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City of Newcastle is inviting the community to have a say on its ambitious long-term vision for Newcastle.

The Community Strategic Plan, Newcastle 2040, was adopted by Council in 2022 following extensive community consultation, providing a vision to guide and inform City of Newcastle’s strategies and projects for the next 10 years and beyond.

Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said City of Newcastle was reviewing the plan as part of its commitment to providing meaningful opportunities for locals to have their say on the future of the city.

“Our Community Strategic Plan, Newcastle 2040, was developed thanks to feedback from more than 5,400 Novocastrians who shared their thoughts on what we need to do to make Newcastle a liveable, sustainable, inclusive global city,” Cr Nelmes said.

“Since adopting Newcastle 2040 in April 2022, we’ve been working to deliver our strategies and projects in alignment with the aspirations of the Newcastle community.

“We’re helping to create a more liveable city through local centre upgrades, enhanced safety and accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists, as well as investment in sporting infrastructure, playgrounds, roads, and stormwater drainage.

“Newcastle is also becoming more sustainable thanks to our efforts to act on climate change to achieve net zero emissions.

“Now we want to again hear from our community as we review our Community Strategic Plan, to ensure that we are on track towards achieving our vision and have a clear plan for how we will get there.”

Residents and interested stakeholders can provide feedback before 5 July by completing a community survey online or by speaking to City of Newcastle staff at a range of pop-up events to be held across the city throughout May and June.

For more information including pop-up event dates and locations visit newcastle.nsw.gov.au/yoursay.

Women’s sport has received a major injection with 26 projects receiving funding through the NSW Government’s $30 million Level the Playing Field Program.

The program, which was inspired by the success of the Matildas at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, will fund the construction of new and upgraded sports facilities, including amenities and lighting improvements across NSW.

Recipients have received grants between $200,000 – $2 million, including the new Shell Cove Sport and Recreation Facility at Shellharbour, upgrades to Bathurst Indoor Sport Stadium and upgrades to Don Waring Oval at Port Stephens.

Minister for Sport Steve Kamper joined female futsal players at Football NSW’s Indoor Futsal Stadium today after the organisation received $600,000 for upgrades to the Stadium and two fields at Valentine Sports Park in Glenwood.

Find out more about the Level the Playing Field Program, including the list of funding recipients

Minister for Sport Steve Kamper said:

“The NSW Government is levelling the playing field for women’s sport.

“By transforming and expanding sports facilities across NSW we are enabling more women and girls to participate in sport.

“But most importantly, we are providing safer, more comfortable and more inclusive facilities, breaking down the barriers that have traditionally prevented many women from participating in sport.”

Minister for Women Jodie Harrison said:

“Sport should be inclusive for people of all ages, genders and abilities.

“But we know women face different barriers to men when participating in sport.

“This program delivers on the NSW Government’s commitment to creating a level playing field for women at all levels of sport.

“Through projects like the ones announced today, we will enable more women and girls to develop a lifelong love of sport.”

Football NSW CEO John Tsatsimas said:

“Female football is bursting at the seams post the FIFA Women’s World Cup, with female participation up 17% year to date.

“The upgrading and improvement of football facilities at Valentine Sports Park will assist in attracting and retaining more females to football as we target 50/50 gender participation in the next 10 years.

“Our two infrastructure projects at Valentine Sports Park will encourage a safe, and accessible facility that significantly enhances our Home of Football, with an emphasis on creating an inclusive space for women and girls.”

The NSW Government has taken a major step towards unlocking critical minerals and high-tech metals with a new mapping exercise of the state’s landmass, including investigations up to 50km below the surface.

Critical minerals and high-tech metals – such as copper and nickel – are key components in solar panels, EV batteries, wind turbines and other products. These metals are crucial to the energy transition to help put downwards pressure on both emissions and power prices.

The demand for critical minerals from clean energy technologies alone – including many of those minerals found in NSW – will surpass $400 billion annually by 2050, according to the International Energy Agency.

Geospatial survey data is crucial in assisting minerals explorers to target their searches for potentially rich deposits of critical minerals and high-tech deposits.

The data is free and publicly available and represents a significant milestone in enhancing the understanding of the state’s geology. It will play a key role in unlocking new mining projects for decades into the future.

The geophysical survey campaign covered over one-sixth of the state. The survey data includes data captured across more than 148,000 square kilometres.

More than 8 aircraft over 18 months were used to collect the data.

This included using sound waves to delve up to 50 kilometres beneath the surface.

Minister for Natural Resources Courtney Houssos yesterday launched the data in remarks to the NSW Minerals Council’s Exploration and Tenures Forum.

NSW will play a leading role in the future of natural resources in Australia, with:

• Deposits of 21 of the 31 nationally identified critical minerals, and
• Deposits or occurrences of all five minerals on the Commonwealth Government’s Strategic Minerals List.

Currently, there are more than 2,600 people directly employed in critical minerals and high-tech metals mines in the Central West of NSW, and another 1,260 in the Far West. A further 1,600 people are projected to be employed if currently proposed projects begin mining.

It deployed a comprehensive suite of cutting-edge survey methods, including airborne electromagnetic (AEM), airborne magnetic and radiometric (AMR), gravity, and deep crustal reflection seismic surveys to collect the data.

The NSW Government is currently reviewing its Critical Minerals and High-Tech Metals Strategy to best position the state to take advantage of the opportunities these resources provide to the future of employment, industry and the net zero transition.

