Confederations Cup: The fan experience

Traveling around a country as vast as Russia is bound to throw up some logistical problems.

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Messi set to marry childhood sweetheart

The name Lucas Scaglia may not mean much to most people but without him, Lionel Messi's marriage to childhood sweetheart Antonela Roccuzzo may never have happened.

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Tour de France chief: 'Carry on living' in face of terror

Race director says the show must go on with Le Tour amid a host of terror attacks across Europe, and divulges his passion for a race he has been in awe of since a young boy.

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Venus blamed for fatal car accident, police report says

A police report says that Venus Williams is responsible for a car accident earlier this month in Florida, which caused injuries to a 78-year-old man who later died.

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Week of arrests, seizures net $680 million in drugs

This week has seen the discovery of over a tonne of precursor drugs potentially worth $650m and 92kg of cocaine worth $30m in what authorities hope will be “disruptive” to the drug trade, but may just be an indicator of Australia’s drug problem.

Cocaine in the cargo

Police and border protection agencies say they have significantly disrupted an international criminal syndicate allegedly involved in the importation of illicit drugs into Victoria.

Seven men were arrested in Melbourne for their alleged role in attempting to import approximately 92kg of cocaine earlier this week. The drugs have an estimated street value of $30 million. Approximately $580,000 cash was also seized by police as part of the operation.

The operation was conducted by investigators from the Trident Taskforce, who have been investigating an international criminal syndicate for more than a year.

On Monday evening (26 June 2017), a cargo vessel arrived at the Port of Melbourne. The sea cargo container was taken to the Melbourne container examination facility where three suspicious black duffle bags were found concealed in a container from Panama.

Inside each of the bags were 26 blocks. The substance concealed within the blocks returned a positive result for cocaine.

Tactical officers from the Australian Federal Police and Victoria Police assisted Taskforce Trident investigators as they executed a number of search warrants across Melbourne. Seven men were arrested at various locations, of whom three were foreign nationals.

The men have been charged with a number of offences related to the importation and attempted possession of commercial quantities of a border controlled drugs, and also money laundering offences.

Bikies busted

In the same week, an investigation into a threat by bikies has resulted in the largest seizure of ephedrine on record and the arrest of a drug supply syndicate during a multi-agency operation in NSW and ACT.

Detectives from the State Crime Command’s Gangs Squad commenced an investigation in December 2016 following reports of an extortion involving members of the Rebels outlaw motorcycle gang (OMCG).

Their inquiries revealed a significant drug supply network, which included OMCG and other criminal groups planning large-scale importation of border controlled drugs.

As a result of further investigations, a shipping container was intercepted at Port Botany last Saturday (24 June 2017). The consignment was examined and 1.4 tonnes of ephedrine was located concealed in buckets labelled as sea salt.

This is the largest ephedrine seizure on record and the biggest seizure of precursor chemicals at the Australian border. It is estimated the amount of ephedrine could make up to 1.3 tonnes of ice, with an estimated potential street value of $650 million.

Police officers executed 28 simultaneous search warrants at properties at Kurrajong, Glenwood, Londonderry, Cabramatta, Canley Vale, Georges Hall, Merrylands, Minchinbury, Seven Hills, Fairfield, and Penrith, and Forde, ACT.

A clandestine laboratory was located at the Georges Hall address. During the warrants, officers seized five handguns, 6kg of ice, 10kg of ephedrine, a portable clandestine laboratory, and more than $2 million cash.

Investigators arrested 12 men – aged between 23 and 44 – who were taken to local police stations.

Acting ABF Commissioner Michael Outram said the seizure meant that 13 million individual hits of ice would now be destroyed.

“The 1.4 tonnes of ephedrine was seized before it crossed our border, before it could be used to make 1.3 tonnes of crystal methamphetamine and before it could make its way into the community.”

In the past six months alone, Australian law enforcement agencies are said to have set new records for the seizures of cocaine, ice and ephedrine.

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Around the world in 80 days ... on a bicycle

Mark Beaumount can vividly recall his worst day on a bike.

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Ronaldo confirms he is a father to twins

Cristiano Ronaldo's family is growing apace as the Real Madrid star confirmed he has become a father for the second time.

