More than 70 trainees are set to enter the construction sector following the NSW Government Traineeship program, as application open for the next round.
The two-year traineeship program is a collaboration between NSW Government infrastructure agencies and industry partners, offering Year 12 school leavers a rounded experience in the infrastructure sector.
Trainees run through three rotations of eight months each with government agencies, contractors and consultant organisations. The trainees are now entering their third and final work rotation with a majority of them pursuing a future career in the infrastructure sector.
Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell said that 78 trainees from the 2021 intake are set to graduate in early 2023 and will leave with a diverse knowledge in areas of Business, Project Management, Practice and Procurement and Contracting.
“The program has been a great success so far and attracted trainees from all backgrounds from across the state,” Ms Mitchell said.
“The program expands the benefits of the NSW Government’s ongoing investment in infrastructure, opening up fantastic careers in the sector for our young people.
“The success of the program led to the opportunity being extended to school leavers again in 2021 and I am excited to say that we will offer new amazing opportunities for 2022 school leavers with applications now open for the program starting in February next year.”
Sapphira Chu from Campsie was part of the inaugural cohort of the NSW Infrastructure Traineeship program. Sapphira is studying a double degree at UNSW, and recently secured employment in the industry.
“I’m now in my last third of the program and working with construction company UrbanCore.
“I started out with School Infrastructure NSW and my favourite thing was collaborating with a range of consultants and see how a variety of perspectives, whether that be the analytical outlook from an engineer or the contemporary vision of an architect, joined together to work towards an end result – a new school for the community.”
Hayley Lennon from Grafton began her traineeship on a Transport for NSW project in early 2021, followed by eight months with a global business specialising in the delivery of public services. Hayley is now finishing the trainee program with Lipman.
“I signed up for the traineeship because I wanted to move into project management and now I would definitely encourage others to apply.
“This traineeship sets workers up for success while they are being educated on the skills of the job and learning how to apply them at work. I have learnt how to adapt to many different work environments and how to be a time efficient worker.”
Applications are now open for the 2023 Infrastructure Traineeship and 2022 high school leavers are encouraged to apply.
For more information, please visit: www.apprenticeshipcareers.com.au/infrastructure-traineeships.
New $6 million fund to accelerate synthetic biology and biomanufacturing capability
The NSW Government is investing $6 million in a new synthetic biology and biomanufacturing development program, designed to improve access to manufacturing and production facilities and equipment across the State.
Synthetic biology and biomanufacturing involves the design and manufacture of new and existing living systems to make products with applications in areas including biofuels, food production, manufacturing, environmental protection and healthcare.
Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology Alister Henskens said the NSW Government is calling for applications from universities, research organisations, industry and consortiums for infrastructure and programs to support the scale-up and commercialisation of synthetic biology and biomanufacturing products.
“The NSW Government’s 20-Year R&D Roadmap identified Synthetic Biology and Biomanufacturing as an area of comparative advantage for NSW,” Mr Henskens said.
“This program will attract applications with enormous potential to grow our economy, create jobs, turbocharge industries and secure a brighter future for NSW.”
NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte said the program will support shared synthetic biology and biomanufacturing research infrastructure, facilities and programs to enable research translation and small-scale manufacturing involving collaboration between university and industry groups.
“There is opportunity for NSW, with its leading researchers and technologies, to become a major global player in this dynamic space,” Professor Durrant-Whyte said.
“By 2025, the global economic impact of synthetic biology in the biofuels, chemicals, agriculture and healthcare sectors is expected to reach up to US$1.6 trillion.”
The Emerging Industry Infrastructure Fund (EIIF) will support the new program and applications close Thursday 20 October 2022. More information on the fund and eligibility can be found at www.chiefscientist.nsw.gov.au/synthetic-biology-and-biomanufacturing.
New safe haven for vulnerable women in East Gosford
A disused aged care facility in East Gosford has been transformed into a 14-room transitional housing facility for displaced older women under an innovative partnership between the NSW government, Pacific Link Housing and Women’s Community Shelters.
Minister for Women’s Safety and the Prevention of Domestic and Sexual Violence Natalie Ward said the vacant site had been given a new lease of life while providing much needed housing for vulnerable older women.
“Rather than remaining vacant and unused, this site has been transformed into a new facility that will provide wrap-around support for women aged 55-years and older who are escaping domestic and family violence or who are at risk of homelessness,” Mrs Ward said.
Minister for Families and Communities Natasha Maclaren-Jones said this facility will provide transitional accommodation for women for up to 36 months while more permanent housing was being secured for the occupants.
