Category: Newcastle News

A man is assisting police after a body was found at a house in Scone today.
About 6.30am (Tuesday 18 December 2018), a 20-year-old man attended Muswellbrook Police Station and provided information to police.
Officers from Hunter Valley Police District attended a house on Parker Street, Scone, where they located the body of a 41-year-old man.
A crime scene has been established and investigations continue.
The 20-year-old man was arrested and taken to Muswellbrook Police Station.
A report will be prepared for the Coroner.

A man will face court today charged over alleged historical sexual assault, kidnapping and domestic violence-related offences committed against four women.
Detectives from the State Crime Command’s Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad commenced investigations under Strike Force Cilento in June 2018, following reports four women had been sexually assaulted and held against their will over a period of time by a man known to them.
Following inquiries, a 28-year-old man was arrested and charged at Gosford Police Station with 54 domestic violence-related offences, including:

• assault occasioning actual bodily harm (x10);
• take/detain person with intent to obtain advantage occasioning actual bodily harm (x3);
• common assault (x19);
• sexual intercourse without consent (x8);
• use offensive weapon with intent to commit serious indictable offence (x2);
• aggravated sexual assault – deprive liberty;
• stalk/intimate intend fear of physical/mental harm;
• aggravated sexual assault – inflict actual bodily harm (x2);
• intentional choke person with recklessness (x6);
• dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm;
• pervert the course of justice.

Police will allege in court that the man was a high-risk domestic violence offender and allegedly sexually assaulted the four women on numerous occasions in Sydney’s west between 2009 and 2017.
The man was refused bail and is due to appear at Central Local Court today (Tuesday 18 December 2018).
Investigations under Strike Force Cilento continue.

Almost seven months after the members of the Newcastle Maritime Museum Society (NMMS) unanimously voted to wind up, the future of the 7,500 piece collection remains up in the air.
The decision to wind up followed an earlier decision by the Board of the NMMS not to extend its lease on its former building on Honeysuckle Drive.
The timelines committed to by NMMS for winding up have lapsed including an agreed deadline to provide City of Newcastle with key financial information.
The NMMS through its lawyers Peter Evans and Associates wrote to City of Newcastle’s (CN) CEO Jeremy Bath on 22 August 2018 demanding that a list of items “be disposed of in order to discharge the liabilities”.
The NMMS lawyers subsequently wrote to CN on 13 September 2018 that it would “be necessary for us to advise our client to activate Rule 29 of the Constitution and place the Society into voluntary liquidation”. To date the NMMS Board has not done this.
City of Newcastle CEO Jeremy Bath said the most important outcome being sought by Council is that the city’s maritime history is preserved in Newcastle.
“The Board of the Maritime Museum emailed me a list of their creditors in June with debts totalling $212,000.
“The Board of the Newcastle Maritime Museum Society have proposed to pay debts by selling items from the collection. However, to date the Board have failed to produce financial records to substantiate any of these debts. This is especially critical given more than $144,000 of this debt is listed in the NMMS’s email as being owed to a number of the Museum’s directors and their former General Manager.
“I met with three of the Newcastle Maritime Museum’s directors on the third of October. At that meeting they assured me that evidence validating all financial claims would be produced within two weeks.  A final deadline issued to NMMS for producing the information lapsed on Friday.
“As the trustee of the Maritime Museum’s collection, Council is responsible for disposing of items (whether by sale other otherwise).  In disposing of items, Council is committed to ensuring the disposal is in keeping with the Museum’s Collection Management Policy and Procedures.
“The Museum’s Collection Management Policy makes clear that the monies from disposal can only be used in limited and appropriate circumstances. Specifically, it states: Any monies received by the governing body from the disposal of objects should be applied solely for the upgrading of the collection either by purchase or by conservation.
“It is for this reason that City of Newcastle is calling on the Board of the Newcastle Maritime Museum Society to abandon its seven month push to sell items of the collection. Further, with no way of raising monies to clear debts they claim are owed to them, we further call upon them to waive any personal claims so that the Maritime Museum can be voluntarily wound up as their members voted on the 21^st of May.
“Right now, the collection is safe. When HDC and Property NSW instructed the Maritime Museum to vacate their museum and storage properties, Council secured a temporary storage site for the collection at Carrington courtesy of a generous offer from Thales. However, this agreement runs only to September 2020 and as of right now, the collection remains under the control of the Newcastle Maritime Museum Society.
“Until the Maritime Museum Society formally winds up and transfers ownership of the collection to Council, City of Newcastle cannot begin the process of reviewing the 7,500 items and creating a new exhibition space. The Newcastle Museum stands ready to become the new permanent home of the collection. Newcastle Museum has the capacity to allocate a significant exhibition space which will ensure the Maritime Museum collection remains permanently accessible to the people of Newcastle and its visitors.
“The City of Newcastle calls on the NMMS to act and eliminate the risk that at some point, a creditor will appoint a liquidator and a fire sale will send the collection into private hands. This would be an unnecessary and tragic outcome for our city’s maritime history,” Jeremy Bath said.

City of Newcastle welcomes the news of a record number of passengers travelling into Newcastle Airport on the first day of this year’s Newcastle 500 Supercars event.
Newcastle Airport has reported more than 5,200 passengers on Friday 23 November, an 11 per cent increase on last year and a new record – despite bushfires that impacted flights.

