Category: NSW News

A large-scale police operation is continuing along the NSW/Victoria border, with police facilitating the safe movement of more than two million vehicles into NSW.
Since midnight on Wednesday 8 July 2020, thousands of police officers from across the state have been deployed to support border crossings between NSW and Victoria.
The Public Health (COVID-19 Border Control) Amendment Order (No 6) 2020, under section 7 of the Public Health Act 2010, stipulates that border region residents can travel within the border region for any reason with a valid permit as of 12.01am yesterday (Thursday 17 September 2020).
The border resident permit now excludes the ‘permitted purpose’ clause, giving border residents the flexibility to move between border communities for any reason. Existing border region permits will remain the same and there is no need for residents to apply for a new permit.
The changes to the order also allows for recreational activities on the Murray River for border region residents with a current permit.
The Border Region has also been extended to approximately 50km on either side of the border. The new zone can be viewed online at https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/border-zone-address-check.
Operation Border Closure Forward Commander, Superintendent Paul Smith, said police will continue to work with local communities to keep both sides of the border safe.
“The changes to the orders are certainly good news for our border communities,” Supt Smith said.
“The aim of this operation has always been to keep NSW safe, while minimising disruptions to the daily lives of our border communities.
“Police will continue to enforce all ministerial directions in order to protect our health and wellbeing, but we do rely on community support and compliance.
“I would like to extend my thanks to our border communities for their patience and compliance during these times,” Supt Smith said.
For more information about exemptions or to apply for a permit, please visit: https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/apply-covid-19-nsw-border-entry-permit
Anyone who has information regarding individuals or businesses in contravention of a COVID-19-related ministerial direction is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report crime via NSW Police social media pages.

A new taskforce is bringing NSW government agencies together to activate the State’s outdoor hospitality spaces, making approvals for alfresco dining and drinking easier and faster to get.
Minister for Customer Service Victor Dominello said the NSW Government is keen to work with venues to better use open spaces to help generate business and create jobs.
“The pandemic has made indoor spaces less amenable to socialising so it’s time we reduce barriers to spending more social time outside,” Mr Dominello said.
“We’re at a point where we need a cultural transformation to breathe life back into hospitality businesses and it makes sense to take advantage of NSW’s great climate and superb hospitality offerings, while adapting to a world where COVID transmission remains a risk.”
The taskforce will include representatives from:
•         NSW Health
•         Liquor & Gaming NSW
•         The Office of Local Government
•         The Office of the Small Business Commissioner
•         NSW Police
•         Department of Planning, Industry and Environment
•         Transport for NSW
•         NSW Food Authority
“This group of alfresco architects will look into streamlining existing legislation, so we have a pilot in place before summer, as well as long-term solutions where it makes sense to standardise the outdoor drinking and dining scene. A default safe alfresco culture should be the norm,” Mr Dominello said.
Representatives on the taskforce will work closely with local government, who have the lead role in identifying the right spaces and considering their use within frameworks for public safety and amenity.
Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Rob Stokes said the taskforce will work out how to streamline applications for venues to use their outdoor spaces in time for summer.
“Public spaces have become more important than ever before. As we head into the warmer months, we need to find ways to keep our vital hospitality sector buoyant, while also keeping people safe,” Mr Stokes said.
“Our climate is perfect for alfresco dining, which brings life and vibrancy to our streets and public squares and gives people a reason to visit city centres.”

A man who was issued a Penalty Infringement Notice (PIN) at the weekend for entering into NSW from Victoria without a permit has now been charged, after allegedly trying to cross the border again in the back of a taxi.
Just before 10pm last night (Tuesday 15 September 2020), police at a border checkpoint on the Hume Highway, South Albury, stopped a taxi attempting to enter NSW and spoke with the driver and passenger.
Checks revealed the passenger – a 26-year-old man – did not have a valid permit to be entering NSW and had attempted to cross the border several times previously. Additionally, the man had been given a PIN at Central Railway Station on Saturday (12 September 2020) and instructed to return to Victoria, when he was unable to produce a permit.
He was arrested and taken to Albury Police Station, where he was charged with not complying with a noticed direction. The man was granted strict conditional bail, to appear before Albury Local Court on Monday 12 October 2020.
Additionally, four PINs have been issued since the past update:

• About 7am on Monday (14 September 2020), police were assisting NSW Health who were screening passengers arriving in Sydney from Albury at Central Railway Station, when they spoke to a 33-year-old man who could not provide a valid permit. Checks revealed the man attempted to enter NSW using a Railway Bridge at Albury last Friday (11 September 2020). After being advised he could return to Victoria or undergo quarantine, the man chose to quarantine, and was taken to a hotel on Thomas Street, Haymarket. During quarantine, he allegedly exited his room on numerous occasions on Monday (14 September 2020) and yesterday (Tuesday 15 September 2020) and was subsequently issued a $1000 PIN for fail to comply with noticed direction in relation to section 7/8/9 – COVID-19.

