Bus Timetable Changes Spark Further Backlash

BY KAYNE STEPHENS AND MADELAINE MCNEILL

Newcastle Transport operator Keolis Downer's plans to favour the On-Demand bus service in Lake Macquarie over regular weekend services are being criticised as the area prepares for another timetable revision.

The On-Demand service, which allows commuters to book a bus to pick up or drop them off anywhere in the service area, is being expanded further South towards Belmont TAFE.

The service will double in size and extend to customers in Redhead, Jewells, Floraville, Croudace Bay, Valentine, Belmont North and Belmont.

The frequency of scheduled services will be cut during off-peak times when the On-Demand bus is operating, raising concerns from local MPs Yasmin Catley and Jodie Harrison, as well as the Rail Tram and Bus Union who say the timetable should be left alone.

Member for Swansea, Yasmin Catley, says cutting regular timetables makes the network less reliable for commuters.

"It is delivering less services, longer journey times, and now they actually want to scrap those fixed services," said Ms Catley.

"It is absolutely disgusting the way that we have been treated here in Newcastle by the government. They need to come up here and they need to fix this problem now."

The plans have faced criticism over the level of consultation, as well as the reduction of the 41, 43, and 48 bus services which will be halved.

The services presently run one one hour intervals, but the MPs say it will be reduced to once every 2 hours under the revised timetable plan.

"The community that I represent tell me that they want the 350 route back. It was the route that took people to where they needed to be," said Yasmin Catley.

"We have a situation where a bus timetable and its routes have been implemented but do not meet the needs of the community. This has to stop."

Ms Catley also believes the community isn't quite sold on the new system and still relies on regular timetabled buses to get around.

"Those people who use the buses are concerned about this. On-Demand is not properly tried and tested," she said.

"And we know that it is costing tens of thousands, if not millions of dollars more than the services that we currently have in our fixed lines."

Keolis Downer Hunter Director of Corporate Affairs, Andrew Fletcher, said the company made the decision after listening to customers, speaking with drivers and analysing passenger data.

Newcastle Transport will release updated timetables and launch an information campaign on June 16th to keep passengers informed ahead of the changes, which come into effect on June 30th.

The On Demand service allows commuters to book a bus through the phone or an app, and they can be dropped off anywhere in the service area. Image: Transport NSW

Labor's Fair Go For Renters

BY ADAM ACHURCH

Labor launched their "Fair Go for Renters" petition this week, in order to push the government into action and bring on a debate within Parliament to make changes to laws involving renters within the Hunter region.

Shadow Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation and Swansea MP Yasmin Catley believes:

"This petition will bring the debate right into Parliament- and force the Government to say whether it supports fairer rules for renters."

One of the major problems within renters and landlords is the "No Grounds" provisions, which allows landlords to evict tenants without giving any reason.

With Newcastle's percentage of renters alone sitting at 39.9 percent, the housing market becoming less and less affordable, tenants are scared of bringing up issues with landlords due to the risk of eviction.

"People shouldn't be scared to point out a broken window or a leaking tap just in case the landlord decides to turf them out," said Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp.

Labor is willing to work with both landlords and tenants, to come up with a fairer alternative to "No Grounds" provisions.

Yasmin Catley and Tim Crackenthorp Launch The Fair Go For Renters Petition

Quad Bike roundtable today in a bid to end fatalities

BY SARAH BARONOWSKI and JESSICA ROUSE

With more than thirty quad bike deaths in the state since 2011 including the death of a 60-year-old man in the Upper Hunter earlier this year, NSW Labor has decided to convene a roundtable on quad bike safety.

The roundtable taking place today will see stakeholders get together to look at a range of strategies including age restrictions, to try and prevent further quad bike deaths. It also comes after a recent examination of reforms in Queensland.

 Representatives at the roundtable include The Royal Australian College of Surgeons, NSW Farmers Association, Country Women's Association, Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries and Quad Safe Australia.

Shadow Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation, Yasmin Catley says we've already seen too many quad bike deaths this year alone. 

