|
|||
 |
 If you need to be appointed as a JP, either within your local community or in your employment, click here to download an application form. |
|
Posted 23 September 2009
A Southlake Integrated Health Care Facility
The campaign for a major new health care facility including sub acute beds and a raft of other medical services has taken a big step forward with a report by the Southlake Integrated Health Care Committee. (SIHCC)
Lake Macquarie MP Greg Piper and Committee President John Quinlan jointly announced the completion of a comprehensive study into the health care needs of the Morisset area.
"A new hospital was a key part of my election policy," Mr Piper said. "Since the public meeting I convened in 2007 John and our committee have worked hard and consulted widely to produce this viable proposal for an integrated health care facility."
"This report presents a compelling case for a fully integrated public/private health facility - a one stop shop for a broad range of health care needs," Mr Quinlan said.
In addition to sub acute beds, services would include day surgery, X-ray and CT scans, physiotherapy, children's and youth services, mental health and dental services.
The recent report of the National Health and Hospitals Commission strongly supports the model proposed by SIHCC, which will bring together primary and allied health care services in one location and will: The committee's investigation of census data shows that the median age in the catchment is five years above the national average and the median income is 20% below average. Also, residential growth is above average and the population could reach 50,000 over the next twenty years. "At the outset, the community voiced the difficulty of accessing hospital and specialist services in the Southlake area where residential growth and the ageing of the population are above the national average," Mr Quinlan added. "The committee's aim is now to bring this matter before the decision-makers and together with John Quinlan I will be presenting this compelling report to the Premier and the Minister for Health," Mr Piper said. The services that should be provided by the Southlake Integrated Health Care Facility are listed on the following below. Services Proposed for an Integrated Health Care Facility at Morisset Primary Health Care and Services Posted 23 September 2009 Greg Piper Announces Bill to Ban Surface Mining Greg Piper, Member for Lake Macquarie, today announced his Surface Coal Mining Prohibition (Lake Macquarie) Bill 2009. The Private Members Bill will apply a simplified definition of underground coal mining to the Lake Macquarie local government area and it will prohibit all other forms of coal mining. According to Mr Piper, this will achieve what the Government set out to do when it introduced the State Environmental Planning Policy (Mining Petroleum Production and Extractive Industries) 2007. "The Bill simply defines mining by its location - either underground or on the surface," Mr Piper said. "This makes arguments about particular processes irrelevant and it removes technical or semantic arguments about large access pits." According to Mr Piper, the Bill is in response to the uncertainty of whether a recent contentious application for an auger mine near Blackalls Park was permissible or prohibited. The Bill will provide a clear definition and it will give much stronger protection than the existing State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP). "The SEPP allowed debate on whether the recent proposal for surface auger mining was permissible. There were many requests for clarification that went unanswered," Mr Piper said. "An Act of Parliament will provide the certainty that the SEPP didn't." "Environmental damage and possible public health impacts from surface mining are huge concerns for people in this area," Mr Piper added. "The Government intended the 2007 SEPP to protect against this, but a new Act will provide greater certainty." Posted 11 September 2009 Greg Piper Warns of Privatised Power Prices Greg Piper, Member for Lake Macquarie, says that on top of July's 14% increase for domestic electricity, Energy Australia proposes a 24% increase for 2011, followed by 10%, 12% and 10% from 2012 to 2014. "These proposed increases appear not to follow any anticipated increases in the cost of producing the state's electricity, but they would certainly make electricity retailers an attractive purchase," Mr Piper said. "It has been reported today that Energy Australia will be sold to the highest bidder," Mr Piper said. "These huge increases will be a gift to the new owners and the proceeds of the sale would be a one-off bonus for a cash-strapped Government." "Bolstering the profitability of retailers like this cannot be in best long term interest of customers," Mr Piper added. " A cynic might suggest the proceeds of the sale will effectively fund the Government's 'war-chest' for the next election." "People are concerned about privatisation increasing electricity prices and this looks like what's happening," Mr Piper said. "I think that the Government is treating people with contempt by privatising retailers without even referring it to Parliament." Posted 11 September 2009 Lake Macquarie Transport Interchange Should be Top Priority Greg Piper, Member for Lake Macquarie, last night told Parliament that constructing the Lake Macquarie Transport