Helicopter crash lands on Stockton Beach

BY JARROD MELMETH

Fire and Rescue NSW are reporting a helicopter has crash landed on Stockton Beach this morning.

Fire and Rescue, Ambulance and Police are on the scene, near Lavis Lane, attending to those who were onboard the aircraft.

Miraculously, the two occupants of the helicopter are only being treated for minor injuries.

Pin drop of location of helicopter crash on Stockton Beach

Newcastle Airport Upgrades Readying for International Travel

 By SAMUEL BARTLETT

Newly announced runway upgrades at Newcastle Airport are expected to allow some of the largest passenger jets in and out of the Hunter region within two years.

But airport executives say a further $55 million renovation to the passenger terminal is key to unlocking the airport's potential.

Newcastle Airport CEO Dr Peter Cock says the upgrades will coincide with the influx of passengers so its necessary to have a terminal to accommodate.

"The upgrades will facilitate inbound and outbound international travelers," he said, "so it really is an exciting era for the region."

"We think there's a number of hub airports which will be logical places to start flying particularly Singapore," Dr Cock said.

The upgrades mean residents in regional NSW could travel overseas from Newcastle within two years without having to go via Sydney.

Dr Cock says, "it gives a real boost to inbound tourism and it also gets people from the Hunter to where they want to go internationally."

The runway upgrades also mean businesses in the Hunter can import and export on an international scale.

Dr Cock says the work will allow freight directly into the region.

"It creates an opportunity to create new business capitalising on the strength of our advanced manufacturing in smart technology and defence" he said.

Dr Cock explained, "our modelling has shown that's over $12 billion in new economic activity for the region."

The airport is currently working with the NSW to co-fund the terminal upgrades.

Officers Injured in Early Morning Pursuit

BY MADELAINE MCNEILL

A man has been charged following a crash which ended a pursuit through the Hunter and left two police officers with soft tissue injuries.

Officers initiated a pursuit after spotting a Toyota Corolla speeding along Nelson Bay Road at Bobs Farm shortly before 1 o'clock on Sunday morning.

The chase continued south through Williamtown and Tomago before reaching Hexham Bridge, where officers deployed road spikes.

The Corolla drove through the spikes onto the bridge and collided with the stationary Highway Patrol vehicle while attempting to turn right onto the New England Highway.

The car stopped nearby after driving into a chain-wire fence and three people were arrested at the scene.

The driver, a 19-year-old Cessnock man, was charged with several offences including reckless driving, driving with a cancelled licence, and possession of the drug Methamphetamine.

Police also executed four outstanding warrants relating to offences including assault, damage property, fraud, contravene AVO, reckless wounding and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The man was refused bail to face court on Monday, September 16.

The police officers injured in the crash were treated at the scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics.

Federal Government Williamtown contamination report tabled

BY JARROD MELMETH

A report being tabled by the federal government on the Williamtown Contamination crisis is being labelled as a slap in the face by the opposition.

The report comes as a result of a motion moved jointly by Labor and the Greens in December last year which called on the Turnbull Government to explain what consideration it had given to addressing the contamination crisis.

The Senate motion required the government to release its report on the 5th of February however, the report was given to the president rather than tabled in the Senate, which NSW Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon says only adds to the bad way the people of Williamtown are being treated by the Government.

"Not only is it a day late. The report is totally inadequate. It really is quite arrogant. They have basically just listed key financial organisations they have met with, without releasing recommendations or the substance of the discussion about the key aspects of the motion which required the government to detail the financial impacts of the contamination on the people of Williamtown," Ms Rhiannon said.

Federal Member for Paterson Meryl Swanson has described the government's handling of the motion as "a sign of utter disdain for the people of Williamtown who have suffered through no fault of their own."

The report will be tabled later today.

A property within the Williamtown contamination red zone.

