My support for net-zero emissions can't be bought : Hunter Nationals MP

BY JARROD MELMETH

The Hunter's only federal Nationals MP says he won't be bribed to abandon his principles, as discussions continue for an agreement on net-zero emissions.

Lyne MP Dr David Gillespie has been involved with the discussions currently taking place within the Liberal-Nationals coalition.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is heading to the United Nations Climate Summit in Glasgow next week, and is eager to reach an agreement with the junior coalition partner so he can present Australia's plan for net-zero.

On Thursday, Mr Morrison will depart for a G20 meeting in Rome and then head to the climate summit in Glasgow, alongside leaders from advanced economies who have already pledged to meet the net-zero target by 2050.

Dr Gillespie says he doesn't want other countries dictating our industries and our people.

"People wont know what they've got until its gone. As the old song goes. 

"We don't want to go along, in an attempt to improve the environment around the globe, we sign up and then we have all these rules being forced on us to shut down our industries.

"There is a global push coming out of the United Nations, through the major capital and financial markets and in the boardrooms to force penalties against industries and livelihoods that have fed, clothed and powered our regions, our state and the nation. We have to put some ring fencing around that because we don't want our cities to grind to a halt because we shut down these industries," Dr Gillespie said.

When asked whether he was pushing for something from the government in return for his support, Dr Gillespie says he can't be bought.

"I can't be any more specific than saying we are not asking for 40 pieces of silver to abandon our principles. We stand for strong regions who require employment and protection of our industries," Dr Gillespie said.

It's understood the Prime Minister is considering a regional economic package in an effort to sway the Nationals, which they will meet to discuss on Sunday. 

Victorian earthquake shakes the Hunter

BY JARROD MELMETH

A strong earthquake has hit Victoria shaking the countries south-east and damaging buildings in the heart of Melbourne.

The epicenter of the 5.8 earthquake is near Mansfield, at the foothills of the states high country, but it has been felt in Canberra, Newcastle, Dubbo, Adelaide, and Tasmania. 

A second magnitude-4 earthquake was recorded near Mansfield about 15 minutes after the first.

In Melbourne a building's brick façade has collapsed onto Chapel Street and there are reports of power outages in the Northern suburbs.

Workers in Newcastle have evacuated from buildings along Honeysuckle as a precaution after feeling tremors.

The earthquake in Melbourne was stronger than the one that hit Newcastle in 1989, which measured at 5.6 on the Richter scale, left 13 dead and caused, at the time $4 billion in damages.

Pictured: A building in Melbourne following the quake
Image: Nine News

Hunter researcher awarded $380,000 to investigate Koala conservation

BY JARROD MELMETH

An early career researcher at the University of Newcastle has been awarded almost $380,000 to investigate stem cells in Australian species to improve conservation efforts of those that are endangered.

The research is the first of its kind and will look at how reproductive stem cells can be used as a conservation tool for endangered wildlife species through biobanking.

Biobanking is the cryopreservation or freezing of reproductive cells which is usually mature sperm or egg cells. This is done to preserve the different genetic information of animals to make sure the gene pool of the species doesn't become too small. When there is only a small population of animals, for instance when they are endangered, they start to become genetically similar which makes them more vulnerable to extinction.

The problem currently with biobanking is in some species the mature sperm cells that are cryopreserved don't survive the freezing process, which means they can't be used to create new individuals in the future and maintain the genetic diversity.

Lecturer in Biological Science, Dr Tessa Lord says one of the species that has this problem is the Koala and its really important to do some work on maintaining the population. 

"My research specifically is looking at the potential for biobanking the spermatogonial stem cells rather than sperm from species like the koala.

"This is something which hasn't really been done before and that's because we don't know a lot about these reproductive stem cells, particularly in wildlife species. We don't really know how to keep them alive in an invitro environment, in other words outside the body.

"My previous research has identified a molecular pathway that we think is important for the survival and maintenance of these reproductive stem cells and we have found the koala stem cells also seem to possess this pathway," Dr Lord said.

The funding for the project comes from the Australian Research Council which Dr Lord hopes to further characterise the molecular pathway.

Based on the results, the team wants to make the first attempts at maintaining the koala stem cells in a culture dish which would be the first pre-cursor step towards the biobanking approaches.

