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The Minns Labor Government is putting a spotlight on 12 of the state’s best food and drink manufacturers at this year’s Fine Food Australia 2024 tradeshow.

Twelve NSW businesses have each received $6,000 to help showcase their innovative products for buyers across the globe, export more and create new jobs and opportunities at home.

Each business with products ranging from spirits to artisan chocolates will be front and centre in the Flavours of NSW Zone of the tradeshow, which is major event for global buyers looking for new products to get into international markets.

The event attracts more than 26,000 visitors every year from more than 50 countries, including suppliers, distributors, retail and hospitality businesses, presenting a unique opportunity for food and drink manufacturers to meet new customers and buyers and expand their reach.

Riverina olive oil manufacturer Morella Grove will showcase its artisanal products at this year’s event.

Olive trees were first planted on the family farm in Griffith in the early 2000’s after drought conditions challenged their ability to farm traditional crops. The olives were harvested and pressed locally before being shared with local restaurants to kick start the Morella Grove journey.

Fine Food Australia 2024 will be held between 2-5 September at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. The event alternates between Sydney and Melbourne each year.

NSW Government business support and trade experts will be on hand to help exhibitors in the ‘Flavours of NSW’ zone to showcase their products and facilitate connections with prospective buyers during the tradeshow.

For more information on the Flavours of NSW zone at Fine Food Australia 2024 go to investment.nsw.gov.au/focus-sectors/advanced-manufacturing/food-and-beverage-manufacturing/fine-food-australia-2024/

Minister for Industry and Trade Anoulack Chanthivong:

“The NSW Government is committed to building the capacity and the export capabilities of our food and beverage producers, which is why we support local businesses to exhibit at Fine Food Australia – the southern hemisphere’s leading trade event for the food and beverage industry.

“Our food and beverages are renowned around the world for being the highest quality. I heard this firsthand during my trade mission to Southeast Asia in July. There are enormous opportunities for manufactures to take the next step and pursue growth throughout Australia and internationally, and the Fine Food Australia trade show is a great opportunity to do exactly that.”

Morella Grove Co-owner Natasha Dal Bon:

“We’ve expanded a lot since the early days – our product range now includes caramelised vinegars, jams and sauces and are available at gourmet food shops across the country.

“However, there’s significant growth opportunities in international markets that we’d like to pursue, so we’re looking forward to connecting with buyers, distributors and investors using Fine Food Australia as a launch pad to grow our brand globally.”

The NSW businesses receiving subsidies to exhibit at Fine Food Australia 2024 are:

• The Apple Thief: Producer of alcoholic and non-alcoholic ciders, based in Batlow in the NSW Snowy Mountains.
• Australian Food and Pharmaceutical Industries: Manufacturer of innovative foods on the NSW South Coast, including Mast Chew – a plant based, organic and sugar-free chewing gum.
• Binjang Tea: A First Nations business that produces a range of bush teas incorporating native plants, based in Central West NSW.
• Byron Bay Spirits: This distillery in the heart of Byron Bay distils innovative small batch spirits using local ingredients with an Italian twist.
• Cocoa Nib Artisan Chocolates: Based in Newcastle, Cocoa Nib creates handcrafted chocolates, tarts and desserts. 
• Duro Pasta: Based on the South Coast, Duro Pasta is made from 100% Australian durum wheat and produced using sustainable farming practices.
• LORE Australia: A First Nations company based in Bellingen solving immunity and gut health with Native Probiotic Sodas, Guradji tea and Native Prebiotic Chocolates. 
• Morella Grove: Producers of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, vinegars, jams and gourmet sauces, based in the NSW Riverina.
• Nocktail: A Northern Beaches based producer of all natural non-alcoholic cocktail inspired drinks for the conscious consumer.
• Spicecraft: Ryde based family business specialising in gourmet Indian cooking kits to make restaurant quality meals at home.
• Unexpected Guest: A distillery and bar in Marrickville that produces various flavoured gins.
• Ziggy’s Wildfoods: Based in Bellingen, Ziggy’s Wildfoods utilises native ingredients to create fermented hot sauces, condiments and beverage mixers.

