Category: NSW News

Real time traffic information will soon be available for motorists using local roads across 22 regional Local Government Areas (LGAs).

Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Sam Farraway said the NSW Government is expanding the Live Traffic NSW website and app to provide more reliable information to drivers, especially during emergencies like bushfires or floods.

“We have created a platform which allows councils to share real time live traffic information from their local roads into a central hub, which will give more information to motorists when they are travelling on the state’s network of regional highways,” Mr Farraway said.

“We’ve taken on feedback from communities and recommendations from the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements Report to develop ‘OneRoad’ a backend portal for councils to feed their data into Live Traffic NSW so road impacts across local and state roads are all in the one place.

“The initial 22 LGAs have been chosen in consultation with the NSW Police, RFS and SES with the view to have all 128 LGAs across the state on board by 2024.

“LGAs will continue to come onboard in stages, with the priority given to the regional councils who have been impacted most by bushfires and floods.

“In the event of road closures through floods or fires, they will no longer have to piece together information from different sources to work out what roads are open and safe to use.

“By bringing all of the state’s traffic information into one central hub we will improve the experience of road users, helping to keep drivers moving and our communities safe.”

This year during natural disasters the Live Traffic NSW website and mobile app traffic spiked up to 33 times the usual daily volume, with up to 660,000 sessions in one day, demonstrating the demand for real-time traffic information in a crisis.

Lismore City Council Mayor Steve Krieg said the ability for councils to share info via this tool is a fantastic win, particularly for areas impacted by extreme weather events.

“Having this one-stop digital shop for disruption across the road network is an invaluable tool for any community, especially one looking for a clear road out during a natural disaster,” Mr Krieg said.

“My community knows how crucial coordination is across government so the ability for local road impacts to now be fed into Live Traffic NSW and navigational systems by our Council is a big step in the right direction, ensuring community members have access to the latest information at their fingertips.”

In the state’s Far West, Central Darling Shire residents and tourists rely heavily on up-to-date roads information because most of the shire roads are unsealed and wet weather often forces road closures.

Central Darling Shire Council General Manager Greg Hill said this exciting project would provide significant benefits for residents and visitors to the area.

“OneRoad will greatly assist local people as they travel around their community and make it easier for tourists planning to drive within the shire,” Mr Hill said.

“We are thankful to the NSW Government for choosing Central Darling Shire as one of the first councils to come on board with this technology and helping ensure our communities are connected and well informed across the road network.”

The new information from 22 LGAs will be available on Live Traffic NSW and third-party apps from October.

The NSW Government is working to identify Crown land that can be used to develop social and affordable housing in regional areas that are facing severe accommodation shortages.
 
Minister for Lands and Water Kevin Anderson said the Government wants to support regional communities by providing land that can help more people find a safe place to call home.
 
“Work is underway to develop a long-term strategy to identify and develop Crown land sites for housing. In the meantime we are working to identify more sites that can be ready to progress with housing by the end of the year. These sites will be in locations with low rental vacancy rates and areas with high demands for social or essential worker housing,” Mr Anderson said.
 
Crown Lands and the NSW Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC) have a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to work together to identify and deliver suitable Crown land for residential development in priority areas facing housing stress.
 
Crown Lands manages the State’s Crown land assets and LAHC manages NSW’s 125,000 social housing properties, so together they aim to identify land and grow social, worker and private housing supply to benefit communities that need it most.
 
Once finalised, the Crown Land’s Housing Strategy will include opportunities for funding and partnerships with other government agencies, community housing providers and other project partners to develop mixed tenure communities on Crown land.
 
In February, the government announced Crown land in Cooma that would support up to 250 mixed tenure dwellings under a partnership between Crown Lands, LAHC, the NSW Aboriginal Land Council and Merrimans Local Aboriginal Land Council.
 
In May, plans were announced to rezone 615 hectares of Crown land at North Tuncurry to support a proposal that involved 2,100 new homes for up to 4,500 future residents, including benefits for the local Aboriginal community.
 
Mr Anderson said regional NSW has about 40 per cent of the State’s population with numbers increasing as COVID changes the way people live and work, and people search for more affordable homes and lifestyle options outside cities.
 
“We’ve seen demand growing for regional housing and rents and house prices increase. This is why the NSW Government is prioritising delivering more housing. By unlocking Crown land we can ensure more properties are built while investing in projects that create local jobs and support local economies.”

The NSW Government is working to identify Crown land that can be used to develop social and affordable housing in regional areas that are facing severe accommodation shortages.
 
Minister for Lands and Water Kevin Anderson said the Government wants to support regional communities by providing land that can help more people find a safe place to call home.
 
