Category: NSW News

Labor will deliver more job security and funding certainty for our community services sector, by introducing longer term five year funding arrangements for key community service providers.
 
This will benefit the over 7,800 non-government organisations that operate in the sector; the more than 240,000 workers they employ; and the over one million people they support.
 
These essential frontline workers – predominantly women – have been vital in supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our community, including throughout the pandemic, fires, droughts and floods, as well as homelessness, domestic and family violence, and child protection.
 
Under the Liberals and Nationals
 
One in four community service workers are employed on short term contracts, according to a NSW Council of Social Services report.
 
These organisations are often forced to reapply for their funding every 12, six or even three months.
 
The applications are onerous and often differ among the various government departments.  
 
As a result, one in three organisations reported difficulties recruiting and retaining staff.
 
And organisations are often forced to compete, rather than collaborate, which leads to a race to the bottom on wages and conditions in a sector comprised of predominantly women.
 
Labor’s plan
 
Longer term funding will foster greater job security for many thousands of women workers as well as provide organisations the freedom to plan into the future.  
 
It will also allow these organisations to spend more time on service delivery, rather than on administrative tasks.
 
Labor will also establish a taskforce to engage with the sector on the development of a new funding framework and jobs compact.
 
The taskforce will work to standardise and streamline reporting and contract management.
 
It will also establish a whole-of-government prequalification process so that organisations don’t need to repeat onerous accreditation processes.
 
And it will review funding models to stop the race to the bottom on wages, provide secure jobs and ensure adherence to award conditions.                                                                                                                                                            
 
Chris Minns, NSW Labor Leader said:

Longer term funding will mean better services for frontline organisations because it’s more time spent helping people and less time bogged down in paperwork to get funding.

 “This is a predominately female workforce, and ensuring certainty will also provide economic security for those employed in this sector.”

Kate Washington, NSW Shadow Minister for Families & Communities said:
 
“Under Labor, service providers will have the freedom to plan for the future, workers in the sector will have more secure jobs and the sector can focus on service delivery and supporting vulnerable people in our community.”
 
Jodie Harrison, NSW Shadow Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault said:
 
“These organisations and workers provide essential support to some of the most vulnerable in our community, from those experiencing natural disasters to domestic violence.”
 
Rose Jackson, NSW Shadow Minister for Housing & Homelessness said:
 
“They shouldn’t be forced to jump through hoops every three to 12 months just to do their job.”

Unused wards at Campbelltown Hospital were tendered out to film studios by the NSW Liberals and Nationals, documents obtained by NSW Labor have revealed.

The proposed tender details said, “Campbelltown Hospital has vacant/unused wards that can be used for filming for TV/Ads/Movies and other similar such mediums.”

The revelations come at a time when the state’s hospital system under the Liberals and Nationals grapple with record hospital wait times.

The most recent BHI data revealed that between April and June this year only 42.2 per cent of critical emergency treatment started on time in Campbelltown Hospital.

Over the same period, 10 per cent waited over an hour and 19 minutes, just to be transferred from an ambulance to a bed in the hospital.

Ten per cent spent almost 14 hours in the emergency department.

And over 3,000 patients left the emergency ward without receiving treatment altogether – one in every seven people who turned up for medical help.

NSW Labor is calling on the Premier to provide an explanation about the tender while wards remain unused and patients in need of critical care are going untreated.

Chris Minns, NSW Labor Leader Chris Minns said:

“It says so much about this Premier and this Government that they are more interested in creating fictional treatments, than actually treating patients in need.

This is outrageous. This isn’t Grey‘s Anatomy, it’s a real hospital with sick people.

“Because of chronic mismanagement, these wards are being used as movie sets rather than delivering treatment.  

“Dominic Perrottet should be focused on fixing the hospital not filming it.”

Ryan Park, NSW Shadow Minister for Health said:

“The people of Campbelltown and south west Sydney have every right to be frustrated and angry at a Government more interested in stunts than delivering the health services residents need and deserve.

“Shiny new wards without appropriate staffing will do nothing to solve the health crisis caused by 12 years of understaffing and underfunding our hospitals.

