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Police recruitment surge

The NSW Government is making good on our commitment to rebuild our frontline services and address the ongoing critical shortfall in police numbers.

Following last month’s historic announcement that student police officers will be paid to study at the Goulburn Police Academy, NSW Police has received 143 applications to become a police officer. That puts applications on track to hit more than 200 by the end of the month.

NSW Police received 78 applications during the same period last year.

While this September, NSW Police received 94 applications and 106 in October.

Paying recruits to train is an important workforce incentive, designed to encourage more people to take up a career in the NSW Police Force (NSWPF). Today’s figures show it’s already having a positive impact.

A recent research report for NSWPF on the recruitment campaign has revealed the following:

Of those who said they’re considering become a police officer, 38% said the cost of student fees was the number 1 barrier.
67% of people said they would be more likely to join NSWPF if they were paid to train at the academy.

From March 2024, student police officers will be paid to study at the Goulburn Police Academy.

Student police officers will be employed as clerk grade 1/2 administrative employees on a temporary fixed-term contract.

They’ll receive a total salary of approximately $30,984 over the 16-week study period, including super and award-based allowances.

To ensure the current classes are not worse off, they will receive a one-off payment.

NSW Police is carrying more than 1500 vacancies. To put that into perspective, that’s 9% of authorised positions.

This has placed officers under significant strain and it’s a priority of the Minns Labor government to address this.

Police and Counter-terrorism Minister Yasmin Catley said:

“This is a government that fundamentally cares about our police officers. They support their communities day and night and we in turn, must support them.

“I made a commitment to address workforce shortages and that’s exactly what’s being done. This important recruitment incentive has doubled the pool.

“I’m incredibly proud to have partnered with Commissioner Webb and the NSW Police Association to bring about this fantastic initiative that’s already proving a game changer.”

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said:

“Early evidence suggests this initiative will be a tremendous success. Ensuring recruits won’t be financially disadvantaged while studying gives more people the opportunity to join the best police force in the world.

“Policing is an incredible career, from forensics to detective work, Marine Area Command to Aviation Command, it can take you anywhere.

“We look forward to welcoming growing groups of new recruits who we can now pay to study to become NSW Police.”

Police Association NSW President Kevin Morton said:

“We are incredibly proud to stand with the NSW Government and NSWPF to welcome these recruits into the police family.

“The paying of recruits has now opened the door for those wanting to pursue their dream of being a police officer in the best police force in the country.

“We’ve seen an increase in applications and now is the time. Now is the time to join and be a part of the blue family that protects your community.”

Chris Minns must denounce MUA

Today in Question Time, Police Minister Yasmin Catley refused to condemn the Sydney Branch of the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) for their active promotion of, and involvement in, last night’s blockade at Port Botany.

After last night’s blockade, the Sydney Branch of the MUA boasted on Facebook that the:
“Palestinian community had closed access to the Israeli-owned Zim vessel in Port Botany”.

The MUA celebrated and promoted illegal activity.

The MUA is an affiliated union of the NSW Labor Party, and in 2020-21 donated $30,498.28 to Labor. In her inaugural speech, In her inaugural speech to Parliament, Yasmin Catley said:
“The Maritime Union of Australia—whom I proudly call my friends—have had a significant influence in shaping my beliefs”.

Given the prospect of the MUA promoting blockades again and Yasmin Catley refusing to condemn their actions, Chris Minns must send a clear message to the MUA that this behaviour won’t be tolerated.

If Chris Minns is serious about calling out unlawful protests, he needs to call out his union mates.

If he fails to do so, it will be another example of Labor’s union mates calling the shots and running the Minns Government.

Labor betrays coastal communities

A Labor-dominated Parliamentary Committee has recommended the voting down a Bill that would protect NSW coastal communities from offshore drilling for gas and oil.

The Opposition’s Minerals Legislation Amendment (Offshore Drilling and Associated Infrastructure Prohibition) Bill 2023 would effectively stop projects like PEP-11 by preventing any development associated with gas drilling, such as pipelines, through the seabed in NSW coastal waters.

Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said this was looking like another broken Minns Labor Government promise.

“Before the election, Labor repeatedly said that they were opposed to PEP-11 and would ban it,” Mr Speakman said. “But now that they have the opportunity to protect our environment from offshore drilling risks, they decide to vote it down.”

Shadow Environment Minister Kellie Sloane, the sole Coalition committee member, said it’s clear the Minns Labor Government never had any intention of supporting the Bill.

“Labor MPs up and down the NSW coast promised their communities they would fight against PEP-11, but when the opportunity came they chose politics over people and the environment.”

“This is a betrayal of coastal communities who expressed significant opposition to these offshore gas and oil projects in NSW,” said Ms Sloane.

“The Minns Labor Government is using the excuse of an entirely hypothetical future fight with the Albanese Labor Government to vote against this important Bill that would have given our coastal communities certainty.”

Member for Pittwater Rory Amon, who introduced the Opposition’s Private Members Bill, said Northern Beaches locals can’t trust Labor when it comes to our precious coastline.

“Labor has long campaigned against offshore gas and oil, while continuing to play pure politics and referring the Bill to a partisan committee for a Government stitch up. Labor’s committee now recommends the Bill be dumped.”

“This move by the Minns Labor Government is effectively a green-light for offshore gas and oil rigs off Pittwater. Together with our coastal communities we will continue to fight this.”

The Housing Crisis

Economist Chris Richardson, during his appearance on ABC’s program Q&A, stated that immigration is exacerbating the housing market’s troubles in Australia. One Nation has consistently argued that the housing crisis stems from excessive immigration without the parallel construction of new homes—a point frequently raised by the party.

Richardson acknowledged a connection, noting that Australia’s mismanagement of housing over the past four decades suggests a need to reconsider immigration policies. “For 40 years, we’ve transformed housing into a source of anguish, marking a profound national failure,” he asserted.

Whenever there’s support for the call to reduce immigration, One Nation feels compelled to share this development widely.

Richardson’s remarks came with a caveat: “Ideally, I’d prefer not to limit migration, but our colossal national mishandling means we must temporarily address immigration as part of the solution.”

The discussion with Richardson honed in on establishing a condition (perhaps legally) between immigration and housing availability.

One Nation’s stance is to address the backlog in housing demand before contemplating a rise in immigration. Furthermore, the party maintains that the economy should be able to finance and establish the infrastructure necessary to support housing people, including educational institutions, hospitals, and law enforcement. Additionally, One Nation says that Australia should achieve full employment before considering an increase in immigration levels.

ICAC heads to the Hunter as rural and regional outreach program returns

The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) will visit the Hunter and Central Coast regions next week when it resumes it rural and regional outreach program to bring anti-corruption initiatives and training to centres across the state.

The visit, to be based in Newcastle and the Central Coast, marks the first time the program has been conducted since it was put on hold in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This will also be the first outreach visit for the Commission’s current Chief Commissioner, the Hon John Hatzistergos AM, who said he is very keen to see this important initiative resume.

“The Rural and Regional Outreach program is an important way for the Commission to connect with public officials and communities outside the metropolitan area, in a way that is more personable than remotely tuning in to workshops and talks,” Chief Commissioner Hatzistergos said.

“While we are, of course, now in an age when having that remote connectivity is very important and a way of life, I believe that the experience of sharing information in person is invaluable. The Commission will conduct workshops as part of this visit to help state and local government agencies learn the latest ways to prevent corrupt conduct. We will also be conducting activities to help raise awareness in the broader community about corruption risks and the roles and functions of the ICAC, and as part of that I am looking forward to hosting my first Community Leaders Forum in Newcastle next Tuesday morning.”

The community leaders’ forum on 28 November will feature a panel discussion with Chief Commissioner Hatzistergos, NSW Ombudsman Paul Miller PSM and Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) Chief Commissioner Peter Johnson SC. The agency leaders will discuss the roles of their organisations, and how the community can contribute to helping oversight agencies fulfil their functions.