“Work is underway to develop a long-term strategy to identify and develop Crown land sites for housing. In the meantime we are working to identify more sites that can be ready to progress with housing by the end of the year. These sites will be in locations with low rental vacancy rates and areas with high demands for social or essential worker housing,” Mr Anderson said.
 
Crown Lands and the NSW Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC) have a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to work together to identify and deliver suitable Crown land for residential development in priority areas facing housing stress.
 
Crown Lands manages the State’s Crown land assets and LAHC manages NSW’s 125,000 social housing properties, so together they aim to identify land and grow social, worker and private housing supply to benefit communities that need it most.
 
Once finalised, the Crown Land’s Housing Strategy will include opportunities for funding and partnerships with other government agencies, community housing providers and other project partners to develop mixed tenure communities on Crown land.
 
In February, the government announced Crown land in Cooma that would support up to 250 mixed tenure dwellings under a partnership between Crown Lands, LAHC, the NSW Aboriginal Land Council and Merrimans Local Aboriginal Land Council.
 
In May, plans were announced to rezone 615 hectares of Crown land at North Tuncurry to support a proposal that involved 2,100 new homes for up to 4,500 future residents, including benefits for the local Aboriginal community.
 
Mr Anderson said regional NSW has about 40 per cent of the State’s population with numbers increasing as COVID changes the way people live and work, and people search for more affordable homes and lifestyle options outside cities.
 
“We’ve seen demand growing for regional housing and rents and house prices increase. This is why the NSW Government is prioritising delivering more housing. By unlocking Crown land we can ensure more properties are built while investing in projects that create local jobs and support local economies.”

Some of our brightest female startup founders are turbocharging their careers, thanks to a NSW Government program teaching industry-specific critical skills such as pitching for capital, financial modelling and product design.
 
Minister for Enterprise, Investment and Trade Alister Henskens said 150 women had now completed the Female Founder Startup Program which has helped them develop vital skills and build business connections.
 
“Our Government recognises the wealth of knowledge and capabilities women entrepreneurs bring to business and the NSW economy,” Mr Henskens said.
 
“Delivered online by Tech Ready Women in partnership with the Sydney Startup Hub, the 8-week program enables startups to test and launch ideas in market and thanks to its success we are proud to launch another new opportunity, the Female Founder Connect Pilot.”
 
From September, the Female Founder Connect Pilot will build on the skills learned in the Female Founders Startup program and help support women across NSW at all stages of their startup journey by connecting them with networks, programs, customers, mentors, grants and funding.
 
Minister for Women Bronnie Taylor added that the NSW Government, via the Women’s Economic Participation in Innovation Precincts Strategy, was committed to understanding the challenges women face when looking to succeed in emerging high-value industries such as tech and advanced manufacturing.
 
“This strategy will help form a government taskforce to look at the disadvantages faced by women across the state’s innovation precincts including Tech Central, the Westmead Health and Innovation District and Regional Special Activation Precincts,” Mrs Taylor said.
 
“As part of the strategy, we want to hear from businesses, industries and individuals on ways we can help tackle the barriers women face. We have launched public consultation to hear from you.”
 
Female Founder Startup Program participant Danielle Morton, the founder of Zondii, a real-time smartphone authentication company, said there were many obstacles women face to entering the tech industry.
 
“Programs like the Female Founder Startup Program are critical in breaking down barriers by allowing participants to upskill, gain mentors and undertake training,” Ms Morton said.
 
As part of the graduation of the Female Founder Startup Program a range of founders pitched to a distinguished group of investors, accelerator representatives, and representatives from the NSW Government at the official graduate event held at the Sydney Startup Hub.
 
To keep up to date about the Sydney Startup Hub and the Female Founder Connect Pilot sign up to the Sydney Startup Hub platform, visit: https://community.sydneystartuphub.com/.
 
To have your say on the Women’s Economic Participation in Innovation Precincts Strategy go to Have Your Say.

Applications open today for a $30 million recovery package which supports repair works for arts and culture, sports and Aboriginal-owned community infrastructure damaged in the February-March flood event.
 
The eligible Local Government Areas are Ballina, Byron, Clarence Valley, Hawkesbury, Kyogle, Lismore, Richmond Valley and Tweed.
 
Minister for Emergency Management, Senator the Hon Murray Watt, said the majority of the works are being funded as part of the jointly-funded $150 million Community Local Infrastructure Recovery Package (CLIRP) announced in April.
 
“Community arts and cultural facilities and Aboriginal Keeping Places across New South Wales are a vital part of our cultural fabric. They are also an important part of our economy, supporting thousands of jobs across New South Wales,” Minister Watt said.
 
