Category: Newcastle News

Three officers have been assaulted – one sustaining a fractured eye socket – after a vehicle stop in Maitland overnight.
About 8.40pm (Sunday 21 June 2020), an officer attached to Port Stephens-Hunter Police District stopped a silver Ford hatchback on Trevor Street in Telarah after it was observed driving in a dangerous manner.
Police will allege one male exited the vehicle and walked towards the Sergeant, attempting to block his vision of the car.
At this time, the officer observed another male exit from the driver’s side of the vehicle before he began acting erratically and allegedly pushed the officer in the chest.
As the officer attempted to arrest the driver, the second male allegedly inserted himself between the two men. The driver then allegedly punched the officer to the left side of his face, impacting with his eye.
Both men then fled the scene on foot.
Shortly after, the driver was sighted at a nearby railway corridor trying to jump a fence when two officers attempted to restrain him. During the melee, the driver allegedly punched a Constable in the neck and shoulder area multiple times before jumping over the fence.
A Senior Constable followed him over the fence and was also allegedly punched before the 20-year-old man was eventually restrained and arrested.
The man was taken to Maitland Police Station and charged with driving without a licence, drive vehicle under influence of alcohol, assault police officer in execution of duty cause actual bodily harm, escape police custody, two counts of resist officer in execution of duty, and two counts of assault police officer in execution of duty without actual bodily harm
The Curlewis man was refused bail to appear in Maitland Local Court today (Monday 22 June 2020).
Two female occupants of the Ford are assisting police with inquiries, while the male occupant remains outstanding.
The Sergeant was taken to John Hunter Hospital for treatment for a fractured eye socket. The two other officers were treated for minor lacerations and soft tissue damage at Maitland Hospital. All have since been discharged.

Police are appealing for witnesses following a stabbing at Waratah.
Just after 2pm today (Sunday 21 June 2020), emergency services were called to a shopping centre on Wallace Street where they found a woman with a stab wound to her arm.
The 26-year-old was taken to John Hunter Hospital for treatment.
Officers from Newcastle City Police District have established multiple crime scenes in the car park and have commenced inquiries.
Police have been told the woman was stabbed by a man, who then fled the scene.
Anyone who witnessed the incident, or the events leading up to it, is urged to contact police immediately.

A man has been charged with murder following the discovery of a woman’s body at a home in the Hunter overnight.
Officers from Port Stephens-Hunter Police District were called to a home on Galway Crescent at Metford shortly before 1.30am (Saturday 20 June 2020), where they spoke to a 20-year-old man outside.
Subsequent inquiries located the body of an 18-year-old woman deceased inside the home. She is yet to be formally identified.
The man was arrested and taken to Maitland Police Station.
A crime scene has been established at the home and inquiries are now underway by detectives attached to Port Stephens-Hunter PD, assisted by State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad.
The man has since been charged with murder and refused bail to appear at Newcastle Local Court tomorrow (Sunday 21 June 2020).

A man has been charged after weapons and drugs were allegedly located following a search warrant at a home in Cessnock yesterday.
About 11am (Friday 19 June 2020), officers from Hunter Valley Police District Target Action Group stopped a car in Quarrybylong Street and spoke with the driver, a 26-year-old man.
During a search of the car, police allegedly located an electronic stun device and a home-made pistol. Police also located a quantity of methylamphetamine and ammunition for the pistol.
Police then conducted a search warrant at a house in High Street, Cessnock. During the search, police allegedly located a further quantity of methylamphetamine, a home-made garotte, machetes and knives.
The man was charged with 11 offences, including;
possess unregistered pistol
possess prohibited firearm
possess ammunition
possess prohibited weapon (x3)
supply a prohibited drug
possessing a prohibited drug (x2)
possess prescribed restricted substance
contravene Firearm Prohibition Order
The man was refused bail and appeared in Newcastle Local Court today (Saturday 20 June 2020). He has formally been refused bail and will re-appear in the same Court on Monday 22 June 2020.
Inquiries are continuing.