Masonite Road Fire Updates

BY IAN CROUCH AND JESSICA ROUSE

UPDATE 12:30PM

Newcastle Airport has closed to flights again due to fire activity in the area.

UPDATE: Newcastle Airport is closed to flights until 3pm due to bush fire activity in the area. Some airlines are diverting flights, some have replacement bus services. Check with your airlines directly about these arrangements.

— Newcastle Airport (@NTLairport) January 15, 2018

The fire continues to burn at the advice level today as fire crews work to

"Today we have around 130 firefighters from the Rural Fire Service assisted by Fire and Rescue NSW and the National Parks and Wildlife Service and also the RAAF Base Williamtown. These crews are doing an amazing job to protect our community and will continue to work as hard as possible to contain this fire hopefully by this afternoon," said Greg Allan from the RFS.

The main focus is in the north east corner around Richardson Road and Wade Close.

There are still gusty winds hampering crews efforts, but they are continuing to monitor the situation and changing their strategies depending on the weather and the wind.

"It looks like towards the end of this week the temperatures are going to increase, it's looking like the mid 40's in some parts so it's important that you may not have been affected by that fire in the Tomago region, but coming into the latter part of this week with those high temperatures it really is important, we can't stress enough, that you make or update that Bush Fire Survival Plan," said Greg.

The blaze has now torn through 2,296 hectares.

Backburning efforts by @NSWRFS underway at Campvale near Raymond Terrace. Full story with @meredith_gibbs on @nbnnews tonight pic.twitter.com/COOQhKG4NA

— David Threlfo (@David_Threlfo) January 15, 2018

UPDATE 8:30AM

Residents living around Campvale are being advised to remain vigilant despite easing bushfire conditions overnight.

The Masonite Road fire has burnt through more than 2200 hectares since Saturday and has now been downgraded to Advice level after threatening homes around Richardson Road,
Grahamstown Road and Wade Close overnight.

Image MJF Productions.

There are no reports of property damage.

Richardson Road remains closed in both directions between Grahamstown Road and Medowie Road.

Around 140 firefighters are backburning in a bid to strengthen containment lines.

However, Greg Allan from the Rural Fire Service says strong winds are again forecast for today.

"Today we've got a very high fire danger rating for the Greater Hunter area with wind gusts getting up to around 50 kilometres per hour. So, firefighters will assess the situation - through the morning things could change but we'll certainly work on strengthening those containment lines and with the assistance of water bombing aircraft hopefully this fire will be brought to containment as soon as possible," he said.

There is nothing but praise for the hundreds of firefighters who have been working on the fire ground getting it under control.

 "Not only the Rural Fire Service but also the assistance of Fire and Rescue, National Parks and Wildlife and the Williamtown RAAF Base there as well, everyone getting together to do what they can. Currently, we have around 140 firefighters, we have certainly seen hundreds of firefighters do what they can over the last couple of days to protect the area and our communities and keep them safe," said Greg.

Image MJF Productions.

Newcastle Airport has reopened today with flights as usual after two days interruptions.

The Rural Fire Service is warning residents in Medowie they may experience smokey conditions throughout the day.

Image MJF Productions.

TOTAL FIRE BAN for the Hunter Ahead of another Warm Day

BY JESSICA ROUSE

It was a rough night's sleep in the Hunter last night, with the temperature still in the mid 30's for much of the region at 9:30pm.

It didn't get much cooler through the night it didn't get much cooler than the low to mid 20's.

It wasn't just hot last night, yesterday saw record temperatures with Nobby's reaching it's hottest day in five years at 41.4 degrees and Williamtown hitting nearly 44 degrees.

We're in for another warm one today with Wallsend expected to swelter through another 42 degree day and Maitland is also in for another hot one with an expected 43 degrees.

With that, the Rural Fire Service (RFS) has declared another Total Fire Ban for the Greater Hunter today.

