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Schools across the North Coast of NSW will be non-operational for the next two days to safeguard students and staff as Tropical Cyclone Alfred approaches.

Due to potential impacts of the cyclone, including a heightened risk of flooding, more than 230 public schools, 29 Catholic schools, five independent schools and 16 TAFE campuses, along with two additional TAFE campuses being used as evacuation centres, are closed. The closures are expected to impact schools from Wednesday 5 March, through to Friday 7 March 2025.

Tropical Cyclone Alfred is expected to cross the coastline north of Brisbane as a Category 2 cyclone late on Thursday or early Friday.

Substantial flooding is expected with up to a metre of rain forecast to fall in southern Queensland and north-eastern NSW over several days.

Because of these risks, families have been asked to not send children to school for the next two days.

At this stage schools are expected to resume operations on Monday 10 March 2025.

The department has a stock of essential products ready to be dispatched to support our school communities, including gloves, paper towels, pump soap, tissues, toilet paper, bottled water and personal insect repellents. Additional blow-drying units and air purifiers are also available.

The Department of Education also requires all early childhood education and care (ECEC) services to operate safely, including during extreme weather events, and is contacting services in affected regions.

The Department urges services to assess the risk of severe weather in their community and if necessary, activate their emergency plans and procedures. We encourage services to follow the advice of local authorities and the SES.

The SES has asked families to prepare their homes for strong winds, by putting away loose items around their home, trimming trees away from properties and not parking vehicles under trees or powerlines. 

Never drive, walk, ride through, play or swim in flood water, and any avoid unnecessary travel. Download the Hazards Near Me App to stay across the latest warnings and information.

Call the NSW SES on 132 500 if you need emergency assistance in floods and storms. In a life-threatening emergency, call Triple Zero (000) or visit www.ses.nsw.gov.au

Visit the Department of Education website for up-to-date list on information on schools that are non-operational. A list of TAFE NSW campuses that are non-operation is available on the TAFE NSW website.

Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Car said:

“As our communities prioritise their safety and prepare for the arrival of Cyclone Alfred, we are ensuring teachers, students and school staff are not unnecessary placed in harm’s way by attending school.

“Keeping our students and families safe must always be our top priority.

“While we usually do not advocate for the closure of schools and places of learning, in these circumstances, an abundance of caution can be what keeps our community safe.”

Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib said:

“It is important that at this critical time we plan ahead, and we are asking the community to keep their children home from school.

“Please follow the advice of emergency services and continue to check the NSW State Emergency Service website for the latest information and, if you haven’t already, download the Hazards Near Me App which includes the latest warnings and information.

“The NSW Government is doing all we can to prepare ahead of Tropical Cyclone Alfred crossing the coast later this week and we are asking the community to take steps now to ensure that they are prepared.”

Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education Steve Whan said:

“Our number one priority is the safety and wellbeing of our staff, students and their families.

“We are incredibly grateful to our team of dedicated TAFE NSW staff who have a wonderful track record of supporting their communities by ensuring campuses can be turned into evacuation centres during natural disaster events.”

Deputy Secretary of Public Schools Deborah Summerhayes said:

“The department is taking a safety-first approach. We know a lot of our North Coast communities have been through difficult periods in recent years –  with the 2022 floods still fresh in their memories.

“That’s why we are planning for the worst and hoping for the best.

“We want to do everything we can to ensure our school communities are well supported and our staff and students are safe.”

This morning, the Governor of NSW appointed Ms Rachael Ward as the Acting Children’s Guardian while a Special Ministerial Inquiry is conducted into the Office of the Children’s Guardian.

Mr Steve Kinmond, who commenced as Children’s Guardian in January 2023, has agreed to step aside from that role for the duration of the Inquiry. 

Ms Ward has more than 23 years’ experience specialising in child protection law and is a member of the Children’s Court Advisory Committee. She has, most recently, served as Director of Child Law within the Department of Communities and Justice.  I am confident Ms Ward’s knowledge and experience will be an asset to the Office of the Children’s Guardian during this time.

The Western Sydney Aerotropolis is set to take-off, with the official opening of the first building at Bradfield City Centre and the release of the Minns Labor Government’s infrastructure delivery plan which will drive further investment into the region.