The Minns Government has today announced a new $2 million recreational fishing small infrastructure grants program, as well as the largest ever survey of NSW recreational fishing licence holders.

The grants program is part of the Government’s plan to ensure more of the licence fees collected from recreational fishers is invested back into the small infrastructure that makes fishing accessible, safe and convenient.

In addition, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) will undertake a state-wide survey of recreational fishers to enable them to provide direct feedback on potential future investment from the Recreational Fishing Trusts who hold the licence fee income.

The NSW Government will provide greater support to the recreational fishing community by:

• Making the grant applications processes clearer and simpler, so fishers and fishing clubs have the best opportunity to receive funding.
• Demonstrating through the Recreational Fishing Trust’s Annual Reports that the DPIRD and the Trust have reinvested license fees back into practical fishing initiatives.
• Strengthening communications with all fishers and clubs so that they know when and how to apply for grants to improve their local areas.

$2 million recreational fishing small infrastructure grants program

The new $2 million recreational fishing small infrastructure grant program will make it easier for fishing clubs, community groups and other organisations to apply for funding for projects such as fishing platforms, fish cleaning tables and other fishing facilities.

Eligibility criteria and funding guidelines for the new program will be developed over the coming months and will be included as part of the next Recreational Fishing Trust grants and funding round.

Applications for grants of up to $200,000 will be open soon.

Major survey of NSW recreational fishing licence holders

The Department survey will provide recreational fishers with greater input on the way fishing fees are spent while at the same time reinforcing the Government’s commitment to the transparent and accountable management of public funds.

The survey will seek input from fishers on new initiatives for potential future investment, including current programs:

• Fish stocking and fish breeding
• Fishing platforms and fish aggregation devices
• Artificial reefs and habitat improvements
• Education programs to teach young fishers about safe and responsible fishing.
• Fishing regulation awareness.

Minister for Agriculture Tara Moriarty said:

“Fishing is a pastime everyone can enjoy.

“I want to revamp the process to make it easier for grass roots fishers and fishing clubs to be able to fund the infrastructure they would like to see in their local area.

“The fees that fishers pay each year must continue to be used effectively to improve fishing for everyone.

“The fishing infrastructure grant fund will ensure more money gets to grassroots recreational fishing groups.

“I understand that many of the small fishing groups and clubs might struggle to provide all the information needed to successfully get money from the Trust. I want to make it easier for grant applications to be successful.

“The survey is an important way for the Government to understand how recreational fishers would like to see licence fees spent.”

Local Labor Member for Bega, Dr Michael Holland said:

“I commend the Minister for Agriculture and the Minns Labor Government for their commitment to the recreational fishing sector.

“I look forward to the $2 million small fishing infrastructure grant program and the Government’s interest in our recreational fishing licence holders’ opinions on current programs and future investments.

“Recreational fishing is an important part of our local culture and attracts thousands of visitors to this beautiful electorate.

“It contributes significantly to the health and economy of the Bega electorate.”

The Minns Labor Government is tackling illegal dumping and litter head on by rolling out more than $4 million to help councils, businesses, community groups and public land managers protect our local environments.

$3.6 million has been awarded to 16 projects focusing on reducing litter in every part of our environment and in a variety of locations, from Sydney Airport and inner-city suburbs such as Marrickville, to regional cities such as Bathurst and Maitland.

Inner West Council is one of nine successful councils that has been awarded $400,000, taking a total of more than $1 million invested in litter prevention in and around the Cooks River since 2021.

The funding has helped Cooks River Alliance and Council to drive down litter in what was one of the most polluted waterways in Sydney. This work, together with state-wide litter prevention initiatives, has seen litter reduced in the river system by up to 60% since 2018-19.

More than $700,000 has also been awarded to 13 projects cracking down on illegal dumping through increased surveillance, infrastructure solutions, clean-ups, education, research, and collaboration.