"That's due to forecast hot, dry and windy conditions expected through parts of those areas today. That means there are no fires in the open and obviously if you want to know further you can visit the RFS website and your best off spending those couples of minutes before we turn up to extinguish any fires you may have and an infringement notice is sent out," said James Morris from the RFS.

"There is still warmer conditions predicted for tomorrow however we will see a cooler change come through on Wednesday which will hopefully bring milder conditions across much of the state and hopefully a small amount of rain in that as well."

For information on any fires near you head to NSW RFS Fires Near Me

"It's Wicked What They've Done to Us": Kim-Leeanne King on the Government's Non-Response to the Williamtown Contamination

BY JESSICA ROUSE

It's the town residents want to escape from, but they simply can't.

The PFAS contamination of Williamtown, or the red zone, has been plaguing the residents since the scandal was revealed in September 2015.

Kim-Leeanne King is just one of the many who lives along Cabbage Tree Road, one of the areas within the primary contaminated zones from PFAS. It's also the same road of a possible "cancer cluster" after Fairfax revealed at least 24 people who had lived on the road over the past 15 years had been diagnosed with cancer.

The cancer cluster reports were revealed earlier this year and labelled as being "too large to be coincidental" by One Nation Senator Brian Burston.

Kim-Leeanne has seen the effects of cancer firsthand after her father died of bowel cancer in 2005.

"Thyroid and colon cancer are known factors and the fact that my father was eating the vegetables that were grown here, I think that only adds to the worry that the rest of us have now, it's not if we get cancer but when we get it," said Kim-Leeanne.


The 47-year-old mother has always thought something wasn't quite right; her daughter suffers from various allergies and she herself has had a medical scare of her own this year.

The boundary of her property backs onto the heavily contaminated Lake Cochrane, adding to her suspicions about the chemical making her family, and her livestock, sick.

"I am resourceful, so I have done my own research on these chemicals and certainly what we are being told is different to what's happening overseas so we are doing everything that we possibly can. We no longer eat our own vegetables which we used to water with bore water."

Not eating anything grown on properties in Williamtown is one of the precautions laid out in guidelines published by both the Department of Defence and the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA), the precautions though vary. Defence says it's alright to eat some things grown in certain areas, whereas the EPA urge residents not to eat anything grown anywhere within the red zone.

"Don't come in contact with surface water, don't do this, don't do that. I mean they're telling us all there are no known health effects, you're pretty safe, you're this you're that. But if they're telling us all of this why are they putting these precautions out there if they're not worried themselves?"

When it comes to taking precautions, Kim-Leeanne says they don't even let their grandson go outside and play for fear of what the chemicals in the ground may do to his health.

"He can't even go out in the yard and play. How sad is that? And this is Australia. And all the politicians are worried about in Canberra is their dual citizenship and saving their own political lives. It's a disgrace. A national disgrace."

Now Kim-Leeanne is just begging for an escape.

"That's the saddest thing. there's no way out. And then how do you replace what you've spent a lifetime building and doing... and I don't know... even just the sentimental value of things. It's wicked what they've done to us."

Cabbage Tree Road.

Swanson Moves Motion with Greens for Answers on Red Zone

BY JESSICA ROUSE

The Federal Government now has a deadline.

They have until February 6, 2018, to explain what consideration they are giving to the people and business of Williamtown when it comes to their financial situations.

Labor, the Greens and some minor parties have joined forces to put forward a Senate motion condemning the Department of Defence's response to the PFAS contamination saga in the Williamtown red zone, and also calling on the Turnbull government to explain what consideration it has given to addressing any financial impacts on affected businesses and individuals.

The motion was a culmination of work by Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon and Paterson MP Meryl Swanson who has been going in to bat for Williamtown in Canberra since the saga began.

"That's what this motion is about, it's about putting pressure on the government to say you keep telling us that you have a solution, you keep telling us that you have options for the people of Williamtown. That was six months ago, where are these options, we need to know what is going on," said Meryl Swanson.