“This initiative is a great example of how unused private buildings can be put to good use to benefit vulnerable people at risk of homelessness and provide DFV escapees with a safe place to heal as they begin to rebuild their lives,” Mrs Maclaren-Jones said.
The NSW Government provided $300,000 to develop the facility as part of the Domestic and Family Violence National Partnership Agreement 2021-23.
Spearheaded by the Sydney based Women’s Community Shelters (WCS), the partnership agreement allows for the premises to be used as a women’s shelter for up to three years.
WCS COO Simone Parsons said there is a high number of older women experiencing homelessness and at risk of homelessness in NSW.
“Affordable and stable housing is important to help women re-establish their lives post violence, especially for older women,” Ms Parsons said.
“Through this partnership additional housing is being supplied. WCS will also provide residents with case management support and coordinate community engagement and wellbeing activities as well on-site support services.”
Pacific Link CEO Ian Lynch said his organisation was proud to partner with like-minded organisations who were willing to take an innovative approach to support women escaping domestic and family violence.
“Now that refurbishment work is complete, the first group of new tenants are readying to move in,” he said. “Each tenant will receive their own refurbished studio apartment and the site has also been fitted out with communal lounges, kitchens, laundry facilities and gardens.”
For confidential advice, support and referrals, contact: 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732), The NSW Domestic Violence Line (1800 65 64 63) or Men’s Referral Service (1300 766 491).
Sourcing the minerals and metals of the future
Applications are now open for the first round of a new fund set to turbocharge the critical minerals and high-tech metals sector and position regional NSW as a major global supplier.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW Paul Toole said the Critical Minerals and High-Tech Metals Activation Fund would help diversify and accelerate mining projects in regional NSW.
Mr Toole said the State is rich in critical minerals and high-tech metals, such as rare earths, cobalt, copper, antimony, and scandium, which are crucial to a range of emerging technologies including the defence space, the manufacture of electric vehicles, solar panels, and wind turbines.
“The NSW Government is investing more than $130 million towards the growth and future of the mining sector and I’m pleased to announce applications are now open for the first stream of this Fund,” Mr Toole said.
“It will help deliver a diverse, vibrant, investment-ready industry, ensuring NSW is ready to meet the rapidly expanding global market and giving a vital economic boost to our regional economies.
“To give projects the best possible start, grants of up to $500,000 will support key studies, research and development, such as feasibility studies, mine re-use processing studies, metallurgical testing and infrastructure, water, and environmental studies.”
Grants will be awarded through a competitive process and successful applicants will be required to provide a funding co-contribution.
For further information on the Critical Minerals and High-Tech Metals Activation Fund, including program guidelines and eligibility criteria, go to regional.nsw.gov.au/activation-fund.
Woman reported missing from Maitland area located
A woman missing from the Lower Hunter Valley area has been found safe and well.
The 41-year-old was last seen in the Maitland area in late August 2022.
Officers from Brisbane Water Police District were notified of her disappearance by family members on Sunday 4 September 2022, after they were unable to contact her.
Following inquiries, the woman was found safe and well at Darling Harbour about 4pm yesterday (Monday 5 September 2022).
Thank you to everyone who shared our appeal.
LGBTIQ HATE CRIMES INQUIRY APPEALS TO PUBLIC FOR INFORMATION
The Special Commission of Inquiry into LGBTIQ hate crimes in NSW is calling for the public’s help as it scrutinises dozens of deaths in the state between 1970 and 2010.
Led by the Honourable Justice John Sackar, the Special Commission is inquiring into all the unsolved deaths, that may have been hate crimes, of LGBTIQ people (or people assumed to be LGBTIQ) in that 40-year period. The early 1980s to the mid-1990s, in particular, saw significant numbers of such cases.
NSW Police Force in a report by Strike Force Parrabell in 2018, and by a Standing Committee of the NSW Parliament in two reports issued in 2019 and 2021. As well as looking into those cases, the Special Commission is also assessing many other unsolved deaths and missing persons cases over the same period, in order to cast more light on a dark period for LGBTIQ people in this state.
So far, the team of dedicated barristers, solicitors and investigators has obtained, and is analysing, well over 100,000 documents drawn from 40 years of police files, coroners’ files, and other sources.
Peter Gray SC is Senior Counsel Assisting the Inquiry. He says it is critical for both family members and friends of the victims, and members of the public generally, to come forward if they have any information which might help.
“Any recollections or pieces of information that you might have, however major or minor, could provide a vital link in understanding what happened. In some cases, it may ultimately lead to arrests and prosecutions.”
“Justice in these cases has been long-delayed, and long-awaited. This may be the last chance for the truth about some of these historical deaths to be exposed. We need to hear from you.”
