State water to stay in public hands
Sydney Water and Hunter Water have been protected from privatisation following an amendment to NSW’s Constitution Act.
Celebrating the milestone, Premier Chris Minns said the change meant the two corporations, and their main undertakings, would remain in public ownership by ensuring the entities could not be sold or disposed of.
“The new provisions of the act prevent governments from selling off Sydney Water and Hunter Water,” Mr Minns said.
“Only an Act of Parliament will be able to undo the privatisation protections.”
Information on the move can be accessed in this PS News article.
RFS Air Tanker off for USA
For a third year in a row the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) has sent its 737 Large Air Tanker (LAT), the ‘Marie Bashir’, to the United States of America to assist U.S. agencies during the country’s wildfire season.
RFS Commissioner Rob Rogers said the RFS 737 LAT would be on an initial deployment of just over three months, and available to return at short notice if need arose in NSW.
“While we wish our crew a safe journey and all the best for the work they will be doing, we also wish US agencies and firefighters all the best and our thoughts are with those communities impacted,” Commissioner Rogers said.
Opera House’s hidden tours
The Sydney Opera House is launching a new intimate tour in celebration of its 50th anniversary.
Chief Customer Officer at the House, Jade McKellar said the Hidden House tour had been specially curated to open up more of the Opera House to locals and visitors, exploring never-before-seen areas of Australia’s most recognised building.
Ms McKellar said the tour, running from June to October, would journey into back-of-house spaces including the Concert Hall’s world-famous organ, its follow-spot lighting room and the Joan Sutherland Theatre’s backstage lift.
Information on the tours can be accessed at this PS News link.
NPWS buys up koala habitat
Thousands of hectares of bushland containing koala-preferred habitat near Port Macquarie is to be protected forever following its purchase by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).
Celebrating the purchase, Minister for Environment and Heritage, Penny Sharpe said the 4,500-hectare property occupied a critical position between four existing NPWS reserves and between two known koala populations at Comboyne and South Kempsey.
“Connecting these reserves will safeguard the health and resilience of the habitat and secure safe corridors for koalas to move through the landscape,” Ms Sharpe said
“The property is already home to between 30 and 60 koalas.”
Violence victims in housing
The Treasury is to expand the Shared Equity Home Buyer Helper program to include access for victim survivors of domestic and family violence.
A taskforce will be established, which will include Domestic Violence NSW, Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, Jodie Harrison and Treasurer, Daniel Mookhey.
The taskforce will explore ways to improve housing outcomes for domestic violence victim survivors and will also determine eligibility criteria for the expansion of the Shared Equity Home Buyer Helper program, to be finalised in the coming weeks.
Recommendations from the taskforce will be considered as part of the process leading up to the 2023-24 State Budget, to be handed down on 19 September.
Pokies to be banned from politics
NSW clubs with poker machines are to be banned from donating to State political parties, with legislation introduced to add them to the list of ‘prohibited donors’.
Introducing the Electoral Funding Amendment (Registered Clubs) Bill 2023, Special Minister of State, John Graham said the Bill would extend the prohibited donors definition to include registered clubs if the business undertaken by the club included wagering, betting or other gambling, regardless of their profit-making status.
“Currently, the Electoral Funding Act 2018 makes it unlawful for a prohibited donor to make a political donation and for a person to accept a political donation made by a prohibited donor,” Mr Graham said.
“Prohibited donors include property developers, tobacco industry business entities and liquor or gambling industry business entities.”
NSW Budget due for September
The NSW Government is to hand down the 2023-24 Budget on Tuesday 19 September 2023.
Announcing the date, Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said the Budget faced significant pressures and risks, which would be considered through the Budget process alongside other Government priorities.
“A Comprehensive Expenditure Review, led by Minister for Finance Courtney Houssos, is underway to assist the Government in delivering its priorities and managing budget pressures,” Mr Mookhey said.
“A Strategic Infrastructure Review of significant capital works, led by Ken Kanofski and supported by Infrastructure NSW and NSW Treasury, is also being carried out to inform the Budget.”
