Latest news with #NSWGovernment
News.com.au
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
How Victoria is beating NSW on The Block
The flashy harbour city prides itself on its property sparkle but when it comes to the nation's top real estate reality show Sydney can't get a look in. Once again turning their backs on NSW as a location for the renovation juggernaut in favour of regional Victoria's picturesque Daylesford, The Block producers have taken its Sydney lock-out a step further in 2025 by casting no contestants from Australia's biggest city. Host Scott Cam said the absence of Sydneysiders from the 21st season was more to do with personality than geography. 'We don't always cast state by state,' he shrugs. 'It's nothing to do with being Sydneysiders. I think they're terrific. This was about wanting to cast people who were more resilient.' He was less effusive in his praise for the NSW Government, however, accusing it of not being as welcoming of the production as its southern counterpart. Only four of the 21 seasons of The Block have been made in NSW, the last of which was in 2013. Since then, The Block has called Victoria home. And will continue to do so again in 2026. 'The Government and the local councils look after us in Victoria,' Cam says. 'They don't give us any special treatment! But they appreciate what we bring to the state, and they don't want us to go to New South Wales. 'And New South Wales do not look after us. Well, they haven't in the past. They may want to now, because we bring millions and millions of dollars into the Victorian economy.' To illustrate his point, Cam says The Block had so far injected almost $8 million into the Daylesford community this season. 'Victoria understands that [The Block is good for employment and the economy],' he says. 'They don't fast track anything. We have to go through all the hoops that everyone else has to go through. But they always say, 'How can we help? How can we not make you go to New South Wales?' 'And that's honestly it. It's not any favouritism or anything like that. They just want to make sure that we're happy. Because, just like any big business, the government keeps manufacturing businesses in town for the economy, and we're just one of those.' With more than 80 people working behind the scenes, Block co-host Shelley Craft says it makes sense to keep the show in Victoria where 'so many of the crew live. 'So, it's very easy for them to still have home lives while they are working on a show that runs 24 hours a day.' Likewise, Craft said Victoria offered 'such a wonderful diverse range of landscapes and suburbs and areas that showcase different lifestyles.'
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Dad's desperate plea to find son who vanished 20 years ago after never arriving at work
The then 32-year-old was reported missing when he failed to show up to work on the morning of July 21 2005. A body has never been located and the circumstances remain unknown The dad of a man who went missing 20 years ago has issued an emotional plea as police renew an appeal for information into his disappearance two decades on. Simon Knight was 32 when he was last seen at a Crown Street hotel on the morning of July 21, 2005, and was reported missing later that day after he did not arrive for his shift at a café in Newtown. At the time there were few clues leading detectives to what happened to the aspiring chef. Despite extensive investigations at the time, and over the years, Simon, from Redfern, has never been found with a second coronial inquest in 2015 finding it was likely Simon had died. However, a body has never been located and the circumstances are unknown. Detectives from South Sydney Police Area Command are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding Mr Knight's disappearance under Strike Force Glenlea. In November 2020, a NSW Government reward was increased to $250,000 for information into Simon's disappearance. At the time of his disappearance, Simon was described as being of Caucasian appearance, 183cm tall, with blue eyes, a fair complexion, red hair and facial hair. When he was last seen, it is believed he was wearing a dark green T-shirt and blue jeans. Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism, Yasmin Catley said that despite the passage of time, Simon's family needed answers. She said: 'Losing a loved one is devastating, but the not knowing makes the loss so much harder. 'Today we appeal to anyone who might have the smallest piece of information, which can help police bring answers about Simon's disappearance for the Knight family." South Sydney Police Area Commander, Acting Superintendent Christopher Hill said police believe there is someone out there that knows something about Simon's disappearance. Mr Hill said: 'To support this search for answers, anyone who may have held onto information since Simon's disappearance, is urged to come forward. 'We are keen to speak with anyone who lived or frequented Crown and Oxford streets, Surry Hills, in July 2005, particularly if they knew Simon and have not yet spoken to police. Any piece of new information – no matter how seemingly insignificant – could be the key to solve this case and help provide much-needed answers to Simon's family about what happened to him.' Simon's father, Bob Knight said although it has now been 20 years since Simon's disappearance, our family are very grateful to the police for their assistance and the work they have done to find out what happened to Simon. He said: 'Our family are still waiting, hoping one day we will get answers and closure. So please if you know anything, please get in touch with the police or Crime Stoppers.' The $250,000 reward is available for information leading to the discovery of Simon Knight's whereabouts or disclosing the circumstances of his disappearance.