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The NFL signing who's never played a game of American football

Alex Gray recently joined the Atlanta Falcons and, first up, he wants to break into the team's roster.

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Beleaguered Russians in search of a soccer 'party' to join

As far as warm-ups go, the Confederations Cup has been a case of good and bad news for Russia.

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Why 5,000 people are riding toy horses

On an uncharacteristically warm and clear weekend in May, more than 5,000 people descended on Helsinki's Kaivopuisto Park -- one of the Finnish capital city's largest -- to take part in the latest craze beginning to sweep the nation.

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Michelle Payne: 'Embarrassed and sorry' for failed drugs test

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Women set world record for highest ever football match

They came, they saw, they conquered -- and broke a world record.

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Atlanta Hawks to 'transform' Philips Arena

Get ready, NBA fans: Hip hop, country and golf all are part of the Atlanta Hawks' plan to massively upgrade their home court.

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Government procurement rules to change

The Joint Select Committee on Government Procurement has released its final report into the Australian Government’s procurement rules, including a range of recommendations for improving the rules on how the government spends its money.

The committee’s recommendations include:

• Amending the rules to require all goods purchased by the Australian Government to comply with national standards.
• The introduction of policies to promote environmentally sustainable procurement and best practice terms and conditions for subcontractors.
• The appointment of an independent Industry Advocate to provide support for businesses to access Commonwealth contracts, to provide advice to government agencies, and to evaluate and monitor the economic benefit associated with government procurement.
• The publication of comprehensive guidelines to inform officials’ application of the rules in a consistent, transparent and equitable manner.

Committee chairman Senator Nick Xenophon believes the new procurement rules, to be introduced in March, have the potential to deliver significant benefit to the Australian economy by providing important support to Australian industry.

“Implemented effectively, the new rules will enable a broader, more accurate consideration of value-for-money in procurement decision making,” Senator Xenophon said.

“However, their impact will be dampened unless the Australian Government acts swiftly to address the implementation concerns identified in this report.

“A national Industry Advocate, cast on the highly successfully South Australian model, is urgently needed to overcome a current procurement culture focused on lowest cost rather than value for money, lacking in transparency and unaware of the benefits of engaging Australian businesses.”

Last financial year more than $56.9 billion was spent by the Australian Government on the goods and services required to deliver its policy objectives. More than 10,000 businesses were contracted to deliver these items, including 9,595 small to medium businesses.

The Joint Select Committee on Government Procurement was formed to investigate the implementation of the new Commonwealth Procurement Rules, which came into effect on 1 March 2017. The Committee considered how the implementation of the new rules could be strengthened to increase the economic benefit procurement delivers to the Australian economy.

For more information about the Committee and to view its final report, visit the Committee’s website.

 

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Can an NBA champ win at pro golf? Steph Curry's a good bet

"I'm going to try and keep it in the fairway and play well."

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'Sword brandishing king' helps Trump's son open new golf course

While his father runs the US, Donald Trump's son Eric has been busy launching the new "King Robert the Bruce" golf course at the Trump Turnberry resort in Scotland.

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Six face charges over Hillsborough stadium disaster

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Jockey Michelle Payne tests positive

Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Michelle Payne has been stood down from racing after testing positive for a banned substance.

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Coal or coral? The Queensland Government seems undecided

Image courtesy of the Australian Marine Conservation Society.

 

Comment – Charles Pauka

Queensland Minister for the Great Barrier Reef Steven Miles was chuffed to welcome a Deloitte Access Economics report identifying the social, economic and iconic asset value of the Great Barrier Reef at $56 billion.

“This highly anticipated report confirms the outstanding value of the Great Barrier Reef,” Mr Miles said. “But it could be even higher as the research did not seek to place a financial value on the tremendous biodiversity and the natural wonder value on a global scale.

“It also confirms the Palaszczuk Government’s record investment in improving Great Barrier Reef water quality is justified, with two-thirds of people surveyed willing to pay for its continued existence and protection.”

Which is where the problem lies: the Palaszczuk Government is also dead-keen on the Adani Carmichael mega-coalmine going ahead, which is widely predicted to further wreck the reef.