Dr Lord says we urgently need an intervention to make sure our koala population is not facing extinction and the biobanking of the reproductive tissue like the spermatogonial stem cells is one tool that can be used towards doing this.

TOTAL FIRE BAN in place for the Hunter

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Fire crews will be on high alert in the Hunter today with a TOTAL FIRE BAN in place for the region.

The mercury will soar to 43 degrees in Wallsend, and it'll even be 40 degrees in Newcastle throughout much of the day.

The fire conditions are rated as being Severe due to the hot and dry conditions - the advice from the Rural Fire Service today is to follow your bush survival plan if you need to and remain vigilant.

Ausgrid has cancelled some planned maintenance works across the region.

Works planned for Hexham, Singleton, Pokolbin and Woodville won't be going ahead today. Maintenance planned for Muscle Creek, Aberdeen, Sandy hollow, Keinbah, Myuna Bay and Wakefield will continue, but be shorter than planned so power can be restored by midday.

Hunter Post Offices continue to close

BY JARROD MELMETH

A growing trend of post office closures across the Hunter is raising concerns with the local federal opposition.

In recent years post offices in Booragul, Marmong Point, Teralba and Blackalls Park have all closed their doors, with Woodrising following suit in January 2018. 

Federal Member for the Hunter Joel Fitzgibbon says Australia Post must maintain its investment in local post offices to ensure the basic service is provided to all, regardless of where they live.

"Many constituents have raised their concerns with me in relation to the closures and the big impact it is having on the frail and elderly in the local communities who do not drive or cannot access public transport," Mr Fitzgibbon said.

Mr Fitzgibbon highlighted his concerns in Parliament on Monday by speaking about the increasing occurrence of post office closures, particularly in rural and regional towns across the nation.

"Booragul, Marmong Point, Teralba, Blackalls Park and Woodrising are all wonderful townships and communities in my electorate.

"They are all around the western side of Lake Macquarie. What else do they have in common, Mr Deputy Speaker? They are all losing their local post offices. Their post offices either are already closed or are about to close, and I know that this is a common occurrence right across our great nation.

“Australia Post will say that they cannot secure people to run these licensed post offices any longer, and at first blush that seems a not unreasonable response to what is quite a crisis for many in our local communities.

“But I ask the question today: how hard are Australia Post really trying? And since when does every aspect of every government business enterprise have to turn a profit? We could all think of tens, if not thousands, of examples where governments subsidise basic community services at the federal, state and local government level.

“I know Australia Post will also say that it is already heavily subsidising the work of our licensed post offices, but I also pose the question: how much is an appropriate level of investment to keep such basic services going in our community?

“We all know that letter services are falling dramatically, we all know that email and other forms of electronic communications are now taking over very rapidly the use of the traditional letter services, but we also know that there are many older people in our communities who haven't had the same opportunity or indeed the will or the knowledge to take up those new forms of communications, and we should think of them. Those same people know that Australia Post made a profit of $146 million last financial year.”

Newcastle 500 Set To Be a Roaring Success

BY JESSICA ROUSE

The Supercars CEO has no doubt the Newcastle 500 will be a roaring success.

The East End has been completely transformed into a challenging street circuit which will see 150,000 racegoers flock to the precinct over the next three days.

CEO James Warburton said it's going to be an absolutely brilliant weekend for the last race in the Championship for 2017.

"The whole of the Supercars community is excited and obviously the fans are as well so the numbers are looking absolutely extraordinary and I think we're going to have a brilliant weekend and most importantly we're going to put an incredibly bright spotlight on Newcastle."

Jamie Whincup and Scott McLaughlin will be fighting it out for the Championship title with just 30 points separating the pair. McLaughlin will have to finish several places in front of six-time Supercars Champion Whincup to claim the 2017 Supercars title.

"We never at look at events over a short period of time, I can see this event being here for 15 to 20 years. The finale is a really integral part of our calendar, and obviously, in terms of the crowds a lot of things sold out and I think this will be a very strong weekend and everyone should enjoy themselves," said James.

It won't just be Supercars hitting the race track, Aussie Race Cars, Toyota 86, V8 Utes and a host of other vehicles will be racing around the 2.6 kilometre circuit.

