Archives: Media Releases

UPGRADES FOR SCOUT FACILITIES

I’m pleased to announce that a number of Scout groups in the Cronulla electorate are set to benefit from a grant from the NSW Government:

  • Lilli Pilli Scout Hall ($44,000) – replacement of leaking roof
  • 1st Grays Point Scout Hall ($33,000) – repairs to 50 year old steel uprights, deteriorated due to saltwater environment
  • Cronulla Water Activities Scout Centre ($22,000) – replacement of decayed boat ramp and skid.

Scouts NSW is one of our state’s largest and most popular youth organisations.

This funding will deliver much-needed repairs and improvements to local Scout facilities, so that they’re in good shape for future generations.

$7.75 million has been allocated statewide for projects at Scouts facilities on Crown Land as part of the Government’s COVID-19 stimulus program.

SHIRE COMMUNITY SPORT RECEIVES OVER $1.4 MILLION IN NSW GOVERNMENT GRANTS

Community sport in the Sutherland Shire is set to receive a welcome boost from Round One of the NSW Government’s Greater Cities Sport Facility Fund.

I’m delighted that the Seagulls will receive $256,750 from the NSW Government to improve facilities for its fast-growing female membership base.

The funding will assist the club to add new female change rooms and to improve access to the clubhouse for people with disability.

I also congratulate Sutherland Shire Council and St John Bosco Youth Club, which will receive funding for projects in the Heathcote electorate.

Sutherland Shire Council will receive $1,000,000 to upgrade lighting at Heathcote Oval to Australian training and competition standards.

This includes one AFL field, two football (soccer) fields, one baseball field and eight netball courts.

The St John Bosco Youth Club – Football Club will be giving its 25-year-old clubhouse a makeover thanks to a grant of $179,091. It will expand the clubroom area to make it more functional and provide weather protection for the use of members, guests and the public.

The Greater Cities Sport Facility Fund project will stimulate local economies, boost employment and promote healthy lifestyles across greater Sydney by providing grants to councils, local sporting bodies, NSW state sporting organisations, state sporting organisations for people with disability, national sporting organisations and private enterprises.

BATE BAY SURF CLUBS RECEIVE NSW GOVERNMENT GRANTS FOR UPGRADES

Three Bate Bay surf life saving clubs will share almost $700,000 in grants for upgrades in the NSW Government’s 2020-21 Surf Club Facility Program.

Our local surf clubs are among the most important community groups in the Shire.

Surf club volunteers play a vital role in keeping our beaches safe. In any typical season, our four Bate Bay clubs collectively provide over 40,000 hours of active duty, scores of rescues and many thousands of preventative actions, as well as first aid.

This year’s grants are:

  • Elouera Surf Life Saving Club – ground floor refurbishment – $302,500.
  • Wanda Surf Life Saving Club – replacement of clubhouse roof, solar panel system and mechanical components on the roof – $236,466.
  • North Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club – fit out of equipment and gear storage facilities – $150,000.

Previous years’ Surf Club Facility Program grants include $500,000 to Cronulla (new clubhouse), $350,000 to North Cronulla (new clubhouse) and $91,000 to Wanda (male toilets and change rooms).

MAJOR CONTRACT AWARDED FOR M6 STAGE 1

The design and construction contract has been awarded for the M6 Stage 1, which will connect President Avenue at Kogarah with the WestConnex M8 at Arncliffe via four kilometre twin tunnels.

Transport for NSW awarded the $2.52 billion contract to CIMIC Group’s CPB Contractors and UGL, in a joint venture with Ghella, which was one of three finalists for the tender. 

The M6 Stage 1 project will create more than 5,000 jobs, with construction expected to start in early 2022.

Drivers will be able to bypass up to 23 sets of traffic lights on the Princes Highway. Traffic on General Holmes Drive is expected to be reduced by 10,000 vehicles every day.

The M6 Stage 1 is expected to see a 40 per cent reduction in trucks on the Princes Highway north of President Avenue, which will be great news for the local community and local commuters.