A solution is yet to be found for the people suffering in the red zone, and Meryl Swanson believes the issue is bigger than politics, it's about people's lives.

"I just really want a scheme that's fair and that is straight forward and that helps people and gives them options. The actuary people, the policy people will be able to develop the details of whatever these things are going to be, but I just want something that's going to look after the people of Williamtown who have already been through enough."

"What they need to do is give a meaningful explanation of what is going on moving forward so when Senator James Magrath, head of the PFAS Taskforce stands up and says we have a plan, we need to know what that plan is," said Meryl Swanson.

Paterson MP Meryl Swanson in Williamtown in May 2017.

"We're being abandoned": Williamtown Contamination Saga Sees No End

BY JESSICA ROUSE

"We're being abandoned."

It's how residents living in the Williamtown red zone feel after the Department of Defence came to give them yet another map of the contaminated area and revised guidelines on how to deal with it.

More than 250 residents packed into the Murrook Cultural Centre last night to see an updated Human Health Risk Assessment from Defence including a new map with four colour-coded risk zones, which appears different to the one issued by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) just two weeks ago.

The risk assessment aimed to assess the potential human health risks of exposure to PFAS impacted soil, groundwater, surface water, sediment, seafood, and others.

The four risk zones carry varying levels of contamination. Defence also issued its own set of precautionary guidelines for each of the zones. In the risk assessment, Defence advises residents to follow the precautions to "minimise their exposure to PFAS pending further information becoming available."

But it's feeling like too little too late for residents who are begging for an escape.

Lindsay Clout, the President of the Fullerton Cove Residents Action group believes the meeting last night was a joke.

"Make no mistake what happened last night was the Department of Defence walking away from the responsibility of this contamination. They spent two hours last night telling us that we, the community, now have to manage the impacts of this contamination."

"It's more of the same, which is nothing. I mean, the Department of Defence must have the biggest mirror in the country because pretty well every question that was asked of them last night their response was 'we will look into it'," said Lindsay.

Department of Defence representatives admitted no human blood tests were included in the data they collected to create their map of the contamination zone, adding to the frustration of residents.

"[Port Stephens MP] Kate Washington asked the question 'was there any blood testing results included in the construction of the map' and the answer was no. And she asked 'how is it a human health risk assessment can be presented without human health results?' And the disturbing thing is that defence didn't even understand the question," said Lindsay.

Lindsay couldn't believe the incompetence he witnessed at last night's meeting particularly when it came to Defence's list of guidelines for residents.

"But the paradox of the whole issue is, Defence keep putting out this statement that there are no known health impacts from the chemical, yet they're telling us don't eat your eggs, don't grow your vegetables in the contaminated area, don't drink the bore water, you have to be cautious with this, you have to be cautious with that,"

"And then they tell us well it shouldn't really matter because there are no known health impacts from it. It's just out of control."

EPA v. Department of Defence

In early November, the red zone was expanded to include another 250 properties in Fullerton Cove and Salt Ash.

The EPA's map and report were based on the same data as Defence's map but they instead divide the area up into three zones. In one zone, the risk is high and strict restrictions are in place and in the two other zones contamination is either confirmed or potentially present and those have less strict precautions.

"The Defence risk assessment provides people with some background to the science and the data but we recommend that people focus on the EPA map which provides them with all of the information that they need to follow the precautions and keep themselves safe on their properties," said Northern Region Director of the EPA Adam Gilligan.

Environment Protection Authority map fo the contaminated zone.

Department of Defence map of the contaminated red zone.

There are differing precautions listed between Defence and the EPA. For instance according to Defence eating home-grown fruit and vegetables is acceptable in some areas, but according to the EPA guidelines, all residents are advised not to eat anything grown on their properties.

Adam Gilligan said they understand the horrible time residents are having and want to help holding numerous drop-in sessions, and are happy to meet with residents one-on-one.