"It's time that we bring together all of the stakeholders to address the problems of accidents and then with the use of quad bikes so we're bringing all of the stakeholders together to have that discussion so that we can talk about coming up with some resolutions that will address the issues of death and safety on quad bikes."

She also said the government had been invited to attend, but they declined. She believes the best and only way to come to a solution is a joint effort, but it won't work if only one side comes to the party.

"The government have been invited but unfortunately they have declined to come and it's really quite disappointing I have to say. This is something that the Labor Party want to have a bipartisan approach on and of course, that should be the case because when we're addressing any tragedy like this you need to have a bipartisan approach," said Yasmin Catley.

Driverless Technology to the Hunter

BY DANIELLE RIES

Labor seek to make Newcastle the testing ground for new driverless technology in NSW.

Swansea MP Yasmin Catley gave parliament a notice that she would introduce a private members bill which would give the Transport Minister the power to identify trial sites for this technology.

A private members bill, which is modelled off a similar act passed in South Australia, will spend 10-million dollars over three years in hopes to attract the technology

This comes after the opposition Luke Foley used his budget reply speech last year to help campaign for the idea.

Yasmin Catley says we should take advantage of this opportunity.

"Those plans actually have the technology inbuilt into them that will enable autonomous vehicles to operate on the roads here in the Hunter.

"So we want to take advantage of the 90 billion dollar industry that is the autonomous vehicle industry which we will see in the next 10 to 20 years and we want NSW to be part of that and we want the Hunter to be at the heart of that".

She also states a trial will help the residents in the Hunter understand more about driverless cars.

"That is something a trial will do. It will give people a flavour of what autonomous vehicles will look like on our roads, how they will interact with the rest of our infrastructure in our city.

"So that is actually why it is so important to have a trial to give people the confidence around autonomous vehicles. There are challenges as well of course with these emerging technologies and we need to learn about those."

Swansea MP Yasmin Catley, Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp,
Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes & Shadow Minister for Roads Jodi Mckay

Lack of specialists giving Hunter families the run around

BY DANIELLE RIES and JESSICA ROUSE

Swansea MP Yasmin Catley is calling on the Berejiklian government to provide more ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialists for families in the Hunter.

It comes after a Belmont family was forced to pay $4,000 to see an ENT specialist due to a lack of appointments available to the public in the region.

"It is just staggering to think that we are not providing services to our children in our region. At the same time, we've got a government that is constantly gloating about the rivers of gold they have received through privatising everything that's not nailed down. Yet we cannot provide health services to children in our area," said Yasmin Catley.

The Member for Swansea has written to the Minister for Health, calling on him to urgently expand services across the Hunter and to clarify exactly how many children are currently waiting for ENT services throughout the Hunter New England health district. 

"This government has got its priorities all wrong. It needs to start to make sure that it is looking after the people of NSW. It is appealing to think that here we have a child who has a result of not being able to get into a specialist service for in excess of a year and almost become profoundly deaf and therefore experienced terrible developmental delays."

Motorists won't be reaping any rewards from Green Slip reforms

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Motorists across the state won't be reaping any rewards when the NSW Government put forward their proposed reforms to Green Slips.

The reforms would see Hunter motorists Green Slip bills cut by $100, but the system of lump sum payments would be changed to weekly payments and those claiming serious injuries won't be able to claim for longer than two years for a loss of earnings, are just some of the changes which could come into fruition.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian and her government claim the changes would benefit taxpayers in a reduction of costs.

Not everyone agrees, least of all Swansea MP Yasmin Catley.

This isn't the first time the government have tried to make changes to the system, and if their bill is successfully passed in parliament this time it would come into play in December.

"They know that what they're trying to do is bad for motorists and that's why this is their third attempt. So we'll see what they have to deliver today but I'll tell you what Labor will be sticking up for motorists and making sure that the fundamentals of the CTP which are looking after people who have been injured through no fault of their own and that they are compensated and looked after into the future," said Yasmin Catley.

