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The countdown to Vivid Sydney 2023 has officially begun, with today marking 100 days until the festival’s Lights On moment at 6pm on Friday 26 May.

Celebrating creativity, innovation and technology, Australia’s largest festival will dazzle and delight audiences for 23 days and nights across four pillars this year – Vivid Light, Vivid Music, Vivid Ideas and the brand new Vivid Food.

Minister for Tourism Ben Franklin said Vivid Sydney was one of Australia’s best events and a vital economic driver for NSW during the winter months.

“Vivid Sydney is NSW’s biggest annual event and makes a vital social and economic contribution to our state. From our creative industries to entertainment and hospitality venues, accommodation and retailers, it supports and creates jobs across the NSW economy,” Mr Franklin. 

“Last year Vivid Sydney was attended by over 2.5 million people and injected $119 million into the NSW economy. With internationals borders fully reopening, we’re anticipating this year’s festival to be our biggest and best yet.

“Vivid Sydney 2023 promises to be a significant driver for domestic and international visitors to travel to NSW and attend Australia’s brightest event and immerse themselves in our city.”

This year’s creative direction, ‘Vivid Sydney, Naturally,’ has been inspired by our connection to the natural environment and will be brought to life via a kaleidoscope of colourful light projections and activations, plus free and ticketed events. 

Vivid Sydney Festival Director Gill Minervini said this year’s festival would raise the bar even higher than past events with festival-firsts, world-firsts and once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

“We are proud to have curated an impressive collection of local and international artists and food creatives to provide Vivid Sydney audiences with new and exciting experiences,” Ms Minervini said.

“We have expanded and evolved the festival further this year and have curated an amazing line-up for 2023. The festival offering includes some significant new and Vivid-first experiences, as well as Vivid Food to deliver world-class culinary talent, events and activations as part of the program.”

A preview into some of the Vivid Sydney 2023 highlights includes:

· The Vivid Sydney Light Walk will return in 2023, with more than 49 light installations and 3D projections along the 8km illuminated walk

· The internationally acclaimed, multi-sensory experience of light, colour and sounds, Lightscape, will transform The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney for the first time at Vivid Sydney

· First Nations artist Maree Clarke’s Barerarerungar will be projected on the Museum of Contemporary Art

· Internationally renowned Jen Lewin’s The Last Ocean will enthral audiences following its 2022 debut at Burning Man

· Brand new festival pillar Vivid Food will activate across venues in Sydney’s CBD showcasing a variety of creativity, innovation and culinary experiences, from pop up restaurants to haute cuisine celebrating the city’s vibrant and diverse food culture

Vivid Sydney 2023 will illuminate and energise various locations throughout the city, including Circular Quay, The Rocks, Barangaroo, Darling Harbour, The Goods Line, Central Station and Sydney icons such as the Sydney Opera House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Museum of Contemporary Art and more.

Vivid Sydney is proudly owned, managed and produced by Destination NSW, the NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency. The complete program for Vivid Sydney 2023 will be announced in mid-March. For more information, and to keep updated on the program, visit vividsydney.com

Liberal candidate for South Coast Luke Sikora has welcomed the Government’s announcement that women and girls hitting the golf course at Mollymook will benefit from new bathroom amenities thanks to the $25 million Female Friendly Sport Facilities and Lighting Upgrades Program.

“These are important upgrades for women and girls playing golf at Mollymook,” Mr Sikora said.

“Women’s sport on the South Coast is incredibly popular and having new amenities makes sport even more appealing. These investments are only possible because of the long term economic plan setout by the Perrottet Team who can deliver infrastructure projects.”

Minister for Sport Alister Henskens said Mollymook Golf Club will receive more than $236,000 to build new bathroom amenities on course at both its Hilltop and Beachside courses.

“Women’s sport is booming in NSW and this program will deliver the facilities women and girls need and deserve,” Mr Henskens said.  

“This groundbreaking program will level the playing field by improving facilities that for decades have been predominately used by men, but now cater for a growing number of women’s and girls’ sporting teams.”

Since 2017 the NSW Liberal and Nationals Government has committed more than $1 billion to deliver new and upgraded community sport facilities.

Member for South Coast Shelley Hancock said the facility is used by the football community throughout the year and this investment would help to boost female participation by providing a safer environment for women and girls.

“Community sport is a vital part of our social fabric and some of the biggest barriers faced by women and girls are the lack of female change rooms and amenities, as well as adequate lighting,” Mrs Hancock said. 