The illegal dumping projects target two common dumping locations, with 47% of reported incidents occurring on the kerbside and another 41% in bushland.

Applications are now open for the next intake of litter prevention and illegal dumping grants. More information about the successful applicants and further funding opportunities is available here.

Minister for the Environment Penny Sharpe:

“The Minns Labor Government has taken steps to deter this type of activity by doubling on-the-spot fines for general littering of small items and increasing maximum penalties for small-scale illegal dumping.

“Our reforms respond to community concerns and calls from local councils for stronger action and powers on illegal dumping. 

“By 2030, we want to reduce litter by 60%. These new projects will help to propel us forward by changing behaviours and delivering critical infrastructure to encourage better waste disposal.”

Patients at 15 Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) across NSW will benefit from improved dental services following a $1,705,000 funding boost.

ACCHOs are incorporated Aboriginal organisations initiated by and based in local Aboriginal communities. They deliver holistic and culturally appropriate health services to their communities.

The NSW Government remains committed to its partnership with the Aboriginal health sector and funds 25 ACCHOs to provide dental care for patients across the state.

These one-off grants will see selected metropolitan, regional and rural ACCHOs replace, update or purchase additional dental equipment such as an intra oral camera, prosthetist services dental chairs and x-ray machines.

The additional funding will ensure ACCHOs can tailor their services as needed, allowing them to both improve and increase their ability to provide holistic health care to the community now and into the future.

Find further information on public dental services.

Minister for Health Ryan Park:

“Oral health can influence general health. A healthy mouth ensures people can eat, speak and socialise without discomfort and embarrassment.

“A targeted funding boost to allow ACCHOs to update or replace their equipment helps address disparities experienced in vulnerable population groups and will have a positive impact on the overall population’s health and wellbeing.

“The oral health teams working in ACCHOs are highly skilled dental practitioners, managers, and support staff and with this additional funding they’ll now have the latest equipment.”

Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Treaty David Harris:

“We’re committed to ensuring people can continue to have access to oral health services that are culturally responsive, safe and of high quality.

“This targeted funding ensures services meet the unique needs of the local Aboriginal communities they’re within.”

State-of the art sensor technology to be trialled in Sydney will scan trucks in real time and use connected warning signage to divert drivers of overheight vehicles from their routes before causing traffic headaches for motorists.

The trial is part of the NSW Government’s ongoing crusade to reduce disruption from overheight incidents that has seen tunnel closure minutes in the Sydney Harbour Tunnel cut by 80 per cent.

The automatic system will give drivers an accurate real-time height reading on their vehicle, giving heavy vehicle drivers time to change their route to avoid dangerous tunnel incidents that can cause system wide disruptions to Sydney’s road network and damage to critical infrastructure.

In an Australian first, Transport for NSW has combined the Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) scanning technology with Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) software.

The six-month trial will see trucks taller than four meters scanned as they pass under the sensor, and their height and number plate information will be gathered and instantaneously displayed to drivers on the overhead Variable Message Sign (VMS).

The first site is now live on the southbound lanes of the M1 Pacific Motorway at the Mount White Heavy Vehicle Safety Station which is operated by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR). 

The Minns Government has introduced a zero-tolerance approach to overheight trucks, including six-month registration bans for offending trucks, sending the message to truck owners and trucking companies that it is their responsibility to manage, along with drivers.

This crackdown in combination with the work of the industry wide Overheight Truck Taskforce, launched in June 2023, resulted in a dramatic drop in over height incidents in Sydney tunnels. In the first six months of the taskforce’s operation (July to December 2023) there was a 67 per cent decrease in total closure time minutes and a 32 per cent reduction in incidents, the lowest level in seven years.  Over the same period, the Sydney Harbour Tunnel, the most disrupted route, saw an 80 per cent reduction in closure minutes and a 58 per cent reduction in incidents.

The reduction in incidents has continued across the network in 2024, with 26 recorded overheight incidents between January and June, 62 per cent fewer than the same period in 2023.