He adds now it's also time to move into an ongoing management phase at the site because the contamination isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"So we are continuing to work with Defence to get more done to stop contamination leaving the base first and foremost and also do ongoing monitoring to make sure that we continue to assess the levels of contamination in the environment."

The EPA was at two information sessions being held today in Williamtown, and will be at Salt Ash Primary School tomorrow from 3:30pm until 6pm for any residents who couldn't go along today.

The EPA's findings and advice can be found here.

The summary of the Department of Defence's risk assessment can be found here.

In the end, Lindsay said it's all infuriated him even further and he doesn't know who to believe.

"Well, in my opinion, none of it. The only person I believe has any credibility on this issue at all is Professor Mary O'Kane, NSW Chief Scientist but they don't seem to be listening to her."

 "I just despair at where we're going, we're being abandoned, and now we're being given the responsibility to deal with contamination."

Williamtown PFAS Contamination Drop-In Sessions

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Residents living in and around the Williamtown contaimination red zone have the opportunity to go along to information sessions tonight and tomorrow to hear from the Department of Defence.

The information sessions will focus on the findings of the 2017 Environmental Site Assessment and the 2017 Off-Site Human Health Risk Assessment.

The latest report found the maitenance zone, or red zone, now extends to include another 250 properties.

The details for the events are:

Community information presentation: Tuesday 5 December 2017
                                                              at the Murrook Cultural Centre, 2163 Nelson Bay Road,
                                                              Williamtown, 5:30pm - 7:00pm

Community walk-in sessions: Wednesday 6 December 2017
                                                  at the Murrook Cultural Centre, 2163 Nelson Bay Road,
                                                 Williamtown,
                                                 Morning session: 9:00am - 12:00pm
                                                 Afternoon session: 2:00pm - 6:00pm

At the walk-in sessions local residents and businesses will be able to ask questions, one-on-one with Defence and other government department agencies on the report findings.

Port Stephens MP Kate Washington said the information sessions will be quite saddening for many of the residents.

"It's going to be tough news for residents because I think it is going to really be speaking to the potential poor health outcomes that flowed from this contamination. Whilst it won't specifically be about health, it will be about how the contaminants travels to humans."

There are more sessionss planned in the near future, but Kate Washington fears they may not deliver what the community wants.

"We're hearing from defence today that the community meetings coming up are about the conclusion of their assessment of the human health. Now for me that's a little bit concerning. It suggest that there may not be any future testing done, it suggests that this might be the end of the road for Defence's purposes in terms of determinin goutcomes for humans."

Newcastle Airport Sets Another Record

BY IAN CROUCH AND SARAH BARONOWSKI

It's been another record month at Newcastle Airport.

Almost 116,000 people travelled in and out of the Williamtown facility during October - an increase of 1.8 percent compared to the same time last year.

Travelling workers, the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival, Rugby World Cup, Gold Coast Supercars and the precursor to last week's Newcastle 500 have all contributed to the record numbers.

The previous monthly record was set last year when just under 114,000 passengers passed through the terminal gates.

More records were set over the Supercars weekend as well, with a total of 21, 000 people passing through the facility.

CEO Dr. Peter Cock says the Newcastle 500 was a huge success for the airport.

"On the Friday we did our busiest day ever. We did 4823 passengers so that's an all-time record for us and at one stage on the Sunday, we had every single aircraft parking bay filled which is the first time that's ever happened at the airport. So, it was really great for us."

He says the team is hoping to break more records over the Christmas holidays and into next year.

"We're looking to break that record again. We're still growing, we're in 24 months of continuous growth but we just continually need the support of Hunter people. Don't drive to another airport, use your local airport."

Record Numbers Pass Through Newcastle Airport

"Toxic Dysfunction" of Government Eroding Williamtown Solution

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Paterson MP Meryl Swanson believes the "toxic dysfunction" of the State and Federal Governments has derailed their ability to find a solution for Williamtown.