James has thanked the community for all of the support and hopes it continues well into the future beyond his reign as CEO which finishes up at the end of the year.

"It's been a very complex and long civil and capital works program, it's actually been short at six months, but I think the community has been really understanding and I hope they turn out and really enjoy themselves," said James.

There are major road closures in place around the precinct, special event clearways and extra public transport are in place for the next three days. For all the details head to Transport NSW website.

Boost to Battlefield Training at Williamtown RAAF Base

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Williamtown RAAF Base is set to benefit from new high-tech equipment to boost battlefield training.

Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne has announced $40 million worth of Digital Terminal Control System simulators which will be installed across the country including here at Williamtown, and also in Brisbane, Townsville and Perth.

The simulators give soldiers the ability to replicate live training in a safe, cost-effective and still realistic way.

"These simulators will equip our soldiers with the skills necessary to use the DTCS to coordinate battlefield fire from artillery, mortars, helicopters, naval ships and fighter aircraft," said Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne.

"It also provides our personnel with the ability to work with multiple Australian and coalition land, air and sea platforms to engage the enemy."

Delivery of the simulators is planned to start in May next year.

Defence Minister Christopher Pyne visiting Williamtown
earlier this year.

Novocastrians Ready to Carry the Baton for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games

BY JESSICA ROUSE

More than 20 Novocastrians have been named as participants in the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay.

Among the 3,800 Australians carrying the baton are Newcastle and Hunter athletes Kurt Fearnley, Maddison Elliott, Alex McKinnon and Christie Dawes.

The Queen's baton will undertake a 100 day journey across Australia in the lead up to the games in APRIL next year.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the list of names this morning which had been selected through a community nomination program.

'The batonbearers recognise the achievements and aspirations of Australians from all walks of life, from ambitious 10-year-olds to humble volunteers and well-known Australians from a variety of fields," said the Premier.

For the full list of batonbearers head to: https://www.gc2018.com/qbr/batonbearers 

The Snakes Are Slithering in the Hunter

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Snakes have been slithering around Newcastle and the Hunter one month earlier than usual.

In the Hunter, brown snakes are the most common, and right now they're on the hunt for food and a mate.

It's prompted renewed calls for Hunter residents to be smart around snakes - 23 of the 35 people who died from a snake bite between 2000 and 2016 in Australia were bitten by a brown snake.

Image Australian Reptile Park

They've been seen in the most unusual of places, most recently a 1.5 metre brown turned up for breakfast at a cafe in Stockton. They've also been caught on camera in inner-city car parks and frequently in residential areas.

"It's coming into breeding season so that's why we're seeing a lot of male to male combat, more snakes in people's local areas than before and the activity level at the moment is just really really high for a number of reasons including food and mating season," said Dan Rumsey from the Australian Reptile Park.

While snakes will defend themselves if they have to, Dan says it's really a last resort and they'll only bite if they're provoked or hassled.

"The majority of snake bites in Australia come from one of two things and that's people trying to kill or catch them so the key thing is if you don't do either of those two you're going to limit your chances of being bitten by a snake dramatically."

He also said even the fastest snake in the world only gets to 14km/hr, so they're not coming out of hiding just to chase you.

"Granddad used to tell you brown snakes will chase you, try to bite through your car to get you. They don't operate like that at all. Most of the guys who work here have been catching snakes from since they were 7 or 8 years old - I've never had a snake chase me in my life so I promise you it won't happen," said Dan.

Workplace safety statistic worrying for Hunter employees

BY MARISSA ALEXIOU

Employees in the Hunter region could be at risk, as new research shows 81 percent of Australian small businesses don't understand their workplace safety obligations.

The Employsure Workplace Safety Index revealed small businesses are finding it too complex and time consuming to keep up with the changes and paperwork required.

Head of Advice at Employsure, Josh Vikis said there is a lot of information and mis-information out there about what their obligations are, confusing many small businesses who want to do the right thing.

"It is not always obvious industries at risk," he said.

Mining, construction, storage warehousing, retail and hairdressing were said by Vikis to be some of the industries at risk of non-compliance.

The research also revealed many businesses are relying on Google to find answers. Vikis advised as a first step, businesses should conduct an internal discussion if they think there are gaps in the workplace creating hazards for employees.

