A man missing in the Newcastle area has been located safe and well.
The 27-year-old was last seen on the morning of Monday 5 August 2024 at Calvery Mater Hospital in Waratah.
When he could not be located or contacted, officers attached to Batemans Bay Police Station were notified and commenced inquiries into his whereabouts.
Following inquiries, he was located in the Newcastle area.
Police would like to thank the public and the media for their assistance.
Today the ACT Government has released a report showing that changes to energy efficiency standards made in April last year have improved living conditions for many renters in Canberra.
Minister for Water, Energy and Emissions Reduction Shane Rattenbury said the report is an endorsement of the work being undertaken to make Canberra a fairer place to live for renters.
“Everyone should have access to a safe and affordable home. In a wealthy place like Canberra, nobody should have to live in a home that boils in summer and freezes in winter,” Minister Rattenbury said.
“Last year, we introduced new standards for ceiling insulation so that people who rent their homes are protected from the hot summers and cold winters we can often experience here in Canberra.
“In a cost of living crisis, better insulation standards do more than just keep our homes comfortable, they actually reduce energy bills and help Canberrans use less energy when powering their home.
“Since the new standard was introduced, our monitoring of the program has shown that there has been no impact from the improved standards on rental prices or the number of homes in the market.
“Contrary to the rhetoric of many conservative commentators, our evidence shows that improving rental insulation standards does not lead to landlords taking homes off the market and prices rising. These reforms are making life better for renters.
“In fact, over the past year and a half we have seen landlords getting behind the new standards. There has been strong compliance with disclosure obligations and an increase in ceiling insulation upgrades across the ACT more broadly.
“As a result of this increased demand for ceiling insulation, we are also seeing more certified ceiling insulation installers across Canberra, which is improving competition in the market and reducing overall cost for insulation upgrades.
“I’m thrilled to see the results of this fantastic progressive reform to support young people and renters in Canberra, and I look forward to doing even more work into the future to make Canberra a better and fairer place to live in as a renter.“
The ACT Government offers support to rental property owners through the Sustainable Household Scheme. Eligible property owners can access zero-interest loans of up to $15,000 to upgrade the insulation or install efficient electric appliances in their rental property.
Renters can also maximise their home’s energy efficiency through the free Renters Home Energy Program. As part of this service an expert assessor can either come to your home or call you, and provide tailored draught-proofing and energy saving solutions that are suitable for renters.
Read the monitoring and evaluation report on the first year of the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard on the Everyday Climate Choices website.
The Greens have slammed the Victorian Labor government for encouraging more fossil fuels in the middle of a climate crisis as Labor plots more offshore gas projects in Victoria and backflips on their plans to phase out dangerous gas cooktops in homes.
It follows reports today that reveal that the Premier has excluded electrifying existing gas cooktops from Victoria’s net zero road map and has signalled new laws to encourage more offshore gas projects.
The Victorian Greens have labelled this move as another cowardly political decision that denies basic climate science and exposes kids to more asthma-causing gas fumes in homes.
Gas cooktops are not only terrible for the climate, they’re expensive and they lead to complex health issues including childhood asthma.
The Leader of the Victorian Greens, Ellen Sandell says that the Premier is denying climate science and blowing up any ambition that this government had of tackling the climate crisis.
Leader of the Victorian Greens, Ellen Sandell:
“How disappointing that the Labor Premier is giving in to the fossil fuel gas corporations and their lobby groups yet again. This is a cowardly, political decision that denies basic climate science.
“We’re in the middle of a climate crisis caused by burning fossil fuels, yet Labor wants to pour more fuel on the fire and encourage more offshore gas projects in Victoria.
“Just last month we recorded the world’s hottest day. In a time when countries across the world are trying to speed up their pathway to net zero, the Labor Premier is winding Victoria’s back.
“We’ve seen backflip after backflip from this Labor government. Instead of listening to climate science and the experts, Labor is pandering to the ring-wing conservatives and fossil fuel lobby groups.
“We don’t need any new gas, Australia already exports far more than we’d ever need. It’s expensive and destroys the climate. We should be focussing on supporting people to move to electric cooking and heating, which works just as well and is a lot cheaper and cleaner.”
Today is World EV Day, and you will see more ACT Government electric vehicles out and about.
Five new electric vehicles including a ute, two tipper trucks, one litter picking truck and a delivery van have recently joined the commercial fleet for trial within City Services to continue to provide essential services while cutting emissions. An additional four electric passenger vehicles have also joined the fleet.