The MP flew to Canberra yesterday to meet with Defence Minister Senator Marise Payne and Head of the PFAS Taskforce Senator James McGrath to demand answers.

But she says she came away disappointed with no answers, only being told that a number of options were being considered.

Senator Payne stated during the meeting that "defence stands ready to do whatever is asked of it from the Government".

Senator James McGrath and Senator Marise Payne at
Williamtown in May this year.

"I think it really speaks to the bigger problem that we have a Prime Minister who is incapable of making a decision and is battling to keep his job and batting off people that want his job. The buck stops in Cabinet, in Cabinet is where the big decisions are made," said Meryl Swanson.

Meryl Swanson said she came away with one startling revelation - Defence wasn't asked to come to Williamtown for the latest Williamtown Community Reference Group briefing where the Environmental Protection Authority informed residents the 'management area' or Red Zone had been expanded to include another 250 properties.

She says to get anywhere, everyone needs to work together, not pit everyone against each other.

"The last thing we want is the NSW Government and the NSW agencies like the EPA and Health, pitting Defence against the community. We need to be working together on this."

Meryl Swanson says a little bit of fault lies with all of the parties involved and she won't stop fighting for Williamtown until the problem is solved.

"The next step for me is to get back to Canberra on Sunday and go into next week continuing to push hard. I'm going to again contact the Prime Minister and say what is going on here and I'm going to continue to fight for the people of Williamtown like I have been."

Paterson MP Meryl Swanson at Williamtown in May this year.

Williamtown Innovation Hub Officially Open

BY JESSICA ROUSE

The latest hub of innovation and technology has officially opened in Williamtown this morning.

The Williamtown Innovation Hub, also called "DSA-18", will support the research and development of new technologies for the defence industry.

It's a collaboration of the University of Newcastle with the support of the state government who contributed $1.5 million to the hub to drive innovation.

The hub has desks for both defence workers and university researchers, meeting rooms and will host networking events and seminars to provide opportunities for engagement with local and national companies in the defence, security, IT and transport sectors.

Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald says the innovation hub will make the latest technologies available to researchers to develop bigger and better things.

"It's really important that people have a place to incubate those ideas if you like and bounce them off colleagues who work in the industry and see if they're adaptable and see if the commercialisation is possible and that can only happen if you're working closely together," said Scot MacDonald.

The Hunter region's defence sector employs more than 4,600 people and contributes $1.3 billion to the region's economy.

"This will get the academics and professors working out the hub making themselves available to people who have got ideas that might be picked up by the defence industry. A lot of the innovation really does come from if you like, grassroots level," said Scot MacDonald.

Artists impression.

Local MP's sidelined on Williamtown Contamination

BY SARAH BARONOWSKI

Paterson MP Meryl Swanson says "it's a disgrace" the NSW Government plans to exclude local MP's from the new Williamtown consultative group.

Yesterday, it was revealed an 'independent' committee will be established and members of the current Williamtown Elected Representative Group (ERG) won't be given a place.

The Government also announced plans to dissolve the ERG but Meryl Swanson says this won't stop her from continuing to defend her community.

She says the State Government is just trying to avoid answering the tough questions.

"This is an attempt by the State Government to try and shelve this, to push it back into the corner and push it back under the rug and it's not good enough. We won't have it.

"This is a disgrace and we are continuing to fight and we won't be silenced on this."

The Paterson MP also claims it's "poor form" for Parliamentary Secretary of the Hunter, Scot Macdonald to suggest the ERG isn't taking the Williamtown contamination issue seriously by listening to the concerns of residents.

Paterson MP Meryl Swanson

"I was affronted by Scot Macdonald's suggestion yesterday that our community concerns are not treated with sensitivity and confidentiality. I have never once breached the confidence of a meeting.

"That was particularly poor form to suggest that politicians would misrepresent members of the community. That is not accurate."

It is not currently known what role the new committee will play.

The Williamtown community has pushed back against this announcement, saying they want their local MP's to represent them on the issue.

