Category: NSW News

A man will face court after police discovered a prohibited drug in a car while carrying out border operations.
About 10.20pm on Wednesday 19 August 2020, police were conducting border checks on Thule Street, Barham, as part of Operation Border Closure when they stopped a Toyota Echo, driven by a 47-year-old man.
While carrying out permit checks, officers observed a woman in the front passenger seat allegedly under the influence of drugs.
The woman was treated by ambulance paramedics before being taken to Cohuna Hospital in Victoria.
During a search of the vehicle, officers allegedly located and seized drug-related items including a jar containing a clear liquid believed to be Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate (GHB).
The driver was issued a Field Court Attendance Notice for possess a prohibited drug.
He will appear at Moama Local Court on Wednesday 9 September 2020.
In a separate incident, a man was charged after allegedly failing to comply with a direction on the state’s south coast.

About 8.30pm on Friday 7 August 2020, a 31-year-old man was refused entry to a club on Hargreaves Street, Unanderra.

The man allegedly became argumentative with staff and refused to leave the premises, before moving towards staff and coughing into his hands, saying he had COVID-19. The man left the scene and the incident was reported to police.

Following inquiries, licensing officers from Lake Illawarra Police District arrested a man in a car outside a house on Moran Street, Dapto, about 7.45am yesterday (Wednesday 19 August 2020).

He was taken to Lake Illawarra Police Station, where he was charged with not comply with noticed direction re spitting/coughing – COVID-19, stalk/intimidate intend fear physical etc harm (personal), excluded person fail to leave premises when required.

He was granted conditional bail to appear at Port Kembla Local Court on Wednesday 30 September 2020.

Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or 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.

The NSW Government today announced an extension of the COVID-19 relief funding for community and mobile preschools to the end of Term 4.
Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning Sarah Mitchell said the continued funding recognises the importance of helping families keep children engaged in preschool education.
“Research clearly demonstrates children who attend 600 hours of preschool in the year before they start school have better outcomes throughout their lives,” Ms Mitchell said.
“Extending this relief funding will help families keep their children attending this critical year of early education.
“COVID-19 has already caused disruption to all of our lives, so it’s more important than ever to ensure families are supported to keep children in quality education and care.”
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said the NSW Government is committed to ensuring children have access to vital early education, particularly in the year before school.
“We know these are testing times and that’s why we continue to offer this  vital support to ease cost-of-living pressures and ensure children right across the State have access to the education they need and deserve,” Mr Perrottet said.
“This funding will ensure community preschools remain open and will not be forced to close their doors if enrolments fall.
“Eligible services can opt in for the relief funding to allow them to provide fee relief and maintain staffing levels. Services will be contacted directly with information on how to opt in and access payments for Term 4.”
While the NSW Government provides ongoing funding for preschools, this package provides additional funds to cover parent fees and the impact of falling enrolments.

Ninety new jobs are on offer after major construction finished at the NSW Government’s multi-million dollar Kangy Angy Rail Maintenance Facility.
The purpose-built facility will service and maintain the New Intercity Fleet trains, with around six kilometres of electric rail lines – seven-tracks across at its widest point – a new rail bridge, access roads, offices and amenities.
Minister for Transport Andrew Constance says testing of the facility will continue ahead of the introduction of the New Intercity Fleet later this year.
“The Maintenance Facility has created employment, skills development and business opportunities on the Central Coast during construction and that will all continue into operation,” Mr Constance said.
The facility will be operated by UGL Rail, which is part of the RailConnect consortium contracted to design, build and maintain the new fleet.
“UGL is currently recruiting for roles in engineering, supply chain, supervision, planning, quality and asset management, with more than 90 positions to be filled over the next 18 months,” Mr Constance said.
Parliamentary Secretary for the Central Coast and Member for Terrigal Adam Crouch said substantial landscaping had taken place around the development.
“An important part of the construction phase is the revegetation work with a number of Central Coast native species being planted on-site, including 950 trees and more than 200,000 juvenile grasses, shrubs and trees,” Mr Crouch said.
“It’s fantastic to see that within the vegetation being retained, 30 nest boxes were installed to provide habitat for native animals.”
The design and construction of the facility was delivered by John Holland on behalf of Transport for NSW.