Time Out
2 days ago
- Business
- Time Out
Big news for Western Sydney's commuters: Bankstown's metro station is almost complete
Residents of Sydney's West, your commute is about to get a whole lot easier. After closing its gates back in October 2024, Bankstown Station is almost ready to re-open—this time, as a super-speedy metro line. The Bankstown to Sydenham train line conversion was initially estimated to take just over twelve months, with the opening date slated for late 2025. After what Transport for NSW described as a 'complex and difficult project' (with industrial action impacting the timeline), it was confirmed that the Sydenham to Bankstown metro extension won't be open until 2026. Now, we've got good news – with the NSW Government today announcing that Bankstown Metro Station (which will become the first major metro-train interchange in South West Sydney) has entered 'the final straight to completion.' According to the NSW Government, work on Bankstown Station is now 80 per cent complete – with new metro platforms lined by 36 safety screen doors installed, and the station on track (pardon the pun) to open in 2026. The work has involved rebuilding the 115-year-old former train station to create an interchange connecting the metro and train networks, with installation of a huge paved concourse and 170 metres of metro platforms. Work on the 90-metre plaza (complete with shops and cafés) that will provide a pedestrian connection between the north and south sides of Bankstown is due to begin soon. Once operational, metro services will run from Bankstown every four minutes at peak times, connecting Sydneysiders to the CBD in less than 30 minutes. Though times have been tough for commuters in Sydney's West and Inner West over the past few months (literally nobody likes a rail replacement bus, even if they're free), the metro will be a major improvement on the previous train services. Previously, peak times saw only eight trains per hour, but once the metro line opens, 15 metro services will run every hour during peak times. The journey into the city will also become a whole lot quicker, zipping passengers from Bankstown to Central in 28 minutes (saving six minutes), from Bankstown to Gadigal in 30 minutes (saving 15 minutes), and from Bankstown to Chatswood in 43 minutes (saving 25 minutes). While the station is 80 per cent complete, there's still a lot of work to be done, with a whole lot of testing still to be completed along the line. You can learn more and keep up to date on the project here.
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
NSW minister Ryan Park used ministerial car for 456km trip from Sydney to Jindabyne during ski season
The New South Wales health minister, Ryan Park, used a ministerial car and driver for a 456km journey from Sydney to Jindabyne in August last year. The trip to the Snowy Mountains on Thursday 29 August 2024 was made at the height of the ski season, during the final weeks of the Interschools ski races, in which Park's son was a competitor. The trip between NSW Parliament House in Macquarie Street and Jindabyne was listed in ministerial car logs released under an order for papers earlier in April. The minister's son attended a high school in the Snowy Mountains at the time of the trip. An earlier release of travel logs in March, reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, revealed Park made two trips to Thredbo in November and December of the same year, using a ministerial driver to take him to the resort town to meet his family. Ministerial cars could be used for private purposes under the rules in place until February this year. The logs do not record how Park returned from Jindabyne in August. They show a NSW government car was used on 30 August in Park's Keira electorate, which covers Wollongong, and another car was used for 'document delivery' from parliament to the minister's house in Corrimal, in Wollongong's north. Park's ministerial diaries suggest he held two meetings on 29 August at his ministerial office or Parliament House. But an analysis of the diaries, social media and press releases do not show any formal events in Jindabyne on 29 or 30 August. Ministerial diaries are limited in scope and generally disclose only third-party meetings. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email On 29 August Park issued a press release apologising for birth trauma suffered by women which had been highlighted by a parliamentary inquiry – but he did not hold a media event on that issue. On 30 August, he was quoted in a press release about a new breast screening service in Maitland, but social media photos of the event do not show him there. Asked about the trip, Park did not provide any explanation or details of business conducted. The minister also took a trip in a ministerial car from Albury to Jindabyne – a distance of more than 250km – on 6 September 2023, returning home to Corrimal on 7 September. Park's social media posts on 8 September that year show him having visited Jindabyne ambulance station and Jindabyne HealthOne – a NSW government-funded health hub – with the member for Monaro, Steve Whan. Park said in relation to this trip: 'In September 2023, I attended ministerial business in Jindabyne. 'These trips were in accordance with the rules at the time, and I've always followed the relevant guidelines. 