Category: NSW News

Parramatta, Sydney’s CBD of the West, is filling up with thousands of workers with the opening of a new, high rise work tower – part of the NSW Government’s commitment to expand its workforce west, reduce office costs and boost the economy.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said the new 6 & 8 Parramatta Square building is easily accessible, with efficient transport options including trains and light rail, metro, buses, ferries and the WestConnex.
“Signature skyscrapers like these show our state has a bright future and the CBD doesn’t stop at Glebe,” Mr Perrottet said.
“Parramatta Square is a major contributor to our economic engine room and these premium office buildings will host an exceptional workforce in the beating heart of Western Sydney.
“Tomorrow, I will be attending the Bradfield Oration where big ideas for the future of NSW are discussed. It’s projects like Parramatta Square that inspire us to take our state from good to great.”
Minister for Water, Property and Housing Melinda Pavey said Walker Corporation’s 6 Parramatta Square adjoins tower 8, which has reached structural completion at 225 meters tall to become the tallest building in Sydney’s West and ready for tenants in 2022.
“Building these towers has created 4,000 construction worker jobs, giving Sydney’s west a much needed economic boost and this will continue as public and private sector employees settle into their new office digs and spend locally,” Mrs Pavey said.
“Despite the impacts of COVID-19, this workforce has risen to the challenges of this pandemic, safely continuing work on site and completing level after level, all the way to the top, to where we stand here today, some 55 floors later.”
Using technology designed to withstand earthquakes, an incredible skybridge now connects 4 and 6 Parramatta Square to form the NSW Government Campus Hub – the largest public sector office workplace hub in Australia, accommodating around 9,500 workers.
Parramatta Square is one of Australia’s largest commercial business precincts integrating commercial office space with convenient retail and will eventually cater for over 30,000 workers and students, as well as many more visitors.
“Parramatta truly is the beating heart of Western Sydney, and these towers are a symbol of this great region’s resilience and strength,” Mrs Pavey said.
Some of Australia’s most highly regarded blue chip companies have signed long-term leases alongside the NSW Government towers, at 4 & 6 Parramatta Square.
Walker Corporation Executive Chairman Lang Walker AO said the tower will be a beacon of success to the people of Western Sydney.
“It’s not only the tallest in Western Sydney, it’s the biggest too, with the largest Gross Floor Area of any commercial office building in Australia.”
NSW Government staff from the Department of Communities and Justice and the Greater Sydney Commission have started the move into 6 Parramatta Square. Already, tower 4 is the office for the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment and Department of Customer Service.

Disaster assistance is now available in 18 additional local government areas in regional NSW following severe storms and flooding from Tuesday 9 November 2021.
The additional LGAs are Bourke, Coonamble, Dubbo, Glen Innes Severn, Kyogle, Lithgow, Liverpool Plains, Lockhart, Muswellbrook, Narromine, Orange, Parkes, Singleton, Snowy Monaro, Snowy Valleys, Tamworth, Walgett and Warren.
These areas are in addition to the 20 Local Government Areas that are already receiving assistance as a result of the Australian and New South Wales Governments.
Assistance is being provided through the jointly funded Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
Minister for Emergency Management and National Recovery and Resilience, Senator the Hon Bridget McKenzie said the ongoing severe weather has caused significant widespread damage across regional NSW.
“Continued heavy rain and flooding has resulted in damage to major roads and residential properties, with the impacts unlikely to become clear until flood waters start to recede.”
“We continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with these communities to assist in repairing the damage caused by these events,” Minister McKenzie said.
“Again, I urge people to check local emergency advice and alerts, and never, ever drive through flood waters,” Minister McKenzie said.
New South Wales Minister for Police and Emergency Services the Hon David Elliott said further flooding in the Upper Hunter region over the weekend had led to several evacuations and flood rescues.
“The assistance being announced today will help ensure councils and individuals impacted by this event have the support they need to get back on their feet.”
Assistance available under the DRFA may include:

• Help for eligible people whose homes or belongings have been damaged (eligibility criteria apply)
• Support for affected local councils to help with the costs of cleaning up and restoring damaged essential public assets
• Concessional interest rate loans for small businesses, primary producers and non-profit organisations
• Freight subsidies for primary producers, and
• Grants to eligible non-profit organisations.

