examine the investigations into the 1979 disappearances and suspected murders of Robyn Hickie and Amanda Robinson, as well as the 1994 kidnapping and suspected murder of Gordana Kotevski.
As part of ongoing investigations, detectives have been conducting inquiries relating to activity in the east Lake Macquarie area the night Amanda went missing (Friday 20 April 1979), including a private fundraiser function at the former Swansea Bowling Club.
While exploring this line of inquiry, Strike Force Arapaima detectives uncovered information relating to the sexual abuse of two boys in the late 1980s and early 1990s by two men, who were known to them.
Following extensive inquiries, a 69-year-old man was arrested at a home in Seven Hills about 9.20am last Wednesday (17 November 2021) and taken to Blacktown Police Station.
He was charged with three counts of sexual assault (Cat 4) assault + indecent act, in company; two counts of sexual assault (Cat 4) incite indecent act person under 16, two counts of sexual assault (Cat 4) indecent act with person under 16 and sexual intercourse with child 10 or over and under 16 years.
The man appeared at Blacktown Local Court on the same day, where he was formally refused bail to re-appear at the same court on Thursday 13 January 2022.
A second man – also aged 69 – was arrested in Greenacre about 8.25am today (Thursday 25 November 2021).
He was taken to Bankstown Police Station and charged with 41 offences including multiple counts of each sexual intercourse with child 10 or over and under 16 years, sexual assault (Cat 4) assault + indecent act, in company; sexual assault (Cat 4) incite indecent act person under 16, and sexual assault (Cat 4) indecent act with person under 16.
He was refused bail to appear in Bankstown Local Court today.
As investigations into the girls’ disappearances continue, Strike Force Arapaima detectives are seeking to identify and speak with other attendees of the fundraiser function on Friday 20 April 1979.
Investigators believe those attendees may have relevant information which could assist with their inquiries.