He also said businesses can consult external bodies for advice on creating a safer workplace and help with issues such as bullying and work realated injuries.

Vikis said investment in education and tools by the government could assist in reducing non-compliance rather than a "big-stick penalty" when an incident does occur.

Source: http://smartadvantage.com.au/workplace-safety/

Hunter Domestic Gas Supply at an All Time Low

BY LAUREN KEMPE

There will be a shortfall in domestic gas supply in the Hunter, after the ACCC'S energy interim report found the east coast's shortage will be three times larger next year than previously forecast.

Several politicians have said a domestic reservation policy is not necessary as Australia has enough gas, but a Hunter businessman says the government should be prioritising the domestic market.

Weston Aluminium Managing Director Garbis Simonian says it's crucial a bipartisan law on domestic gas energy is established at state and federal levels.

'Both state and federal governments are all accusing each other, and passing the blame. What we want is politicians to sit down around a table, both Labor and Liberal, and in the bipartisan fashion decide and work on a National Energy Policy. The economy is suffering, jobs are suffering, families are suffering and it's not good enough.'

Mr Simonian says higher gas prices drive up electricity prices, and the current situation is not sustainable.

'Now this is just common sense that any country or any state applies the gas and energy it finds, to satisfying the domestic market first, and then if there's a surplus, you can export it.

'All countries in the world give their domestic market a priority when it comes to gas, Australia is the only country that doesn't have a Domestic National Interest Policy.'

Image Caption: https://www.google.com.au/search?rlz=1C1GGRV_enAU751AU751&biw=1141&bih=859&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=gas+shortage+aus&oq=gas+shortage+aus&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0i24k1l4.7788.8589.0.9221.4.4.0.0.0.0.192.371.0j2.2.0.dummy_maps_web_fallback...0...1.1.64.psy-ab..2.2.371...0.0.X3yhoOA7P98#imgrc=9Saiqg1TO6FgfM:

Community programs making Australia better

BY JAMES WARD and JESSICA ROUSE

Local community programs in the Hunter and around the county are what help make Australia a stronger and nicer place to live, according to Lyne MP David Gillespie.

He's encouraging all local community groups to apply for the Federal Government's Stronger Communities Programme (SCP) with grants of up to $20,000 available for local groups to make their groups better and keep them going strong.

"It's for grants in each electorate for community groups that have nowhere else to turn for equipment upgrades and for other things for their voluntarily community based groups. Grants of $2,500 up to $20,000, it's a real life saver for community groups because they really value add and make our communities stronger," said David Gillespie.

Expressions of interest will be assessed by a community consultation group, which will be appointed by the Lyne MP.

"Community based organisations like Scouts, Lions, Rotary, all the self help groups, you name it. We want to support community groups that make Australia a stronger and nicer place to live."

Applications are open and for more details head to:
http://www.davidgillespie.com.au/stronger-communities-programme/ 

Federal Member for Lyne Dr David Gillespie, Maria Kealy,
Pauline Wespi Image supplied.

George the Wombat has gone viral for a good cause

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Eight months ago George the Wombat was pulled from his mother's pouch in the Hunter Valley after she was hit and killed by a car.

Wildlife throughout the Hunter and across Australia too often are met with the fate of being hit by a car, but George was one of the lucky ones. He was found by a family who checked the mother's pouch who was sadly deceased. Fortunately the little wombat was big enough that he had some fur and was able to be hand reared at the Australian Reptile Park.

George. Image Australian Reptile Park Facebook page

Fast forward to now and George is stealing hearts all over the country with the plucky wombat going viral in a video of him bonding with his carer - the video has been viewed more than 40 million times on YouTube.


General Manager of the Reptile Park, and George's carer Tim Faulkner says the video while it may be cute and funny, has made millions of people aware of Australian animals and their plight.

"Australia has the worst mammal extinction rate on earth. So when there's little superstars like George out there reminding the Australian public, and the world for that matter, that they exist it's a good thing for wombats. Like I say they are cute and cuddly but we see too much of orangutans and rhinoceros and our own backyard isn't doing too well!"

Tim Faulkner says it's important Australia's native animals have a voice.

"We love the fact that ambassadors if you like, like George, they get such a large audience and sure they're cute and they're cuddly, but it makes people care about wombats, and whether its a bandicoot or a bettong or a Tasmanian devil, that's a good thing," said Tim Faulkner.