For information on personal hardship and distress assistance, contact Service NSW on 13 77 88 or online at www.service.nsw.gov.au
To apply for a concessional loan or grant, contact the NSW Rural Assistance Authority on 1800 678 593 or visit www.raa.nsw.gov.au
Information on disaster assistance can be found on the Australian Government’s Disaster Assist website at www.disasterassist.gov.au

Parents are being urged to take advantage of the state’s popular Active Kids program, with tens of millions of dollars worth of vouchers still to be redeemed this year due to the COVID lockdown.
And in a December double, Premier Dominic Perrottet also encouraged NSW families to dive into the new First Lap learn to swim program, which starts today.
“Now that sport is back up and running, we’re keen to remind parents to use these excellent NSW Government cost-saving measures so kids can get back to playing sport and learning to swim without breaking the family budget,” Mr Perrottet said.
“With COVID restrictions stopping sport for several months, around 430,000 children are yet to use their Active Kids vouchers this year, meaning there is around $86 million worth of vouchers still up for grabs.”
Every school-enrolled child in NSW is eligible for two $100 Active Kids vouchers per year towards the cost of sport and active recreation fees.
Minister for Digital and Customer Service Victor Dominello said the $100 First Lap learn to swim voucher and Active Kids program are among dozens of NSW Government savings to help to ease cost of living pressures for households.
“Every cent counts when it comes to balancing the family budget and claiming the First Lap voucher is now at your fingertips and available via the Service NSW app,” Mr Dominello said.
Minster for Sport Natalie Ward said the First Lap program, which provides an annual $100 voucher per child, has been expanded to include not just pre-school children but also those in kindergarten in 2021 and 2022.
“With summer officially starting today, there’s no better time to dive into the First Lap program and make sure your child learns vital safety skills,” Mrs Ward said.
For more details or to download a voucher, visit the Service NSW website.

The NSW Government is developing plans to create Australia’s greatest urban walking trail stretching along the Harbour foreshore from Lady Macquarie’s Chair, past the Opera House and Bridge, through Barangaroo and returning via the CBD.
Dubbed the Sydney Great Walk it will connect major tourism locations and attractions and feature at least two loops with the first designed to be completed in half a day and a longer full-day walk extending into Darling Harbour and back past the Chinese Garden of Friendship and Hyde Park.
The Government will conduct feasibility studies into the project, including developing routes, exploring physical wayfinding options such as signs, maps and information and undertaking consultation with key stakeholders such as the City of Sydney.
Premier Dominic Perrottet said it was imperative to find new and innovative ways to improve what was sometimes simply taken for granted.
“This route has the potential to become the greatest and most iconic urban walk in the country,” Mr Perrottet said.
“It will be something all Australians should do, and the one walk every visitor must do, when they are able to return safely to our shores.”
Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney, and Minister for Trade and Investment Stuart Ayres, said creating an iconic walk around the Harbour front and through the middle of the CBD would build on existing initiatives designed to encourage people to enjoy NSW.
“We recently launched our Renew advertising campaign to encourage people to reconnect with our great state and developing projects such as the Sydney Great Walk fit well alongside other initiatives such as Sydney’s Longest Lunch and the six-day ELEVATE Sydney celebration to be staged on the Cahill Expressway,” Mr Ayres said.
“We want people to get out and enjoy the best NSW has to offer and if this encourages more people to visit and enjoy the city in a healthy way it’s a win-win outcome.”
The Government will also investigate utilising digital platforms as wayfinders to allow people to plan their journey and access key information on the walk about key places, facilities, sights and businesses.
Other ideas include incorporating QR codes at locations which would provide information along the route when scanned and even integrating the recently launched heritage Blue Plaques program.
Planning and Public Spaces Minister Rob Stokes said the walk would provide the opportunity to not just showcase the Harbour and some of our most iconic locations, but to incorporate art installations, soundscapes and enhanced infrastructure.
“This walk will help draw people back into the CBD and at the same time connect what are individually some of the most beautiful and recognisable places in Australia,” Mr Stokes said.
“Our aim is to enhance the liveability of our city, promote more people actively exploring the city and develop a drawcard which is on everybody’s bucket-list.”
“We will also look at developing special sections of the walk so that people may do a history component in The Rocks or a dining and eating component through the CBD.”
“It could also connect with the great work already underway on the existing Yananurala walk, a project led by the City of Sydney in collaboration with First Nation’s representatives that highlights Aboriginal history and culture at places along the Sydney harbour foreshore”.