Workshops scheduled for this visit include corruption prevention for managers, which focuses on developing an understanding of the nature of corruption, how and why it occurs, and what managers can do to prevent it; fact-finder, which is an introductory workshop for those who may be required to conduct an internal fact-finding investigation into a complaint or allegations of staff wrongdoing, including misconduct or corruption; corruption prevention in procurement and contract management, which aims to assist managers and staff responsible for procurement to identify where systems weaknesses and corruption opportunities may lie; corruption prevention and grant administration; and corruption prevention for Local Aboriginal Land Councils.

The NSW Ombudsman is responsible for promoting public awareness and understanding of the Public Interest Disclosures Act 2022 (“the PID Act”) which came into effect last month. The Ombudsman’s Office will conduct workshops that will provide an outline of the new PID Act, focusing on the importance of a “speak up” culture as well as the key elements of the new public interest disclosure framework in NSW.

The Ombudsman’s office will also hold workshops on managing unreasonable conduct by a complainant, fundamentals of complains handling and administrative law in the public sector.

Approximately 70 people will attend the community leaders’ forum, including elected representatives and senior staff from local and state government agencies and community interest groups.

The Outreach program will run for two weeks, with workshops and visits to be held or undertaken in locations including Newcastle, Raymond Terrace, Swansea, Williamtown, Speers Point, Muswellbrook, Maitland, Scone, Singleton, Gosford and Wyong. In the lead-up to the program next week, school visits were undertaken last month in Newcastle, Hamilton, Erina, Erina Heights and Fletcher.

The ICAC rural and regional outreach program has proved highly successful since its inception in 2001. Previous visits have included to the Illawarra, western NSW, the south-east, the central west, the north coast, the northern inland, the south coast, the far west, Riverina Murray and the Blue Mountains. The Commission’s rural and regional outreach program was scheduled to visit the Hunter and Central Coast in 2020, but it was put on hold due to the pandemic. The last visit to the region was to the Central Coast in 2011, and Newcastle in 2008.

GREENS CALL FOR GREATER AMBITION IN CLOSING PUBLIC SCHOOL FUNDING GAP

The Greens have backed Australian Education Union calls for Commonwealth, states and territories to close the public school funding gap, but have called for greater ambition and urgency.

A new report shows the public system will continue to be underfunded by $6 billion a year under current agreements. The AEU has called for full funding to all public schools by 2028, but the Greens say funding should be delivered at the start of the next National School Reform Agreement (NSRA), in January 2025.

A recent Greens-commissioned poll found that almost two-thirds of Australian parents believe the public school system is underfunded, while half of all private school parents would move their children to a public school if the system was properly funded.

Greens Education (Primary & Secondary) spokesperson, Senator Penny Allman-Payne said:

“A free and high-quality public education should be a bedrock of any thriving democracy, not a nice-to-have that’s conditional on who’s in government or which way the political winds are blowing.

“The 2011 Gonski reforms were held up as the solution to end funding inequities in the school system, but it was undermined by Labor from the start, which capitulated to the Catholic and Independent school sectors, and further eroded under a decade of Coalition rule.

“Declining student engagement, teacher shortages, falling scores, school can’t, disruption in the classroom – these are all directly linked to the fact that teachers do not have the resources and support they require to give kids the attention and care they need.

“Public schools have been underfunded for decades. Why should students, parents, carers and teachers wait another five years for the bare minimum resources they deserve?

“With the new NSRA due next year, and Labor in power federally and in every mainland state and territory, this is the perfect opportunity to end decades of decline and fully fund the public education system.

“Labor must deliver 100% funding to all public schools at the start of the next NSRA in January 2025.”

STATEMENT ON OPTUS CEO RESIGNATION

Senator Sarah Hanson-Young is Chair of the Senate Inquiry into the Optus outage and Greens spokesperson for communications:

“I’d like to thank the former CEO of Optus for fronting up in person to the Senate Inquiry last week to answer questions.