The New South Wales Government has separately committed an additional $12 million for the repair of sporting fields and facilities in the eight worst affected local government areas (LGAs) to get people in those communities back to their favourite sport or recreational activities.
 
Minister for Enterprise, Investment and Trade and Minister for Sport Alister Henskens said these funds will ensure vital infrastructure will be rebuilt.
 
“Many of the places our communities rely on were hit hard by the devastating floods, rendering them unsafe or unusable, and this funding is intended to provide support to help those communities to rebuild their local infrastructure,” Mr Henskens said.
 
Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and the Arts Ben Franklin said the funding is another important step towards helping flood-affected communities, including the State’s much-needed local arts and cultural industries and Local Aboriginal Land Councils, to get back on their feet.
 
“This continued commitment by the Australian and New South Wales governments recognises the importance of cultural infrastructure to the vitality of our communities and the wellbeing of those that live within them,” Mr Franklin said.
 
Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience and Minister for Flood Recovery Steph Cooke said rebuilding community infrastructure is an important part of the recovery process.
 
“Repairing community infrastructure not only boosts local economies and jobs, it helps residents get back to a sense of normality, which is one of the most important parts of the flood recovery process,” Ms Cooke said.
 
The package includes:

• Up to $12 million in grants for councils ranging from $15,000 to $500,000 for community sport infrastructure projects;
• Up to $12 million in grants for eligible arts and cultural organisations, councils and regional arts development organisations ranging from $5,000 to $500,000; and
• $6 million for repairs to community infrastructure in the most impacted Local Aboriginal Land Councils (LALCs), including $3.45 million in grants to support further repairs and rebuilds for LALCs and Aboriginal organisations.

 
More information on the funding streams and guidelines is available on the Office of Sport, Create NSW and Aboriginal Affairs NSW websites.

Western Sydney will be home to the largest mountain bike and BMX hub in the country with the re-opening of the 86-hectare state-of-the-art Wylde facility this weekend. 
 
Minister for Cities, Infrastructure and Active Transport, Rob Stokes said the community will have access to 15 kilometres of bushland trails, a kids loop, a new BMX race track and the southern hemisphere’s biggest pump track. 
 
“Whether you are young, young-at-heart, a beginner or an advanced rider, there really is something for everyone to enjoy at this one of a kind facility,” Mr Stokes said. 
 
“This is a great way for people to get out on their bikes, experience the thrills of riding the trails and get their hearts pumping which is good for wellbeing, the environment and family budgets. 
 
 “The entire region will see the benefits of Wylde as it becomes a major biking hub and attract tens of thousands of avid riders from all over the country.” 
 
Member for Mulgoa Tanya Davies said Western Sydney Parklands, the home of the Wylde biking hub, is the green heart of the growing western Sydney region. 
 
“Major recreational facilities like Wylde give people more active places to enjoy the outdoors. The people of western Sydney now have the benefit of this impressive facility, the largest of its kind in Australia, right on their doorstep,” Ms Davies said. 
 
Wylde Mountain Bike and BMX will officially open on Sunday 28 August. 
 
The $13.5 million facility was funded and delivered by the NSW Government’s M12 Motorway project with a $500,000 funding contribution by Liverpool City Council. It will also be the new home of the Western Sydney BMX Club. 
 
Western Sydney Parklands spans 27 kilometres and offers more than 5,000 hectares of green space for both recreation and biodiversity conservation, including more than 60 kilometres of tracks and trails. 

From free car rego to household energy rebates and sporting discounts, NSW residents can take their share of the record cost of living savings on offer this year.
 
Treasurer Matt Kean said the State is on track to reach more than $7 billion in savings by the end of the year and urged everyone to take advantage of the more than 70 savings on offer to boost their household budgets.
 
“There are cost of living savings for everyone, from seniors to families and young professionals,” Mr Kean said.
 
“Whether it’s free car rego and driver licences for pensioners, electricity and gas rebates to cut power bills, or $500 vouchers for before and after school care, the NSW Government is committed to boosting family budgets.
 
“We’re continuing to help households with the NSW Budget containing $7.2 billion in cost of living measures including up to $750 a year in toll relief and $150 vouchers to help parents cover the cost of school essentials.”
 
New data shows $6.33 billion has been delivered in savings just through Savings Finder programs since July 2017.
 
Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government Victor Dominello said Service NSW’s online Savings Finder tool and Savings Specialists are available to help boost household budgets.
 
“The online tool is a 24/7 easy-to-use one-stop-shop for savings,” Mr Dominello said.
 
“We also encourage families to book a free appointment with a Savings Specialist who can provide personalised assistance.
 
“They do the heavy lifting by checking your eligibility and then claiming savings, with the average saving per appointment in excess of $750.”
 