These electric vehicles are assisting in everyday city maintenance activities. They may be spotted around the city assisting teams in getting mowing fleet and operators to site, cleaning shops and roadsides of litter and assisting the crews undertaking horticultural maintenance including pruning, mulching, collecting fallen branches and physical weed removal in urban open space.
Our maintenance crews are also using electric vehicles to support our street sweeping efforts and to scrub grime from footpaths. This helps reduce the need for pressure washing surfaces outside of the autumn leaf season.
One of the benefits of using electric vehicles to maintain our public spaces is that they produce less noise so they can be used in more locations early in the morning without disturbing nearby residents, improving overall efficiency.
There are 27 electric vehicle charging units across various ACT Government depots and sites to keep the fleet of electric vehicles active and ready for service.
The vehicle trials have been funded through the ACT Government’s Social Cost of Carbon Fund and Zero Emission Government Fund.
Minister for Water, Energy and Emissions Reduction Shane Rattenbury:
“The ACT is a national leader in climate change and energy initiatives. To continue our leadership, we’re working towards a target of net zero emissions from ACT Government operations by 2040.
“We are making good progress towards our target of a zero-emissions vehicle fleet, with over 220 electric vehicles in the ACT Government fleet. Making this transition will help reduce transport emissions, which is by far the largest source in the Territory accounting for more than 60 percent of the ACT’s emissions.
“As the ACT continues on our pathway to electrification and net zero emissions in the Territory by 2045, it’s exciting to roll out a variety of electric vehicles and show that increasingly there are electric alternatives for any job.
“Electric vehicles are growing in popularity and availability throughout the Territory, offering more opportunities for industry and community. I look forward to seeing more vehicles in a range of categories rolled out across our fleet in the future.”
For more information about World EV Day visit www.worldevday.org/.
*Quotes from Labor Ministers have been removed from the original ACT Government media release at their request
The cost of failing to effectively manage invasive species in NSW could be blown out by 15 times in the next 6 years unless major reforms are made. This would increase the annual economic impacts from invasive species in NSW from $1.9 billion up to $29.7 billion in a worse case scenario by the year 2030.
A preliminary report into the NSW Invasive Species Plan, by the Natural Resources Commission has found widespread dysfunction with how the State is handling the threats of invasive species. The report included 33 key findings and 71 recommendations that the Government must act on to prevent an explosion in impacts from invasive species.
Preliminary Report and Government media release
Greens MP and spokesperson for the environment Sue Higginson said “The urgency of this situation couldn’t be any clearer, the Government must take immediate steps without waiting longer for a whole of Government response,”
“Just as we have seen with other urgent issues, I’m genuinely concerned that the Government wants to process this report in their own time. The reality is that the environment cannot be expected to wait while the Minns Labor Government figures out what parts of this report are politically convenient for them.”
“The NSW Invasive Species Plan is not the problem, rather it is unsupported through the system with a lack of strategic, risk based prioritisation, and inconsistent leadership and coordination of cross-tenure programs,”
“The Minns Government has repeatedly compromised the environment for the sake of industry and politics, but this report lays bare just how dysfunctional it has been allowed to become. The fact that invasive species management is only seen through a lens of primary production drastically underestimates the real value of healthy environments, and will cause both industry and the environment to suffer in the near term,”
“The high profile reintroduction of aerial shooting of horses in the Kosciuszko National Park is a necessary and important program, and we can only hope it’s come soon enough to prevent the extinction of those threatened species at direct risk of extinction from feral horses. However, programs can not operate in isolation from other critical actions that must be taken to prevent native species extinctions at the hands of introduced feral species,”
“We are seeing right now, in Northern NSW with the Red Fire Ant incursion, just how much of a risk invasive species pose. Once these species become established, and without proper care for the whole of system needs, NSW is already on a trajectory of seeing our environment and primary production decimated. This is a wake-up call, and Premier Minns needs to hear it from his comfortable urban electorate,” Ms Higginson said.
The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide has handed down its Final Report documenting deep cultural issues within Defence and the devastating impact this has on veterans and their families.
The Report uncovered that an average of 78 serving or ex-serving ADF members have died by suicide each year for the past 10 years, around three deaths every fortnight.
The report noted that the ADF’s “code of silence” and “military values” are associated both directly and indirectly with suicide risk in the Australian Defence Force, and that Defence leadership must be held accountable for this broken culture.
The Royal Commission’s findings make a stark case for systemic cultural change within the ADF and the systems set up to deal with the inevitable traumas that arise from serving in the military. Defence leadership must own up to the deep structural problems identified in the Royal Commission.
The one indispensable recommendation that the government must accept today is to have a stand-alone statutory entity that oversees and drives the system-wide reform that this Royal Commission has called for.
