Following the Prime Minister of Australia’s announcement that Australia will provide defensive military assistance to Ukraine, a Royal Australian Air Force C-17A Globemaster III departed RAAF Base Richmond for Europe on 2 March 2022, carrying critical military equipment and medical supplies.
Australia will join other allies and partners to help the people of Ukraine to defend their nation, following Russia’s senseless and illegal invasion of Ukraine sovereignty.
Firefighters and police remain at the scene of a major building fire near the Newcastle CBD.
About 2.35pm yesterday (Tuesday 1 March 2022), emergency services were called to a storage facility on Annie Street, Wickham, after reports of a large building fire.
Upon arrival, more than 100 firefighters from Fire and Rescue NSW spent several hours battling the blaze within two buildings.
As of today (Wednesday 2 March 2022), the fire has been contained, however it’s estimated fire crews could be at the site for a number of days continuing to extinguish hot spots.
Officers from Newcastle City Police District and the Traffic and Highway Patrol Command attended and established an exclusion zone, with residents and businesses from several neighbouring streets evacuated as a precaution.
The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA), Public Works Advisory and a licensed asbestos assessor are on-site to investigate the potential risk of asbestos. Air monitoring will be implemented in the area to provide the community with assurance.
Residents from Robert Street are now permitted to return to their homes, with police, Fire and Rescue NSW HAZMAT crews and EPA officers currently assessing and cleaning Milford Street – with the intention residents should be able to return to their homes this evening.
A key control mechanism for asbestos is to dampen the material and the rain has assisted this process. Damp asbestos materials release far fewer asbestos fibres into the air. The community should stay away from any suspected asbestos material.
The EPA are interested in reports from the community in relation to potential asbestos from the fire and encourage the public to report any suspected asbestos they may encounter in the area to EPA’s Environment Line on 131 555 or at info@epa.nsw.gov.au.
A public meeting and information session for affected residents and businesses will be held tonight (Wednesday 2 March 2022) at 7pm at the Goodlife Church in Albert Street, Wickham.
Detectives have established Strike Force Lynette to investigate the circumstances surrounding the fire. Anyone with information which may assist investigators is urged to come forward.
Amidst devastating floods over east and growing calls for climate action, the Greens are urging Perth Festival, WA Youth Orchestra, and WA Symphony Orchestra to end their sponsorships with Woodside and Chevron and for the WA State Government to provide supplementary funding while new sponsors are secured.
Australian Greens Senator for WA, Dorinda Cox said:
“It’s deeply disappointing that the Perth Festival – an event that is a huge highlight in our arts calendar – is being sponsored by companies like Woodside that profit from the destruction of our climate.”
“It’s not acceptable that this event is being sponsored by one of the nation’s biggest fossil fuel polluters. Woodside is drilling and blasting our oceans and with risky seismic surveys, and has plans for the development of the Scarborough Gas Project – the biggest carbon bomb in our nation’s history. They shouldn’t get the opportunity to ‘greenwash’ and normalise their activities.
“Well done to those Perth Festival artists who have called this out, alongside Greenpeace Australia and 350 Perth and many others. We must keep fighting to change the corrupt political systems that continue to support exploring and burning fossil fuels for greed, a system that is cooking our planet and our oceans. We need everyone to stop these greedy corporations using opportunities to justify and elevate their dangerous activities.”
The Greens (WA) spokesperson for Climate Change, Dr Brad Pettitt MLC said:
“Woodside and Chevron alone are responsible for 14% of Australia’s total Scope 1 emissions and over a third of WA’s total annual emissions. As one of the largest exporters of LNG in the world and the only state in Australia with rising emissions, WA’s inaction will very literally have global implications.
“Just last night the IPCC released their 6th Assessment Report and it’s unequivocal: the climate delay and ‘smouldering dumpster fire of business as usual’ that governments like the McGowan and Morrison ones insist on is going to cost billions of people a livable future. This is far greater than politics now; our actions in the next 8 years will impact generations.
“From flooding in Queensland and New South Wales to heatwaves and bushfires in WA, the catastrophic effects of climate change are playing out in our backyards right now.
“If we want any chance of mitigating the worst of climate change, we need to put an end to the influence that gas companies like Chevron and Woodside have had in our communities and politics for too long.
“We have all the technologies we need to address climate change, we just need different politicians. I want to be a part of the generation that acted for future generations while we still could, don’t you?
