Category: Newcastle News

A man reported missing from Lake Macquarie has been located safe and well.
The 59-year-old Macquarie Hills man was reported missing about 3.00am on Tuesday 3 November 2020 by members of his family.
About 10am today (Sunday 8 November 2020), police received notification from the man’s family that he had returned home.
Police would like to thank the public and the media for their assistance.

A driver has been charged after a passenger died in a single-vehicle crash in the Hunter region overnight.
Emergency services were called to Anambah Road at Rutherford, 8km north-east of Maitland, shortly after
9pm (Saturday 7 November 2020), after a Ford utility left the roadway and hit a guard rail.
The front passenger seat was thrown from the vehicle.
Officers from Port Stephens-Hunter Police District attended and commenced inquiries.
The passenger, a 29-year-old man, was declared deceased at the scene.
The driver, a 33-year-old man, was arrested and taken to John Hunter Hospital for mandatory testing, before being taken to Maitland Police Station.
He was charged with dangerous driving occasioning death – drive manner dangerous, and negligent driving (occasioning death).
The man has been granted conditional bail to appear at Maitland Local Court on Wednesday 9 December 2020.
A report will be prepared for the Coroner.

A teenage boy reported missing from the Lake Macquarie area has been located safe and well.
The 16-year-old from Morisset was reported missing about 6.00pm on Friday 6 November 2020 by members of his family.
About 2.00pm today (Sunday 8 November 2020), police from Lake Macquarie Police District received notification from the boy’s family that he had found at a house in Dudley.
Police would like to thank the public and the media for their assistance.

Newcastle Art Gallery is set to reintroduce face-to-face educational programs and regular opening hours of 10am – 5pm Tuesday to Sunday as COVID-19 restrictions ease.
The Gallery will maintain its contact tracing systems, additional cleaning and will limit visitor numbers to adhere to physical distancing requirements and ensure a safe environment is maintained for all patrons.
Public programs, including Art Cart, will recommence from November 14 with a maximum capacity of 10 participants and their parent/guardian per session. Guided tours will also recommence with a limited capacity per group, facilitated by volunteer guides. See the website  for session times and booking information.
Art Cart engages children with the exhibitions on display through discussion and art making. Led by Gallery educators, every weekend Art Cart engages with a different work of art on display, and the event is staged in the Gallery space as close as possible to the original work. Bookings are required as Art Cart will be initially returning every Saturday for two sessions and places will be limited.
Newcastle Art Gallery will continue to offer its digital programs. For more information, visit www.nag.org.au/home

Music lovers will be given a backstage pass to some of the biggest bands and gigs in the world when Newcastle Art Gallery showcases rarely seen and previously unreleased photographs of Australian and international musicians.
At a time when COVID-19 restrictions have seriously curtailed the slew of gigs usually packed into our summer music schedules, the Gallery is thrusting visitors into the thick of the action with its upcoming exhibition, WE CAN BE HEROES: a backstage pass.

From homegrown local musicians to international superstars, the exhibition showcases major acts from the 70s through to the contemporary heroes of today, including everyone from The Beatles, David Bowie and Iggy Pop, to Dave Grohl, Gang of Youths, Midnight Oil and Silverchair.
The images will also take audiences into the epicentre of festivals such as Austin City Limits, Big Day Out, and Lollapalooza, featuring the work of leading Australian music photographers including Charlie Hardy and Luke Kellett, who are both based in Newcastle, as well as Sydneysiders Maclay Heriot and Sophie Howarth.
The exhibition will also be supported with works of art drawn from the Newcastle Art Gallery collection.
Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the exhibition offered a window into the excitement and energy of live music.
“At a time when COVID-19 restrictions have changed the way we experience live music, this exhibition is a wonderful reminder of the joy of going to a gig and the memories that musicians create for their fans,” Cr Nelmes said.
Newcastle Art Gallery Director Lauretta Morton said the exhibition also showcased the amazing talents of the photographers who help preserve these moments in history.
“This major summer exhibition celebrates not only the connection and relationship between the photographer and their subject, it also showcases their incredible artistic talent in capturing unforgettable moments through rarely seen touring photos, unreleased press images and views from the stage that very few of us get to experience.”
Leading up to the exhibition, Newcastle Art Gallery put a call-out to Newcastle music fans to submit digital copies of posters from their favourite local gigs, with a selection to be included in the Gallery’s interactive smart space.
WE CAN BE HEROES: a backstage pass will run from 14 November 2020 – 14 February 2021 at the Newcastle Art Gallery.
Musicians featured in the exhibition: 
Angus and Julia Stone, Baker Boy, Boy and Bear, Dave Grohl, David Bowie, Delta Riggs, DMA’s, Dr G Yunupingu, Flight to Dubai, Gang of Youths, Garbage, Grinspoon, Iggy Pop, Kira Puru, Kwame, Midnight Oil, Mo’Ju (formerly known as Mojo Juju), Nick Cave, Paul Dempsey, PJ Harvey, Powderfinger, Saltwater Band, San Cisco, Silverchair, Skeggs, The Beatles, The Jungle Giants, The Preatures, The Prodigy, Violent Soho, You Am I, plus more.