The existing Ryde Hospital campus will be transformed into a state-of-the-art facility with expanded and improved emergency care, critical care, community and outpatient services.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard and Member for Ryde Victor Dominello announced the existing site as most suitable after extensive consultation with hospital staff and the local community.
“We’ve listened to our doctors, nurses and allied health professionals and the community on both options of the current site or Macquarie University. Overwhelmingly, they all wanted to remain in Ryde and we are confident that this is the best way forward,” Mr Dominello said.
“With the site now chosen, the local community is set to receive a huge boost to health services and we can now move forward in bringing first-class health services to the area.
“This will preserve the historic Denistone House, retain the significant investment in rehabilitation services at Graythwaite and make best use of the current services already available at Ryde.”
Mr Hazzard said that ties to Macquarie University will also be strengthened on campus.
“The new Ryde Hospital and Macquarie University will work together in creating teaching and research opportunities alongside clinical placements,” Mr Hazzard said.
Northern Sydney Local Health District in partnership with Health Infrastructure will now begin the next phase of consultation with clinicians, staff, patients, carers, consumers and the local community on the design of the new hospital.
The team is calling for community members to join a Consumer Reference Group to help shape the direction of the redevelopment.
To register your interest please visit: rydehospitalredevelopment.health.nsw.gov.au and complete the form by Friday 10 December 2021.
Hospital planning is a complex process that involves extensive consultation with staff, patients, consumers and the community to ensure the right clinical needs are met. To find out more visit www.hinfra.health.nsw.gov.au/our-business/how-to-build-a-hospital
The NSW Government is investing a record $10.8 billion in health infrastructure over the next four years to 2024-25.

The NSW Government’s drive to become a major global supplier of critical minerals and high-tech metals will be realised with the establishment of Australia’s first Critical Minerals Hub in the State’s Central West.
Deputy Premier and Minister responsible for Resources Paul Toole announced the hub near Dubbo today, while launching NSW’s first Critical Minerals and High-Tech Metals Strategy.
Mr Toole said critical minerals and high-tech metals such as cobalt, nickel and copper will play a vital role in making NSW the number one investment destination for mining and advanced manufacturing.
“Critical minerals are just that – minerals that are critical to the manufacture of everything from electric vehicles to solar technologies and for which there are no ready substitutes,” Mr Toole said.
“This Strategy delivers a clear vision to provide a key source of economic growth, diversify the NSW royalty base and create the advanced manufacturing jobs of the future in regional NSW.
“There is a global race on to locate, develop and establish secure supply chains of these minerals and metals. This Strategy will ensure NSW is in the box-seat to meet this demand.”
Mr Toole said the Critical Minerals Hub was an Australian-first and would set NSW apart as a premier destination for investment in antimony, cobalt, copper, titanium, rare earths and zirconium projects as demand for critical minerals increases exponentially in the next 40 years.
“The Hub in the Central West will be a focal point for the development of this industry, including value-added processing, located close to existing, approved and potential mining developments,” Mr Toole said.
“The hub could accommodate domestic e-waste recycling for eastern Australia, as well as the importation of e-waste from the Indo-Pacific region, so we can recover and recycle critical minerals alongside the exploration and mining of new resources.
“It will build on existing investments at the Parkes Special Activation Precinct as well as the $3 billion investment in Australia’s first Renewable Energy Zone, which is centred around the Dubbo, Wellington and Mudgee regions.
“This demonstrates the commitment by the NSW Government to support mining and advanced manufacturing as we diversify the State’s economy towards a lower carbon future.”
Member for Dubbo Dugald Saunders said the strategy is a significant step forward for many key sites across regional NSW.
“This is a really important part of securing future jobs and prosperity in the Dubbo area, as we look towards new types of industry and manufacturing in the Central West,” Mr Saunders said.
“Dubbo itself is the centre of the critical minerals activity in the region, and is the natural hub to provide many of the ongoing services which will be needed.”
The Strategy includes further geological surveys to deliver more quality pre-competitive data for explorers, investigating the potential for copper production and other downstream processing opportunities for critical minerals, and providing assistance to mining projects to navigate planning and approval processes.