More than 4.7 million people have accessed the webpage and taken advantage of available translation services, making it easier for multicultural communities to gain access to the programs.
Savings Specialists have already carried out more than 109,000 free appointments in local service centres across the state.
 
Examples of savings on offer include the $500 Before and After School Care voucher, $100 Creative Kids and $100 Active Kids vouchers, Parents NSW vouchers, the Regional Seniors Travel Card and the Family Energy Rebate.
 
The NSW Government also has a range of rebates and discounts especially for pensioners.
 
Savings Specialists are available in person at selected Service NSW centres or via phone on 13 77 88, providing tailored assistance to find which initiatives are best suited to a customer’s individual needs.
 

*results based on Service Centre appointments. Service NSW does not track all programs and their savings values
 
For more information, visit https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/campaign/savings-finder

The NSW Government will accept all 15 recommendations put forward by the Regional Housing Taskforce to help deliver improved housing supply and affordability in regional NSW.
 
The comprehensive suite of measures includes more homes for key workers, accelerating development assessments, and identifying options to use Government land for more social and affordable housing.
 
Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW Paul Toole said the acceptance of all 15 recommendations, as well as investing $2.8 billion in housing as part of the NSW Budget, demonstrates the State Government’s commitment to addressing housing challenges.
 
“We are getting on with the job of easing housing pressures in the regions, both now and for the future,” Mr Toole said.
 
“We’ve listened to the recommendations of the Regional Housing Taskforce and put together a comprehensive, multi-pronged plan to unlock land and drive the supply of new and affordable homes. 
 
“It builds on the investment we’ve made through the NSW Budget to improve housing supply and ensure locals and key workers moving to the regions have a place to call home.”
 
Minister for Planning and Minister for Homes Anthony Roberts said regional councils will benefit from a share of $12 million to help them plan for housing that is affordable, diverse, and resilient to natural hazards.
 
“The councils can apply for up to $250,000 each through the Regional Housing Strategic Planning Fund, to help them undertake the up-front planning work needed to speed up housing delivery,” Mr Roberts said.
 
“The grants will help councils deliver strategic plans, housing policies and technical studies that pave the way for new homes needed to support growing communities.
 
“Our initial $30 million Regional Housing Fund is already helping 21 regional councils in high-growth areas deliver 25 new projects to provide services, open space and connections to fast-track a pipeline of new homes.”
 
The Government’s response also includes:

• Delivering around 270 more homes for key frontline workers in the regions;
• Expanding the Urban Development Program to more high-growth regional areas, to improve infrastructure coordination and delivery;
• Improving data by auditing residential land, identifying infrastructure gaps and environmental constraints, to establish a clearer housing supply pipeline;
• Identifying opportunities to use suitable Crown land for social and affordable housing development;
• Working with local government to improve assessment timeframes for new housing through the Faster Local Assessment Grant program;
• Investigating the introduction of standardised planning pathways for certain types of temporary accommodation, to address spikes in housing demand; and
• Preparing Regional Housing Delivery Plans in targeted economic areas.

 
Councils have until 30 September 2022 to submit their applications for the Regional Housing Strategic Planning Fund.
 
For more information on the fund and to view the Government’s response to the Regional Housing Taskforce, visit https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/regional-housin

Revised guidelines to make the assessment of large-scale solar energy projects clearer have been released today by the NSW Government.
 
Treasurer and Minister for Energy Matt Kean said solar farms will play a critical role in the modern electricity system the NSW Government is building.
 
“NSW has some of the best renewable energy resources anywhere in the world,” Mr Kean said.
 
“Harnessing their power will help us deliver cleaner and cheaper electricity to households and businesses across the State, slashing energy bills and boosting industry.
 
“These guidelines will provide investors with the certainty they need to mobilise private capital and deliver the energy infrastructure of the 21^st century.”
 
Minister for Planning and Minister for Homes Anthony Roberts said the revised Large-Scale Solar Energy Guidelines would ensure solar farms are built in the right areas to benefit the community.
 
“There are 83 projects that have been approved or are in the planning pipeline, with a combined capacity to power 7 million homes,” Mr Roberts said.
 
“That’s on top of the 18 large-scale solar energy farms, worth more than $30 million, which are operational.
 
“As solar energy becomes more and more common, it’s becoming increasingly important that solar farms are well-designed and in appropriate locations.
 
“Our revised guidelines help deal with emerging concerns and issues, and assist applicants and the community to better understand the planning and engagement process – from choosing a site, to decommissioning a project and rehabilitating the land.”
 
The guidelines have been updated to include guidance on key issues, including visual impacts, the use of agricultural land and community benefit sharing. This follows changes to planning rules late last year, aimed at protecting the character and future growth potential of regional cities from renewable projects