Is this the handshake that will kill the reef?

 

Steven Miles continued: “The Great Barrier Reef is incredibly precious to all Australians, and the international community – and this report confirms that.

 “We have committed $175 million over five years, plus a boost of an additional $100 million for improved reef water quality outcomes.

“This means we are investing more than $63 million in 2017-2018, which is almost double the annual funding provided by previous governments.”

The Minister said the research showed the Great Barrier Reef contributed $6.4 billion in terms of the value added to the economy and over 64,000 direct and indirect jobs in 2015-2016.

64,000 vs. 1,400

So how many jobs would Adani’s supposedly $16.5bn mine contribute? The most optimistic estimates so far have topped out at 10,000 jobs, but more likely in the 1,400-range.

“The government promised to focus on job creation and this report demonstrates the Great Barrier Reef is critical to supporting jobs in Australia.

“The report also rightly identifies an opportunity and need for action on a universal level to protect the reef.

“As the report clearly recognises, protecting the Great Barrier Reef is not only an Australian or international priority – it is a human one.”

I just wonder if Mr Miles has spoken to his Premier about that? Because the two – a healthy coral reef and a mega-coalmine – may not be able to co-exist.

“The Great Barrier Reef and other World Heritage reefs are in grave danger from climate change, mainly driven by the burning of coal. Incredibly, almost half of all shallow water corals in the Great Barrier Reef died in the last two years due to a massive underwater heatwave,” said Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) spokesperson Imogen Zethoven. 

“Yet the Australian [and Queensland] governments appear hell-bent on making the problem worse by pushing ahead with Adani’s monstrous coal mine, talking up a coal-fired power station next to the Great Barrier Reef.

“The [two governments are] not only placing our Great Barrier Reef and the 70,000 jobs that depend on it at grave risk: [they are] endangering the future of World Heritage coral reefs around the world. These places are the crown jewels of our global ocean. They belong to the world community.

“In the face of so much loss of coral over the last three years, it defies belief that [they are] ignoring this global tragedy,” Ms Zethoven said.

Sediment-laden water flowed from Adani’s Abbot Point facility into the Caley Valley wetland recently.

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Centrelink, Medicare, Child Support to get 2,000 permanent positions

The Department of Human Services has advised the CPSU that approximately 2,000 permanent jobs will be created in order to improve services for customers and reduce pressure on staff.

The agency covering Medicare, Centrelink and Child Support said it expects the majority of new permanent positions will be filled by current casual staff, as the department seeks to reduce its use of non-going workers.

The department expects recruitment for the permanent jobs will be concluded in August, with the roles mostly to cover call centre and processing work in offices around the country.

CPSU National Secretary Nadine Flood said: “This is an enormously significant announcement that will give a much-needed boost to service standards for Medicare, Centrelink and Child Support customers whilst easing the intense pressure faced by DHS staff. We’re working closely with DHS to ensure these jobs are created quickly and fairly.

“This will provide around 2,000 people in communities around the country with quality, permanent employment and offer some desperately needed support to their colleagues struggling under impossible workloads and also dealing with increased customer agitation and aggression as a result.

“People employed casually by DHS already make a valuable contribution, but giving them permanent jobs will mean they receive the comprehensive training that is required to fully help customers through sensitive issues and often complex processes.”

“The department deserves congratulations for taking this first step to turn around what has been an unacceptable slide in service standards, as we’ve seen with the 42 million calls blocked with a busy signal just in the first 10 months of this financial year and with the tens of thousands of people unfairly caught up in robo-debt.”

The decision follows months of controversy over the robo-debt debacle and lack of service availability at Centrelink, culminating in Centrelink, Medicare and Child Support staff stepping up strikes in April.

“DHS has been described as an agency in crisis,” Ms Flood said. “These jobs will help repair that damage, while the department also needs to agree a fair and reasonable outcome to resolve enterprise bargaining and implement the key recommendations of last week’s inquiry report into robo-debt.”

 

 

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Take a look at the week's best sports photos

Take a look at 33 amazing sports photos from June 20 through June 26.