• Three tradesmen attempted to enter NSW at the Moama checkpoint about 9.40am yesterday (Tuesday 15 September 2020), however, they were unable to produce a valid permit and directed to return to Victoria. A short time later, the men returned to the checkpoint and produced a permit, which only allowed entry via air travel. About 1pm the same day, the men attempted to enter at the Hume Highway checkpoint. The driver, a 30-year-old man, told police they crossed into Victoria in error and attempted to re-enter. Checks revealed they entered Victoria at 6am and the driver was issued an infringement notice for fail to provide/give false information on request. The passengers – aged 26 and 28 – were also issued $1000 PINs for fail to comply with noticed direction in relation to section 7/8/9 – COVID-19.

Police continue to appeal to the community to report suspected breaches of any ministerial direction or behaviour which may impact on the health and safety of the community.
Anyone who has information regarding individuals or businesses in contravention of a COVID-19-related ministerial direction is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report crime via NSW Police social media pages.

A man has been charged with breaching a COVID-19 Public Health Order following an unauthorised protest at a university at Camperdown today.
Midday (Wednesday 16 September 2020), officers attached to Inner West Police Area Command attended the grounds of a Sydney university following information of an unauthorised protest and in breach of the NSW Public Health Order of mass gatherings.
Police will allege in court that a 34-year-old man was given several warnings and directions to leave the area; however, he repeatedly refused to comply.
He was subsequently arrested and taken to Newtown Police Station, where he was charged with not comply with noticed direction re s 7/8/9 – COVID-19.
He was granted conditional bail; however refused to acknowledge the conditions, as such he has been refused bail to appear in Newtown Local Court tomorrow (Thursday 17 September 2020).
Further, nine people were issued $1000 Penalty Infringement Notices (PINs) in relation to breaches of Public Health Orders.

NSW Labor will bring a Bill to Parliament to overhaul the State’s purchasing and procurement powers to support NSW jobs, industry and supply chains, help workers develop skills and grow the NSW economy out of the COVID-19 recession.
The Labor Leader Jodi McKay said: “I grew up in a rural community and had to leave to get a job. 30 years later that’s still happening. The Government must intervene, because only when rural and regional NSW is strong can the entire state thrive.”
As part of Labor’s NSW Made campaign, The NSW Jobs First Bill will bring NSW in line with other states, including Victoria and South Australia and provide a much-needed boost to economies across regional NSW.
Ms McKay said: “Government money should be spent in NSW to help kick-start the economy. This plan will bolster employment and support NSW businesses during the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression.”
“The Premier talks about economic recovery, but she doesn’t have a plan to create jobs. The NSW Government spends more than $30 billion on goods and services each year.  Every single cent of that should be helping create jobs in NSW. Every single cent should create and support industry across NSW – especially in regional NSW.”
Part of NSW Labor’s Bill is the establishment of a NSW Jobs First Advocate to advocate for businesses and industry in Government purchasing decisions, and hold suppliers to account for the NSW jobs and supply chain commitments they make.
“Just this week we discovered Indonesian-made ferries destined for Sydney Harbour are riddled with asbestos and are too tall to fit under bridges. The Government should be building these ferries in NSW.  Local manufacturing supports local jobs, which is critical to the recovery of our state. If the Premier is serious about economic recovery she will support this Bill.”
As part of this Bill, suppliers looking to win government contracts would have to submit an Industry Development Plan to outline how they’ll support NSW jobs and industries.
A proportion of jobs on major State Government projects would also go to apprentices and trainees, Indigenous Australians, disadvantaged and vulnerable groups and the long-term unemployed.
“If you spend taxpayer money responsibly, you can create jobs across the State. You can support businesses. And you can make sure there are opportunities for everyone in the workforce.”
While at Cooma where the historic Snowy 2.0 will be built, Ms McKay said the NSW Premier should be using her position at National Cabinet to make sure NSW steel and NSW jobs are at the centre of this nation-building project.
“It makes sense to buy a NSW-made product instead of using foreign steel, particularly during a recession. Every local steel industry worker employed supports another six workers in related industries.”
Since 2011, successive NSW Liberal governments have sent local jobs offshore, awarding contracts worth billions of dollars to overseas manufacturers.
These include:

• Imported steel for the International Convention Centre and Sydney Metro
• Ferries from Indonesia and China
• Buses from Germany and Malaysia
• Trains from South Korea and China
• Metros from India
• Light rail vehicles from France and Spain

“People would be shocked to know major NSW Government projects, along with most of the wind turbines and solar panels that generate energy here are mostly made from imported steel.”
“Buying local supports jobs and supports industry in NSW,” Ms McKay said. “Nowhere is this more important than across regional NSW. Labor’s plan will back NSW businesses, overhaul procurement practices, boost manufacturing capacity and strengthen the economy.
“The money Government spends is your taxpayer money. It should be spent to create jobs in NSW, not overseas.