The NSW Government has invested $7.7 million in the geophysical acquisition campaign.

Key highlights include:

• The Forbes to Dubbo AEM Survey will unearth invaluable insights into the geological characteristics of the area.
• The Cobar to Yathong Seismic Survey used sound waves to delve deep beneath the surface, the Cobar to Yathong area, reached depths of up to 50 kilometres within the Yathong–Ivanhoe Trough and Cobar Basin, from south of Cobar to Nyngan. This seismic survey will unveil crucial information about the geological structures present in the region including data on critical minerals used in advanced manufacturing.
• The Yathong AEM and AMR Surveys were instrumental in mapping the geology of this area. Essential data is available for mineral exploration and resource assessment.

These surveys map large areas of land with minimal disruption to the environment, to help better understand geology and possibly uncover groundwater aquifers.

Gathering survey data is non-invasive and uses seismic tools and aircraft to gather the data with minimal impact on regional communities.

The surveys were conducted in collaboration with Geoscience Australia and represent a significant milestone in enhancing the understanding of the state’s geological composition and structure.

The data can also be used by water resources scientists to investigate groundwater. While groundwater traditionally comes from river floodplains and springs, researchers have been looking for more water resources in aquifers or reservoirs with the aim of supporting regional communities.

The acquired data is now available in MinView which also contains all available public data in NSW, offering geoscientists, governments, explorers, and farmers a wealth of information to facilitate informed decision-making.

For more information visit the Resource Regulator website.

Minister for Natural Resources Courtney Houssos:

“Critical minerals are crucial to the future of the global pathway to net zero and growing employment in regional NSW.

“The release of this data will help stimulate investment and make sure NSW continues to lead the exploration and development of critical minerals in Australia.

“These surveys are an important piece of the puzzle in developing our understanding of the state’s geological properties, and groundwater supplies. This is crucial information for farmers and regional communities.”

The NSW Government is today announcing a package of common-sense reforms to target possession of knives, particularly among young people, reduce knife crime and boost community safety.

The government will:

• Develop legislation modelled on Queensland’s Jack’s Law which will give police powers to “wand” or “scan” people for knives without a warrant in designated areas, including transport hubs, shopping centres and other crowded places:
  • these powers will be made available in circumstances where a relevant weapons offence/knife crime has occurred within the past 6 months
  • an authority can then be issued by police, enabling them to “wand” or “scan” people, and
  • the authority will last for 12 hours, with an option to extend as required.
• Make it illegal to sell knives to a child under the age of 18, with provisions for exemptions for retailers selling to young people who need a knife for their work or study.
• Increase penalties for people selling knives to young people under the age of 18.

The package of reforms will help address knife-related crime, get knives off streets and keep the community safer.

The new “wanding” laws will be based on Jack’s Law and adapted for the NSW context with details being finalised ahead of legislation to be introduced to parliament.

Their aim will be to keep the community safe, targeting areas where there have been increasing issues related to knife crime or knife possession offences, which could be on public transport or in nightlife, entertainment, or shopping precincts.

The reforms build upon responsible action taken by the NSW Government including:

• doubling of the maximum penalties for various knife related offences in 2023
• the review by the NSW Sentencing Council into of sentencing for firearms, knives, and other weapons offences
• ongoing high impact NSW Police operations such as “Operation Foil” – an ongoing, targeted operation which last ran from 11 to 13 April 2024. It targets knife crime and anti-social behaviour with 51 knives/weapons seized and 145 people charged with weapon-related offences. In the last year alone almost 4000 knives were seized in public places.

The reforms send a strong message about the seriousness of knife related violence and the NSW Government’s commitment to take immediate proactive steps to prevent future tragedies, while also addressing longer term challenges such as serious mental health issues and the broader incidence of violent crime.

Premier Chris Minns said:

“In recent weeks and months, we have all borne witness to the devastating outcomes of knife related violence.

“I know that many in our community have followed the devastating media coverage and heard the stories of victims and families – tragically there have been so many recent examples.

“Our communities are still in mourning, but it’s essential that we step up to take immediate action to send a clear message that NSW will simply not accept these kinds of crimes.

“Today we are announcing reform including legislation modelled on new powers for police to search and detect knives in public spaces, based on Queensland’s Jack’s Law, and a common-sense increase to the age limit for purchasing knives from 16 to 18 to make it harder for children to get access to these deadly weapons.”

Minister for the Police and Counter-terrorism Yasmin Catley said:

“This sends a strong signal that we are committed to tackling violent knife crime in our community.

“These reforms send a strong warning to would-be perpetrators.

“I want to thank Mr and Mrs Beasley and our colleagues in the Queensland Government for working with us to share their experiences and their knowledge in regard to Jack’s Law.

“No parent should go through what the Beasleys and many other families have gone through. No life should be cut short by violent crime.

“We’ll be looking at how these strategies work in a NSW context. Strategies that we know are making a difference in Queensland.

“These reforms will give police improved tools to quickly detect concealed knives and take action before a potential perpetrator has the chance to use them.

“These reforms are about keeping people safe. I want the community to have the confidence that this government is committed to giving the NSW Police Force all the tools required to combat violent crime.”

Attorney General Michael Daley said:

“These changes increase police powers, toughen penalties and send a clear signal that it is not okay to carry a knife.

“There are too many young people who think it is okay to put a knife into their pocket to carry out their daily business. The worrying thing is that, if they are open to carrying it, then they are probably open to using it. We want people to stop carrying knives, to leave them at home and to stop using them.”