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Serena tells McEnroe: 'Respect my privacy'

Serena Williams has responded to John McEnroe's claims that she would struggle on the men's tennis circuit by telling her fellow American to "keep me out of your statements that are not factually based."

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Council recycling up 25%

The mobile phone industry’s product stewardship program MobileMuster has commended the efforts of local councils who have dramatically increased their collections and helped make recycling more accessible to the community.

Hon. Josh Frydenberg MP Minister for Environment and Energy said eight councils from across Australia were recognised as Australia’s top recyclers.

“Electronic waste is one of the fastest growing waste issues in Australia and it’s great to see MobileMuster bringing industry and local government together to make it easy to recycle and deliver important environmental benefits to our communities.”

The top achievers

The following councils took out top honours in the awards:

• National Top Collector per Capita – District Council of Orroroo – Carrieton (SA).
• NSW Top Collector – New South Wales – Hornsby Shire Council.
• Territory Top Collector – Northern Territory – Alice Springs Town Council.
• QLD Top Collector – Queensland – Brisbane City Council.
• WA Top Collector – Western Australia – City of Stirling.
• SA Top Collector – South Australia – City of Onkaparinga.
• TAS Top Collector – Tasmania – Burnie City Council.
• VIC Top Collector – Victoria – Moonee Valley City Council.

Recycling manager for MobileMuster Spyro Kalos said: “While council collections have been steadily growing in the last couple of years, it’s great to see an even higher lift this year with councils helping inform and educate their residents about recycling.”

“In the last year, councils have increased their collections by a huge 25% and recycled over 4.5 tonnes of mobiles phone and components through the program.

“Over the last decade, local government partners have collected 35 tonnes of mobiles phone components for recycling, including approximately 420,000 handsets and batteries.

“However, with an estimated 23 million old mobile phones sitting in drawers waiting to be recycled, including five million that are broken and no longer working, MobileMuster will continue to work with councils to encourage residents to recycle responsibly,” Mr Kalos said.

The top Mobile Muster councils in each state were:

New South Wales

1. Hornsby Shire Council
2. City of Sydney
3. Randwick City Council
4. Lake Macquarie City Council
5. Burwood Council

Northern Territory

1. Alice Springs Town Council
2. East Arnhem Shire Council
3. West Arnhem Regional Council

Queensland

1. Brisbane City Council
2. Redland City Council
3. Townsville City Council
4. Scenic Rim Regional Council
5. Cairns Regional Council

South Australia

1. City of Onkaparinga
2. City of Charles Sturt
3. City of Tea Tree Gully
4. City of Mitcham
5. City of Port Adelaide Enfield

Tasmania

1. Burnie City Council
2. Launceston City Council
3. Glenorchy City Council
4. Break O’Day Council
5. Kingborough Council

Victoria

1. Moonee Valley City Council
2. Nillumbik Shire Council
3. City of Monash
4. Latrobe City Council
5. City of Greater Geelong

Western Australia

1. City of Stirling
2. City of South Perth
3. City of Fremantle
4. City of Cockburn
5. City of Vincent

photo by:

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Blackmore’s CEO to head up Australia Post

The Board of Australia Post has selected Christine Holgate as the corporation’s next managing director and group CEO, to succeed Ahmed Fahour, who is leaving in July after seven-and-a-half years in the role, following the outcry over his multi-million dollar salary package.

Ms Holgate will officially start in the position mid-to-late October 2017. She joins Australia Post after a successful nine-year tenure as CEO of Blackmores and previous executive roles with Telstra, JP Morgan and Cable & Wireless.

Ms Holgate, who is the inaugural Chair of the Board of the Australia-ASEAN Council, supporting the development of trade and cultural relations between Australia and the 10 member countries of the ASEAN region, joined Blackmores in 2008 and took the company some wild and turbulent years, including an aggressive expansion into China.

Australia Post chairman John Stanhope said Ms Holgate’s Asian and eCommerce experience were important factors.

“The Board was impressed by her experience of working very successfully in a range of different industries that are highly regulated. And, on top of that, she has a proven ability to implement strategy – and successfully grow a business in Asia.

“Her knowledge of global eCommerce will be invaluable as we pursue our Asian Strategy, which is all about offering logistics support to Australian businesses that are either selling in Asia, or sourcing their products there.