Mr Gray says the Inquiry also represents a vital opportunity for those who were actually involved in, or saw, events that resulted in the death of an LGBTIQ person a long time ago.
“If you have had something weighing on your mind for years about these things, now is your chance to do something to make some amends. Now is the time to break your silence,” he says.
Launched by the NSW government in April 2022, the Special Commission of Inquiry has extensive powers to undertake its work, including the authority to compel witnesses to give evidence, to compel the production of documents, and to hold both public and private hearings.
It is expected that the first public hearings will take place in October-November 2022, and that there will be further hearings in 2023. Justice Sackar is required to deliver a final report to the Governor on or before 30 June 2023.
Information can be provided (anonymously or confidentially if you prefer) either:
- on the Special Commission website;
- by emailing contact@specialcommission.nsw.gov.au;
or:
- by writing to The Special Commission of Inquiry into LGBTIQ Hate Crimes, GPO Box 5341, Sydney NSW 2001.
Seeking support
The following services provide counselling for LGBTIQ community members who have experienced violence, as well as friends and loved ones:
AIDS Council of NSW (ACON)
Ph: (02) 9206 2000
acon.org.au/mentalhealth
QLife
Ph: 1800 184 527
qlife.org.au
Lifeline
Ph: 13 14 11
lifeline.org.au
Restoring lutruwita/Tasmania’s oceans on the political agenda in Canberra
The Greens have today succeeded in gaining support from all sides of politics to initiate a long overdue Senate inquiry into the spread of invasive long-spined sea urchins that are ravaging lutruwita/Tasmania and Victoria’s coastlines and fisheries.
The inquiry will look into how to restore critical habitat such as lutruwita/Tasmania’s giant kelp forests which have been lost to urchins and other pressures.
Greens spokesperson for healthy oceans and Senator for lutruwita/Tasmania, Peter Whish-Wilson said:
“I moved for this inquiry because invasive NSW long-spined sea urchins have been range-shifting down our east coast with climate change over recent decades, decimating marine ecosystems and fisheries in their wake, yet virtually nothing has been done by the federal government to research, manage or mitigate this risk.
“It’s predicted that lutruwita/Tasmania has already lost 30 percent of its productive east coast reefs to the spread of invasive long-spined sea urchins, with entire swathes of critical habitat made totally barren of the biodiversity that is critical to our marine life and fisheries.
“Scientific modelling predicts that by 2050 half of lutruwita/Tasmania’s reefs will be gone if we don’t take immediate action on climate change mitigation and adaptation measures.
“There is much we can do to restore our vanishing marine forests and other habitats, but the good work already underway urgently needs federal government assistance.
“The Great Barrier Reef receives billions of dollars in federal funding to help restore its much degraded ecosystems, but its sister to the south – the Great Southern Reef – gets next to no funding.
“Both recreational and commercial fishing groups have been calling for federal government intervention on this critical problem. This inquiry will give these groups a chance to be heard, as well as hear from scientific, First Nations and other stakeholders about what can be done.”
School art competition to uncover creative visions for Newcastle’s sustainable waste future
City of Newcastle is inviting school students to share their visions for a circular economy as part of an art competition launched today to promote sustainability and resource recovery.
The winning entries will be showcased on two waste collection trucks and numerous public bins across the city, with the art competition designed to encourage conversations around repairing, recycling and reusing resources.
Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the community will soon be given the opportunity to have their say on City of Newcastle’s own vision for resource recovery, with Councillors to vote this month on placing the draft Our Sustainable Waste Strategy on public exhibition.
“With the Summerhill Waste Management Centre at its heart, Our Sustainable Waste Strategy will provide a model of best practice for waste, recycling and resource recovery while also playing a key role in the region’s ability to address future NSW and Federal government targets,” Cr Nelmes said.
“The draft Strategy focusses on increased diversion and circular economy, envisaging a modernised Summerhill that will become a regional hub in resource recovery to maximise the value of material in residents’ yellow and green bins and decrease what ends up in landfill via their red bins.
“To reduce our impact on the planet, and get more value from limited resources, we need to shift to a circular economy where we return, reuse, repair and recycle to create minimal waste, save water and energy and keep those materials circulating for even longer.
“This school-based art competition is a fantastic way to engage the next generation in these important conversations while also encouraging broader community-wide feedback on Our Sustainable Waste Strategy.”
The competition is open to all schools within the Newcastle Local Government Area, with one primary and one secondary school winner to be awarded an iPad Mini and Apple Pencil each for their creative efforts.
All schools represented in the competition will also be in the running to win a workshop from GoCircular, which will assist the school to become more sustainable by joining the circular economy.
The competition closes on 23 September, with the two winners to be announced later this month.