“When women and girls feel comfortable they are more likely to stick with their chosen sport. This funding boost to upgrade the bathrooms will mean more women can play golf on the South Coast.” 

More information about the program is available online. 

Liberal candidate for Parramatta, Katie Mullens, has welcomed every public school classroom across Western Sydney being air-conditioned as part of an additional $130 million investment from the WestInvest fund.

“The Cooler Classrooms Program means a big win for students in Parramatta,” Ms Mullens said.

“A more comfortable classroom means a more comfortable learning experience for students. These air conditioners will continue the Perrottet Liberal Government’s commitment to upgrading our schools in Parramatta.”        

Schools in Parramatta benefitting from this initiative are:

• Bayanami Public School
• Cumberland High School
• James Ruse Agricultural High School
• Telopea Public School
• Yates Avenue Public School

The additional 84 public schools will receive air-conditioning as part of the $5 billion WestInvest program, with more than 3,500 classrooms across 301 public schools in Western Sydney to be air-conditioned.

This builds on the 1,000 public schools across NSW already receiving cooler classrooms, thanks to the NSW Liberal and Nationals Government program introduced in 2018.

Premier Dominic Perrottet said the investment would ensure students in public schools across Western Sydney would enjoy fully air-conditioned classrooms improving the learning environments for both students and teachers.

“This WestInvest boost finishes the job of installing air-conditioning in our Western Sydney schools as part of the Cooler Classrooms Program,” Mr Perrottet said.

“We are making the investments that matter for our growing communities in Western Sydney, helping prepare our children for the future as part of the largest investment in public education infrastructure in the history of our State.

“Only the NSW Liberal and Nationals can deliver modern schools and classrooms for our kids because we have the long term economic plan to fund these vital projects.”

Minister for Education and Early Leaning Sarah Mitchell said the funding was thanks to the NSW Liberal and Nationals Government’s $5 billion WestInvest program, which is securing the best quality of life for the people of Western Sydney – one of the youngest, fastest-growing and most diverse populations in the nation.

“So far through our Cooler Classroom Program we’ve delivered air-conditioning to more than 7,500 learning spaces and 491 libraries,” Ms Mitchell said.  

“It’s fantastic news that this additional funding boost will support Western Sydney students and that they will all soon have to access to more comfortable learning spaces in the summer and winter.

“It’s all thanks to the NSW Liberals and Nationals, investing in every aspect of our public schools. From fresh paint to air-conditioning and security fencing to accessibility works, this Government understands the importance of maintaining and upgrading our schools.” 

Where feasible, solar PV systems and battery storage technology is also being installed to offset energy usage. More than 210 systems have been installed with a further 460 underway.  

The NSW Government is investing $8.6 billion in school infrastructure over the next four years, continuing its program to deliver 160 new and upgraded schools to support communities across NSW. This builds on the more than $9.1 billion invested in projects delivered since 2017, creating a total $17.7 billion investment in public education infrastructure.

The number of Electric Vehicle (EV) chargers will soar to 30,000 across the State by 2026 under a re-elected NSW Liberal and Nationals Government.

The NSW Liberals and Nationals will fast track the rollout of its public and private EV charging plans by:

· Reforming strata laws to make it easier for people living in apartments to charge their EV

· Installing EV chargers throughout NSW transport hubs including commuter carparks and train, bus and ferry stations

· Streamlining planning laws to accelerate the construction of chargers in public places like on power poles and parking meters

Treasurer Matt Kean said with more than one million EVs expected to hit NSW roads by 2030, the Government is already investing $209 million to ensure a comprehensive world-class charging network across NSW.

“We want all drivers to be able to recharge whenever and wherever they need to, whether it’s on a road trip, commuting to work or at home,” Mr Kean said.

Minister for Planning and Homes Anthony Roberts said that the Liberal and Nationals Government is only days away from streamlining planning laws to make it easier to install EV chargers in public places like on power poles and parking meters.

“We know that 30 per cent of drivers can’t access off-street parking and will rely on public chargers, which is why we are cutting red tape to roll them out even faster,” Mr Roberts said. 

Minister for Fair Trading Victor Dominello said a re-elected Liberal and Nationals Government will work closely with stakeholders on developing “Right to Charge” strata reforms, meaning where apartment owners are willing to pay the cost and comply with strict safety requirements, their requests to install EV chargers cannot be unreasonably refused.

“These reforms will make it as easy as possible for people living in one of the 84,000 apartment buildings in NSW to install a charger, without passing on unfair costs to other residents,” Mr Dominello said.