“If you were one of the three thousand patients who left the hospital untreated, or if you’re one of their friends or family, you’d be outraged.

“Despite a hospital crisis across NSW, Dominic Perrottet seems to be more interested in being a director than a Premier.”

NSW Labor is reiterating its plans to ban mobile phones in New South Wales schools as a new report shows more and more kids are addicted to screens and devices.
 
Today’s Daily Telegraph reports that a group of Australian psychiatrists and psychologists specialising in video gaming, technology and associated behavioural difficulties have formed the Australian Gaming & Screens Alliance (AGASA).
 
They are calling on the government to take action, particularly after COVID.
 
Labor announced in September, that a Minns Labor Government will restrict the use of mobile phones in NSW public school classrooms to improve students’ learning and social development.
 
South Australia, the Northern Territory, Victoria and Western Australia have all announced a ban in schools. Mobile phones are banned in primary schools in NSW but there is no mandatory restrictions on phones in high schools.
 
The Premier and his Education Minister are refusing to budge. That is despite parents writing to the Government urging a ban, and study after study suggesting children are more addicted to screens then ever.
 
Under the proposed policy, all NSW public school students would have their phones turned off during school hours and kept off and out of sight until the end of the school day.
 
There will be exemptions for students with special circumstances, such as needing to monitor a health condition, or when under the direct instruction of a teacher for educational purposes or with teacher permission for a specified purpose such as for language translation and communication.

Chris Minns, NSW Labor leader said:

As any family across New South Wales knows, the biggest conversation around the dinner table at the moment is how to get kids off devices.

“I’ve got 3 boys, I share the concerns of parents about the impact devices and phones are having on the next generation of kids.
 
“NSW Labor will ban mobile phones in NSW schools. It will mean kids can focus more on learning and during recess and lunch they are back to kicking a ball around or talking face to face with their friends.

A Minns Labor Government will end the NSW Government’s failed $13.5 million Recruitment Beyond NSW program and redirect resources towards actually recruiting New South Wales teaching students into schools.
 
The Perrottet Government’s signature Recruitment Beyond NSW scheme that promised 460 overseas teachers has yielded only three new teachers.
 
Meanwhile, figures from the NSW Department of Education reveal 7,174 people received Initial Teacher Education (ITE) qualifications in 2021, but an alarming 1,418 (or 1 in 5) chose not to become teachers. 

This is worsened by the fact that the number of people taking up teaching degrees declined by 29 per cent over the period of 2014 to 2019.
 
After 12 years, the NSW Liberals just don’t get it. They have presided over a chronic teacher shortage, which has meant merged and cancelled classes, and students falling behind in national and international rankings when it comes to literacy, numeracy and science.
 
NSW Labor has a plan for a better NSW education system for a better future for our kids. 

To get more teaching graduates into schools, a Minns Labor Government will:
 
•    Match NSW teaching graduates directly with vacant teaching positions, ensuring new graduates aren’t lost to the school system.
•    Provide permanent teaching job offers earlier to ensure high-achieving teacher education students have guaranteed teaching roles upon graduation.
•    Expand the Hub Schools program to provide more partnerships between schools and teacher education providers.
•    Create a state-wide teacher placements system to match specialist teachers with schools’ subject needs. 
 
And to get more people to take on a teaching degree in the first place, a Minns Labor Government will:
 
•    Create a $20 million Innovative Teacher Training Fund, to support innovative pathways into teaching such as the Clinical Teaching School Hubs model developed by Alphacrucis University College. 
•    Expand evening and weekend Master of Teaching courses for career-changers, by partnering with teacher education providers so career-changers can earn an income whilst retraining as a teacher. 
 
NSW Labor will redirect unallocated funding from the Teacher Supply Strategy and the failed Recruitment Beyond NSW strategy towards these new initiatives.
 
Today’s measures build on Labor’s already announced policies to fix the long term problems in our education system and to make a teaching career in New South Wales more attractive, including:

•    Cutting 5 hours of admin work per week. 
•    Creating 10,000 new permanent positions to end the casualization of the teaching profession.
•    Removing the Perrottet Government’s wages cap to make the profession competitive again.

