NSW GOVERNMENT FORTNIGHTLY UPDATE – 22 JANUARY 2018

WOMEN LEAD SURGE IN JOBS GROWTH IN NSW

• A surge in the number of women entering the workforce has helped drive employment growth in NSW to its highest level in almost two years.
• The latest ABS Labour Force figures show female employment in NSW has climbed 5 per cent over the past year, more than double the 10-year average rate. The data shows women accounted for around 63 per cent of the state’s total annual jobs growth to December 2017.
• Female employment increased by 87,900 over the year to December, while full-time employment growth among women climbed 7 per cent.
• Meanwhile, NSW notched up the lowest unemployment rate in the nation for a 31st straight month, entrenching its position as the jobs capital of Australia.

400 PROJECTS CLOSER TO FULL TRANSPORT ACCESIBILITY

• New lifts at Narwee Station mark the completion of 400 NSW Government projects to make transport infrastructure more safe, modern and accessible.
• This significant milestone for station upgrades, delivered seven months ahead of schedule, shows the NSW Government’s commitment to making public transport accessible for all customers.
• Since its launch in 2011, this Government has invested more than $1 billion in the Transport Access Program.
• This has delivered accessibility upgrades at an extra 45 stations and 15 ferry wharves. We have also created 6,000 new car parking spaces and upgraded more than 40 interchanges.

NEW HOME BUILDING SCHEME COMES INTO EFFECT

• Changes to the NSW Home Building Compensation (HBC) scheme commenced on 1 January 2018 and will enable private insurers to enter the market and improve protections for homeowners against incomplete and defective work.
• All builders are required to take out cover under the HBC scheme for residential building projects costing over $20,000. Each year on average, the scheme accepts liability for 613 claims, and pays out $82.8 million.
• This insurance provides a vital safety net for homeowners in the event a builder cannot complete residential building work or fix defects, due to insolvency, death, disappearance or licence suspension.
• The changes follow extensive consultation. For further information visit sira.nsw.gov.au. 

$1.6M INVESTMENT INTO CRASHLAB TO PROMOTE SAFER VEHICLES

• The NSW Government has announced increased funding for Crashlab to enhance local crash test capability to assist with independent testing of autonomous vehicle safety technologies.
• This investment comes in addition to the recent upgrade of crash test equipment and acquisition of new, more sophisticated dummies, catering for the broadened ANCAP safety rating program in place from 1 January 2018.
• The NSW Government is a founding member of ANCAP and through the Roads and Maritime Services’ Crashlab test facility, contributes to the ongoing testing and assessment of vehicle safety encouraging vital vehicle safety improvements.

GREEN SLIP REFUND CHEQUES IN THE POST

• 100,000 business customers, including taxi owners, will be the first to receive their CTP Green Slip refunds this week, with cheques going out from today.
• Individual policy holders will be able to access their refunds online through Service NSW in the coming months. Sydney drivers, who pay the highest Green Slip prices, will see the largest refunds, at an average of $70 and country drivers will be $30 better off.
• The new CTP scheme is delivering significant savings for motorists. The average Sydney Green Slip price this year will be $553 down from $710 last year.
• For further information on the new scheme and refunds visit sira.nsw.gov.au

TOUGH ACTION AGAINST DRUG AFFECTED DRIVERS

• The NSW Government will crack down on drug drivers by strengthening laws and boosting roadside drug testing.
• It has become clear that more action is needed to boost road safety after 392 people lost their lives on NSW roads in 2017. Preliminary data shows that drug affected drivers were a major contributing factor in 36 fatal accidents in the first half of 2017, resulting in 42 deaths
• The measures announced include:
  • Doubling the number of roadside drug tests from 100,000 a year to 200,000 a year by 2020;
  • Adding cocaine to the list of drugs subject to roadside testing;
  • Increasing maximum penalties for drug drivers to two years imprisonment, fines of $5,500 and/or licence disqualification for up to five years, equivalent to high range drink driving; and
  • Providing for appropriate restrictions on people who drive after using other drugs, in consultation with health experts.
• The measures announced today come on top of NSW Government action to more than double high visibility policing on our roads, introduce half price licences for safe drivers and establish the Community Road Safety Fund into which all speed camera revenue is directed to be invested on road safety initiatives.