For more information on the driving safely through Sydney’s tunnels, click here.

The Overheight Truck Taskforce Report can be found here.

Minister for Roads, John Graham said:

“This Australian-first scanning technology takes the guesswork out of load heights with real-time accurate calculations that allow drivers to act immediately and head off overheight incidents.

“The NSW Government remains resolute in its commitment to stopping overheight trucks from shutting down our city and inconveniencing motorists. This new technology on trial will help us strengthen the approach even further.

“I want to thank the vast majority of truckies who always know their height and their route. This technology is an awareness, not enforcement tool, it arms drivers with the right information so they can make the right decisions on the road.

“This trial came out of the work of the Overheight Truck Taskforce that brought together the trucking industry, Transport for NSW, the NSW Police and the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator. I want to thank the taskforce for its work which has delivered results beyond expectation.”

Transport for NSW Executive Director Customer Journey Management, Craig Moran said:

“Responding to overheight incidents comes at a huge resource and productivity cost – not to mention resulting delays and damage. Following the conclusion of the taskforce’s successful approach, Transport is taking the learnings forward to ensure our road network is safe, efficient and reliable.

“This project involved Transport Commanders on the ground, network experts in the Transport Management Centre (TMC), our journey planners, safety and heavy vehicle experts, compliance teams, and technical and engineering teams behind the LiDAR technology working together on innovative solutions.

“This saves time for motorists and money for NSW, with repair costs down and closure minutes more than halved.

“We will continue to work with industry to provide the right information, at the right time, to safely plan and manage journeys and prevent disruption.

“We’re starting at Mount White but aim to eventually roll out this new technology to all key heavy vehicle routes entering Sydney. We’ll evaluate the results of the trial in six months’ time.”

National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) Chief Executive Officer, Sal Petroccitto OAM said:

“The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator supports the investment by NSW Government into the use of new technologies like LiDAR scanning and ANPR software to help industry and ultimately drive greater safety and productivity outcomes.

“This system not only enhances road safety but also underscores our commitment to fostering innovation within the heavy vehicle industry.

“We are proud to continue our collaboration with Transport for NSW to reduce overheight incidents and ensure safer road transport for all.”

Much-needed boating infrastructure and dredging works will be delivered across NSW, with a $44 million funding boost from the NSW Government to improve safety and accessibility for all water users.

The new Boating Infrastructure and Dredging Scheme was announced today by NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen at the Sydney International Boat Show.

The program will allocate $28 million towards public boating amenities over four years and $16 million for dredging at key locations along the NSW coast.

The scheme consists of infrastructure and dredging sub-programs:

• Boating Infrastructure for Communities – this grants program will target improved access for older boaters and boaters with a disability.
• Boating Infrastructure Maintenance – a grants program providing funding for minor repair and maintenance works on boating infrastructure owned by councils and community groups across NSW.
• Boating Infrastructure Emergency Repair Scheme – funding support to repair and replace assets impacted by natural disasters and severe weather events.
• Dredging Program – funding to deliver new dredging projects at priority sites critical to boating and safe waterway navigation, as well as continuing committed dredging projects at Swansea, Myall River, Ettalong and Coffs Harbour.

Registrations of interest for the grants programs will be open later this year, with successful applicants to be announced in 2025.

The funding boost improves upon the previous Boating Now program, following an independent review completed in September 2023, which heard from the boating community on a wide range of matters.

Transport for NSW Maritime, in partnership with Marine Rescue, NSW Police and the Boating Industry Association, have committed to working towards a target of zero deaths and serious injuries on NSW Waterways by 2056.

For more information on the new Boating Infrastructure and Dredging Scheme, visit Boating Infrastructure and Dredging Scheme | Transport for NSW.
 

Minister for Transport Jo Haylen said:

“Our state’s waterways are the most beautiful in the world, and this program will support local communities to plan for, build and maintain waterways infrastructure to keep it safe and accessible for people now and into the future.

“This new scheme re-invests boating fees into public infrastructure upgrades, maintenance and dredging for our waterways.