The first Australian field trials of new technology to detect dangerous levels of respirable crystalline silica (RCS) in the air began in Sydney this month.
Minister for Better Regulation Kevin Anderson said this world-first technology will help workers identify high levels of RCS in real time, preventing inhalation and the contraction of the deadly lung disease, silicosis.
“This device will be instrumental in helping us to reduce silicosis in NSW, and I am proud that we are leading the way with this world-first technology,” Mr Anderson said.
“When we began this project there was nothing on the market that could accurately detect RCS instantly, so our world-first device will be a game changer for anyone working with stone.”
The new technology differs from existing prototypes as it accurately detects RCS particles in the air, analysing incoming data to provide a milligram per cubic meter reading and a feature that will alert workers if they are in danger.
“We will be working with high-risk industries and workplaces to field-test the technology to ensure it’s working as it should be in the unique Australian conditions before we progress to the next phase,” Mr Anderson said.
“We expect the device to be commercially available by the end of this year. Once the technology is finalised we will then work on making it smaller so a worker can easily wear it as a device to stop them from unknowingly inhaling dangerous levels of silica dust.”
The new detector is just one component of the NSW Government’s NSW Dust Strategy 2020-22 to tackle dust diseases, including silicosis and asbestosis.
The NSW Government is taking proactive steps to protect workers, including reducing the legal exposure standard for silica exposure, banning dry cutting of manufactured stone, making silicosis a notifiable disease and establishing a dust diseases register that will track, respond to, and prevent deadly dust diseases, including asbestosis and silicosis.

The state’s vision for a world-class innovation and technology precinct is coming to life, with Tech Central’s Quantum Terminal welcoming its first tenants.
Premier Dominic Perrottet said supporting the growth of Australia’s most ambitious innovation centre was more important than ever before.
“With first-class researchers and entrepreneurs eager to collaborate and an innovation precinct ready to support jobs growth, NSW is in pole position to become a global leader in technology,” Mr Perrottet said.
“Tech Central is predicted to bring up to 25,000 jobs to NSW and will be a major player in accelerating our economic recovery and future-proofing our economy.”
Q-Ctrl, Sydney Quantum Academy and Quantum Brilliance are now in place in Sydney’s first centralised live collaboration space for researchers, developers, engineers and entrepreneurs – all working to advance quantum technology, high performance computing and artificial intelligence.
Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney and Minister for Trade and Industry Stuart Ayres said the Government was also focussed on helping businesses expand and enter their next phase of growth at Tech Central.
“Quantum Terminal along with the rest of Tech Central will form one of the most vibrant innovation corridors in Australia,” Mr Ayres said.
“Building on the opening of the Quantum Terminal, we’re also investing up to $21 million to prioritise affordable accommodation for scaleups. From December, businesses can apply for rebates on rental and fit-out costs of up to $600,000 a year through the Tech Central Scaleup Accommodation Rebate.”
The Tech Central Scaleup Hub, located in the heart of the precinct at 477 Pitt Street, will be operated by technology community Stone & Chalk providing 8,000 square metres of affordable and flexible workspace for high-growth technology scaleups.
Minister for Digital and Customer Service Victor Dominello unveiled some of the digital tools that will power Tech Central’s innovation ecosystem, including the digital twin an online interactive tool on the Tech Central website, that allows people to explore the precinct and its surrounds – from businesses to bike lanes and bars.
“This is a modern government with a strong understanding of how to foster and harness technological and digital innovation for the good of our citizens and businesses,” Mr Dominello said.
“The US has one Silicon Valley, NSW is investing in them across the city.”
CEO of Tech Central Scaleup Hub operator Stone & Chalk Michael Bromley said the company was proud to be the partner of choice for the Government’s growth agenda.
“Through our second Hub in Sydney, we’ll be able to support domestic and international startups in their transition to becoming scaleups by providing vital access to the resources and infrastructure required for success,” Mr Bromley said.
Chair of the Tech Central Industry Advisory Group David Thodey said the opportunities for innovation and collaboration across the precinct were unrivalled.
“These facilities and support initiatives will help businesses both large and small, driving new opportunities for innovation and collaboration to build a sustainable and enduring world-class precinct.”