Aviation Firefighters seek information on PFAS contamination

BY LAUREN FREEMANTLE

The Aviation branch of the United Firefighters Union has lodged a complaint with the Office of the Information Commissioner in an attempt to gather information about PFAS contamination throughout Australia. 

It follows numerous denials by Airservices Australia to release the information requested under Freedom of Information laws. 

The Firefighters Union want to determine the full effects of PFAS foams used at 26 airports across the country, including Williamtown RAAF base. 

It comes after an investigation by ABC's Four Corners program last night exposed "gross failures by the Department of Defence" to deal with the problem. 

In response to the ABC investigation, Member for Paterson, Meryl Swanson, yesterday called on the federal government to send a representative to Williamtown and release a solution to the contamination crisis immediately. 

Firefighters Union Branch Secretary, Henry Lawrence, says the use of PFAS firefighting foams in Australia stopped in 2003, but only after the U.S. manufacturer ceased production.

He believes aviation firefighters and residents living in communities surrounding contaminated sites have the right to know what risks they are being exposed to. 

"Despite having reduced the size of our requests down to asking for a map...that would show the extent of contamination at the airports...still we've been told the information we're seeking is too voluminous; too much time and resources," Mr Lawrence said. 

He also called for health monitoring systems for exposed persons to be provided by the government. 

"It's not that there's no evidence that there are risks to human health with this stuff, but it's not consistent. 

"So it's imperative that a monitoring system is introduced for our members who were exposed as much (or more) than the aviation firefighters in the Department of Defence." 

Council Defends Closure of Cabbage Tree Road

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Port Stephens Council say the diversions they've put in place while Cabbage Tree Road in Williamtown is closed is the best option.

Diversions are being put in place while $1.35 million worth of essential maintenance is carried out by council on behalf of the Roads and Maritime Services to improve both the safety and longevity of the road.

Cabbage Tree Road will be completely closed from now until December, Monday to Saturday, between 7am and 5pm. Council say a full road closure with diversions rather than using a stop/go method of diverting traffic was the best option.

Capital Works Section Manager Phil Miles said when they've used the contraflow method of diverting traffic before it caused even more traffic problems.

"The first stage between Masonite Road and the current works was undertaken using contraflow which is the stop/slow traffic gets to go in both directions and the experience from that was nobody won, it was significant traffic delays for commuters and businesses going in both directions."

The detours will add up to half an hour of travel time for westbound motorists via either Richardson Road towards Raymond Terrace or Nelson Bay Road towards Newcastle.

"For those travelling from Nelson Bay all the way through to Sydney very minimal delays. For those coming from the Hunter to the airport and then heading home, again there's a relatively minimal detour. The local residents are clearly going to be the most affected as they always are with roadworks."

Williamtown Residents Prepare For More Pain.

BY IAN CROUCH

Just when residents of Cabbage Tree Road at Williamtown were coming to grips with the RAAF Base contamination crisis and a cancer cluster, they're about to burdened with a couple of months of inconvenience.

They're discovered road work is about to start, which will see the westbound lane of the road closed from October 9 until early December.

It means some residents will be forced to take a 30 minute detour just to access their homes.

Member for Port Stephens Kate Washington says this is simply unacceptable, and does not understand why temporary traffic lights could not be used instead.

"I just don't understand why this is going to be a complete block-off of the westbound traffic, so that the families going to and from work, taking their kids to school, they're going to have a significant detour," she said.

Road Funding for Port Stephens

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Five of Port Stephen's worst road blackspots won't be a danger for much longer, with a funding boost from the state government.

As a part of the Safer Roads Program $3 million will be invested into projects like off-road cycleways and widened lanes on Nelson Bay Road, nearly $800,000 into two intersections on Lemon Tree Passage Road and traffic calming devices in a couple of areas.

Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald says in regional areas, including the Hunter, 254 people have lost their lives on local roads. That's two-thirds of the total road toll for 2016.