The Advanced Manufacturing Readiness Facility (AMRF) – is the first step in delivering the new city of Bradfield at the heart of the Western Sydney Aerotropolis and the start of an innovation ecosystem that will boost the NSW manufacturing industry.

A landmark partnership agreement between the AMRF and 11 NSW and ACT universities will see this ecosystem rapidly evolve with the world class research capabilities of the universities combined with the AMRF’s industrial expertise and infrastructure.

Under the agreement, the parties will work together to translate research into production and develop the next generation of advanced manufacturing experts through a paid internship program.

Critical to facilitating further growth in the precinct, the NSW Government has released the Aerotropolis Sector Plan, which sets out how essential government infrastructure will be delivered quickly and efficiently to service the development of thousands of hectares of employment land.

The Sector Plan, developed by Infrastructure NSW, provides certainty to industry, the community, and all levels of government around how infrastructure will be sequenced and prioritised in the Aerotropolis.

This will enhance the State’s competitiveness and boost the supply of serviced land to combat the critical shortage across NSW. It will also assist planning assessment authorities to align development with infrastructure capacity in the region.

This is the first time the Aerotropolis has had a concrete road map that brings together planning and infrastructure coordination.

With the Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport due to open by the end of 2026, investment in Bradfield City Centre and the Western Sydney Aerotropolis capitalises on the opportunity to deliver more than 120,000 high-quality jobs and new industries that will see the Western Sydney economy boom.

This work builds on the Minns Labor Government’s historic investment in Western Sydney to deliver more homes, jobs and investment to the region.     

To find out more about Bradfield City Centre, First Building and AMRF collaboration with NSW VCC visit: Bradfield Development Authority | NSW Government

To find out more and read the Aerotropolis Sector Plan, visit: Aerotropolis Sector Plan  | NSW Government

Premier of New South Wales Chris Minns said:

“The Aerotropolis is almost 40 times the size of Sydney CBD and provides an unprecedented economic opportunity for Western Sydney.

“We’re backing the region with over $25 billion of infrastructure investment that is going to ensure the critical roads and services are delivered as quickly as possible to give industry certainty and confidence to invest in the area.

“We asked Infrastructure NSW to develop the Aerotropolis Sector Plan to identify how and when we will do this. Today’s announcement demonstrates the value in utilising whole-of-government coordination to deliver on our commitments.

“With Bradfield and the Advanced Manufacturing Readiness Facility (AMRF), we’re showcasing the NSW Government’s commitment to rebuilding the state’s critical manufacturing capability and delivering economic growth in the region.”

Deputy Premier and Minister for Western Sydney Prue Car said:

“Western Sydney is a rich and diverse region set to boom with the opening of the new Airport. We’re building better communities by investing in the region.

“With Bradfield and the Aerotropolis, we’re giving kids in Western Sydney the opportunity to dream about a future with high quality jobs close to home.”

Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully said:

“The First Building opening is another example of the genuine momentum building around Australia’s first new city in over 100 years.

“This is just the beginning of Bradfield’s future growth as it evolves into a world class city with 10,000 homes, 20,000 high quality jobs, and critical green open spaces for residents and visitors to enjoy.”

Shadow Minister for Jobs, Industry, Innovation, Science and Technology

After two years of inaction, the Minns Labor Government has officially broken its promise to enforce a 50% local content target for rolling-stock contracts, delaying real action for another decade and leaving NSW workers behind.
 
Shadow Minister for Jobs, Industry, Innovation, Science and Technology, Mark Coure, has condemned the Government’s failure to deliver on its key election commitment, calling it a betrayal of local workers and manufacturers.
 
“This was a clear and simple promise from Labor—50% minimum local content for rolling-stock contracts. Instead, they’ve kicked the can down the road for another 10 years. That’s a decade of lost jobs and missed opportunities for NSW,” Mr Coure said.
 
The Minns Labor Government has released yet another industry policy filled with roadmaps, plans, studies, taskforces, and commissions, but has failed to take real action to create jobs and invest in local manufacturing.
 
“We’ve had enough of the reports and strategies, NSW workers need action now. Instead of mandating local manufacturing, Labor is still handing contracts to overseas companies while highly skilled workers here in NSW are left out in the cold,” Mr Coure said.
 
Despite their repeated promises, Labor has chosen to build buses overseas instead of supporting and upskilling our local manufacturers.
 