More than 35 allied health students each year will undertake placements and hands-on training in Katherine health clinics thanks to a grant from the Federal Coalition Government.
The new program will increase local access to occupational therapists, speech pathologists and social workers for patients in Katherine.
In addition to providing around 260 weeks of new placement opportunities for 36 students each year, three additional allied health clinicians and an Aboriginal allied health assistant will be employed.
Flinders University Northern Territory will receive $1.9 million in Federal funding from the Coalition Government for the Katherine Regional Collaborative Allied Health Placement Program.
Regional Health Minister, Dr David Gillespie visited the site today to meet local staff and make the announcement, that will help to improve the recruitment and retention of local allied health professionals.
“There is growing evidence that students who have a positive and rewarding extended training experience in a rural or remote area are more likely to take up rural practice upon graduation, which is what this site will help to provide for students,” Dr Gillespie said.
“A focus of the new allied health placement program will be to increase placement numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students undertaking their training in Katherine.”
Dr Gillespie said the project had strong local support. It is a partnership with Indigenous Allied Health Australia (IAHA) and two Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) — Wurli-Wurlinjang and the Katherine West Health Board (KWHB).
Dr Gillespie said the partnership with Wurli-Wurlinjang will enable the employment of speech pathology and occupational therapy supervisors to support allied health students at its clinics.
Allied Health supervisors will be employed through Flinders University to supervise final-year allied health students within local health services.
The Aboriginal allied health assistant will be employed full-time to support the students and supervisors, and assist the team to work with local schools, families, community, and the health service to improve engagement, coordination and integrated care.
The site will also support the development of a Katherine-located IAHA Health Academy, mirroring its successful Darwin model.
It will also provide a scholarship for one allied health assistant traineeship, supported through the Academy and embedded into Wurli-Wurlinjang.
The partnership with KWHB will enable a part-time social work supervisor to be employed to join the social work team. Social work students will work under supervision as part of the team.
“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students will be a priority and they will be guided by IAHA, which will mentor and support both supervisors and students on placement,” Dr Gillespie said.
“The local Katherine economy will get a boost too because along with the employment of more staff and the increase in students on placement, Flinders NT will purchase additional student accommodation and an 8-seater vehicle to transport students and supervision staff.”
Research into issues affecting older Australians has taken another step forward with the new national academic centre at Frankston Hospital – which will house the National Centre for Healthy Ageing – opening its doors today.
Through a partnership between the Government, Peninsula Health and Monash University, the academic centre will work towards transforming health service development, implementation, research and evaluation for older people, as well as those with addiction and mental health issues.
One of the key research points of the Centre will be to explore new and innovative ways to harness technology and data to help senior Australians remain independent.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt, said the Centre will deliver better ways to care for elderly Australians, with successful models then able to be rolled out nationally.
“The Frankston and Mornington Peninsula has one of the fastest ageing populations in the country,” Minister Hunt said. “It is an ideal place to explore innovative health care solutions for older people, whether it be at home or in residential aged care.”
“Our Government is pleased to partner with Monash University and Peninsula Health to make the project a reality.”
“By delivering sustainable, evidence-based, efficient models of care, it will support people with increasingly complex health conditions to live their best lives.”
The Morrison Government invested $32 million in the healthy ageing component of the Centre, delivered through the $1.25 billion Community Health and Hospitals Program.
Supported by state-of-the-art ‘living labs’ for research activities and the latest technology, the new centre will help deliver the Government’s commitment to ensuring all Australians can access quality health care, when and where they need it.
Investing in health and medical research is a key pillar of the Morrison Government’s Long Term National Health Plan. Over the next four years, we will invest more than $6.6 billion in lifesaving health and medical research.
Australians will have access to four new medicines through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) from March 1 to help fight COVID-19, chronic graft versus host disease, leukaemia and a rare blood disease called paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH).
COVID-19 Treatment
From March 1, a prescription-only COVID-19 treatment will be available on the PBS for Australians highest risk of developing severe COVID-19.
Lagevrio® (molnupiravir) is an oral anti-viral medicine which can be used by patients with mild-moderate COVID- 19 who have a high risk for developing severe disease, reducing the need for admission to hospital.
Adults who have mild to moderate COVID-19 confirmed by a PCR or RAT verified by the prescribing doctor and who can start treatment within five days of symptom onset, can be prescribed PBS-subsidised Lagevrio by their doctor if:
A PBS listing for Lagevrio means eligible Australians can access this medicine from their local community pharmacy on a prescription from their doctor.