Locals to meet firies
Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) is opening the doors to its fire stations across the State on Saturday (13 May), inviting communities to meet their local firefighters and learn about home fire safety.
Issuing the open invitation, FRNSW said fire stations would be open from 10am to 2pm, offering a range of free activities, firefighting demonstrations, station tours and safety presentations.
“Families will also be able to check out fire trucks, learn about firefighting equipment and chat to local firefighters about the critical work they do to keep communities safe,” FRNSW said.
Information on the open day can be accessed at this PS News link.
LGBTIQ hates get more time
A two-month extension of the Special Commission of Inquiry into LGBTIQ hate crimes has been granted following a request from Commissioner, John Sackar.
Announcing the extension, Premier Chris Minns said the Inquiry had been tasked with inquiring into the manner and cause of death in all cases that remain unsolved from the 88 deaths or suspected deaths of men potentially motivated by gay hate bias that were considered by Strike Force Parrabell.
Mr Minns said the Inquiry’s reporting date had been extended from 30 June to 30 August this year.
Information on the Inquiry can be accessed at this PS News link.
Historic railway for facelift
Dubbo’s historic railway station is to receive a facelift to deliver a safer, more accessible and modern facility for all rail passengers.
Minister for Regional Transport and Roads, Jenny Aitchison said the upgrade would make accessing the station easier for people living with a disability or limited mobility, parents and carers with prams, and customers with luggage.
“The final design features upgrades to existing paths around the station precinct, a new accessible kiss and ride zone and improved amenities including ambulant toilets,” Ms Aitchison said.
“There will also be modifications to the waiting room and ticket counter to make using the station more comfortable and convenient, new tactile indicators along the platform and improvements to lighting and wayfinding.”
Illawarra bikes tracking along
The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is inviting the Illawarra and mountain biking community to have their say on the second stage of the planned Illawarra Escarpment Mountain Bike Network.
Director at NPWS, Kane Weeks said the draft Review of Environmental Factors (REF) for the Balgownie network was now on public exhibition and open for comment until 26 May.
“The draft REF outlines how we will strike the balance between recreation and conservation,” Mr Weeks said.
NPWS’s draft REF can be accessed at this PS News link.
Flu season for vaccine
NSW Health is urging the community to book in for their influenza vaccine with the State’s flu season now underway, with the latest data indicating influenza notifications have continued to increase.
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said now was the time to book in for the annual influenza vaccine.
“Everyone six months and older is recommended to get a flu vaccine and these are available through GPs for any age group, as well as through pharmacies for everyone aged five years and over,” Dr Chant said.
“In particular, we want to remind priority groups that the flu vaccine is free and readily available – so please, book in today to give yourself the best possible protection from severe illness that can be brought on by influenza.”
HSC exam times locked
The NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) has unveiled the 2023 HSC timetable, with written exams to kick off on 11 October.
Chief Executive of NESA, Paul Martin said planning the HSC exam timetable was a momentous task to ensure every student had an opportunity to show what they know.
“Each year, NESA works hard to ensure that the timetable for HSC students is as fair and equitable as possible, so everyone has the opportunity to prepare and do their best in the written exams,” Mr Martin said.
He said HSC written exams would start on 11 October with English Paper 1 and finish on 3 November with Food Technology.
Information on the 2023 HSC timetable can be accessed at this PS News link.
IPART seeks feedback on water price hike
The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) is calling for feedback on a proposed increase to desalinated water prices in Greater Sydney.
IPART Tribunal Member, Sandra Gamble said the Tribunal’s draft report, open for feedback until 12 May, proposed an increase of 1.5 per cent from 1 July this year.
“Given that the cost of SDP’s services makes up less than 10 per cent of a typical Sydney Water customer bill, our draft decisions would result in a small increase of around $2 per year in a typical bill,” Ms Gamble said.
IPART’s 179-page Draft Report can be accessed at this PS News link.