More than 2 million people watched on TV as the 2018 Virgin Australia Supercars champion was crowned in our city and Supercars also recently reported a record breaking year thanks to significant increases in viewing audiences across television and digital platforms for the Newcastle 500.
These excellent results speak to the success of the event and position us as a destination city with a growing reputation for hosting great events, said Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes.
“It’s been a massive year for growth in the Newcastle tourism industry,” said the Lord Mayor.
“Following on the incredible success of our second Supercars race, the City this week announced a landmark deal bringing the first five-star hotel to Newcastle by 2020.
“Our City’s revitalisation is tantalisingly close to completion and by early next year the new light rail transport system will be up and running.
“We are clearly firing on all cylinders in attracting visitors to Newcastle, with incredibly popular major events, a greater selection of flights in to our airport, high quality accommodation and improved public transport in the CBD.
“The powerful combination indicates we are a destination city poised for significant economic growth in our tourism sector.”

A man has died after he was attacked in his home at Lake Macquarie this morning.
Emergency services were called to the home on Lonus Avenue at Whitebridge about 2.30am (Monday 17 December 2018), and found a 60-year-old man with a serious injury to his arm.
The man was treated at the scene by paramedics; however, he died at John Hunter Hospital a short time later.
Officers from Lake Macquarie Police District have established a crime scene and initiated inquiries.
They’ve been told three people – with their faces covered and armed with baseball bats and knives – broke into the home and attacked the man in his bedroom.
The man’s two brothers were home at the time but were not injured.
Inquiries are now underway by detectives from Lake Macquarie Police District, assisted by the State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad.
Police are investigating if this was a targeted attack.

Police will prepare a report for the Coroner after a child drowned in a backyard in Port Stephens yesterday.
About 6.40pm (Sunday 16 December 2018), police were called to a home on Marsh Road, Bobs Farm, after a 19-month-old boy was found unconscious in a backyard swimming pool.
NSW Ambulance paramedics attended and performed CPR, however, he died at the scene.
A crime scene was established and officers from Port Stephens Police District will investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Initial investigations suggest there were no suspicious circumstances involved.

More than 40 people have been caught with drugs during a music festival at Port Macquarie over the past two days.
The ‘Festival of the Sun’ event was conducted within a holiday park at Port Macquarie between 13-16 December 2018. About 3000 people were in attendance.
Officers from Mid North Coast Police District conducted an operation to police the event, including a drug dog operation.
During the operation, 41 people were detected with drugs, including cannabis, MDMA, cocaine and LSD.
One man, aged 27, was allegedly found to be in possession of 55 MDMA capsules. He was charged with supply prohibited drug and possess prohibited drug.
He was conditionally bailed to appear at Port Macquarie Local Court on Wednesday 9 January 2019.
Other alleged offenders were issued field court attendance notices, infringement notices, cannabis cautions and warnings.
On-site medical services treated about 40 persons at the event for various issues.

A man has been charged following an alleged assault near Newcastle today.
About 2am (Saturday 15 December 2018), emergency services were called to Beaumont Street, Hamilton, following reports of an assault.
Police have been told a 25-year-old man and a 43-year-old man were allegedly involved in an altercation.
Officers from Newcastle City Police District attended and arrested the 25-year-old man.
He was taken to Newcastle City Police Station where he was charged with affray and behave in offensive manner in/near public place.
He was granted conditional bail to appear in Newcastle Local Court on Thursday 17 January 2019.
NSW Ambulance paramedics attended the scene, however the 43-year-old man declined treatment.

Police have charged a man after he was allegedly found to be in possession of drugs and a firearm in a carpark at Lake Haven on the state’s Central Coast yesterday.
About 11pm (Friday 14 December 2018) officers from Morisset Police Transport Command were patrolling Lake Haven when they came across a Toyota Corolla parked across three car spaces at a fast food restaurant in Lake Haven.
The window of the car was open, and the engine was running as police took a closer look.
A man sitting in the driver’s seat was woken by officers who then searched his car.
Police allegedly located a loaded .22 pistol with ammunition, a sling shot, black handled spike/shiv, a small quantity of drugs believed to be cannabis, methamphetamine and pills, two mobile phones and drug paraphernalia.
The 30-year-old man was arrested and taken to Wyong Police Station where he was charged with firearm and drug possession and having custody of an offensive implement.
He was refused bail and will appear in Wyong Local Court today (Saturday 15 December 2018).

Novocastrians are bearing the brunt of ongoing cuts at Centrelink, with many being forced to wait for up to six months for applications for pensions or income support to be processed.
Federal Member for Newcastle Sharon Claydon said the number of Novocastrians contacting her for help after going months without income was distressing.
“My office takes too many calls from desperate constituents forced to live on nothing and navigate a system that seems rigged to demoralise and delay,” Ms Claydon said.
“With well over 35,000 Novocastrians on income support or pensions, the impact of these cuts has been felt widely across our community.
“Staff morale is also an all-time low with department jobs being cut and outsourced to labour hire firms.”
Shadow Minister for Families and Social Services Linda Burney said the Federal Government had cut and outsourced 2,500 Centrelink jobs in the past three years.
“Centrelink is in crisis under the Liberals. It’s under-staffed and under-resourced,” Ms Burney said.
“We have heard shocking stories of people waiting hours to speak to someone on the phone, or waiting months for their allowances or pensions.”
“The only winners of the cuts are labour hire firms who charge the taxpayer more, but pay their staff less.”
Labor has committed to invest in Centrelink’s workforce with 1,200 permanent, full-time, properly trained staff, who are best able to deal with the complex issues facing income support recipients.