Minister for Transport, Veterans and Western Sydney David Elliott said the Government was set to roll out EV chargers in transport hubs across our train, bus and ferry network.  

“Commuter carparks are a great option for EV drivers to recharge while at work, making sure they can hit the road fully charged by the end of the day,” Mr Elliott said.  

Switching to an EV can save motorists about $1,000 in running costs each year. There are currently about 1,000 public chargers in NSW.  

The 30,000 EV chargers will be more than twice the number of existing petrol pumps in NSW.

These reforms build on the NSW Government’s nation leading Electric Vehicle Strategy, ranked equal 1^st in the country, which includes:

· $209 million for EV charging infrastructure

· No stamp duty on EVs under $78,000

· $3,000 rebates for EVs under $68,750

· Transitioning the State’s entire 8,000 plus bus fleet to zero emissions

· Allowing EVs to drive in transit lanes

Sites for the first stage of the transport hubs EV chargers:

· Barclay Road (North Rocks) commuter carpark

· Beverly Hills commuter carpark

· Emu Plains commuter carpark

· Revesby commuter carpark

· Riverwood commuter carpark

· St Marys commuter carpark

· Warwick Farm commuter carpark

· West Ryde commuter carpark

A re-elected Liberal and Nationals Government will transform Western Sydney by expanding the world-class Sydney Metro to connect greater Sydney to the new Western Sydney Airport

The Government today announced it would kick off the process of delivering four new metro lines in Western Sydney by undertaking the final business cases for the new routes, which include:

· Tallawong to St Marys

· Westmead to the Aerotropolis

· Bankstown to Glenfield via Liverpool; and

· Macarthur to the Aerotropolis

Premier Dominic Perrottet said this major expansion will deliver the missing links in the Sydney Metro network, transforming Western Sydney with around 100km of new track.

“Sydney Metro is Australia’s biggest public transport project and is already re-shaping this city and transforming how we move around,” Mr Perrottet said.

“These new lines will complete the missing links in the metro network in the west and connect our city like never before in what will be a major win for the people of Western Sydney, providing them with even better transport services.

“We are future-proofing the transport needs of our city, to ensure people can travel quickly and safely while also supporting thousands of jobs, additional housing and access to services across region.

“Our long term economic plan is delivering major rail projects for the future and will support communities as they grow.”

Minister for Infrastructure, Cities and Active Transport Rob Stokes said the Liberals and Nationals were turning paddocks into a thriving city around the future airport. 

“Our cities will be shaped by world-leading infrastructure, connecting people to jobs, students to educational institutions and Western Sydney to the world,” Mr Stokes said.  

“Our ambition is to complete the Metro network that we started when we first came to government. The first step is a coordinated strategic business case to determine which link needs to start first. This will set up a pipeline of projects to power the productivity of Western Sydney.”

“By starting this work now, we’re putting the Aerotropolis on a strong footing to be one of the most accessible cities in Australia for people on bikes, cars, planes or trains – connected to a new airport, active transport network and world-class metros and motorways.”

Minister for Transport, Veterans and Western Sydney David Elliott said the completion of the metro in Western Sydney would provide critical transport connections for commuters across Western Sydney and deliver improved access into the Sydney CBD.

“The population of this State is expected to grow by 42 per cent to 11.5 million by 2061, increasing the demand for easy, reliable, turn-up and go services for statewide transport connectivity,” Mr Elliott said.

“This is why it is critical we plan for the future and have the vision to deliver the transport connections where they are needed to ensure people can move conveniently and seamlessly from one side of Sydney to the other.”

The proposed new Sydney Metro lines will include (approximately):

· Tallawong to St Marys – 20 kilometres of track and six or seven potential station locations along the route.

· Westmead to the Aerotropolis – 37 kilometres of track and six or eight potential station locations along the route.

· Bankstown to Glenfield – 20 kilometres of track, with the number of stations to be determined.

· Macarthur to the Aerotropolis – 23 kilometres of track and six to seven potential station locations along the route.

A business case is already underway for a new metro line between Glenfield and the Aerotropolis.

The proposed new lines will be integrated with the broader Sydney Metro network, which includes:

· Sydney Metro North West – completed in May 2019.

· Sydney Metro City and South West – services from Chatswood to Sydenham to commence in 2024, then to Bankstown within 12 months.

· Sydney Metro West – on track to be completed by 2030.

· Sydney Metro Western Sydney Airport – The Australian and NSW Governments are working together to deliver this project alongside the opening of Western Sydney International Airport in 2026.