Labor is commitmed to valuing the teaching profession, putting a stop to increasing attrition from the profession and bringing teachers back into NSW schools. 

NSW Labor Leader Chris Minns:
 
“The Perrottet Government spent years and millions of dollars coming up with a scheme that gave us only 3 new teachers, while 1,400 NSW teaching graduates chose alternative careers right under their noses.”  
 
“Why should New South Wales continue spending millions on recruiting teachers from overseas when there are thousands who spend years training to become teachers locally, but never end up in schools?”

This is a common-sense, back-to-basics approach to fixing the teacher shortage in NSW.”

 “My dad was a public school teacher. He worked in the public school system of New South Wales for nearly 40 years.  
 
“Teaching was his life’s work , and I want to ensure we attract and retain the next generation of career teachers, who want to work and teach right here in New South Wales. 
 
NSW Deputy Labor Leader and Shadow Minister for Education Prue Car:
 
“Every qualified teaching graduate should be contacted directly and told that there is a job waiting for them in our schools. I will call them myself if I have to – it’s a travesty these teaching graduates aren’t going into our schools.”
 
“Labor’s plans will make the teaching profession a more attractive career choice, get more teachers into classrooms and ensure they can make teaching their life’s work.”

It’s clear this Government has run out of ideas and its best days are behind them, with an announcement today by the Education Minister on another syllabus change – it’s 20^th  announcement since 2018.

Despite the 20 announcements, a report released by the McKell Institute yesterday confirmed that New South Wales is going backwards when it comes to education outcomes.
 
International PISA results show that between 2006 and 2018, NSW students dropped from 6th to 23rd in reading, dropped from 9th to 31st in maths and dropped from 3rd to 23rd in science.
 
In fact, NSW had the largest decline of any Australian jurisdiction in PISA reading results between 2000 and 2018.
 
This year’s NAPLAN results also showed the literacy levels of teenage boys had fallen to record lows with one in six failing to reach the minimum standard in grammar and punctuation and about 12 per cent struggled to read at a basic level.

Today there’s another syllabus announcement, yet the Perrottet Government has failed to recruit enough teachers to actually teach it.
 
There are currently 2,963 teacher vacancies across NSW and a NSW Parliament survey shows that 60 per cent of NSW teachers are planning to leave their jobs in the next 5 years.
 
After 12 years, the NSW Liberals just don’t get it.
 
They have presided over a chronic teacher shortage, which has meant merged and cancelled classes, and students falling behind in national and international rankings when it comes to literacy, numeracy and science.
 
Another four years will mean more of the same.
 
A list of syllabus announcements by the NSW Government since 2018:

1. 14 May 2018 – Curriculum Review launched
2. 24 August 2018 – Public consultation of curriculum review has started
3. September 2018 – Terms of Reference revealed
4. April 2019 – Consultation review released
5. 22 October 2019 – Interim Curriculum report released. ‘Back to basics’ plan for new NSW schools curriculum
6. 23 October 2019 – Curriculum to include more trades subjects
7. 23 June 2020 – Masters review released
8. 14 February 2021 – Expert teachers to help curriculum reform
9. 23 March 2021 – K-2 English and Maths curriculum revealed
10. 19 June 2021 – $196 million for implementation of curriculum reform
11. 2 August 2021 – English and Maths syllabuses released for public consultation
12. 15 November 2021 – English and Maths Yr1 and 2 curriculum
13. 18 March 2022 – Year 3-10 English and Maths curriculum revealed
14. 21 March 2022 – AUSLAN joins NSW curriculum
15. 16 August 2022 – Music and Dance curriculum consultation
16. 7 October 2022 – Extra 30mins release time for teachers to learn curriculum
17. 17 October 2022 – Aboriginal Languages syllabus revealed
18. 24 October 2022 – STEM syllabus revealed
19. 21 November 2022 – Technology syllabus revealed
20. 5 December 2022 – English syllabus announcement

It’s time for a fresh start for our education system in New South Wales.