Senator David Shoebridge Greens Spokesperson for Defence and Veterans Affairs said: “With nearly 6,000 submissions to the Commission and 900 private sessions, this is a once-in-a-generation report that must not just gather dust.”
“There have been dozens of reports and hundreds of recommendations on Defence culture before now and nothing material has changed. Each time the Defence has struck back to squash reform.
“The one non-negotiable recommendation that must be implemented is for a stand-alone statutory entity that oversees and drives the system-wide reform that this report calls for.
“Veterans give their service to the country which often comes at incredible personal cost through injury and trauma. What this report shows is that service injuries are then aggravated by a veteran’s support scheme that does not treat them fairly.
“The report found that survivors of abuse, especially sexual abuse, face ongoing trauma from a broken military culture that obstructs justice and denies accountability.
“These issues ripple across society, particularly for families of veterans. After losing loved ones, or dealing with the fallout of a cruel system, families have then had to navigate an often cold and careless system.
“It is a testament to veterans and their families that while enduring this system they also secured the Royal Commission. We owe it to them, and the loved ones they have lost, to implement these reforms.”
The Federal Executive of the Liberal Party has requested that the New South Wales Division appoint three eminent Australians as a committee of management to replace its State Executive.
This follows a report given to the Federal Executive by Mr Brian Loughnane AO relating to the New South Wales Division’s failure to nominate candidates for local government elections and the preparedness of the Division to fight the upcoming federal election.
The Federal Executive has recommended a committee of the Hon Alan Stockdale AO, the Hon Rob Stokes, and the Hon Richard Alston AO be appointed for a period of 10 months.
The New South Wales Division has been asked to comply with this request by next Thursday.
We owe it to our thousands of members in the state to address the challenges within the organisational wing of the NSW Division. More importantly, we owe it to the millions of Australians who are relying on the Liberal Party to return Australia to good government after the next election to get our house in order.
City of Newcastle is getting ready to welcome children of all ages and abilities to play, learn and connect at Hamilton’s historic Gregson Park following a significant playground upgrade.
The final touches are being placed on the inclusive playspace, which is expected to open to the community for the September school holidays.
Regal Innovations Construction Manager Newcastle Pedro Angeli and Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes with (rear) Regal Innovations Managing Director Robert Stanton, City of Newcastle Executive Manager Community & Recreation Lynn Duffy, Hamilton Community Preschool Director Narelle Jackson and City of Newcastle Project Manager Tony Ayling in the bush tucker garden and yarning circle at Gregson Park.
Celebrating indigenous traditions, the area will include a bush tucker garden and yarning circle to encourage knowledge sharing, in addition to traditional play equipment, a range of accessible and nature-based play options and a fitness station.
Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said City of Newcastle is committed to delivering accessible infrastructure for everyday activities, including creating more inclusive play spaces in our parks.
“We have invested around $14 million into almost 30 playground projects across Newcastle during the past six Budgets as part of our commitment to delivering enhanced and accessible recreational opportunities for the community,” Cr Nelmes said.
“Construction of this $3.5 million playspace at Gregson Park was identified as a high priority action as part of its adopted Masterplan, with the impending completion signifying an important milestone in delivering our shared vision for this much-loved Hamilton location.
“Gregson Park’s new playspace includes accessible features such as carousels, bridges and pathways, with various pieces of equipment that will be suitable for everyone, including those with limited mobility.
“We’re proud to have worked closely with the community, including First Nations Australians and Hamilton Community Preschool, to design this fantastic multimillion-dollar upgrade at Gregson Park and I can’t wait to welcome everyone back into the space later this month.”
Regal Innovations Construction Manager Newcastle Pedro Angeli, Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes and Hamilton Community Preschool Director Narelle Jackson check out progress on the Gregson Park playspace.
Hamilton Community Preschool Director Narelle Jackson said as regular visitors to the popular parkland, the preschool has been a strong advocate of the upgrade.
“When the preschool heard of the new playspace we invited the children to sketch their dream playground, which we then shared with City of Newcastle as inspiration. The submissions led to representatives from the Community and Recreation team visiting our preschool to share with the children and educators how the space could be improved,” Ms Jackson said.
“The preschoolers have continued to document the progress of the upgrade and have captured it all in a book with the assistance of an educator to share with their families.
“We have loved being brought along for the journey and are all very eager to utilise the new space and watch the kids play and explore.”
The Gregson Park project supports a key objective in City of Newcastle’s Disability and Inclusion Action Plan to create and contribute to liveable and accessible public places, with the project delivering inclusive play features and a design that promotes greater interaction between all children.