Emergency services workers and volunteers across regional NSW will be better equipped to continue their dedicated service ahead of the upcoming bushfire season following the official opening of four new fire stations, the handover of four new fire trucks, and a boost for paid positions to fast-track hazard reduction.
Minister for Police and Emergency Services David Elliott, Member for Tamworth Kevin Anderson and NSW RFS Assistant Commissioner Peter McKechnie met with members of the Namoi River Brigade to officially open two new stations at Upper Manilla and Namoi River, made possible thanks to a nearly half a million dollar investment by the NSW Government.
“We thank our firefighters for their unwavering efforts over what has been a difficult 12 months in the service. We are committed to providing our firefighters with the best possible equipment and amenities so they can get on with the job they do best – protecting the irreplaceable,” Mr Elliott said.
Mr Elliott and Mr Anderson also joined Fire & Rescue NSW (FRNSW) Commissioner Paul Baxter today to open the new $5 million South Tamworth Fire Station and Zone Office.
Mr Elliott said the new station was a significant investment in the Tamworth community that will see the local response to fires and other emergencies improve.
This comes after, only yesterday, Mr Elliott joined Sam Farraway MLC and Fire & Rescue NSW (FRNSW) Commissioner Paul Baxter to officially open the new $2.05 million Parkes Fire Station.
“The NSW Government has invested over $14 million in new and upgraded fire stations across the state, and it’s great to have the opportunity to tour regional NSW over the last couple of days to deliver four new stations to local communities,” Mr Elliott said.
Fourteen new State Mitigation crew positions were also announced at Tamworth, Glen Innes, Moree Plains and Armidale to help fast track hazard reduction burns and build bushfire resilience across regional communities.
“These new roles, part of the recent $10.7 million state-wide investment in bushfire preparedness and regional jobs, will support and supplement volunteers and fast-track hazard reduction in areas that need it most,” Mr Elliott said.
The Garah, Wallah and Baan Baa communities are also set to benefit from three new Category 1 fire tankers worth nearly $350,000 each, as part of the NSW Government’s $34.4 million investment in upgrading the RFS firefighting fleet.
The recent investments in the RFS’s bushfire response capability come on top of a record $1.7 billion budget for emergency services in NSW.

Vivid Sydney – the Harbour City’s iconic celebration of lights, music and ideas – will return in August 2021.
The popular and award-winning event will bring creativity, innovation and excitement to Sydney in a COVID-safe manner for locals, visitors and global fans to enjoy, near or afar.
Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said Vivid Sydney was an important cultural, social and economic beacon for NSW.
“Major events will play a critical role in stimulating the visitor economy and NSW’s broader COVID-19 recovery strategy,” Minister Ayres said.
“We’re cautiously optimistic that with a slight delay to regular scheduling, Vivid Sydney will be able to proceed as the bright, dynamic event we all know and love in August next year.
“There’s no doubt that all future events will need to make adjustments to be COVIDsafe in line with NSW Health advice and reflect the changes we are experiencing in day-to-day life.
“Vivid Sydney has always celebrated and explored innovation and creativity, but more importantly brought joy to people who visit in person or who follow the media and social media coverage.
“We look forward to reigniting that excitement and passion within the artistic community and our supporters, and creating tangible opportunities for the tourism industry by driving visitors to Sydney and NSW in a safe way.”
In 2019, a record 2.4 million people attended Vivid Sydney, generating $172 million in tourism expenditure.
Further details about Vivid Sydney 2021 will be shared later in 2020.

Farmers and critical agricultural workers who reside outside the Border Region Zone in Victoria will now have a new pathway to enter NSW and move outside the ‘border bubble’ for work.
Under the changes, individuals will be able to access a new Highly Specialised Critical Services (Agriculture) Permit if they:

• Provide a highly specialised critical agricultural service**;
• Are moving and working anywhere within 100km of the New South Wales/Victorian border, on the NSW side;
• Comply with strict conditions if staying overnight; and
• Adhere to other safety requirements, including self-isolating when not delivering the critical service.