NSW Labor has begun to outline a comprehensive plan to fix the long term problems in our education system, reverse the decline in student outcomes and to make a teaching career in New South Wales more attractive by:

• Cutting 5 hours of admin work per week so teachers spend more time in the clasroom;
• Converting 10,000 existing casual teachers to permanent to give them the security of job they are asking for to stay in teaching;
• Creating better teacher pathways to ensure our graduates end up in New South Wales schools;
• Banning the use of mobile phones in schools to reduce distraction and improve education outcomes; and
• Removing the Perrottet Government’s wages cap to make the profession competitive again.

The release of the latest Bureau of Health Information (BHI) today confirms people in New South Wales are still waiting too long for an ambulance and too long in Emergency Departments with 1 in 10 patients spending longer than 22 hours in Emergency before discharge – the longest of any quarter since BHI reporting began.
 
Across the state:

• 60,000 patients or 1 in every 12 walked into an Emergency Department in the last 3 months and left without, or before completing treatment.  
• More than one in three Priority 1A patients, that is people with life threatening conditions like cardiac or respiratory arrest, waited longer than the 10-minute target for an ambulance to arrive.
• Almost half of critical emergency patients did not start their treatment on time.
• Almost 100,000 people were on elective surgery waiting lists at the end of September, including close to 18,000 who had waited longer than clinical guidelines say they should.

These figures show the dire state of our health system. It’s not fair on our hardworking healthcare professionals to have to manage a system that is stretched to its limits.

For the last 12 years, our health system and the people who work in it have been neglected by the Liberals and Dominic Perrottet. New South Wales lost 365 hospital beds, and we have a shortage of nurses who are leaving the profession.

In the last year alone, 35 emergency department nurses left Westmead Hospital, and another 35 left Blacktown Hospital.

But Dominic Perrottet and the Liberals don’t get it. In response to the outpouring of concern about the state of our public hospitals from paramedics, to nurses to senior doctors in the bush and in the city – the Minister for Health declared – that if the conditions were so bad – perhaps the doctors should go and work in the third world.

In response to a question on the health system in crisis, Minister Hazzard said ‘Bullshit, there certainly is not. It’s the best health system in the country by a long shot!”

NSW Labor leader Chris Minns said:

“The wait times for ambulances and in our hospitals are now at record levels.”This is not a health system that is coping, after 12 years of under investment by the NSW Liberals. “It’s why NSW Labor will begin the long overdue task of repairing and reforming our health care system across New South Wales.

“We’ll introduce safe staffing levels in NSW hospitals, starting with EDs. It will help with workloads, it will take pressure of nurses and ensure they can treat patients with the care they deserve and need.

“Our nurses, hospital staff, paramedics and doctors need more support.

NSW Shadow Minister for Health Ryan Park said:

“This data does not paint  a picture of a healthy system.”

“We have hospitals across the state and particularly in Western Sydney that are under continued pressure.

“Whether it is Nepean, Westmead or Blacktown, all major hospitals continue to show they are under resourced and struggling to cope with increased demand.

The NSW Government will further boost housing supply by unlocking an extra 70 000 new homes across NSW, under the $73.5 million Rezoning Pathways Program.
 
Premier Dominic Perrottet said the Government will initiate 10 land rezonings, the majority in Western Sydney, to pave the way for these 70 000 new homes.
 
“Working with councils, rezoning is one important lever that we are pulling to get the ball rolling on more housing supply across our state,” Mr Perrottet said.
 
“We are throwing everything at getting more houses built so more people get keys in doors and can realise their dream of owning a home.
 
“We are focusing our efforts on some of the fastest growing areas in Western Sydney to help more families get into homes sooner.”
 
Minister for Planning and Minister for Homes Anthony Roberts said the Rezoning Pathways Program is part of the Government’s $2.8 billion Housing Package.
 
“We’re creating a pipeline for tens of thousands more homes, giving more people in NSW the opportunity to put a roof over their heads,” Mr Roberts said.
 