Defence Officer in it for the long haul at Williamtown

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Residents in Williamtown are still in the midst of the contamination scandal, with no end in sight just yet.

From Defence's perspective, Australian Senior Defence Officer based at Williamtown, Commodore Craig Heap believes the PFAS taskforce being lead by Senator James Mcgrath under Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull's Government is the best way forward at this stage.

Commodore Heap has been working on the contamination since the beginning and has no plans on stopping until the issue is cleared up.

He says there will eventually be a solution, it's just a matter of finding the best one.

"At the moment I would summarise it as it's been a long journey as I've said. The community is after and wants answers and wants actions from those answers, we're getting through some of them. Are we there yet? No not yet with government but really going into that it's all about state and federal government as you see through the government's taskforce lead by Senator Mcgrath."

Commodore Heap says he's doing everything he can to make sure resident's stories are being heard.

"My role really is to do what I can to get the message from affected members in the community whether its through formal processes like the community reference group or more informal processes where I'm meeting with the affected people in their homes on occasion to actually get the real story and the affects and give them the best information that we can."

Advance Australia Fair no longer young and free?

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Australians all let us rejoice, For we are young and free... 

We have all sung and all heard Australia's National Anthem, and many Aussies are proud of their song but at the same time, there are many who want to see it changed or even replaced.

A Lake Macquarie Councillor could be one step closer to changing just one word after council moved a motion to write a letter to Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull asking for the worked "young" to be replaced instead by "strong".

Cr Brain Adamthwaite who is also a school principal, sais it was a conversation with an Indigenous student which prompted him to put the motion to council. An Indigenous student asked him if he really had to stand and sing a song which doesn't represent him, or his people.

"So I think that just looking at the words that we have to make them more relevant, relevant to our first Australians, relevant to our new Australians and relevant to our future Australians. We need to look at the word young and recognise we are not a young nation, we are a nation with a long rich cultural heritage," which started with the Indigenous communities of Australia said Cr Adamthwaite.

Cr Adamthwaite said it wouldn't be the first time the anthem would be changed, more than thirty years ago a different word was changed to better include each and every Australian.

"Since 1984 these words have been the words that we've sung as our National Anthem and a lot of people have sung that with pride over time and remembering of course that when it was accepted in 1984, one word was changed then to change the word from "sons" to "all" to encompass all of our citizens not just the males in society."

An energy shake-up could be on the cards in the Hunter's future

BY IAN CROUCH and JESSICA ROUSE

The Hunter's energy could be up for a restructure after Chief Scientist Alan Finkel's review into Australia's energy market, but it hasn't gone down well overnight with Federal Coalition MP's.

The review suggests the introduction of an energy target and the orderly closure of coal-fuelled power stations in a move to renewable energy. The energy policy would see electricity prices fall by $90 a year and replace the current renewable energy target by 2020.

The review also calls for an emission intensity scheme which involves setting limits on how much greenhouse gases can be used at power stations.

However, the Prime Minister's push for an energy target which rewards businesses which use renewable was rejected by the majority of Coalition MPs amid fears it will do nothing to reduce electricity prices.

Alan Finkel Image www.chiefscientist.gov.au

Chief Executive of Australia Solar and Energy Storage Councils' John Grimes believes the review will help create new energy opportunities in the Hunter region.

"This will actually drive innovation and investment in renewable energy so we could well see new jobs and a big investment in large scale solar in particular in the Hunter Valley and there will be a transitioning of skills from people who've been employed in the old energy sector into the new energy sector."

With many MP's fearful of the future of coal, Federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg has told the ABC overnight his colleagues have no reason to worry.

"Certainly people are very concerned about the future of coal and rightly so too, they understand that coal is a critical source of baseline power and under Dr Finkel's recommendations it would still provide more than 50 per cent of the power across the national electricity market by 2030."

He adds that a practical solution will be reached in time and that Dr Finkel's report isn't recommending a specific baseline for a clean energy target, "It's not the government's report, it's a report to government from Dr Finkel and it's important that we are at the very early stages."

Chief Executive John Grimes believes the energy system urgently needs to be modernised because "the power system is broken. It's not delivering cheap energy for households and for businesses so we need to modernise the sector, that's what this is about - it's about giving incentive for new cheaper technology to compete with the old technology and push electricity prices down for everybody".