Exemptions for individuals needing to move beyond the 100km limit for work will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The changes come into effect at noon today and the new permits will be available via the Service NSW website.
This is a sensible solution to the issues caused by recent changes and ensures our State’s agriculture sector has the workforce it needs to keep powering ahead in the midst of improving seasonal conditions.
While this will be very welcome news, it does not solve all the problems and in my view, is just the first step towards allowing the critical agriculture sector on both sides of border to operate freely, as it needs to.
At my request, the Health Minister has committed to reviewing the Public Health Order again next week.
I will continue to work with industry and my colleagues to ensure the right policy settings are in place to support our State’s agriculture industry and protect the health and wellbeing of NSW residents.
For more information visit https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/apply-covid-19-nsw-border-entry-permit

Police in the Riverina region have issued two Penalty Infringement Notices (PINs) in the past 24 hours for non-compliance with COVID-19 Public Health Orders.
As part of proactive compliance operations, officers from Riverina Police District attended a restaurant on Fernleigh Road, Mount Austin, just before 7pm on Saturday (15 August 2020).
After speaking with the 39-year-old male owner, officers conducted a walk-through and established that a COVID Safety Plan had not been completed.
Further, the owner, who was also the chef, claimed to be the designated COVID marshal.
The owner was informed he would receive a $5000 PIN for non-compliance with the Public Health Orders, which was issued yesterday (Tuesday 18 August 2020).
In a separate and unrelated incident, officers from Riverina Police District have been conducting inquiries into suspected non-compliance of self-isolation directions since late last month.
On Saturday 25 July 2020, local police were contacted after a 25-year-old woman, who had arrived in Wagga Wagga from Victoria on Thursday 23 July 2020 on a valid permit, was reportedly not self-isolating.
Police conducted a number of inquiries, including repeat compliance checks, during which it was established she had not been self-isolating.
Officers advised the woman she would receive a $1000 PIN for fail to comply with noticed direction in relation to s7/8/9 – COVID-19 and reminded she must complete the full self-isolation period.
The woman was issued with the PIN yesterday (Tuesday 18 August 2020).
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.

Streets across NSW will be transformed into vibrant pedestrian-friendly public spaces with the NSW Government today announcing the successful funding recipients under the $15 million Streets as Shared Spaces program.
Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Rob Stokes said the funds will help 27 regional councils and 14 councils across Greater Sydney deliver temporary street transformations, such as cycleways, pop-up parklets and improved lighting.
“It’s fantastic to see so many councils eager to provide new and improved public spaces for their communities, encouraging active transport and beautifying their streetscapes,” Mr Stokes said.
“These projects will transform neighbourhoods across the State, making it easier for people to walk or ride to local shops and services by creating safe, attractive and accessible streets and public spaces.”
Successful trial projects will provide new pedestrian and cycleway connections and  reclaim little-used carparks and roads across NSW, including:

• creation of a ‘green spine’ on Harbour Drive in Coffs Harbour;
• activation of an underutilised laneway in Parramatta;
• a temporary road closure to create a public square in Griffith; and
• a pop-up park on Dunmore Street, Wentworthville.

The Streets as Shared Spaces program provides funding for councils to support the delivery of short-term improvements to local streets and public spaces through pop-ups and pilots that encourage social distancing and improve the attractiveness of our neighbourhoods.
There are two types of project grants under the program: Quick Response Demonstration Projects valued at up to $100,000 per project, to be delivered within three months of approval, and Pilot Projects valued at up to $1 million per project to be delivered within one year of approval. Councils will need to obtain all of the relevant approvals and engage with their community in delivering the projects.
For more information and the full list of 48 successful proposals visit: www.dpie.nsw.gov.au/streetsgrants

Small and medium-sized businesses and regional communities across the State are set to benefit from a coordinated NSW Government push to showcase local products and develop global export sales.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW, Industry and Trade John Barilaro today launched the NSW Government’s $12 million Going Global Package which includes grants of up to $10,000 for eligible businesses through the Export Assistance Grant scheme.
“Helping home-grown businesses succeed in the global marketplace is more important than ever before and here in NSW we have some of the best produce in the world,” Mr Barilaro said.
“That is why the NSW Government is coordinating export assistance across a range of initiatives including market tailored workshops, business matching and exporter grants of up to $10,000.
“We are promoting NSW businesses globally, just like we promote our fantastic regional products state-wide through our Buy Regional campaign.
“Our Export Assistance Grants, together with intensive, direct assistance through the Going Global program will complement existing support and advice services to forge new business connections and sales offshore.”
The Going Global Package includes:

