Wharfies striking over mismanagement

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Some of Newcastle's wharf workers are going on a four-hour strike this morning over frustration with their bosses at Qube Port.

The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) says the stoppage at Qube Port at Kooragang will go for four hours from 8am.

The company is reportedly offering permanent positions to some workers if they take a 10.5 per cent wage cut.

"Our members aren't prepared to accept that offer, what family in this climate can accept a 10.5 per cent wage cut. Our members aren't happy about that so they've decided to take some industrial action," said MUA Newcastle secretary Glen Williams.

"The company through mismanagement continue to lose contracts - this company was the preferred bulk handler in this port and the only thing that's changed up there is the management so our members are being asked to accept a 10.5 per cent wage cut for the mismanagement of this company."

The action isn't stopping this morning, for the next two weeks workers will only work seven hour shifts with no extensions and no overtime. 

Image afr.com.au

Hunter suburbs at risk of rising sea levels

BY JARROD MELMETH and JESSICA ROUSE

Newcastle has been featured as a high risk zone on a new map by Coastal Risk Australia, showing sea level rise patterns over the next 100 years.

The new map incorporates research from the US National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration and shows if the sea level rises by just 2.7 metres by 2100 many of the Hunter's coastal towns will be under water including much of Carrington.

The worst case scenario for 2100 in previous maps now looks to be three times worse.

The interactive map also shows that along with Carrington, Wickham, Koorangang, Fletcher, Shortland and Hexham are among the worst effected by rising sea levels.

Greens MP Justin Field says, the new data must be taken seriously by the NSW Government.

"We've got a budget coming out next month from the Berejiklian government and we need more money put towards climate mitigation. We need a phase out strategy for coal and I know that is sometimes a difficult conversation to have in the Hunter community and unless we want to see the communities under water in the next fifty to one hundred years. We need to take that seriously."

The rising sea levels are set to completely change the landscape of coastal communities, and in places like Carrington there's billions of dollars of public and private infrastructure at risk.

Not only that, MP Justin Field says the housing market will also be affected as the weather patterns change.

"This is already happening, we saw last year major storm events impact the coastline and saw houses washed into the ocean. I know that property prices are still high along the coastline but I think insurance companies are starting to look at this data and ask whether or not these properties are insurable and when you see those questions asked you'll see those prices start to fall," said Justin Field.

Tourle Street bridge taking shape

BY JARROD MELMETH

The Tourle Street and Cormorant Road duplication at Koorangang is well and truly underway after a major milestone was met with the installation of all bridge piles.

The project was announced in April 2016, with work starting a month later and is being funded by both Federal and State governments aiming to improve traffic flow which often results in bottleneck conditions.

Work is expected to be completed by the second half of 2018 and will feature 3.8 kilometres of road wich will be duplicated between Industrial drive, Mayfield West and Egret Street at Kooragang, providing two lanes in each direction along with a second Tourle Street Bridge.

Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Catherine Cusack said it's great news for long-suffering motorists.

"For those motorists at the moment who are having to endure all the restrictions that all the road works are placing on the roads.

I want to reassure them that significant progress has been made, and we are really looking forward to this project finishing on budget and on time next year," Ms Cusack said.

Current condition of the project on the Tourle Street Bridge.

Orica to Increase Ammonia Production

Orica has had its proposal to increase ammonia production at its Kooragang Island facility approved by the Department of Planning.

Under the application, Orica will increase its production from 350 000 to 385 000 tonnes per annum.

It into public exhibition in June of 2015, with returns coming from Newcastle Council, Fair Work NSW and the Environment Protection Authoirty.

No community submissions were lodged.

While ammonium production will increase, the application did not included the production of nitric acid and ammonium nitrate.