For more details visit www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/ClosetheLoop
A brighter future for transport in NSW
Travel in New South Wales will be quicker, more convenient and safer as part of the Future Transport Strategy unveiled by the NSW Government today.
The Strategy includes a vision to create connected 30-minute cities and convenient 15-minute neighbourhoods, starting with the piloting of Future Transport Hubs in Parramatta, Chatswood, Wollongong and Coffs Harbour that will provide commuters with a one-stop-shop for a range of essential services.
Premier Dominic Perrottet said this is a blueprint to continuously evolve our transport system to service the changing needs of commuters, communities and our economy into the future.
“This strategy sets out a new vision for transport in our growing and changing state,” Mr Perrottet said.
“This is about ensuring our transport network will be fit-for-purpose into the future and gives people more choice, shorter wait times and quicker trips.
“We are laying the foundations for our future transport network now so we can keep building a brighter future for the people of NSW.
“We all have busy lives and this is a vision to make it easier and more convenient for people to move about entire state whether it be in a city or in the regions.
Minister for Infrastructure, Cities and Active Transport Rob Stokes said the Future Transport Strategy shapes our future planning, investment, delivery and operations to give people more choice, greater access and better places.
“Train stations shouldn’t just be for trains, roads shouldn’t just be for cars, they are places for people and our whole transport network should adapt to our citizens various and changing needs,” Mr Stokes said.
“We understand people lead busy lives which is why we’re piloting convenient one-stop-shops for all your services at transport hubs by harnessing developments in data and technology.
“The pandemic has seen demand for walking and cycling infrastructure soar, and outdoor spaces valued more than ever. Our vision for 15 minute neighbourhoods will also improve health and wellbeing outcomes, and ensure local communities thrive.”
Minister for Transport, Veterans and Western Sydney David Elliott said the Future Transport Strategy will keep focussing on environmentally responsible operations while continuing to deliver world-class transport for the people of NSW.
“Transport continues to be a significant contributor to our economy as NSW grows to become Australia’s first trillion-dollar State, powered by nation-leading projects including Sydney Metro and Fast Rail,” Mr Elliott said.
“Australia’s clean transport vision is also important, with our train network now running on 100 per cent renewables and the rollout of zero emission buses across the State.”
To read more: https://future.transport.nsw.gov.au/.
Book a check up this Women’s Health Week
Women are being reminded to book important health check-ups to take care of their physical and mental health during Women’s Health Week (5-11 September).
Minister for Women, Minister for Regional Health and Minister for Mental Health Bronnie Taylor said women may have delayed or avoided appointments during the COVID-19 pandemic, but they should now take the time to focus on their health and wellbeing.
“We know women have been under greater stress during the pandemic, with increased pressures on their work, home and social life potentially taking a toll on their mental and physical health,” Mrs Taylor said.
“Women need to make their health a priority this Women’s Health Week as delaying routine check-ups may cause what was initially a minor health concern to develop into a more serious issue.”
NSW Health provides a range of services and programs targeted to addressing the health needs of women including cervical and breast cancer screening, fertility treatments, menopause support and mental health services.
“Women who are overdue for a cervical or breast cancer screening are urged to book an appointment as soon as possible as these tests are the best way to detect the early signs of cancer, which could save your life,” Mrs Taylor said.
BreastScreen NSW recommends mammograms for women aged 50-74. You can book an appointment by calling 13 20 50 or visiting the website. Women aged under 40 who have a family history of breast cancer should talk to their GP.
Mrs Taylor said women should also prioritise their mental health and wellbeing by accessing mental health support if they suffer from depression, anxiety or suicidal thoughts.
“Good mental health is essential to your overall health and wellbeing. Staying well is also important for women who may be struggling with infertility, pregnancy, motherhood or menopause,” Mrs Taylor said.
Women’s Health Week is an annual national event, run by not-for-profit organisation Jean Hailes for Women’s Health.
CEO of Jean Hailes for Women’s Health Janet Michelmore said there are more than 400 events happening around NSW and over 2,300 events throughout Australia as part of the campaign.
“This week encourages women to check in on their health and is also a reminder that it’s ok to put themselves first,” Ms Michelmore said.
Visit www.womenshealthweek for events near you.
If you need to talk to someone immediately, the Mental Health Line is available 24/7 on 1800 011 511. You can also find other mental health support and services for women on the NSW Health website.
As part of the 2022-23 Budget, the NSW Government announced a number of new initiatives to support women’s health, including:
- $80 million to improve affordability and access to fertility treatments, including a cash rebate of up to $2,000 for around 12,000 women accessing private fertility clinics.
- $40 million to establish 16 menopause services across NSW to support women with the management of severe or prolonged symptoms.