“This was never about which individual is CEO, this is about ensuring millions of Australians have access to what is an essential service; including the ability to call 000 in an emergency, access government services, contact loved ones, and make and take essential payments.

“The Senate Inquiry will continue to focus on solutions, including stronger regulations for telecommunications companies, so that in the evident of outages and network failures the community can have confidence that their public interests and safety is protected.”

LABOR NOW HAS A CLEAR CHOICE ON PRRT

The Liberals’ list of demands to pass the government’s PRRT reforms makes Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ choice even more stark, the Greens say.

Greens Economic Justice Spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said:

“Labor’s choice is now abundantly clear: work with the Greens and deliver fairer tax returns from gas corporations and more budget revenue, or work with the Liberals to cut a sweetheart deal for the gas cartel.”

“The Liberals’ demands would require Labor to squib on the agreement they made with the Greens on the Safeguard mechanism, and wind back critical consultation mechanisms with First Nations people.”

“The Liberals demanding such an outrageous deal for their gas cartel mates is simply taking the piss, and Mr Chalmers must hold the line.”

“The Liberals’ proposed changes would put industry interests over the public good.”

“The gas industry has paid barely any tax on billions of profits for years. It’s time that they paid more tax and the Greens stand ready to work withMr Chalmers to deliver that.”

Greens portfolio holder for First Nations, Resources, Trade, Tourism and Sport, and Yamatji Noongar woman, Senator Dorinda Cox said:

“The Liberals new demands on the PRRT reforms show they are in bed with the gas cartel and hell bent on giving companies who pay very little tax, more power to continue environmental and cultural destruction.

“Any talk about ‘restarting offshore gas investment’ and ‘overhauling assessment regulations’ needs to be seen for what it is – an attempt to boost the gas cartel’s profits and destroy cultural heritage and rights of First Nations people.

“The cultural and environmental impacts of the gas industry must be considered, and we have seen several Federal Court cases lead to injunctions, all with similar themes that ‘consultation’ must include the relevant people who will be affected by the project and hold the stories for land and sea country; this also means free, prior and informed consent has been obtained.

“Governments are cosying up with the mates in the fossil fuel industry hatching this plan, aided by the Coalition wringing their hands and salivating for a new deal to pass this legislation. We see this at a state level in WA, and at a federal level too, and clearly the Liberals are singing from the same ‘State Capture’ songbook.”

Visit to India for second 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial consultations

This week the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles and Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong will travel to India to meet with their ministerial counterparts and attend the second India–Australia 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in New Delhi.

The Australia–India relationship has never been more consequential. We are working together through our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, as Quad partners and beyond to promote a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.

The 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue is a cornerstone of our relationship and an opportunity to progress our work together to shape the type of region we want.

Ministers will advance cooperation on our shared regional interests, including in defence, security, renewable energy and technology. They will also discuss deepening trade and investment ties.

The Deputy Prime Minister will represent the Australian Government at the ICC World Cup on Sunday evening, where Australia will take on India in the final.

Deputy Prime Minister Marles will also meet his counterpart, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, to discuss ways to continue driving forward the Australia–India defence relationship and discuss the shared challenges facing our region.

Foreign Minister Wong will meet with her counterpart Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar for the long-standing annual Australia–India Foreign Ministers’ Framework Dialogue.

The Deputy Prime Minister will then travel to the United Arab Emirates to meet with his ministerial counterparts between 21 and 22 November.

This is the first visit to the region by an Australian Defence Minister in five years and the first visit by the Deputy Prime Minister. This sends an important signal that Australia remains committed to Middle East stability. Australia supports the ongoing efforts of international partners, including the UAE, to prevent the Hamas-Israel conflict from spreading.

The Australian Government is sincerely grateful for the UAE’s assistance as we undertook assisted-departure flights for Australians affected by the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and for the UAE’s ongoing support in hosting Australian Defence Force personnel.