“As well as benefiting boaters by giving waterway users better access and facilities, these grants will make our harbours and foreshore precincts even more usable and attractive.”

NSW Maritime Executive Director Mark Hutchings said:

“Transport for NSW Maritime has taken this opportunity to improve our grants programs, with a renewed focus on safety and accessibility for boaters of all ages and abilities.

“We’ve listened to the feedback from the boating community, which highlighted the need for continued investment to support maintenance of local boating infrastructure.

“We’re excited for the future of our boating industry, and these new programs will be crucial in keeping NSW waterways in the best shape possible with better infrastructure and more dredging.”

The Minns Labor Government is continuing work to address the impacts of harmful online content on young people, and its role in normalising unacceptable behaviour, with New South Wales to become the first state to hold an inquiry of this type into the impacts of harmful pornography.

The Attorney General has today written to Chair of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Issues, the Hon Dr Sarah Kaine, to request the Committee inquire into and report on the impacts of harmful pornography, including pornography that is violent and misogynistic, on mental, emotional and physical health.

This announcement follows growing community concern about the exposure of children to violence and extreme pornography.

In 2023 an eSafety Commissioner report found that 75% of 16-18 year olds surveyed in Australia had seen online pornography before, and nearly one third of those had seen it before the age of 13.

Further, the report highlighted that studies point to a common and readily accessible ‘mainstream’ form of pornography which often contains depictions of sexual violence and degrading sexual scripts about women.

The inquiry will also report on the production and dissemination of deepfake or AI-generated pornography, impacts on minority groups including but not limited to First Nations, CALD and LGBTIQA+ people and people living with a disability; and the effectiveness of current restrictions on access to pornography and consideration of any need to improve these.

As the NSW Government continues to work to address the scourge of domestic, family and sexual violence on communities across the state, the normalisation of misogynistic and violent acts online being easily accessible by young people in their formative years must be under the microscope.

The findings of the Committee report will be carefully considered in this context.

Terms of Reference:

The Standing Committee on Social Issues will inquire into the impacts of harmful pornography on mental, emotional and physical health, with particular reference to:

1. Age of first exposure to pornography and impacts of early exposure to pornography; 
2. Media by which pornography is accessed and circulated; 
3. Impacts on body impact; 
4. The relationship between pornography use and respect and consent education; 
5. The production and dissemination of deepfake or AI-generated pornography; 
6. The impact of exposure to violence and/or misogynistic pornography on children, teenagers and young adults; 
7. Impacts on minority groups including but not limited to First Nations, CALD or LGBTIQA+ people and people living with disability;  
8. Effectiveness of any current education programs about use and misuse of pornography, and how these may be improved; 
9. The effectiveness of current restrictions on access to pornography and consideration of any need to improve these;  
10. The resources and support currently available to parents and carers to educate children about pornography, and how these might be improved 
11. Any other related matters. 

Attorney General, Michael Daley said:

“A generation of young men are growing up with unprecedented access to the online world, and this includes early and easy access to pornography, with harmful depictions of the treatment of women.

“This inquiry, will for the first time in our state provide insight into the full impacts of harmful pornography online and young people’s access to it.”

Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Jodie Harrison said:

“We must address the scourge of domestic violence and sexual assault from every angle, and importantly that includes the normalisation of misogyny and violence online.

“The ease at which children and young people are able to access this content is extremely concerning and it is vital we undertake this inquiry and continue this important conversation.”

New South Wales Women’s Safety Commissioner, Dr. Hannah Tonkin said:

“Children are being exposed, often inadvertently, to extreme forms of pornography. The increasingly young age of exposure is concerning because pornography often contains harmful messages and representations that normalise violence against women. This exposure comes at a crucial time in children’s lives when they are developing attitudes about gender roles, sex and relationships. There is an urgent need to improve our understanding of the impacts this is having on attitudes and behaviour, particularly those of boys and young men. I welcome this timely inquiry and look forward to its findings.”