More than 100,000 people across NSW will have the opportunity to reskill for the jobs of the future thanks to the NSW Government’s Skilling for Recovery initiative.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the NSW Government had committed almost $160 million to match the Federal Government’s JobTrainer funding, which would  be a key component to the State’s COVID-19 Recovery Plan.
“COVID-19 has presented an unprecedented challenge to our State, and Skilling for Recovery complements our current skills and training strategy,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“It’s crucial we look to reskill, retrain and redeploy the workforce to industries where there are skills shortages and emerging employment opportunities. We are committed to ensuring the NSW workforce is the most highly skilled in the country.”
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said getting people back to work was pivotal to the state’s economic recovery.
“Hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost in this pandemic and we need to get people off the Centrelink queues as quickly as possible,” Mr Perrottet said.
“The innovative thinking we’ve seen during lock-down will help drive our economy back to prosperity, supported by almost $16 billion in economic and health measures which focus on getting people into jobs and keeping businesses in business.”
Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education Geoff Lee said this investment would help job seekers retrain or up-skill to enhance their credentials and support school leavers to enter the workforce for the first time.
“We have to skill the workforce to take advantage of future job opportunities which may be very different to jobs in the pre-COVID economy,” Mr Lee said.
“Education and skills are key pillars to the NSW Government’s COVID-19 Recovery Plan, so it is a critical step to commit to these additional training places. I expect industries such as health,  manufacturing and construction to be key training areas.”
Skilling for Recovery includes:

• Infrastructure-specific training to support the record spending on projects such as the Aerotropolis, hospital redevelopments and regional road upgrades
• Full-qualifications to retrain and become qualified
• Short course micro-credentials to upskill
• Support for apprentices and trainees
• A new online Skills and Employment Hub
• Regional employment brokers to connect industry and trainers with job seekers;
• Tailored support to re-engage young people in regional areas back into school, training or employment.

Training is expected to commence in the coming months.

Two Penalty Infringement Notices (PINs) have been issued after a serving member of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) entertained a guest while undertaking mandatory quarantine in a Sydney hotel overnight.
ADF officers were conducting security at the hotel on Hickson Road, Sydney, about 12.45am (Tuesday 15 September 2020), when they heard a female voice in the room of a man, who is a serving member of the ADF undertaking mandatory hotel quarantine after recently returning from overseas deployment.
After the ADF officers conducted inquiries, the woman was escorted from the hotel’s quarantine area and police were contacted.
Officers from Sydney City Police Area Command attended the hotel, which is managed by the ADF, before speaking with the pair.
Following extensive inquiries, the 26-year-old man and 53-year-old woman, who was a guest staying at the hotel, were each issued $1000 PINs for fail to comply with noticed direction in relation to Section 7/8/9 – COVID19.
The woman was directed to check-out immediately and attend a COVID testing facility before self-isolating at her Hornsby home.
The man remains in hotel quarantine and the ADF are conducting further investigations.

The NSW Government’s fast-tracked planning program is leading the State’s post-pandemic recovery by creating 50,000 jobs and injecting $25 billion into the NSW economy over the last six months alone.
The Planning System Acceleration Program has already determined 90 major projects and planning proposals since April and in the next four weeks another 11 will be determined as part of the sixth tranche.
If approved, these could result in another $527 million worth of investment and the potential to create more than 1,400 jobs.
Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Rob Stokes said the planning system had been a key economic lever in the NSW Government’s immediate response to the pandemic, driving the state and the rest of the country to a strong economic recovery by accelerating a pipeline of projects.
“COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on our lives and the economy and getting shovel-ready projects out the door to help NSW rebound from this crisis has been a critical priority,” Mr Stokes said.
“Our short-term drive to create a steady supply of jobs and investment has been a great success, with work already starting on construction sites across the State.
“Our focus now turns to a medium-term response, which will speed up and add greater certainty for more complex projects with longer timeframes of between six months and two years.
“With our nation in a recession, boosting the economy and creating jobs is more important than ever.”
The projects selected for accelerated assessment in tranche six include:
 