City of Newcastle’s long-term management plan for Stockton’s erosion hit coastline will be decided at Tuesday night’s Council meeting after receiving overwhelming support from the community through the public exhibition process.
Councillors will vote to adopt the Stockton Coastal Management Program (CMP), which proposes a mix of immediate and longer-term measures to replenish the heavily eroded beach and protect Stockton’s coastal assets.
Actions include an initial sand nourishment program costing $4 million from land-based or other permissible sources, as well as essential work to address the imminent risk to community assets and private property including minimal extensions of the existing buried seawalls.
A mass offshore marine sand nourishment campaign of 2.4 million cubic metres, followed by ongoing 10-year maintenance would provide the necessary protection for Stockton. The pathway for the mass nourishment strategy is through the Deputy Premier’s Stockton Taskforce, that is accessing the required volume of sand from offshore locations, funding sources and all relevant approval processes.
Community and agency stakeholders have backed the proposed measures, with 73 per cent of respondents indicating their support during the recent public exhibition period.
City of Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said feedback provided during this process has been used to refine the final draft of the CMP, which will be tabled at Tuesday’s meeting.
“We know how important it is to the community that we move forward with a plan that achieves the best outcome for Stockton’s coastline,” the Lord Mayor said.
“The response we received during the public exhibition period was fantastic, with more than 3,000 views of our dedicated web page and 436 downloads of the draft CMP document, not to mention 18,700 views of videos informing the community and encouraging submissions.
“This extensive engagement has allowed us to carefully consider the needs of the community and industry stakeholders while preparing the final version of the Stockton Coastal Management Program.”
If approved, the Stockton CMP will be submitted to the NSW State Government for certification review.
Stockton Community Liaison Group (CLG) Chair Barbara Whitcher said the group was keen to see the process continue to move forward.
“After extensive consultation with City of Newcastle, including 22 meetings, the Stockton Community Liaison Group is pleased to see that a coastal management plan, which has the broad support of the community, will go to Council,” she said.
“The majority in our community and Council are in agreement about the main features of the program to finally address erosion and protect our coastline.
“We are hopeful that all Councillors will endorse the plan at Tuesday night’s Council meeting to allow the process to continue moving forward with the NSW Government.”
Another key step towards addressing Stockton’s long-term erosion issues was also taken this week, with the first meeting of the Deputy Premier’s Taskforce being held on Tuesday.
The City of Newcastle will play a key role in the taskforce, which is being chaired by NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro and includes the Lord Mayor, the State Member for Newcastle and representatives from the Stockton community, Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, Department of Regional NSW, Port of Newcastle and the NSW Coastal Council.
The meeting was hailed by the Deputy Premier as “very successful”, with the Taskforce committed to meeting at least four times a year with the common goal of getting sand onto Stockton Beach.

A man and woman have been charged after a car crashed into a house following a pursuit in the Hunter yesterday.
About 2.20pm (Thursday 18 June 2020), officers from Port Stephens-Hunter Traffic and Highway Patrol were patrolling the New England Highway near Telarah when they noticed a Holden Commodore allegedly travelling in excess of the sign-posted speed limit and attempted to stop it on Brooks Street.
The Holden allegedly failed to stop, and a pursuit was initiated before it lost control at the intersection of Raymond Street and crashed through two fences and into a nearby house.
The driver, a 20-year-old man, allegedly attempted to flee on foot, despite suffering serious injuries. He was arrested at the scene.
The passenger, a 21-year-old woman, was trapped inside the vehicle before being freed by emergency services.
The pair were treated at the scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics before the woman was airlifted to John Hunter Hospital, while the man was taken to the same hospital by road ambulance. They remain in a stable condition under police guard.
Following inquiries, the driver was charged with police pursuit – not stop – drive dangerously, drive recklessly/furiously or speed/manner dangerous and, drive motor vehicle during disqualification period today (Friday 19 June 2020).
The passenger was charged with an outstanding warrant for traffic offences following an incident at Maitland on Monday 2 March 2020.
Both were refused bail and during bedside hearings were formally refused bail to appear before Newcastle Local Court on Monday 22 June 2020.

A record $116 million capital works program that will generate up to 700 local jobs and increase the local economy’s economic output by $275 million, is the centrepiece of City of Newcastle’s response to the devastating impact of COVID-19.
Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the 2020/21 budget was a significant budget for the City of Newcastle, with the national economy now in recession and more than 41,000 people either losing their job or withdrawing from the local labour force since February.
“When it comes to major economic downturns through incidents such as COVID-19, governments at all levels have a responsibility to accelerate investment to both keep people employed and uplift economic activity,” the Lord Mayor said.
“City of Newcastle’s $116 million capital works program for the next 12 months is projected to create up to 700 local jobs and increase total economic output in our local government area by up to $275 million.
“The budget also includes a further $3.3 million Community and Economic Resilience Package providing significant targeted relief for businesses, residents and the most disadvantaged members of our community.
“The elected Council recognises the critical need for the City of Newcastle to lead from local government by helping to kick start our local economy back into gear”, Cr Nelmes said.
Over the next 12 months the city will deliver a record local infrastructure works program, including:

• $22.9 million for upgrades to local roads and footpaths
• $17 million for waste management, including $9 million towards the construction of an organics facility to compost food and green waste
• $14.2 million for suburban and city centre renewal (including Hunter Street Mall works and Local Centre upgrades at Wallsend, Kotara, Merewether, Shortland, Stockton);
• $9.3 million for environmental sustainability projects, including $1.4 million for Ironbark Creek rehabilitation
• $8.2 million for new and improved parks, playgrounds, sporting and aquatic facilities
• $7.3 million on storm water upgrades to address localised flooding
• $5 million for new and improved cycleways
• $4.6 million for bridge reconstruction works, including Cowper Street and Nelson Street, Wallsend (part of a $20.8 million overall investment into flood mitigation in Wallsend Town Centre)
• $1.5 million to plant new street and park trees
• $5 million to implement our Climate Action Plan

