Police investigate suspicious bushfires – Glenrock State Conservation Area

Police are appealing for public assistance after three deliberately lit bushfires in Lake Macquarie yesterday.
About 4.40pm (Thursday 23 January 2020), Fire and Rescue NSW crews were called to a bushfire in thick scrub within the Glenrock State Conservation Area. The fire was bordered by Burwood Road, the Fernleigh Track and the Yuelarbah Track.
Whilst crews were in the process of extinguishing the blaze, two additional fires ignited beside the Fernleigh Track.
It took crews several hours to bring the blazes under control, which burnt through approximately five hectares of the Glenrock State Conservation Area.
Officers from Lake Macquarie Police District attended the scene and commenced investigations.
Police are appealing to locate a man who may be able to assist with their inquiries.
He’s described as being of Caucasian appearance, 170cm tall, aged in his mid to late 40s, with a solid build and scruffy dark brown hair which was long at the back similar to a mullet haircut.
Anyone who may have seen or heard any suspicious activity in the area is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report crime via NSW Police social media pages.

Exhibition relives momentous Novocastrian anniversaries of 2019

History buffs can explore the impact of some of the most significant events in Newcastle’s past at an exhibition called Newcastle in Print at Newcastle Library curated to recognise milestone anniversaries from 2019.
The community will be given a unique opportunity to explore how these major events were reported at the time and to reflect on their legacy at a curator’s talk hosted at City Hall on Thursday at 6pm.
City of Newcastle acting manager of Libraries and Learning Alexander Mills said 2019 was a significant year of anniversaries that observed disasters, industrial unrest and social and cultural changes in the City.
“The ninth year of decades throughout history have been host to numerous transformative events for our City.
“This fascinating exhibition revisits positive moments in time like the opening of our City’s jewels, the Civic Theatre and City Hall, as well as tragic events that have tested our community and built our reputation for resilience.
“The events are explored through newspaper reports and photographs published in our local newspapers available from the Library’s collection.
“We remember the Hunter Valley floods and the Newcastle earthquake, the controversial coal strike of 1949 and the closure of BHP in Newcastle.
“In 1929 a great weeklong celebration kicked off in Newcastle to mark the openings of the Civic Theatre and City Hall. As well as the two grand openings, bands played for the community in King Edward Park, other entertainment featured a soccer tournament, competitive woodchop, surf carnival and aerial pageant at District Park, while a new floating dock was launched on the harbour.
“Twenty years later saw the Australian coal strike which was the first time that Australian military forces were used during peacetime to break a trade union strike. The strike by 23,000 coal miners lasted for seven weeks with troops being sent into the open cut coal mines by the Chifley Federal government which resulted in workers returning to work, defeated, two weeks later.”
The Newcastle in Print exhibition will be on display in the Local History Lounge at Newcastle Library until February 22.
A anniversary milestones from 2019: 
90 years since the opening of Civic Theatre and City Hall
70 years since the arrival of 1,896 European immigrants on the Fairsea
70 years since the Hunter coal strikes
30 years since the Newcastle Earthquake
20 years since the closure of BHP

Woman charged over fatal crash – Raymond Terrace

A woman will face court next month charged over a fatal crash in Raymond Terrace last year.
Shortly before 11am on Sunday 8 December 2019, a blue Toyota Corolla travelling southbound and a red Holden Astra travelling northbound along Richardson Road, Raymond Terrace, collided in the northbound lane.
The driver of the Astra, a 58-year-old man, died at the scene.
The passenger of the Astra, a 62-year-old woman, and the driver of the Corolla, a 21-year-old woman, were both taken to John Hunter Hospital for treatment to their injuries.
Officers attached to the Hunter Crash Investigation Unit arrived at the scene and commenced an investigation.
Following inquiries, yesterday (Wednesday 22 January 2020) a 21-year-old woman attended Raymond Terrace Police Station where she was arrested.
She was charged with:
· Drive in a manner dangerous occasioning death
· Cause bodily harm through misconduct
· Negligent driving occasioning death
· Negligent driving
· Not keep left of dividing line; and
· Drive with illicit drug in system
She was granted conditional bail to appear at Raymond Terrace Local Court on Monday 24 February 2020.
 