It's very important that we continue to live: MacDonald

BY JESSICA ROUSE

In the wake of the second attack to hit Britain in as many weeks, even here in the Hunter we are being told to be aware, particularly if we're travelling.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trading is urging travellers from the Hunter and throughout Australia who are headed to London to keep their travel plans, but listen to any and all advice given to them by officials around the city and avoid the London Bridge.

It comes after three men brought terror to the streets of London when they killed seven people and injured 48 others in a van and knife attack.

It has now been confirmed three Australians were caught up in the horror.

The three men responsible were shot dead by British officers within eight minutes of their attack.

"Many of us have friends or family overseas in places like London. I was talking to people this morning who have sons or daughters who are spending some time over there with work or study or tourism, so we are concerned about it but I think we've got to maintain our way of life, albeit with a fair bit of wariness," said Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald.

There are challenges out there, but he says he's very confident in Australia our police have the intelligence, the networks and the understanding that as Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull and Premier Gladys Berejiklian have said, they can't be everywhere all at the same time and be across every person who comes out of the woodwork.

Scot MacDonald says there's no doubt there are threats and that the threat level is high, but we need to keep on living.

"I think everyone in the community needs to be alert, to think about it, to go about their lives; I think that's very important that we continue to live and work as we should otherwise the people that do want to bring us down win."

Cutting down injuries in tree work industry

BY SARAH BARONOWSKI and JESSICA ROUSE

SafeWork NSW is raising concerns about worker safety in the tree work industry, following a serious incident at Windale last month.

A 25-year-old man fell 6 metres while lopping a tree at Windale and suffered suspected spinal injuries. It's not the only worrying incident with three other workers also involved in similar incidents throughout April, suffering head injuries and lacerations.

"Unfortunately, three workers were fatally injured last financial year and there's a lot of ongoing incidents including serious head, spinal and severe lacerations. So we really need to work closely with industry so we eliminate these issues," said Lawrence Richy from SafeWork NSW.

The Tree Work project will see SafeWork NSW work with tree industry businesses across NSW over the next six months to ensure they're meeting work health and safety, and workers compensation responsibilities.

Lawrence Richy said SafeWork "would like workers to ensure that they're working closely with their employers if they're in the tree work industry and utilising all the safe working systems of work and consulting with their employers," and importantly if there are any concerns no one should hesitate and ring up SafeWork on 13 10 50.

"We will be able to get an inspector out to walk through the proper processes and make sure everyone returns home safely after their days work."

Image www.maalikitreeservices.com.au

Orica's Kooragang Island facility cops fine

BY JESSICA ROUSE

It's thought a discharge of algae inside a pipe at Kooragang Island is what landed Orica Australia a $15,000 fine from the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA).

The incident was reported to the EPA on 9th March this year, just one day after it occurred.

The EPA said it's likely sediments were also dislodged resulting in concentrations of suspended solids, zinc and arsenic in the effluent becoming higher than the levels permitted by Orica's environment protection license.  

It's not the first time Orica has been fined by the EPA, there was another incident in October 2013 where they were fined $1,500 for exceeding their effluent concentration limits - also attributed to algae build-up.

They were also most recently cautioned in December 2016.

UON Broadspectrum Breakaway

BY LAUREN KEMPE

The University of Newcastle is planning to cut away from its five-year, $88 million contract with Broadspectrum.

Broadspectrum runs Australia's detention centres on Nauru and Manus Island, and the University's involvement with the company has brought about significant protest from students and staff in recent times.

The protests have been largely motivated by reports of abuse suffered by asylum seekers and refugees at both of Broadspectrum's detention centres.

In a written comment, a spokeswoman for the University of Newcastle has said the new arrangements the University will now directly engage and manage maintenance service providers as part of its revised Estate Management Strategy.

"Our priority is to ensure that we continue to deliver high-quality and efficient maintenance and facilities services for the benefit of our staff and students. Our new arrangements will ensure that this continues into the future and that services continue without disruption whilst still providing value for money in the expenditure of the University's funds," said the spokeswoman.

The University of Newcastle stated there will be continuity for existing service providers and strong relationships with other local contractors.