• A $1.8 million Going Global program which will provide export coaching, networking and in-market assistance for export-ready firms. The initiative includes 15 tailored programs covering nine markets and ten sectors.
• A $10 million Export Assistance Grant scheme reimbursing 50 per cent of eligible expenses up to a maximum of $10,000 per eligible business
• Connections to international consumers via the Buy Regional Goes Global initiative
• Online webinars to help businesses upskill
• Ongoing support through the NSW Government’s network of trade advisors in regional locations and Sydney, and its international trade and investment offices around the world
• Access to information on the Global NSW website
• Other support, tools and resources available online

Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said trade would be vital to restoring growth after COVID-19, with exports making up 16 per cent of the State economy before the global pandemic.
“We know our exporters have faced big hurdles in recent months, especially in regional areas also affected by bushfires and drought,” Mr Perrottet said.
“Applications for the Going Global program can be submitted now, and the Export Assistance Grants application will be available soon. I urge small and medium-sized firms in regional areas and across NSW to apply.”
Graham Gilmore from Black Springs-based agribusiness TattyKeel, said exporting was a great way for regional businesses to stay competitive and build resilience, despite the challenges of COVID-19.
“We’re a family farm that’s changing the boundaries. We’re doing R&D and we’re actually creating a new product that’s got some pretty unique eating qualities,” Mr Gilmore said.
“Developing markets overseas is an important part of our plan to support that work.”
TattyKeel’s innovative new brand Margra Lamb is among the enterprises profiled in Buy Regional.
In addition to the initiatives announced today, export advisors remain available to assist business in regional locations throughout the State and, under the Global NSW strategy, the Government is expanding its network of trade and investment offices around the world from 11 to 21. The Buy Regional platform will continue to promote regional businesses and exporters.
More information is available at: global.nsw.gov.au/nsw-export-assistance-package

Residents in Sydney’s south will soon be able to enjoy new and upgraded sport and recreational facilities, after work began today on open space near the future M6 Stage 1.
Minister for Transport and Roads Andrew Constance said the revitalisation project will support around 200 jobs and signals the start of work along the planned road corridor that’s been reserved since the 1950s.
“The improvements include new playing fields, open space and more car parking so our local sporting teams can keep their seasons running while the M6 Stage 1 is delivered,” Mr Constance said.
“The M6 Stage 1 is expected to create around 5,300 jobs, help motorists bypass up to 23 sets of traffic lights and take up to 2,000 heavy vehicles a day off surface roads when the four kilometre tunnel opens by the end of 2025.”
Member for Miranda Eleni Petinos said the upgrades are part of the $2.6 billion ‘missing link’ between President Avenue at Kogarah and the recently opened WestConnex M8 at Arncliffe.
“With this community infrastructure set to be complete by the end of 2021, we’re bringing southern motorists one step closer to enjoying quicker travel times to the city with Stage 1 of the M6,” Ms Petinos said.
The NSW Government is investing around $28 million into upgrades at Ador Park and McCarthy Reserve at Rockdale, and Brighton Memorial Playing Fields at Brighton-Le-Sands.
Member for Oatley Mark Coure said “the announcement will ensure local communities don’t miss out on valuable open space and sporting facilities while work is carried out.”
The improvements to Ador Park Precinct and McCarthy Reserve include:

• An upgraded full-sized synthetic field and a new mid-sized grass field.
• A new skate park, play area, BBQ area and amenities building.

At Brighton Memorial Playing Fields, there will be:

• An upgraded full size synthetic field and a new mid-sized grass field.
• A new play area, memorial, lawn area, amenities building and lighting.
• Increased car parking capacity with safety improved on Sybil Lane.

The improvements also include a new shared path, a pedestrian bridge over Muddy Creek, upgrades to West Botany Street Bridge and larger car parks at both sites.
The NSW Government has awarded the tender for the community recreation facilities to Ertech.