Man in court over alleged online grooming – Strike Force Trawler

A man will appear in court today charged over the alleged online grooming of a child in the state’s Hunter region.
In December 2019, detectives from the Child Abuse and Sex Crime Squad’s Child Exploitation Internet Unit (CEIU) began engaging online with a man in the state’s north.
Police will allege in court that the man believed he was speaking with a 14-year-old girl and engaged in conversations about sexually-explicit acts he wished to perform on the child.
Following extensive investigations, strike force detectives arrested a 23-year-old man at a home near Newcastle about 9.30am yesterday (Wednesday 22 January 2020).
Shortly after, a search warrant was executed at the home, where detectives seized a mobile phone and documents.
The man was taken to Waratah Police Station and charged with use carriage service to groom person under 16 years for sex.
He was refused bail to appear at Newcastle Local Court today (Thursday 23 January 2020).
Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad Commander, Detective Acting Superintendent Chris Goddard, said all parents need to speak with their children regularly about online safety.
“With school holidays about to end, it’s a timely reminder to keep an eye on how much time your child is spending on the internet, what websites they are visiting, and who they may be speaking with,” Det A/Supt Goddard said.
“Not only should young people be very careful about providing personal information details to a person they only know in an online environment, they should never organise to meet as doing so may place them at further risk of harm.
“If they encounter something or someone they are not comfortable with, we encourage them to speak to someone they trust, who can then let our investigators know,” Det A/Supt Goddard said.
More information and educational packages for parents and children are available from ThinkUKnow, a multi-agency program designed to educate and promote cyber safety: https://www.thinkuknow.org.au/

VACANCIES REMAIN IN MORRISON GOVERNMENT’S COMMITMENT TO REDRESS

Three months after the Parliament agreed to re-establish a committee to oversee the implementation of the National Redress Scheme, the Morrison Government has failed to appoint four of its six members.
When Labor put forward a motion to re-establish the committee, the Government cynically used its numbers to dump the former multipartisan approach and wrested control for itself. Now, in the final week of Parliament for 2019, it has failed to appoint four of the six committee members it demanded.
The National Redress Scheme is the outcome of the four-year long royal commission into child sexual abuse in institutions but it’s failing to deliver on multiple fronts. It was projected to provide redress to an estimated 60,000 survivors. Yet, almost 18 months after its commencement, only 469 payments have been made, and some institutions still haven’t signed up to participate.
The Committee is a critical means of providing Parliamentary oversight of the National Redress Scheme.  It’s also one of the few ways survivors can share their experiences of the scheme directly with the Parliament.
Because the Government has been dragging its feet, the committee held its first meeting on the very last day of Parliament for 2019, which has all but ensured it won’t be able to get started on its important work before February 2020.
The Government’s failure to appoint members to the joint committee may be evidence of a concerning lack of interest – or, worse, an active attempt to hold off scrutiny for as long as possible.
Survivors deserve a fair, effective and timely scheme, but this will require the Government to participate fully and actively in the committee process.
The Redress Scheme is lagging. People are dying waiting for their redress payments. And key institutions are yet to sign up. Survivors deserve better from this Government.

DAMNING NDIS REPORT PROMPTS CALL FOR NEWCASTLE HEARING

The release of a scathing report into the NDIS has prompted Federal Member for Newcastle Sharon Claydon to write a letter to request that a hearing of the Parliamentary NDIS committee be held in Newcastle.
Ms Claydon said the independent report painted a picture of a system in crisis.
“This confirms everything my constituents have been telling me about an under-resourced system plagued with delays and inconsistency and gravely lacking in transparency,” Ms Claydon said.
“Many people in our community have also seen their NDIS plans slashed for no good reason. Regretfully, the situation seems to be getting worse with each passing year.”
Ms Claydon said the Liberals have ‘utterly neglected’ the NDIS in the six years they have been its custodians.
“The fact that that 1200 Australians died while waiting for an NDIS support package is damning evidence of this Government’s neglect,” Ms Claydon said.
“But in the face of the obvious and desperate need for proper resourcing, the Morrison Government instead choose to rip a further $4.6 billion out of the NDIS to prop up their ailing budget. That’s a recipe for disaster, not a remedy, and it’s time the Morrison Liberal government fixed this mess.”

Man charged over alleged online procurement of child – Strike Force Trawler

A man will appear in court today charged by Strike Force Trawler detectives over the alleged online procurement of a child and possession of child abuse material.
In December 2019, detectives from the Child Abuse and Sex Crime Squad’s Child Exploitation Internet Unit (CEIU) began engaging online with a man from the Hunter region.
Police will allege in court that the man believed he was speaking with a 13-year-old girl and engaged in conversations about sexually-explicit acts he wished to perform on the child and sent sexually-explicit material.
Following extensive investigations, strike force detectives arrested a 48-year-old man at Williamtown just before 12.30pm yesterday (Tuesday 21 January 2020).
Shortly after, a search warrant was executed at a home in the Hunter region, where detectives seized laptops, mobile phones and electronic storage devices.
The man was taken to Raymond Terrace Police Station and charged with use carriage service to procure person under 16 years for sex and possess/control child abuse material using carriage service (x2).
The man was refused bail to appear at Raymond Terrace Local Court today (Wednesday 22 January 2020).
Strike Force Trawler is an ongoing investigation by the CEIU into the sexual abuse and exploitation of children facilitated through the internet and related telecommunications devices.