The reforms would also aim to enhance the power of the State Insurance Regulatory Authority to tackle fraud and regulate insurer profits which have averaged 20 per cent since 1999.

This is something Yasmin Catley does agree with saying "most importantly the insurance companies super profit has to be stopped. This government has been reluctant to do that. They're too soft on insurance companies and that's because people are lobbying for insurance companies and it's important that at the end of the day it isn't insurance companies that get the best end of this deal, it has to be the motorists of NSW".

Strata law changes set to benefit investors in the Hunter

BY JARROD MELMETH

More than 90 of the proposed changes to strata laws by the State Government come into full force throughout the State including the Hunter today, with investors set to benefit.

Strata title or Strata laws is the system for owning units and townhouses, which generally have a combination of private residences as well as communal spaces

Under the new laws, cigarette smoking will now be considered a 'nuisance', meaning people who only smoke inside their own units can be ordered to stop if it affects other residents. 

A limit to the number of adults who can live in an apartment will now be in place, with fines for overcrowding to be raised to $5500.

Owners corporations will also have the power to invite local council parking inspectors into their car parks, in an effort to penalize "parking thieves."

The most controversial of the changes means that 75 per cent of owners in older residences will have the power to dictate the selling of the entire building to developers, regardless of objections from the 25 percent minority.

Minister for Innovation and Swansea MP Yasmin Catley says the changes are a direct attack on people's property rights.

"The fact that somebody can come in and compulsory acquire another persons home reducing their property rights is just fundamentally wrong.

"The fact that the government is enabling developers to do that shows very poor judgment on their behalf and it shows that they are not in touch with the people of NSW and people living in strata.

"As of today, developers in New South Wales got their early Christmas present thanks to Premier Mike Baird, and I've no doubt they'll all be popping champagne corks." Ms. Catley said.

Calls for more action on Rutley's Road following another fatality

BY TYLER FARDELL

Following the latest fatality along Rutley's road in Mannering Park, Swansea MP Yasmin Catley has called for more to be done to improve safety.

A 37 year old Wyee Point man became the third fatality in eight months on the dangerous road after his four-wheel drive collided with a truck.

It is also the ninth life lost on the road in as many years.

The road stretches for nine kilometres from Doyalson to Wyee and is split between Lake Macquarie City Council and Wyong Shire Council.

Both council's have spent millions of dollars on improving safety along the road, by Ms Catley says it's not working.

"There has been a large sum of money thrown at that road in the last couple of years. Clearly there needs to be more done there's no doubt about that".

Yasmin Catley

Report Critical Of Government's Management of Pelican Marina

BY IAN CROUCH

The state government is being accused of negligence in the wake of a scathing report into the collapse of the Pelican Marina at Lake Macquraie.

The Auditor General has revealed the government had been at loggerheads with the lease holder of the marina for four years over who is responsible for the maintenance of the piers at the marina.

Prior to the marina partially collapsing in February this year the Department of Crown Lands had undertaken a structural assessment after taking control of the marina and terminating the lease in December 2015 due to several issues including unpaid rent. The assessment found the two-storey marina building was sound, however there were "problems with the boardwalks and jetties that required further examination".

The previous lessee, Elidock Pty Ltd claims to have spent $200,000 in repairs to the building and marina, and had withheld some rent on occasions to partially offset these costs.

The Auditor General's report states, "The Department is conducting an internal inquiry into the Pelican Marina collapse and we cannot make findings about the causes of the collapse. However, the series of events described above indicates that the Department was aware of serous issues with a lease on Crown land but was not able to resolve those effectively,"

Swansea Mp, Yasmin Catley says the government knew there was a potential problem but did nothing.

"If I was renting a property and I wasn't paying my bills or I wasn't maintaining that property, I'd be turfed out in a blink. The Baird government sat on their hands and did nothing about it and now as a result of that, our community has lost a wonderful amenity, one that we may never see again," she said.

Swansea Mp Yasmin Catley