“Ms Holgate has a demonstrated track-record of delivering results in large, complex organisations, both here in Australia and internationally.

” Ms Holgate’s business philosophy is also a perfect fit for Australia Post. She is a firm believer that businesses must perform commercially, but also serve the community. And that’s entirely consistent with our objectives as a community-based business that has both commercial objectives and community service standards to uphold.”

Ms Holgate said: “Australia Post has proven itself to be one of the most resilient and successful postal businesses anywhere in the world.  I feel fortunate to be joining at a time when we can really strengthen Post’s leading position in the eCommerce market – both here, in Australia, and in Asia.

“I’m a passionate advocate for Australian business seizing the opportunity that’s on our doorstep in Asia and that creates opportunities for everyone – our workforce, our shareholder, the community, as well as businesses across Australia.

What about the pay?

Ms Holgate’s remuneration has been set at $1.375 million fixed annual total remuneration and the potential to earn incentive payments of up to $1.375 million, in accordance with the parameters set by the Commonwealth Remuneration Tribunal.

In the meantime, current Australia Post Group chief customer officer Christine Corbett will lead the business through the CEO transition period, between Ahmed Fahour’s departure on 28 July and Ms Holgate’s arrival in October.

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Fan sleeps in star player's home -- but didn't realize

Alex Edwards had arrived in Auckland at around teatime. The Briton had envisioned spending this dark wintry night with hundreds of fellow rugby union fans, but instead found himself in an empty car park.

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America's Cup: New Zealand gains revenge over Team USA

Redemption was sweet and emphatic as Emirates Team New Zealand trounced holder Oracle Team USA to regain the America's Cup on Bermuda's Great Sound.

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Golf: Spieth's 10th title sparks Tiger comparisons

His peers are calling him "golden child" as Jordan Spieth's 10th PGA Tour win led to renewed comparisons with Tiger Woods.

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Can Oracle Team USA work another miracle?

Can lightning strike twice for Jimmy Spithill and Oracle Team USA?

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Christopher Pyne’s gay marriage comments land him in hot water

Federal Government minister Christopher Pyne’s comments during an after-party in Sydney have landed him – and the rest of the Liberal Party – in hot water from most sections of the political spectrum.

Reportedly released to far-right commentator Andrew Bolt, the recording of the comments were taken in the company of some of the other left-leaning members of the Liberal Party.

What got most people heckled was Christopher Pyne’s boasting about the early introduction of same-sex marriage.

“Friends, we are in the winner’s circle but we have to deliver a couple of things and one of those we’ve got to deliver before too long is marriage equality in this country.

“We’re going to get it. I think it might even be sooner than everyone thinks.”

Malcolm Turnbull

The Prime Minister has distanced himself from the comments made by Christopher Pyne, that same-sex marriage would be introduced “sooner than everyone thinks.”

Mr Turnbull said gay marriage would only be law once the Australian public had voted on the issue.

“As far as the same sex marriage issue, our policy is very clear, it has not changed, we have no plans to change it,” he said.

Tony Abbott

As one can these days reasonably expect, former prime minister Tony Abbott was quick off the mark with the boot, saying Mr Pyne’s comments appeared to be evidence that the Defence Minister had been plotting behind his back.

“This appears to be the confession that he has made to his close colleagues in the Left faction,” Mr Abbott told radio 2GB.

“Christopher Pyne wasn’t just a member of my cabinet, he was actually in the leadership team and it’s important that you show loyalty.

“But if he’s to be believed on Friday night, that loyalty was never there which is incredibly disappointing.”

Bill Shorten

Meanwhile Tweeting from Adelaide, Labor leader Bill Shorten kept his comments brief:

“Shame on Turnbull and Pyne. They play games whilst Australians wait for marriage equality. Get out of the way.”

But the Greens see hope

The Greens said Christopher Pyne’s comments about marriage equality over the weekend show just how impatient many members of the Coalition are for marriage equality to be achieved now.

“It’s staggering that Malcolm Turnbull is publicly standing by Tony Abbott’s plebiscite, meanwhile one of his senior ministers says equality will happen ‘sooner than everyone thinks,’ said Senator Janet Rice, the Greens’ spokesperson on LGBTIQ issues.