“This is all about accelerating the rezoning of key housing areas to make more land development-ready for new homes.”
 
Under the program, the NSW Government will assess select State or regionally significant planning proposals, or lead the rezoning work from start to finish, with all land to be rezoned by 2024.
 
Mr Roberts said the program includes a pilot process for proponents proposing more than 1,000 homes in metropolitan areas or over 300 in regional areas that could be assessed by the NSW Government.
 
“We want projects that can make a difference to our housing supply quickly, which is why we are seeking nominations for proposals that are well advanced with a planning proposal able to be submitted within two months, Mr Roberts said.
 
 
The NSW Government will lead the work to unlock new homes in:

• Broadmeadow, Newcastle;
• Camellia-Rosehill;
• Explorer Street, Eveleigh;
• Macquarie Park Stage 1;
• Orchard Hills;
• Parramatta North’s University and Northern sites; and
• Riverstone East Stage 3.

The NSW Government will also be responsible for assessing planning proposals that could pave the way for new housing in:

• Appin;
• Gilead; and
• North Appin.

 
For more information, visit www.planning.nsw.gov.au/rezoning-pathways

The NSW Sentencing Council is calling for early feedback as part of its comprehensive review of sentencing for firearms, knives and other weapon offences in NSW.
 
Attorney General Mark Speakman said the feedback will help determine the scope and the direction of the review.
 
“The NSW Government is committed to keeping our community safe and to ensuring our laws and legal system continue to best promote access to, and the administration of justice,” Mr Speakman said.
“We want to ensure that sentencing laws in relation to crimes of this nature remain in line with community expectations. We also want law enforcement agencies to continue to have access to the tools they need to keep our community safe.
 
“This is the first time that a comprehensive review of weapons offences will be undertaken by the Sentencing Council. A limited review of firearms offences was last undertaken by the Council in 2004, and some knife offences have never been reviewed.
 
“I encourage community members and justice stakeholders to have their say about the issues they would like to see included in this review.”
 
Mr Speakman said preliminary submissions should raise issues that are relevant to the terms of reference. The preliminary submissions are due by 3 March 2023.
 
The independent review and terms of reference were announced by the Attorney General on 7 November 2022.
 
Terms of reference
 
Under the terms of reference, the Sentencing Council has been asked to conduct a review of sentencing for firearms, knives and other weapons offences, including but not limited to offences in the Crimes Act 1900 and Summary Offences Act 1988, and make any recommendations for reform that it considers appropriate.
 
 
In undertaking this review, the Sentencing Council should:
 

• provide sentencing statistics for convictions and penalty notices (where relevant) over a five-year period;
• provide information on the characteristics of offenders, sentence type and length;
• provide background information, including:
  • the key sentencing principles and reasoning employed by sentencing judges;
  • the mitigating subjective features of offenders; and
  • any other significant factors considered in sentencing decisions that explain how courts come to their final decision on sentence (which may be done using case-studies or collation of predominate themes across cases);
• consider whether the standard non parole periods where identified remain appropriate;
• consider whether offences for which penalty notices are available remain appropriate;
• consider whether the maximum penalties for the offences are appropriate with reference to other jurisdictions;
• consider whether any existing summary offences should be made indictable offences;
• consider any other matter the Council considers relevant.

 
Preliminary submissions should be emailed to sentencingcouncil@justice.nsw.gov.au.
 
More information on the review can be found on the NSW Sentencing Council website.

The NSW Government’s record investment in Callan Park has received a major boost, with an additional $6.5 million committed to revitalising the inner west park, taking the total budget to $20.5 million.
 
Minister for Infrastructure, Cities and Active Transport Rob Stokes broke ground on the waterfront revitalisation project, which will see more green open space, new picnic facilities and amenities, revamped sporting facilities, enhanced heritage connections and an upgrade to the Bay Run.
 
“Callan Park is a green oasis and a heritage gem overlooking the beautiful Iron Cove and these works, led by Greater Sydney Parklands, will ensure it can be enjoyed by many more people for generations to come,” Mr Stokes said.
 