"It's really targeted at some of those areas where there's evidence of crashes and injuries and even death. Regional NSW is unfortunately disproportionately represented in terms of road deaths and road injuries."

The five upgrades are:
- $300,000 for off-road cycleways at roundabouts, and widening lanes for more cycleways on a 9.5km length of nNelson Bay Road and east of Marsh Road, Williamtown/Salt Ash
- $795,000 for two intersections on Lemon Tree Passage Road, Tenilba Bay
- $1.65 million to install a two lane roundabout at intersection of Raymond Terrace Road and Seaham Road at Nelsons Plains
- $120,000 to install traffic calming devices, improve road surface with increased friction and improve sight distance at intersection of Shoal Bay Road and Gowrie Avenue at Nelson Bay
- $190,000 to install traffic calming devices to reduce risk of crashes on Foreshore Drive, Port Stephens Drive, Salamander Bay

Scot MacDonald says ironically, the money being used for the projects comes from drivers themselves. 

"Look unfortunately the money comes out of speed camera revenue which is dedicated to going back to safer roads. No one likes to be pinged and pay those fines, but at least if you do get caught and you do pay that fine you understand the money is going back to Safer Roads Program,." he said.

Image ferrovial.com

Defence Innovation Hub for Williamtown means a major boost for the Hunter

BY LAUREN FREEMANTLE and JESSICA ROUSE

The new Defence Innovation Hub being established at Williamtown Aerospace Centre is set to be a major boost for the Hunter's defence industry and innovation sector.

The centre comes as a part of the Federal Government's $195 billion spend on defence acquisition and is funded by the government in collaboration with the University of Newcastle's innovation network to encourage research and innovation.

Speaking at the HunterNet Defence Conference yesterday, Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald said the region's defence industry is on the cusp of something special.

"We're announcing the NSW Government is contributing and collaborating with the Defence Innovation Hub. It really is about supporting universities and our smart industries, our research and our development that can be involved in the defence sector and that will be the air force, the navy and the army."

The Hunter has the largest regional defence presence in the state with the sector bringing in $1.3 billion a year and more than 4,000 jobs.

Scot MacDonald said the Defence Innovation hub at Williamtown will attract the expertise of academics, research and development to the region and continue to build on the strong relationship between the region and defence.

"We've always had a strong defence presence and defence industry in NSW but they haven't been talked about and known as well as in some other states. We are really getting on the front foot and making sure that place, particularly the Hunter, becomes much more prominent within the defence space and industry."

Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald.
Image https://www.defenceconnect.com.au/key-enablers/1143-hunter-wins-innovation-hub-williamtown

Childcare centre off the RAAF Base and out to Medowie

BY JESSICA ROUSE

The Department of Defence are moving a childcare centre earmarked for the Williamtown RAAF Base out to Medowie instead.

It comes after international research indicated there is a potential risk that noise exposure may affect children's rate of learning compared to a quiet environment. In addition, the health risks to hearing is a major concern.

The research is what led to the closure of RAAF Base childcare centres back in 2015 at Amberley and Darwin.

The decision to not have one back at Williamtown is particularly pleasing to Paterson MP Meryl Swanson.

"It also happened to be outside of the red zone which I think is a wise and cautionary decision. You know, we don't know about PFAS, it is an emerging contaminant and I do think that they've done a good thing in making the decision to move the childcare centre,"

"They took the decision to move the childcare bases at Williamtown, Amberly and Darwin because of fast jets and the noise. That decision was taken a number of years ago before PFAS became an issue and I was briefed recently, last week, that a new childcare centre was being built at Medowie," said Meryl Swanson.

The childcare centre at Medowie is still little ways away - it isn't expected to be built until next year. Defence has committed to the centre which they say will be completed between January and August 2018.

Meryl Swanson says with a majority of RAAF families already living in Medowie, it just makes sense.