16 News

NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) and NSW State Emergency Service (SES) volunteers who have spent more than ten days fighting fires and helping with the recovery effort can apply for loss of income payments from today.

Minister for Natural Disaster and Emergency Management David Littleproud said the community was deeply grateful for each and every volunteer who has sacrificed their time to protect life and property.

“Our volunteers are a treasured resource who have shown tremendous dedication and bravery by helping local communities in trying circumstances,” Mr Littleproud said.

NSW Minister for Emergency Services David Elliott said the payments would go some way to help ease the financial stress for volunteers who have spent weeks on the frontline.

“Primary producers and small businesses are the backbone of many bushfire-affected regions and we want to ensure they don’t need to choose between protecting their communities and protecting their livelihood,” Mr Elliott said.

“We want these payments to get in the hands of dedicated volunteers as quickly and easily as possible, so we’re ensuring red tape and onerous processes don’t get in the way.”

Volunteers who have provided more than ten days service and are self-employed or employees of small or medium-sized businesses with a turnover of less than $50 million will be eligible for $200 per day up to a total of $6000 without evidence of income loss. A maximum payment of $300 per day will be provided with proof of income loss through pay slips or previous tax statements.

Drought-affected primary producers will be able to claim a payment of $200 per day without evidence of income loss. Payments are tax-free and are not means-tested.

“Many large organisations have leave provisions for emergency volunteers which is why this program is designed for volunteers who are self-employed or work for a small or medium-sized business,” Mr Elliott said.

Payments to NSW volunteers will be administered by Service NSW through a convenient and secure process requiring a volunteer membership number and employer’s business name. Most applicants will receive their payment within five days of the application.

For more information, visit a Service NSW Centre, go online to www.service.nsw.gov.au or call 13 77 88.

The Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW John Barilaro will be the Minister responsible for disaster recovery, leading recovery efforts following the recent bushfires across NSW.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the unprecedented scale of the 2019/20 bushfire season requires additional arrangements to be put in place to ensure impacted communities recover and rebuild as quickly as possible.

“Our emergency services personnel and volunteers have been outstanding in dealing with the bushfire emergency to date but the scale of these bushfires has never been seen before and the recovery process will be unprecedented,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“Our Government focus is to get the clean-up underway, ensure residents and businesses receive the support they need and to rebuild the infrastructure destroyed or damaged.”

Deputy Premier John Barilaro said these bushfires have had a devastating impact on families, communities and a number of industries across NSW.

“The people of regional NSW are hurting. The drought is unprecedented and now these fires have devastated communities across the state,” Mr Barilaro said.

“From apple orchards in Bilpin, timber mills in northern and southern NSW, through to tourism operators in the Blue Mountains, Snowy Mountains and the north and south coasts, the impact has spread far and wide.

“Our priority is to support those families, communities and businesses affected, to make sure they have everything they need to recover, rebuild and get back on their feet.”

Minister Elliott will continue to lead the emergency response across New South Wales.

“Unfortunately the bushfire season is far from over. Bushfires continue to burn and some will take months to put out and our focus has to remain on protecting life and property,” Mr Elliott said.

Early this morning, Sydney’s “lockout laws” were repealed in the Sydney CBD Entertainment Precinct bringing in extended trading hours for venues and bottle shops and a relaxation of after-midnight drink rules, with existing arrangements maintained in the Kings Cross precinct.

Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said while the extended trading hours will provide a boost for the night time economy, community safety will always be a focus.

“There’s been a cultural shift in the city’s night life since 2014, and it’s time to look towards a bright, safe, diverse Sydney after dark, by improving liquor laws and enhancing access to arts, entertainment, shopping and sporting activities that are inclusive and family friendly,” Mr Ayres said.

“Sydney is Australia’s only truly global city and can evolve to embrace an economy which is cranking around the clock, particularly now that light rail services have been running for a month.

“Stimulating the 24 hour economy is a joint effort and we’re working with the City of Sydney Council and the Committee for Sydney, as well as NSW Government agencies, council, businesses and the community to get this right.”

Existing arrangements are being maintained in the Kings Cross precinct and will be reviewed next year along with the following changes which came into effect overnight:

• Remove 1.30am last entry for all venues in the Sydney CBD Entertainment Precinct, including those on Oxford Street.
• Remove restrictions on serving cocktails, shots and drinks in glass after midnight in this precinct.
• Extend ‘last drinks’ at venues with good records in this precinct by 30 minutes.
• Extend bottle shop opening hours across NSW until midnight from Monday to Saturday, with 11pm closing on Sunday.
• Increase small bar patron capacity from 100 to 120 across NSW.

To view the Government’s full response to the Committee’s recommendations, visit this link.

The NSW Government is concentrating its efforts on ensuring dam storages critical to Sydney’s water supply are protected from ash and debris, following the recent fires.

Minister for Water, Property and Housing Melinda Pavey said WaterNSW has already deployed silt curtains and booms at Warragamba Dam to mitigate the inflow of ash to the system in the event of significant rainfall.
“Our priority is protecting Sydney’s drinking water supplies,” Mrs Pavey said.

“The recent fires threatened significant water infrastructure at Warragamba. While much of the catchment has been affected by fire, work by WaterNSW along with the RFS, helped prevent damage to the infrastructure.”

Following bushfires, water quality impacts are typically triggered by significant rainfall events. Low intensity rain is forecast for the next 7 days which does not pose a risk to water quality as the rainfall is not considered sufficient to wash material into dam storages.

“WaterNSW are on-site at Warragamba deploying silt blankets and floating booms to ensure key water inflow points to the dam storage are safe to access,” Mrs Pavey said.

“Silt curtains and floating barriers help to mitigate the inflow of ash into dams, reducing additional pressure on water treatment plants. WaterNSW has an additional 1,000m of silt curtains in case they are needed in either Nepean or Tallowa Dams.”

Water quality in key metropolitan supply storages, such as Warragamba and Tallowa, are being monitored by highly experienced scientists using sophisticated, real-time technology pioneered by WaterNSW.

“We have worked closely with the RFS to ensure fire retardant chemicals used near Warragamba Dam are appropriate, and that exclusion zones were in place to avoid the use of retardants in close proximity to water where possible,” Mrs Pavey said.

“The NSW Government is also assisting local councils as the utility providers in areas affected by the recent fires by deploying resources to help with the management of their water supplies, including carting water where necessary.”