“Australian couples shouldn’t be forced to keep waiting for their love to be recognised.

 “The Coalition [members] are playing games with people’s lives. Mr Turnbull needs to stand up to the dinosaurs in his party and allow a free vote in parliament now.’

 

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Industry events: to attend or not to attend, that is the question

Opinion – Paul Greenberg

It seems that our work loads are expanding. Our inbox is getting fuller, more meetings, more travel, more reports. So when an invitation to attend an industry conference and expo pops up in our inbox or in-tray, it is understandable that for many of us, these invitations get binned. But I would ask you to consider the following points, in support of attending these events.

Don’t forget your personal brand

I am often asked to have a coffee with talented professionals in logistics and supply chain. Often, they are looking for a new role, and seeking a bit of guidance. All too often, these talented and hardworking professionals have done a fantastic job in their roles and for the company, but have all too often neglected to build their profile ‘out there’. Personal branding is a big conversation, too long for this column, but I would ask you to consider that in our working careers there are two brands we must serve in equal measure. The company brand we work for, and our personal brand and professional development.

Professional development

I have held a registration as a psychologist in Australia for the last twenty years. And am a member of the Australian Psychological Society. This professional board, by example, demands that I attend industry events, seminars and workshops in pursuit of professional development. CPD points (continuing professional development) must be accrued and logged in order for the annual registration renewal, and many professional bodies follow similar formats. My question to you is: why should professionals in logistics be broadly exempt? After all, we manage significant capital assets and are responsible for safety in an often ‘heavy metal’ environment. Just saying.

Alliances

I have written quite a bit in this column about the importance of alliances in our industry. And frequently quote Carlos Slim, who states: “In this new wave of technology, you can’t do it all yourself, you have to form alliances.” This quote resonates for me and my career. Some of my regrets are around not forming alliances, even with the proverbial ‘frenemies’ I competed against. Industry events and expos are the perfect opportunity to plant seeds around potential alliances.

Networking

See all the points above of course. But my point here is that in our corporate roles, and often regardless of our level in the organisation, there are limited opportunities in our working week to meet in the broader supply chain and logistics ecosystem. Sure we know our colleagues, and our key suppliers, and we might have a coffee from time to time with colleagues in other organisations. But what about new suppliers, new technologies, colleagues in other verticals and organisations, locally and globally? I believe industry events are actually a very effective use of time. Over a compressed two or three days, these events allow a lot of boxes to be ticked, on all the above points.

Go wide

Lastly, if some of the points above resonate, consider going wider than just logistics and supply chain events. In my role as founder and executive director of NORA.org.au, I am fortunate to attend and support a number of industry events. While mainly in retail, or retail-related, I often find that the real nuggets of gold can lie in those events and streams just a little ‘outside the obvious’.

Happy prospecting!

Paul Greenberg is the founder and executive director of NORA.org.au.

 

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Azerbaijan GP: Ricciardo wins after F1 title rivals collide

Daniel Ricciardo won a chaotic Azerbaijan Grand Prix Sunday as Sebastian Vettel increased his F1 title lead over Lewis Hamilton in controversial circumstances.

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LGCT Monaco: Zorzi and Cornetto K in maiden triumph

Italy's Alberto Zorzi claimed his maiden victory on the Longines Global Champions Tour as he came out on top in a four-man jump off to win in Monaco Saturday.

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All Blacks beat Lions in test curtain-raiser

New Zealand overcame the British and Irish Lions 30-15 in the first game of the highly anticipated test series in Auckland's Eden Park.

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Draft pick's life just got "crazy, crazy exciting'

It's probably safe to assume that no other player selected in this year's NBA Draft has had a busier schedule than Frank Ntilikina.

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Alain Prost: My first car 'was perfect'

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How New Zealand found redemption on the waves

Bruised, battered and facing financial ruin after the 2013 America's Cup defeat, the Kiwis have transformed themselves into the team to beat four years on.

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'Too late for South Korea to host Olympics with North Korea'

A South Korean governor says he wants participation with North Korea in the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, but there's simply not enough time to consider co-hosting the event.