'We inherited guidelines for ministerial driver use that had too many grey areas. 'But we accept those guidelines needed to be tightened, and the Premier has since changed those guidelines.' In February this year, Jo Haylen resigned as transport minister after it was revealed she had used her ministerial car and driver to take her and some friends to lunch at a vineyard in the Hunter Valley and back on the Australia Day long weekend. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion That involved a 13-hour 446km round trip for the driver from Sydney to Haylen's holiday house at Caves Beach, and then to a Hunter Valley winery and back. Haylen admitted the winery lunch trip failed the 'pub test', although it was within the rules as they were then. Haylen subsequently admitted she had taken another trip to the Hunter Valley with her husband using a ministerial car in 2024. The premier, Chris Minns, said in February he had discussed the 2024 trip with Haylen before she resigned and while 'there was work that took place, in all candour [it was] mainly over the phone and on Zoom'. 'We were both in agreement [that] it didn't justify having a driver on the day, and as a result of that, her position just wasn't tenable in the NSW cabinet. 'Work took place on the day, but certainly not extensive enough to justify having a driver.' The premier said at the time that the government would not conduct an audit of other MPs' use of ministerial cars. Cabinet had discussed the issue and Minns was not aware of any analogous circumstances, he said in February, adding he trusted his colleagues. Minns tightened the rules governing the use of drivers immediately after Haylen's resignation, banning the use of ministerial cars 'for exclusively private purposes'. The rules now say that drivers can only be used for official business. The Ministers' Office Handbook states: 'Any use of a driver for private purposes must be incidental to the discharge of the minister's official duties. 'Incidental use' includes: stopping for a private purpose while travelling to or from the workplace or other place where the minister has official business or performing minor errands that assist a Minister to perform their official duties (eg – dropping off or picking up a child from school).' In relation to the trips to Thredbo, Park told the Sydney Morning Herald in March that the trips had allowed him to 'reunite with family while undertaking work on a handful of other occasions'. Park defended the use of the ministerial cars, saying his job was '24/7' and they allowed him to 'perform my duties while commuting, whether to review briefs of correspondence, or confer with my colleagues'. In both cases, Park was joining his family for a weekend away after they had left without him the day before. Before the November trip, he attended a cancer fundraiser on the Friday evening. In December, he had been attending the NSW drug summit before a national health ministers meeting on the day before the journey.
Time Out
16-07-2025
- Business
- Time Out
The NSW Pattern Book designs are ready for roll-out – with architectural plans available for $1 for the next six months
Back in November 2024, the NSW Government announced the winners of the NSW Pattern Book Design Competition – six housing designs confirmed as the future of fast-build, affordable, and sustainable housing across the state. From July 30, 2025, those designs (plus an additional two) will begin to come to life, with the NSW Government announcing the roll-out of the low-rise designs alongside a fast-tracking pathway to speed up the delivery of new homes. The NSW Pattern Book Design Competition was launched in an effort to help address NSW's housing crisis. The concept involved selecting six sustainable housing models that could be built quickly and efficiently, allowing developers to bypass many of the approval processes that often delay construction. In late 2024, six designs were chosen – ranging from terraces to mid-rise apartments – based on their accessibility, environmental sustainability, affordability, and "adaptability to changing lifestyle needs." Since then, the Government Architect has officially endorsed eight terrace, townhouse, and manor house designs. To help subsidise the roll-out of these new housing models, the designs will be made available to developers for just $1 per pattern. After the six-month mark, they'll be priced at $1,000 each (still significantly cheaper than bespoke designs, which typically cost around $20,000). As well as being more affordable than most architectural housing plans, the eight approved designs will benefit from a 10-day approval pathway, allowing construction to start faster. Each design – which can be adapted to suit different family sizes and accessibility needs – also comes with a complimentary landscape pattern to help homeowners create gardens that suit the local climate and maximise biodiversity. 'This Pattern Book is about giving people more choice, faster approvals, and affordable, high-quality homes – whether you're a young person trying to get in, a family needing more space, or a downsizer looking to stay close to the community you know,' explained Premier of New South Wales Chris Minns. The Complying Development pathway will be available from July 30, 2025. You can learn more (and maybe even choose the design of your next home) over here.