OVER 300 ENROLLED NURSE SCHOLARSHIPS OFFERED

• The NSW Government is urging school leavers and anyone looking for a career change to consider applying for one of more than 300 NSW Government scholarships to study nursing.
• Scholarship applications are open until 13 February 2018. The Diploma of Nursing program commences in TAFEs and Registered Training Organisations from March 2018 at various locations across NSW.
• Upon course completion and registration, scholarship recipients will be offered a job as an Enrolled Nurse in a NSW Health facility (subject to standard recruitment processes).
• For more information and how to apply, visit health.nsw.gov.au/enrollednurse

DRONE SAVES TWO SWIMMERS’ LIVES AT LENNOX

• Drone technology funded by the NSW Government has saved the lives of two swimmers at Lennox Head.
• In December 2017, the NSW Government announced it would invest $430,000 in drone technology as part of a trial on the North Coast of NSW.
• Vision captured by the drone shows the Pod expanding, allowing both swimmers to reach it and grab hold of the device to help them stay afloat. Both swimmers were able to use the pod to make their way to shore, where they were met by lifeguards from Lennox Head who had raced to the scene.

NSW SUICIDE PREVENTION TRIAL AN AUSTRALIAN FIRST

• For the first time in Australia pulse monitoring devices will be trialled as a suicide prevention tool in a mental health unit, following a $300,314 investment by the NSW Government.
• The trial will begin early this year, led by the Black Dog Institute and Hunter New England Local Health District.
• The device provides 24-hour monitoring of patients at risk of suicide by observing their blood oxygen levels. If vital signs change or the patient removes the device staff will be alerted.

HELPING KOALAS COPE WITH SUMMER

• The first results of a new program to help koalas cope with soaring summer temperatures are proving a real hit with local wildlife.
• The six stations called “Blinky Drinkers” after the much loved ‘Blinky Bill’ cartoon character were designed by local farmer Robert Frend and set up to give Gunnedah’s threatened koalas a helping hand with hydration
• The program is funded by the NSW Government’s Saving our Species (SoS) program through a collaboration with University of Sydney, local landholders and a landcare group.

$17 MILLION AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC RESERVES

• The NSW Government has announced $17 million will be available in the next round of the Government’s Public Reserves Management Fund program.
• The program supports a wide range of activities that help maintain, protect and improve Crown reserves.
• The Government funded 440 projects under the last round of the program. During that round, $2.5 million went towards improvements for 38 showgrounds, $5.85 million was for 98 local parks and reserves projects, and programs to tackle feral pests and weeds received almost $1.75 million.
• Applications for the 2018/19 Public Reserves Management Fund Program will open Monday 5 February and close Friday 9 March 2018.

FORENSIC MEDICINE AND CORONER’S COURT ON TRACK

• Construction of the $91.5 million Forensic Medicine and Coroner’s Court is on track, with a Topping Out ceremony today marking the 21st Century complex reaching its highest point.
• The complex is on track to open in 2019 and will deliver additional coronial services, courtrooms and vastly improved technology.
• The development is a partnership between NSW Health and NSW Justice, with Health Infrastructure taking the lead in delivery of the facility.

STATE’S POPPY CROP SET TO DOUBLE IN 2018

• The first alkaloid poppy crops grown in NSW have now been harvested and were so successful that production is expected to more than double this year.
• Six farms across the Riverina and Central West took part in growing the first NSW poppy crops.
• Opiate-based medications, derived from processed alkaloid poppies, have a wide range of uses, including pain relief, palliative care and anti-addiction medications.
• Australia currently supplies more than 50% of the world’s opiate market. There are only eight companies worldwide that process poppies for opiate manufacturing  and three of them are based here in Australia.

CENTRAL WALK GETS THE GO-AHEAD

• Work starts this year on the landmark Central Walk underground pedestrian link at Central Station following planning approval for the new customer concourse
• Central Walk will cater for that growth, providing new entrances and easier interchanges for everyone. It will help make Central a place to travel to, not just travel through.
• Central Walk will better connect customers to trains, buses, light rail and the new Sydney Metro.
• The main features of Central Walk include:
  • A 19-metre wide tunnel from Chalmers Street, linking to new metro platforms under Central;
  • New, easy access points to Sydney Trains platforms 16 to 23;
  • Escalators directly to suburban platforms for the first time.