It is important that patients continue to follow local health guidance to isolate if they test positive for COVID-19, including using telehealth to see their doctor and asking their pharmacy to arrange for Lagevrio to be delivered at home, if necessary.
Graft versus host disease
Uvadex® (methoxsalen) is being listed on the PBS for the first time for Australians with chronic graft versus host disease (cGVHD), a complication that can occur when patients undergoing cancer treatment receive transplanted stem cells from a donor.
cGVHD is a complication of allogeneic stem cell transplant, that occurs when donor bone marrow or stem cells start recognising the recipient’s body as foreign and start attacking the recipient’s body cells.
This causes damage in the body, especially to the liver, skin and gut. cGVHD can appear immediately or any time after a patient’s allogeneic transplant.
Uvadex® will be used as part of an integrated, closed system extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) service for the treatment of cGVHD.
ECP is a type of treatment which removes some of a patient’s blood using a machine. The machine separates the white blood cells—then red blood cells and plasma go back into the body.
The white blood cells are mixed with Uvadex®, then exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light and put back into the patient.
The listing of Uvadex® on the PBS will benefit around 180 Australians a year, who without subsidy could pay more than $9,200 per course of treatment.
Leukaemia
Mylotarg® (gemtuzumab ozogamicin) is also being listed for the first time for Australians with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML)
AML is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow in which the bone marrow makes immature white blood cells in high numbers. These abnormal cells crowd the bone marrow, preventing it from making normal blood cells.
AML is one of the rarer forms of cancer, accounting for 0.8 per cent of all cancers diagnosed, but it can occur at any age and is more common among adults over the age of 60.
Mylotarg® is being listed for the first time for the treatment of patients with previously untreated de novo CD33-positve AML, for use in combination with standard intensive chemotherapy.
Mylotarg® works by stopping the abnormal growth of these cells and destroying them.
The listing of Mylotarg® on the PBS will benefit around 900 Australians a year, who without subsidy may pay around $18,000 per course of treatment.
Paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria
Australians with paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH)—a condition that produces defective blood cells—will have access to a new treatment, Ultomiris® (ravulizumab).
PNH is a rare, potentially life-threatening condition in which red blood cells break apart prematurely. Symptoms occur because of the production of defective blood cells and because the bone marrow does not produce enough blood cells.
The specific symptoms and progression of the disorder vary greatly, and some individuals may have mild symptoms, which remain stable for many years; while others may have serious symptoms, which can progress to cause life-threatening complications. Blood clots are a very serious complication of PNH.
Ultomiris ® protects the red blood cells from damage and destruction by blocking the body’s inflammatory response.
Ultomiris® will be listed for the first time for patients with PNH and will benefit around 160 Australians a year, who without subsidy may pay around $550,000 per year for treatment.
At the same time, Soliris® (eculizumab), which has been available through the Life Savings Drug Program for the treatment of PNH, will move to the PBS.
This PBS listing has been recommended by the independent Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt, said the Morrison Government’s commitment to ensuring Australians can access affordable medicines, when they need them, remains rock solid.
“Instead of paying thousands of dollars to access these treatments, from March 1, Australians will pay $42.50 per script, or as little as $6.80 with a concession card,” Minister Hunt said.
“Since 2013, the Coalition Government had approved more than 2,800 new or amended listings on the PBS. This represents an average of around 30 listings or amendments per month – or one each day – at an overall investment by the Government of $14.3 billion.”
This is a strong contrast to Albanese and Labor, who when last in Government stopped listing essential medicines and treatments on the PBS.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for gale force winds, heavy rainfall, damaging surf and an abnormally high tide for the NSW Coast, which may pose risks to Newcastle’s coastline.
City of Newcastle has implemented safety precautions ahead of an east coast low forecast to build today and tomorrow.
The low-pressure system is expected to linger off the coast on Tuesday and Wednesday with potential for heavy rain, strong winds and large waves.
Surf and swell conditions are expected to be hazardous for swimming, surfing and rock fishing at all beaches and at Newcastle and Mereweather Ocean Baths during this period.
City of Newcastle will prepare and monitor its coastal facilities and assets along the Newcastle coastline including areas in Stockton which may be further impacted by coastal erosion. Please be aware that coastal erosion can change beach conditions dramatically and quickly.