City of Newcastle CEO Jeremy Bath said the record $116 million infrastructure program will be delivered despite a $12 million reduction in income caused by COVID-19.
“The prudent financial management of City of Newcastle means we have the capacity to fund this COVID-19 stimulus budget, without borrowing. Instead the $336 million budget will be funded from forecast income with a $23 million shortfall funded from existing reserves,” Mr Bath said.
The draft 20/21 Budget was placed on public exhibition from March to May and almost 70 per cent of the submissions were positive or constructive. The City’s support for the community and its future financial sustainability garnered the most responses from the community.
Councillor Nelmes added that the brave decisions by most of the elected Council have protected and expanded our services, while the increased investment into capital works has significantly stimulated the local economy.
“Independent economic analysis shows that our investment in local infrastructure has sustained over 3,500 local jobs and increased economic output across Newcastle by more than $1.27 billion since 2015.
“We have committed to infrastructure upgrades at Wallsend to help mitigate continued flooding in the town centre with detailed designs being developed for the reconstruction of Boscawen Street and Nelson Street Bridges.
“We’re also directing $14.2 million to revitalise suburban hubs and local centres to improve public amenity and pedestrian safety at Kotara, Wallsend, Stockton, Shortland, Merewether and Hunter Street to ensure the best possible outcomes for local businesses and our communities.
“Our City has invested in an advanced organics recycling facility at Summerhill which will divert around 900,000 tonnes of food and garden organics from landfill and will slash greenhouse emissions as part of a 25-year commitment to revolutionise food and garden waste treatment.
“The City’s annual street tree planting program will also deliver the benefit of cleaner air, reduced stormwater runoff, habitat for local biodiversity, more shade and a cooler urban environment.”

A man has been charged with murder after allegedly running down another man with a 4WD in the Hunter in 2018.
Police were called to a home on Edith Street, Cessnock, about 11pm on Tuesday (25 September 2018), and found a 36-year-old man seriously injured in the backyard.
He was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics but died at the scene.
Officers from Hunter Valley Police District established Strike Force Lirki to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Following extensive inquiries, police arrested a 34-year-old man on Maitland Street, Cessnock, about 10am today (Wednesday 17 June 2020).
He was taken to Cessnock Police Station and charged with murder and drugs offences.
Police will allege in court that the man drove a Nissan Patrol 4WD into the backyard and pinned the man between the car and a shed, causing fatal injuries.
Police will also allege the pair were known to each other.
He was refused bail to appear at Cessnock Local Court today (Wednesday 17 June 2020).

Federal Member for Newcastle Sharon Claydon will spend the night sleeping in her car in Canberra after a fortnight in Federal Parliament. Canberrans are expecting a minimum overnight temperature of 3 degrees.
“The night is being run slightly differently this year as a result of COVID, with participants taking part from their cars, couches or backyards,” Ms Claydon said.
“The CEO Sleepout provides some insight into homelessness and demands that we focus on some of the issues that homeless people confront every day.”
Ms Claydon said the CEO Sleepout raises money for local Vinnie’s services providing food, accommodation, healthcare and support for people experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness.
“Last year, the donations to the Newcastle CEO Sleepout delivered funding for the Matthew Talbot Centre in Wickham to employ a property officer and a specialist mental health worker to give people the assistance and support to successfully transition to the private rental market.
“The CEO Sleepout will deliver a concrete positive outcomes for our community in Newcastle. I’d encourage everyone to dig deep and support it.”
Ms Claydon said it was a national tragedy that more Australians are homeless than ever before.
“On any given night, close to 120,000 Australians will be homeless. For a wealthy country like Australia – that’s to our great shame.
“Stable and secure housing, is absolutely central to developing wellbeing in all areas of our lives.”
Ms Claydon commended the work of Vinnie’s and all frontline services working to help people facing homelessness, but said that governments need to do more.
“We’ve seen through the COVID-19 crisis that where there is genuine commitment, we can rapidly reduce the number of people sleeping on the streets, in cars, or on couches,” Ms Claydon said.
“Now we need to take that political will and commit to genuine long-term solutions to drive down homelessness.”
To support Sharon and donate to the CEO Sleepout, visit https://www.ceosleepout.org.au/fundraisers/sharon-claydon-sharon-claydon-mp/newcastle

A man has been charged with outstanding warrants and firearm offences after a public-place shooting in Stockton earlier this month.
Just after 7pm on Tuesday 9 June 2020, police responded to reports of an alleged road-rage incident on Fullerton Street, Stockton.
Police have been told two vehicles – a blue SUV and a utility – were involved in a driving incident before the SUV driver allegedly produced a firearm and discharged it towards the utility.
The SUV was driven away, last seen turning onto King Street.
Following inquiries, officers from Newcastle City Police District, attended licenced premises on Maitland Road, Mayfield, and arrested a 31-year-old man at about 8.30pm yesterday (Tuesday 16 June 2020).
During a search of man, police located a sawn-off firearm and several rounds of ammunition.
He was taken to Newcastle Police Station, where he was charged with possess unregistered firearm-prohibited firearm, possess shortened firearm (not pistol) w/o authority, not keep firearm safely – prohibited firearm, possess ammunition without holding licence/permit/authority and for two outstanding warrants.
The man has been refused bail to face Newcastle Local Court today.