“Intrusive buildings with no historic value have been removed to create the Waterfront Green, and we’re upgrading the heritage-listed 497 building, giving the Balmain & District Football Club a long-term home for their 3,000 registered players.
 
“This will also help us achieve our vision of a safe and separated CBD to Parramatta walk, completing the missing link of the Bay Run with a much wider and safer path for the 50,000 walkers, joggers and bike riders that use it every week.”
 
Member for Balmain Jamie Parker acknowledge the long-standing advocacy of the community and local sporting clubs and welcomed the additional government funding commitment to the historic public space.
 
“Callan Park is cherished for its history, heritage, and strong connection to Country for our First Nations people. The upgrade of the waterfront has been driven by the community and will ensure the best possible use of the space with a greater experience for all users of the park,” Mr Parker said.
 
Balmain & District Football Club president Paul Avery said a $1.8 million grant from the NSW Government’s Multi-Sport Community Facility Fund was a major win.
 
“We’re the biggest community football club in NSW and this grant, alongside the extensive works at Callan Park, will allow generations of local juniors to play the world game at one of Sydney’s best public parks,” Mr Avery said.
 
Callan Park will receive $6.5 million in addition to the $14 million original investment to deliver further upgrades in the Park including:

• $1.7 million for a new publically accessible toilet block along the waterfront, a first for people with disability users of the Bay Run.
• $1.8 million for adaptive re-use of the heritage-listed Building 497, providing a long-term home for the Balmain & District Football Club.
• $3 million to build a separated walking and cycling path between King George Oval and Waterfront Green which is currently the missing link of the Bay Run.
• The provision of a temporary replacement carpark closely located to Waterfront Sports field by recycling a hardstand paving

 
Waterfront Green is expected to be complete by December 2023, while work on the Bay Run is expected to begin in the first half of next year.
 
To view the plans for the Callan Park waterfront revitalisation, visit: https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/parks-reserves-and-protected-areas/park-management/callan-park/waterfront-revitalisation

School parents are getting a helping hand from the Perrottet Government with the cost of vacation care, thanks to the $500 Before and After School Care (BASC) vouchers.

Liberal candidate for Coogee, Dr Kylie von Muenster, welcomed this support for local families ahead of summer school holidays.

Families with children aged 4 to 13 that attend primary school, including children starting kindergarten in 2023, can access the vouchers to reduce the out-of-pocket costs of before and after school.

“As a mum of three I know how stressful this time of the year can be, and the current pressures on family budgets of rising interest rates and increasing costs is really affecting people.

“I was particularly excited to have the Premier and ministers in Coogee to highlight some of the great providers that we have locally,” said Dr von Muenster.

“I urge families to make the most of this opportunity by using the Service NSW search tool to find one that’s near you.”

“There are more than 70 rebates and vouchers that the Perrottet Government has delivered for our community, and if elected I will be a strong voice for Coogee in the Government advocating for continued strong focus on supporting our community.”

Premier Dominic Perrottet said the BASC vouchers are a huge success, supporting NSW families to juggle work and family responsibilities.

“We know the Before and After School Care vouchers help to ease hip pocket pressure and give parents and carers the flexibility they need around work commitments.

“I encourage parents who haven’t already to download and redeem a BASC voucher before the summer holidays are over to help cover the cost of vacation care.”

Minister for Education and Early Learning Sarah Mitchell said parents should download and redeem the $500 vouchers available to them.

“Every family with a child going into Kindergarten in 2023 can now download their voucher until 31 January 2023 if they have not yet done so. These vouchers support students in getting quality before and after school care, but also allows parents to have more money back in their household budgets.”

The Before and After School Voucher Program is delivered in partnership with Service NSW. Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government, Victor Dominello said BASC vouchers will be available to download from 5 December 2022 until 31 January 2023 by parents and carers.

They must be redeemed by 31 January but can be used for services up to 30 June 2023. Customers can register and apply online via a MyService NSW account, in the app, or by visiting their nearest Service Centre.

To apply or find out more information about BASC vouchers, visit: https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/basc-voucher.