• Upgrade of the Fort Street Primary School
• Rezoning in St Mary’s for 500 new homes that will have an economic benefit of $126 million and create 250 jobs
• Rezoning in Appin for low density housing and environmental management of a biodiversity corridor, including 39 hectares protected for conservation
• Construction of 18-storey mixed-use student accommodation near the University of Sydney for 488 students, contributing $62 million and creating 245 jobs
• New Oran Park Town Centre in Camden, including dedicated public space, contributing $30 million and creating 60 jobs

“If approved, these 11 projects will mean that we’ve fast-tracked determinations of more than 100 projects since the accelerated program began in April,” Mr Stokes said.
The NSW Government is also driving major reforms to streamline the planning system to make it more efficient and to amplify the success of the acceleration work. Decisions will be made on tranche six projects by 9 October. For more information visit the fast-tracked assessments webpage.

More than 30 new and fast-tracked health, education and transport and roads projects will be delivered across the state within two years, creating up to 20,000 estimated jobs thanks to the NSW Government’s $3 billion Jobs and Infrastructure Acceleration Fund.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the Fund is part of the NSW Government’s COVID-19 Recovery Plan, which will include an accelerated $600m in funding for projects built in four separate fields: health, education, transport and roads worth $2.4 billion, creating thousands of jobs at a time when the state needs them most.
“We are committed to firing up the economy and are investing $3 billion to accelerate new and existing projects in priority sectors that will provide a path to employment for thousands of people in NSW, while assisting our economic recovery,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“NSW has a $100 billion infrastructure pipeline and these projects will positively change the lives of people across the state.”
The projects that will receive accelerated or additional funding over the next two years to fast track employment, include:

• Health
  • $60m Sydney Children’s Hospital Network, Randwick
  • $105m to start work on the $385m St George Hospital Integrated Ambulatory Care Precinct, Kogarah and deliver it 2 years earlier than planned
  • $52m to start work on the $700m Shellharbour Hospital to be built on a greenfield site
• Education
  • $100m TAFE NSW Asset Renewal Program
  • More than $300m for schools including an upgrade of Carlingford West Public School
• Transport, Roads and Precincts
  • $28.2m Mamre Road Stage 1 (M4 Motorway to Erskine Park Road)
  • $90m Spring Farm Parkway Stage 1
  • Initial $20m to start work on the Coffs Harbour Jetty Foreshore precinct. Project up to $76m subject to further community consultation

Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said the NSW economy was the engine room of the nation with the investment being integral for the state, and the country’s resurgence.
“We are committed to keeping people in jobs and businesses and in business across the state, with around half of this investment targeted to the regions. Funding projects that will
support 20,000 jobs is a huge win for NSW,” Mr Perrottet said.
The full list of projects will be announced in coming months.

The NSW Government will deliver the final stage of the more than $700 million St George Hospital redevelopment two years earlier, with a $105 million initial injection, boosting local jobs and the economy.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard announced the $105 million as part of the NSW Government’s $3 billion COVID-19 Recovery Plan to fast-track infrastructure.
“The NSW Government is getting on with the job of delivering world-class health facilities across NSW, including the state-of-the-art St George Hospital,” Mr Hazzard said.
“This investment is creating hundreds of jobs, while also ensuring the local community gets the expanded and enhanced health facilities it deserves as soon as possible.”
Member for Oatley Mark Coure said the accelerated funding to fast-track the $385 million Stage 3 of the hospital’s redevelopment will be of huge benefit to the local community.
“St George Hospital is now up to Stage 3 of its redevelopment, totaling more than $700 million worth of investment, including a new emergency department, a new acute services building opened in October 2017, the recently completed birthing suite and additional parking,” Mr Coure said.
“Bringing forward Stage 3 will fast track the delivery of a new Integrated Ambulatory Care Precinct, increasing inpatient bed capacity as well as much needed enhanced outpatient and community-based services.
“This is wonderful news, particularly for people with complex and chronic conditions, who will now spend less time in hospital, thanks to this new, first-class health facility.”
Planning for Stage 3 will commence this year, with early works set to start in 2021. Main works are expected to start in early 2022, with completion in 2025.
Stage 2 of the St George redevelopment was completed six months ahead of schedule in October, 2017, with an eight-level Acute Services Building above the existing emergency department, and featuring additional inpatient beds, a new intensive care and high dependency unit, a cardiac catheterisation unit, a sterilising services department, new helipad and eight additional digital and interventional operating theatres.
Stage 1 delivered the $41 million new emergency department, together with the improved hydrotherapy pool.