“This is a blatant betrayal of NSW workers. If the Minns Labor Government was serious about local industry, they would enforce local content requirements now, not in 10 years,” Mr Coure said.
 
“NSW can’t afford another decade of inaction. The Minns Labor Government must step up, enforce their own commitments, and start building in NSW, not overseas”.

After 700 days of talk, press conferences and expensive reports, the Minns Labor Government’s so-called Toll Review has delivered nothing for drivers. Instead, the Minns Labor Government has secretly explored new tolls and longer contracts, meaning motorists will be paying more, for longer.
 
Labor has now quietly dumped former Toll Review Chair Allan Fels as lead negotiator and is paying an estimated $990,000 for a replacement, while signing off on a $2,750,000 new legal bill for outside lawyers.
 
Before the election, Labor made sweeping promises:

• No new tolls under Labor
• Tolls would be cheaper under Labor
• Toll roads would be returned to public ownership
• Opposing two-way tolling on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Tunnel

But after nearly two years in government, this is what has happened instead:

• $5.4 million wasted on a review with no outcome
• $1.7 million paid to ex-bureaucrats for three reports that have been ignored
• The Toll Review Chair charging taxpayers for $750 a night for five-star hotels stays, plus business class flights
• Secret briefings to ratings agencies on extending toll road contracts, meaning drivers will pay tolls for even longer
• Exploring new tolls on the M5 West, M5 East, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Harbour Tunnel and the Eastern Distributor
• Toll hikes on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Tunnel
• Traffic modelling showing some drivers could be hit with toll increases up to nine times higher
• Warnings ignored that Labor’s traffic modelling was unfit for negotiations

Chris Minns and Labor campaigned on lowering tolls but have instead delivered secrecy, waste, and higher costs for drivers.
 
Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said Chris Minns made big promises on tolls, and he is breaking them one by one.
 
“For 700 days, he has dodged, delayed, and dissembled. It‘s time he came clean,” Mr Speakman said.
 
Shadow Minister for Transport and Roads Natalie Ward said Labor’s toll policy was to say one thing before the election, and then do the opposite.
 
“If Labor introduces new tolls or extends toll contracts, it will be Chris Minns’ ‘no carbon tax under my government’ moment,” Ms Ward said.
 
Secret meetings, million-dollar consultants, and five-star hotels—this is what toll reform looks like under Labor.
 
After 700 days, drivers are still waiting.

The Minns Labor Government has once again failed to deliver a reliable transport network, with Sydney Trains recording a dismal 81.6% on-time performance for February—falling far short of the 93% target for services arriving within five minutes of the scheduled time.

This latest failure comes despite a break from disruptive union strikes, proving that Labor’s mismanagement runs deeper than industrial action. Meanwhile, Sydney Metro commuters faced reduced services on Monday with no warning, and bus reliability in the North Shore and St George areas continues to deteriorate.

Since Labor took office, Sydney Trains has only met its on-time target twice, with the last successful month being January 2024. Transport for NSW’s own data shows that under the previous Government, commuters were consistently provided a more reliable service before Unions NSW boss Mark Morey declared 2022 the “year of the strike.”

While Labor blames union action for the chaos, the reality is that Sydney Trains and Transport for NSW are failing under their leadership. Commuters across Sydney can see it for themselves.

Instead of taking responsibility, the Government desperately tried blaming a 2017 timetable change—a feeble excuse that does nothing to address the real issue: a lack of a plan and leadership.

In 2023, the Government was warned that its hand-picked Transport Secretary was an “operational risk”, with the Secretary himself admitting he had no experience running a transport network.

Shadow Transport Minister Natalie Ward said:

“Has there ever been a time when Sydney’s transport network was this unreliable?

“The Government has spent a fortune on endless reviews, yet commuters are only getting more delays and worse services. What is the plan?

“Labor is about to pay a ransom to the unions, yet there is no talk about improvements in reliability or productivity—the two things that matter most to commuters and taxpayers.”
 
Member for Oatley Mark Coure said:

“Locals in St George and the South have had enough of unreliable transport services. Whether it’s train delays, reduced bus services, or Metro disruptions, this Government has no plan to fix the mess they’ve created.

“The Minns Government has spent a fortune on reviews and excuses, but commuters don’t need more spin—they need real improvements. When will Labor take responsibility and start delivering results?”