City of Newcastle asks the community to follow safety warnings, to abide by all road closures and to drive safely in the forecast hazardous weather conditions.
To stay up to date on weather warnings visit the Bureau of Meteorology www.bom.gov.au and for information about any emergencies visit the State Emergency Service at www.ses.nsw.gov.au or phone 13 25 00.
Making phonics compulsory in NSW public schools is already having a positive impact on student results, according to NSW Department of Education data.
Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning, Sarah Mitchell, said analysis of the Phonics Screening check data has revealed that 57 per cent of Year 1 students were meeting or exceeding the expected target, up from 43 per cent when the check was trialled in 2020.
“These results are extremely pleasing and show the importance of the government’s reforms requiring phonics to be used to teach all students to read as part of our new English syllabus for Kindergarten to Year 2.
“The percentage of Aboriginal students that met or exceeded the expected achievement score increased from 18.4 per cent in 2020 to 29 per cent in 2021.”
“We know that early proficiency in phonics is the pre-curser to achievement in reading and writing.
“The best results in reading for our students occur when phonics is explicitly and systematically taught in Year 1 alongside other components of reading instruction.
“Therefore, phonics is a compulsory component of the teaching of reading under the K-10 English syllabus.”
Following a successful trial in 2020, the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check was made mandatory for public school students in 2021.
In 2021 the check was completed by more than 66,000 Year 1 students across 1,615 schools.
The Year 1 Phonics Screening Check includes 40 words, which consists of 20 real words and 20 pseudo words. The words are set each year to provide opportunities for students to demonstrate their ability to use their phonic knowledge to read a word.
The inclusion of pseudo words ensures that students will need to use their knowledge of letter/sound correspondences to blend through the sounds in the word to read it correctly.
The check is completed in Term 3 each year, with results immediately available for teachers.
The Department of Communities and Justice alongside partner agencies has registered more than 1,300 people impacted by the major floods that have engulfed parts of the Lismore region.
Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services Natasha Maclaren-Jones said the NSW Government was committed to ensuring people affected by the flood disaster would be supported.
“We are doing everything we can to help those who are stranded and isolated due to this devastating event,” Mrs Maclaren-Jones said.
“In partnership with Resilience NSW and non-government agencies, DCJ is working to provide emergency accommodation to people affected by floods in northern NSW.
“DCJ staff are managing and assisting agencies with evacuation centres at 10 locations across the region.
“DCJ has existing partnerships with local accommodation and support providers in this region and is working closely with these services to meet demand.
“It’s heartbreaking to see so many people being evacuated from their homes due to such severe flooding, but I want to reassure everyone that we will continue to support flood victims and work with our government and non-government partners to respond to local needs as they evolve.”
DCJ Disaster Welfare provides support to people who have been affected by floods, storms, bushfires and other emergencies.
People needing assistance due to the flood disaster should contact the State Emergency Service on 132 500 and for emergency accommodation they can contact the Link2Home hotline 24 hours a day on 1800 152 152.
The Premier’s Reading Challenge marks its 21st anniversary starting today, with children encouraged to join the party – by reading lots of books!
The Challenge aims to encourage a love of reading for leisure and pleasure in students, and to enable them to experience quality literature.
First started in 2002, the Challenge has grown in both student participation and completion numbers every year since its inception.
Premier Dominic Perrottet said despite disruptions from COVID-19 in 2021, participation in the Challenge was up almost 3 per cent (440,000 students) with individual books read reaching almost 9 million.
“It’s wonderful to see that the Challenge continues to grow, encouraging generations to enjoy reading,” Mr Perrottet said.
“The challenge encourages students to extend reading beyond the classroom where they can read for pleasure and knowledge.”
Minister for Education and Early Learning Sarah Mitchell said this year’s motto “stories that stay with you” was very suitable following the years we have had.
“Reading is so beneficial for students’ lives, it sharpens their knowledge and strengthens writing and vocabulary – but just as importantly it makes for happier, more creative kids who take that with them into adulthood,” Ms Mitchell said.
“Reading is a gift that unlocks future success for students. I’m excited for this year’s challenge to start.”
The Premier’s Reading Challenge begins on Monday, 28 February and is open for student entries until Friday, 19 August. Students from government, independent, Catholic and home schools in Kindergarten to Year 10 can participate.
See www.premiersreadingchallenge.nsw.edu.au for the rules of the competition.