Light rail eases pressure on parking

The overwhelming popularity of Newcastle’s light rail has helped free up more on-street parking in the CBD, with the number of parking transactions declining in 2019.
More than a million light rail passenger trips in the service’s maiden year exceeded City of Newcastle expectations, based on the State Government’s projection of 657,000, and saw the number of parking transactions decline by seven per cent to 916,704 in the second half of 2019, down from 983,392 in the final six months of 2018.
City of Newcastle Governance Director David Clarke said the resulting $335,000 decline in parking revenue was bitter-sweet because it was evidence that the general public is embracing public transport in the city.
“The fact that light rail has been more successful than anticipated is a good planning problem to have,” Mr Clarke said.
“The parking transaction numbers for 2019 tell us that plenty of parking remains available for inner-city shoppers and visitors, which is news we want both traders and shoppers to know about even though it amounts to a hit to our bottom line. Opal card data shows an average of 100,000 light rail trips are occurring each month, which translates into fewer cars in the city and 11,000 less parking transactions.
“The positive uptake of public transport helps reduce greenhouse emissions and traffic congestion and supports activation of our City, so it’s good to see plenty of people using the light rail, with ferry patronage also increasing by 34,000 rides last year.”
The City’s 2019/20 budget has absorbed a further $280,000 from temporary discounts offered to motorists who took up the EasyPark app, with phone transactions skyrocketing to 339,126 in the second half of 2019 to account for 37 per cent of all parking payments.
With just 77,799 transactions, or eight per cent made via the app in the same period in 2018, Novocastrians have enthusiastically embraced the digital convenience of EasyPark, which allows them to pay remotely and save money by receiving a refund for any unused paid parking time.
“Now that the app has been widely embraced to become the dominant platform for paid parking, it’s time to end the introductory discount to bring consistency back to pricing in line with that charged when paying at the meter with cash or by credit card,” Mr Clarke added.
“With that, the temporary 15 per cent discount applied to EasyPark transactions will cease from 1 February.
“The app’s popularity has been rising every month, to the point it now accounts for almost 40 per cent of all payments for on-street parking.
“We anticipate that more than three quarters of parking payments will be made through EasyPark within the next few years given the continued roll out of features such as parking refunds, the car-space finder and SMS reminders 15 minutes before your paid parking expires.”

Homemade spikes scattered on running trail near Toronto

Police are appealing for information and are urging the public to take extra care after homemade spikes were found scattered across a running trail in Lake Macquarie yesterday.
Officers from Lake Macquarie Police District were called to Alexanders Trail in Lake Macquarie State Conservation Park at Bolton Point, near Toronto, about 12.40pm (Monday 20 January 2020), when a runner found the devices.
Officers have been told the man was running the trail about 11.40am when he noticed a pile of leaves piled in the middle of the track.
Hidden in the leaves the man found wine corks with nails protruding from them, similar to historic weapons known as ‘caltrops’.
The man continued along the trail and found a further two piles hiding more spikes.
Officers from Lake Macquarie Police District were notified a short time later and attended the location.
An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the items has commenced and police are urging anyone who may have information or noticed suspicious activity in the area to contact Toronto Police Station on (02) 4088 1099 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Inquiries continue.

NEWCASTLE SOCIAL HOUSING WAITLIST CONTINUES TO GROW

Member for Newcastle Tim Crakanthorp has welcomed today’s announcement that 36 social and affordable housing units will constructed at Mayfield, as Newcastle’s social housing waitlist continues to grow.
Updated data from Family and Communities Services (FACS) shows that there are now 1216 people waiting for social housing in the Newcastle Allocation Zone, up from 1190 people last year.
Additionally, the wait time for a studio or 1 bedroom property has now increased to 5-10 years, up from 2-5 years.
Mr Crakanthorp said that while it was excellent to see new social and affordable housing come to the city, the FACS data shows that there is much more to be done.
“I am pleased that the Minister has heard my calls for more social and affordable housing in Newcastle, however there is still a long way to go,” he said.
“It was only in September that I stood with the Shadow Minister and a couple sleeping in their car demanding that more be done to address homelessness in Newcastle, and my office stills hears from people facing insecure or inadequate housing on an almost daily basis.
“With more people joining the waitlist I fear this will only increase.
“Everyone has a right to safe and secure housing, so we need the construction of new properties to keep up with demand.”
Today’s announcement follows the Labor Opposition exposing that the Liberal-National Government has sold 352 land parcels and social housing properties, for $333 million, in the last financial year. The Land and Housing Corporation plans to sell over 1000 social housing properties by the end of 2022/23.