Interchange should be a priority. In his speech, Mr Piper said that the new transport interchange would provide direct rail and road access to an existing major retail centre, a regional athletics facility and a major employment zone. According to Mr Piper, a new railway station at Glendale would immediately attract some 1,500 users each day and this could grow to 6,000 by 2031. "Stockland has advised Lake Macquarie City Council that the interchange would allow it to further develop its Glendale site, creating more than 2,780 jobs and doubling retail floor space," Mr Piper said. "The interchange would be great for commuters and it would be great for local jobs." "Glendale is at the geographic and demographic centre of the Lower Hunter," Mr Piper said. "Under government policy it will have 8,000 new jobs and 5,000 new dwellings by 2031." "The Cardiff industrial area employs some 16,000 people," Mr Piper said. "A new road from Pennant Street to Glendale Drive would help business by improving access to the F3, the Pacific Highway and the Port of Newcastle." "So much attention has been paid to the Newcastle rail line, when the greatest benefit to public transport can be provided at Lake Macquarie," he said. "Newcastle and Lake Macquarie have interlocking transport needs and there's an increasing need for improved public transport for both areas." The text of Mr Piper's speech can be found here. Posted 11 September 2009 School League Tables Fail the Test Greg Piper, Member for Lake Macquarie, is pleased that a Bill to allow simplistic comparisons of schools was defeated in Parliament this week. Mr Piper was one of many Lower House MPs who spoke against the Bill which was subsequently voted down in the Upper House. According to Mr Piper, the most appropriate use for comparisons of schools is for the government to help schools reach suitable standards. "There should be no way for anyone to publish simplistic comparisons that reflect badly on individual schools," Mr Piper said. "Simple league tables would prompt parents to abandon their local school, make it difficult to attract good teachers and brand some school leavers as having a lower worth than others." According to Mr Piper, the Minister for Education told Parliament that the only real answer to league tables is to encourage debate and provide information. "I reject the idea of 'cleaning-up' after the information has been mis-used," said Mr Piper. "There's no way to stretch such debate to a fair conclusion and children in some schools will pay the price." "It's wrong for some schools to be seen as winners and some as losers, when what we want is the best opportunity for all students," he added. Mr Piper's speech can be found here. Posted 9 September 2009 Toronto Students Win First Prize In Workplace Competition Greg Piper, Member for Lake Macquarie, is pleased to announce that four students from Toronto High School have been awarded first prize in a competition to promote workplace information to their peers. The Year 10 students, Cassandra Lingonis, Courtney Jones, Daniel Hardy and Emma Watson were among the prizewinners announced by NSW Minister for Industrial Relations, John Hatzistergos at a presentation held in Parliament House today. According to Mr Piper, Cassandra, Courtney, Daniel and Emma's prize winning entry provided a creative and fun visual message about young people's workplace rights and entitlements such as fair pay, paid leave, fair dismissal processes and a good working environment free of bullying and discrimination. The prize was $1000 for Toronto High School and $500 shared among the four students. "These students can be proud of their creativity," said Mr Piper. "First prize in the non-metropolitan section is a really great achievement. I was pleased to be with them at the presentation today and offer my congratulations." "The Know the Deal video competition required high school students to be creative in developing engaging and informative video clips for their peers, incorporating important messages about workplace issues," Mr Hatzistergos said. "Not only has the task been fun but the students have met learning outcomes from their school syllabus and have been exposed to the excellent information supplied on the website," the Minister said. According to Minister Hatzistergos "Students used the Office of Industrial Relations youth website at www.youngpeopleatwork.nsw.gov.au to help gather information about what they need to know when starting a new job. "Many young people enter the workforce while still at school, getting jobs to supplement their pocket money and it's vitally important they are well-informed about what to expect," the Minister added. AUGER MINE PROPOSED FOR LAKE MACQUARIE Centennial Coal's proposed Olstan project near Blackalls Park would extract coal by auger mining, which is a process of drilling into coal seams often associated with open cut mining. The current proposal is based on a possible interpretation of underground mining operations allowable under the State Environmental Planning Policy prohibiting open cut mining in the city of Lake Macquarie. There has been a strong reaction from the local community over issues such as dust, noise, loss of bushland and damage to creeks. Information on the proposed auger mine is here. An example of an auger mining operation is at http://www.coalaugering.com/fassifern.pdf |
|
|
|||||