People approaching the end of life will have more choice to remain in their own homes for longer thanks to a $56 million funding boost included in the 2020-21 NSW Budget.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said the funding is in addition to the $220 million the NSW Government invests in palliative care services each year to benefit patients and carers.
“The unprecedented situation with COVID-19 has shown all of us the importance of having frank end of life discussions with our vulnerable loved ones,” Mr Perrottet said.
“This investment will support individual preferences and improve access to palliative care services, as well as create more jobs for those working with palliative patients.”
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said, as part of the investment, an additional 5,000 End of Life home support packages will be made available across NSW from 1 July 2021.
“For many people, dying at home, or staying at home longer, offers more peace but it requires access to a comprehensive package of support for carers,” Mr Hazzard said.
“The NSW Government held roundtables across the state to inform our palliative care strategy and we continue to make good on our promise to provide integrated care.”
Mr Hazzard said the home packages not only offer case management but provide practical personal care and domestic supports, assistance with meals and transport.
Linda Hansen, Chief Executive of Palliative Care NSW said that quality palliative care requires a multi-disciplinary approach.
“This funding recognises the vital role of allied health professionals in supporting the physical and mental health needs of patients at this difficult time,” Ms Hansen said.
“Extending the program of in-home support will mean that more people will be able to achieve their goal of being cared for at home.”
The total funding boost includes:

• $30.4 million over four years to support multi-disciplinary approaches for end of life and palliative care to meet the needs of patients and their families and carers.

This includes:

• $4.5 million per year for up to 35 additional allied health professional positions such as occupational therapists, speech pathologists, dietitians and physiotherapists, to address patients’ physical health needs and to support safe discharge from hospital so that people can be cared for at home if they choose
• $1.2 million per year, from 2021/22 to implement education and training to develop and grow the specialist palliative care workforce, and enhance capability across the health workforce
• $2 million per year to improve access to bereavement and psychosocial support services for people experiencing complex grief
• $25.6 million over four years to increase End of Life home support packages across NSW, including:

• Case management and services such as; personal care, domestic supports, assistance with meals, in-home respite and transport to appointments.
• The new funding will supplement this program with an additional 5,000 packages.

Police are appealing for two teenage girls to come forward after an incident in a park in Hamilton yesterday.
Police have been told two teenage girls – believed to be aged around 16 and 17 – were walking through Gregson Park at Hamilton about 10.30pm yesterday (Thursday 5 November 2020), when they were approached by a man.
The man reportedly spoke to the girls before they ran to a nearby hotel as the man left the scene in a late 1990s-model white Toyota Hilux utility.
A security guard at the hotel – who assisted the girls – reported the incident to Newcastle City Police District officers. He has told police the ute drove past the venue several times before leaving towards Tudor Street.
Detectives are hoping to speak with the girls involved in the incident, as well as anyone who may have witnessed or heard anything in the Gregson Park area.
Police have been told the man’s described as being of Caucasian appearance, between 175cm to 180cm tall, with a medium build and brown eyes.
Anyone with information is urged to contact police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Federal Member for Newcastle Sharon Claydon has launched a community campaign to stop oil and gas rigs being built off the coast of Newcastle.
Ms Claydon said the Federal and State governments are currently assessing an application to extend the PEP11 Petroleum Exploration Permit which extends from Newcastle to Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
“Newcastle has lived under the spectre of PEP11 since it was first granted in 1999. In this time, its achieved nothing but caused great distress and anxiety throughout our community,” Ms Claydon said.
“The Morrison Government needs to reject the application to extend PEP11 and ensure that oil and gas rigs never darken Newcastle’s waters. This is the first opportunity there’s been in a number of years to see the back of this project once and for all.”
Ms Claydon said the project simply doesn’t stack up.
“The idea that you would set up oil and gas rigs on one of the busiest east coast sea routes next to some of our most populous cities and towns is just ridiculous.
“Australia has plenty of energy sources without setting up oil rigs off the New South Wales coast.”
Ms Claydon said the community was united in their opposition to the project extension.
“As a coastal city, the ocean is at the very the core of our identity, and Novocastrians feel any threat to its fragile ecosystem very deeply. Indeed, I have received many hundreds of heartfelt letters, emails and calls, imploring me to oppose this development.
“I urge anyone with an interest in protecting our precious coastal waters to sign the petition on my website or in my office.”
Novocastrians can sign the petition online or at Sharon Claydon’s office at 427 Hunter Street Newcastle.

A second man has been charged following an alleged home invasion and assault in Lake Macquarie at the weekend.
About 12.40am on Sunday (1 November 2020), officers from Lake Macquarie Police District were called to a house on Codrington Street, Barnsley, after reports a man had been assaulted during a home invasion.
Police have been told two males were at the home earlier in the evening for a party, but left after they were allegedly involved in an altercation with a 17-year-old male.
The two males then returned to the home – on two separate occasions – and allegedly assaulted the teenager, before they were seen fleeing in a vehicle.
A 17-year-old boy has been charged in relation to the incident; he remains before the courts.
Following further inquiries, officers from the Northern Regional Enforcement Squad (RES) arrested a 28-year-old man at a home on Fern Street, Islington, about 1.45pm yesterday (Tuesday 3 November 2020).
He was taken to Newcastle Police Station and charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, aggravated enter dwelling with intent in company, aggravated break and enter commit serious indictable offence and intimidation. He was also charged with breach of bail, larceny and other unrelated matters.
He was refused bail to appear at Newcastle Local Court today (Wednesday 4 November 2020).