While in the UAE, the Deputy Prime Minister will have the honour of meeting with the President of the United Arab Emirates, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The UAE is Australia’s most significant regional defence partner, and largest trade and investment partner with two-way trade valued at $9.2 billion in 2022.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, the Hon Richard Marles MP said:

“India is a top-tier security partner for Australia and our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership is one of practical, tangible actions that directly benefit the Indo-Pacific region.
“This year has seen a number of firsts in our defence relationship, including an Indian submarine visit to Perth and Australia’s hosting of Exercise Malabar, demonstrating the growing closeness of our defence and security partnership.
“Our cooperation with India is at the heart of Australia’s approach to ensuring the Indo-Pacific remains open, inclusive and resilient.
“Australia remains committed to maintaining our close bilateral defence and economic relationship with the UAE through dialogues, training and industry cooperation.”

Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Hon Penny Wong said:

“The India–Australia partnership is central to the stability and prosperity of our shared region.
“Along with our deepening defence and security cooperation, Australia is committed to partnering with India more closely for the benefit of our region, in the Indian Ocean, in Southeast Asia and in the Pacific.”

Green light at the start of the tunnel: Western Harbour Tunnel stage 2 dig underway

A 100 tonne roadheader begins cutting through Sydney sandstone this morning, marking the start of tunnelling on the second stage of the Western Harbour Tunnel.

Weighing as much as 27 adult African elephants, the roadheader has commenced its journey from Cammeray excavating south towards the Warringah Freeway and onwards towards the harbour at Waverton.

The Western Harbour Tunnel project will create almost 7000 jobs and eventually take traffic pressure off the Sydney Harbour Bridge and tunnel by linking the Warringah Freeway with the soon to open Rozelle Interchange.

It will save drivers up to 20 minutes between North Sydney and Sydney Olympic Park or Leichhardt.

The roadheader will cut through 1000 tonnes of rock a day, excavating a distance of 20 to 25 metres per week before a tunnel boring machine takes over to tunnel under the harbour.

Over the course of construction of stage 2 of the Western Harbour Tunnel, 10 roadheaders will be used.

Through the hard work of more than 800 workers involved in stage 2 to date, 23,000 tonnes of material has already been excavated and over 1482 cubic metres of concrete poured in preparation for tunnelling.

Western Harbour Tunnel is a 6.5km tunnel, which will provide motorists a seamless connection from Warringah Freeway at North Sydney to the Rozelle Interchange, making it easier, faster and safer to get around Sydney.

As the first new road crossing of the harbour in over 30 years, Western Harbour Tunnel will deliver time-saving benefits to motorists, easing traffic on some of Sydney’s key arterial roads.

The tunnel’s twin 3-lane motorways are expected to reduce traffic on the Western Distributor by 35%, the harbour tunnel by 20% and the harbour bridge by 17%.

Stage 1, which is already underway, involves creating the 1.7km southern section of the tunnel from Rozelle to Birchgrove and is expected to be complete in 2025.

Stage 2 includes construction of the northern end of the tunnel, connections to the Warringah Freeway, tunnelling underneath Sydney Harbour and the complete tunnel fit out and is expected to take approximately 5 years.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said:

“This is a milestone for the Western Harbour Tunnel project.

“This project will deliver almost 7000 jobs.

“Building this road, we will help ease congestion for drivers who use the harbour bridge, harbour tunnel, Anzac Bridge or Western Distributor.

“We’ll be keeping this important road in public hands.”

Minister for Roads John Graham said:

“The start of tunnelling at Cammeray is a major milestone for this project, bringing motorists a step closer to benefiting from Sydney’s third harbour crossing.

“The new Western Harbour Tunnel will provide time-saving benefits not only for those connecting to the Rozelle Interchange, but for motorists across Sydney’s wider road network.

“Once completed, the Western Harbour Tunnel is a critical part of the NSW Government’s plan to bring traffic relief to arterial roads in the Inner West, where we know that we will have traffic issues along the Western Distributor and Victoria Road.”