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Is this the world's best sport team?

The British and Irish Lions take on the All Blacks in New Zealand -- in sporting terms, there are few more daunting tests.

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NSW Budget: the reply

Luke Foley delivering his Budget reply. Photo courtesy of the ABC.

NSW opposition leader Luke Foley has outlined the Labor Opposition’s reply to the NSW Government’s 2017 Budget, focusing on education, electricity and renewable energy, infrastructure and regional NSW.

Education and school funding

Mr Foley said a Labor Government would have a school building program that will ensure unused public land goes towards school infrastructure. This will be achieved by the Greater Sydney Commission being given the power to seize surplus government land from other departments and agencies for much-needed schools.

Labor will also legislate that every new school built includes childcare or before and after school care facilities on-site. This will help achieve the pledge that every child will have access to at least 15 hours of “affordable preschool education per week, in the year before school”.

As well, every primary school student in NSW will be taught a second language.

For the youth, Labor announced a jobs scheme for the state’s apprentices and trainees. It estimates the scheme will create thousands of jobs for young people every year.

Mr Foley said 63,000 fewer students have enrolled in TAFE after the Coalition Government cut budgets, identified campuses in regional and rural areas for sale or closure and started sacking teachers and support staff. Another 500 were terminated this year, bringing the total to 5,700 since the Liberals and Nationals got their hands on TAFE.

He committed a Labor Government would require 15 per cent of all jobs on NSW Government construction projects, valued over $500,000, to be allocated for apprentices/trainees, indigenous people and the long term unemployed.

He also committed Labor to re-build TAFE, by guarantee at least 70 per cent of NSW vocational education and training funding going to TAFE.

Electricity and renewable energy

Mr Foley said a Labor government would re-regulate the electricity market to attempt to lower the price of power in NSW, which has approximately doubled since it was deregulated and bills “are set to increase annually by an average of $300 for residential and $900 for commercial users a year. 

He said Labor would also use proceeds from the transfer of the Snowy Hydro to invest in renewable generation across regional NSW, set a minimum solar tariff for households with rooftop solar to be paid for the power they generate, and “massively increase solar energy generation on the rooftops of government buildings”.

Infrastructure

With Sydney public transport and roads, Labor would prioritise the Western Sydney Metro over the Northern Beaches tunnel.

Mr Foley committed to the Western Sydney Metro following the current government specifically excluding in the Budget the fast rail link in favour of the Northern Beaches Tunnel.

With the Badgery’s Creek airport, Labor has called for the creation of a joint Commonwealth-New South Wales Western Sydney Airport Co-ordination Authority to coordinate land use and surface infrastructure. The authority would focus on essential connections such as electricity, water and sewerage for the airport’s surrounding employment zones.

Labor would also like to see the building of a rail connection from day one so people can get where they’re going and avoid congestion on the roads. A fuel pipeline corridor – similar to the underground pipeline from Kurnell to Sydney Airport – also  needs to be reserved and construction of it accelerated as the current plan to supply jet fuel by road will not be sustainable.

Regional NSW

Luke Foley has laid out his commitments to regional and rural NSW if elected in 2019, including that 100 per cent of the proceeds of a Snowy Hydro sale will be spent on regional infrastructure.

He said Labor’s support for selling the state’s share of the Snowy Hydro scheme to the Federal Government is conditional on the proceeds being spent in regional NSW. The sale would also be on the conditional guarantee of ongoing public ownership of the Hydro.

All of the $4 to $5 billion in proceeds would be used to improve regional schools, TAFE, hospitals, roads, energy, water, cultural and sporting infrastructure, he said.

Mr Foley promised to continue visiting the regions to hear directly from local communities. Recently, Mr Foley travelled to the North Coast, Monaro, the Upper Hunter and this time last year visited Menindee Lakes as part of two-day tour of Broken Hill.

Special treatment for Far West NSW, where regional town populations are falling and businesses are unable to attract and retain staff, would include abolishing payroll tax for all small and medium-sized businesses in the Far West.

In the Illawarra, Labor promised to assist the steel industry, and upgrade to the WIN Entertainment Centre.

 

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