The new play space includes equipment for a range of ages and abilities, including a six metre-high climbing tower, trampolines and a balance obstacle course, as well as a softfall mound with slides, rope and rock-climbing elements.
Other features include a seesaw rocker, swing set and sandpit with waterplay feature, along with an accessible carousel and whizzers.
Additional shade, formal and informal seating, and footbridges are also features of the project, complemented by an upgraded, accessible amenities building and new covered picnic area.
City of Newcastle will invite community members to celebrate the completion and enjoy the new facilities at Gregson Park with a fun, family-friendly opening event in October.
The NSW Government is seeking community and industry feedback on new proposals to tackle problematic plastic waste, promote more reusable and recyclable alternatives, and help NSW drive down plastic litter by 30% by 2025.
TheNSW Plastics: The Way Forward action planoutlines possible steps to further reduce the impact of plastic litter and create a cleaner, safer and more sustainable environment.
Most of the proposals bring NSW into line with other jurisdictions which have moved ahead of NSW.
An eight-week consultation is being launched to seek feedback from community members, businesses, industry, environmental groups, scientific and regulatory organisations and others.
In 2022-23, NSW generated around 891,000 tonnes of plastic waste – almost 110 kilos per person – but only 14% of that was recycled.
Globally, around 8 million tonnes of plastic leak into our oceans every year. That pollution severely impacts marine wildlife, and it’s estimated almost half of all seabirds and sea turtles are likely to have ingested plastic.
The NSW Government consulted on the NSW Plastics: Next Steps discussion paper, attracting more than 5,000 responses up to February 2024. They showed overwhelming public support for stronger action on plastic waste. Government has also been speaking directly to industry and other stakeholders.
The NSW Plastics: The Way Forward action plan builds on this collaboration and proposes new initiatives including:
This feedback will inform further action to tackle problematic plastic items, which could include legislative change.
Find NSW Plastics: The Way Forward and provide feedback online.
Minster for the Environment Penny Sharpe:
“Unless we take action, by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish.
“We all want a healthier environment for humans and animals, with fewer problematic plastics.
“The phase-out of certain single-use plastics in NSW in 2019 has resulted in a 77% reduction in the number of banned single-use plastic items found in litter, but there are still too many takeaway food containers and plastic drink bottle lids strewn across our environment.
“We’ve listened to the concerns of businesses and industry, as well as environment and community groups. And now we’d like their feedback on the specific initiatives proposed in NSW Plastics: The Way Forward so we can take further action.”
Work to deliver the Moree Hospital Redevelopment is a step closer with a main works construction tender recently released to deliver the project.
The NSW Government is investing $105 million in the redevelopment to improve health outcomes for Moree and the surrounding community.
The redevelopment will deliver a new clinical services building, providing enhanced healthcare facilities on the existing hospital site to support Moree and surrounding communities now and into the future.
The project is expected to include an emergency department, operating theatres, medical imaging, birthing and inpatient unit, and pathology, and a new main entry.
The new building has been designed around the existing buildings on the hospital campus ensuring all services remain connected and integrated onsite.
Planning for the hospital redevelopment is nearing completion. The detailed design for the redevelopment has been completed by early works contractor, BESIX Watpac, and soon to be on exhibition as part of the statutory planning process.
The redevelopment plans are on exhibition and feedback can be provided via Health Infrastructure’s website at: https://www.hinfra.health.nsw.gov.au/projects/on-exhibition until 11.59pm on Tuesday, 1 October 2024.
Following the completion of the competitive tender process, a builder will be engaged, and the project scope and a construction timeline will be confirmed.
Construction is anticipated to commence in 2025 and the community will continue to be updated as the project progresses.
Further information on the redevelopment is available by visiting the project website: https://hneinfra.health.nsw.gov.au/projects/moree
Minister for Regional Health Ryan Park:
“The Moree Hospital Redevelopment will provide patients, families and carers with a modern healthcare facility to meet the health needs of the community now and into the future.”
“The release of the construction tender is a significant milestone for the project.”
“We are grateful for the valuable time and input provided by staff and stakeholders into the planning design process for the redevelopment and look forward to seeing a builder appointed.”
“This is also a great opportunity for the community to provide their final feedback on the plans while they are on exhibition.”
Labor Spokesperson for Northern Tablelands Peter Primrose, MLC:
“I’m really pleased that priority health services are delivered for the Moree community as part of the redevelopment.”
“It’s really important that our regional communities have high quality healthcare facilities available to them, so I welcome these milestones in the delivery of the Moree Hospital Redevelopment.”