The NSW Government marked the construction of the M6 motorway project with a sod turning event in South Sydney today.
The M6 Stage 1 will link Kogarah with the M8, slashing travel times and bypassing up to 23 sets of traffic lights. The construction will also create up to 5,500 jobs.
Premier Dominic Perrottet said the new tunnels would remove 10,000 cars a day from General Holmes Drive, returning local roads to local communities.
“Drivers will be able to get home safer and quicker but for many areas, removing vehicles from local roads will be life changing,” Mr Perrottet said.
“We know that taking Sydney from good to great isn’t only about building new destinations, it’s about unlocking free-flowing transport for everyone to enjoy everything this city has to offer.”
“It’s great news that major construction work is about to get underway on the M6, which will be crucial in connecting Sydney’s motorway network.
“Our economic recovery will also be bolstered by the up to 5,500 jobs this project will create.”
The M6 Stage 1 will deliver a 4km twin tunnel that connects the completed M8 to President Avenue at Kogarah.
Minister for Transport and Roads Rob Stokes said the M6 will provide motorists with better connectivity and more reliable trips to Sydney’s south.
“This project will help reduce traffic on General Homes Drive, which is another major artery, by about 10,000 vehicles a day when the project opens,” Mr Stokes said.
“We’re also incredibly pleased that all community benefits for this project will be delivered before Christmas this year, including two playgrounds, a war memorial and FIFA grade playing fields.
“This demonstrates our approach to delivering community benefits up front following extensive consultation shows great infrastructure really does deliver great places.”
The M6 Stage 1 is expected to open in 2025.
For more information visit: caportal.com.au/rms/m6

Modern and inclusive sporting facilities are the focus of a new NSW Government $200 million fund to encourage people across the state to enjoy the benefits of sport, regardless of their age, gender or ability, with applications now open.
Premier Dominic Perrottet said the Multi-Sport Community Facility Fund will invest in new or upgraded venues across the state with $100 million available in 2021/22 and a further $100 million in 2022/23.
“Community sport plays a vital role in getting our lives back on track and it’s great to see people returning to courts, ovals and pitches, to resume their sporting passions and get active again,” Mr Perrottet said.
Treasurer Matt Kean said the fund will provide more modern, inclusive and fit-for-purpose facilities across NSW.
“This $200 million funding boost will ensure even more people can enjoy the benefits of sport and recreation, while helping remove barriers to participation,” Mr Kean said.
Minister for Sport Natalie Ward said for some people, existing community sport facilities may not meet their needs and even discourage them from taking part.
“We want to actively encourage gender inclusiveness and accessibility in our facilities so that everyone can get out and play,” Mrs Ward said.
The Multi-Sport Community Facility Fund will offer funding through a competitive grants process and is a key initiative of the NSW Government’s jobs-creation sports infrastructure plan, providing a construction boom.
Grants of between $1 million to $5 million are available, with applications for the 2021/22 round closing on Friday, 25 February 2022.
For more details, see: https://www.sport.nsw.gov.au/grants/multi-sport-community-facility-fund.