The NSW Government will deliver a new intersection at President Avenue and an upgrade of the busy President Avenue and Princes Highway intersection to improve capacity and network integration.

Work is already underway on a $28 million investment in local recreational facilities. Around 200 jobs have been created through these upgrades which are creating great local spots for our local communities.

The NSW Government is continuing to look to the future of the M6, with investigation and planning work well under way on a future Stage 2.

Expected travel time savings (when used with other motorway connections):

  • Kogarah to ANZAC Bridge – up to 15 minutes.
  • Miranda to Macquarie Park – up to 15 minutes.
  • Kogarah to south Sydney – up to 13 minutes.
  • Taren Point to Mascot – up to 12 minutes.
  • Kogarah to Sydney CBD – up to 8 minutes.

Around five kilometres of shared cycling and pedestrian pathways, connecting Bestic Street at Brighton Le Sands to O’Connell Street at Kogarah (including a new bridge over President Avenue) are also part of the project.

The M6 Stage 1 is expected to open to traffic in 2025.

FIRST ELECTRIC BUS FOR THE SUTHERLAND SHIRE

Today I helped to launch the first electric bus to operate in the Sutherland Shire.

The NSW Government has made a commitment to transition its fleet of 8,000 diesel and gas buses across the state to zero emission technology.

This new electric bus will operate out of Transdev’s Kingsgrove depot and run on route 970 from Miranda to Hurstville, and route 971 from Cronulla to Hurstville via Burraneer Bay Road, Miranda and Port Hacking Road.

Electric vehicles present a number of long-term benefits for the community.

In addition to being much better for the environment than their diesel counterparts, these vehicles deliver a much quieter ride for customers and less noise pollution on local streets.

The introduction of the new zero emission bus will help Transdev to understand how the vehicle performs in the Shire. This will help guide Transdev’s decision making when it comes time to roll out electric buses in the Shire on a permanent basis.

More than 50 electric buses will roll out across greater Sydney over the course of this year. 

Electric buses are already operating in Sydney’s north, inner west and south west.

WORK BEGINS ON CRONULLA WAR MEMORIAL

Conservation work can now commence on the Cronulla War Memorial, after the Cronulla RSL Sub Branch was awarded a grant from the Community War Memorials Fund.

I congratulate the Sub Branch on their $10,000 grant to help preserve, protect and repair the memorial in Monro Park.

Our memorials recognise the immense contributions of veterans, so it’s important to maintain them as they age.

This is an enduring testament to their contribution and provides valuable learning opportunities for future generations.

I’m thrilled to see this project recognised among such a high calibre of applicants.

The grant will cover conservation work to the memorial including cleaning, repairs, and replacement of some plaques.

Organisations including memorial trusts, local councils and veteran groups can also apply for funding now. Applications close 26 July 2021.

For more information or to apply, visit: www.veterans.nsw.gov.au/heritage/community-war-memorials-fund

NEW POLICE RECRUITS JOIN SUTHERLAND SHIRE PAC

I welcome the seven new probationary constables commencing duties in the Sutherland Shire PAC.

The seven recruits of Class 346 were sworn in as probationary constables at an attestation ceremony at the Goulburn Police Academy.

Class 346 includes 149 men and 55 women and 17 are Australian Defence force veterans.

I wish all of Class 346 – in particular the seven new recruits in the Sutherland Shire PAC – every success. I am confident they will serve our communities with distinction.

The NSW Government is investing $583 million to introduce 1500 extra police over four years to enhance community safety across NSW.

 

GAIL ERSKINE NAMED CRONULLA SENIOR OF THE YEAR

Gail Erskine has been named the 2021 Cronulla Senior of the Year, in recognition of her outstanding contribution to children’s literature in NSW.

Gail Erskine is passionate about giving children access to high-quality Australian literature, as well as opportunities to connect with the authors and illustrators they love. 

Whether in her professional life as a school teacher, or during the 30 years she’s been involved with the Children’s Book Council of Australia – NSW Branch, Gail has always sought ways to foster a love of reading among children and to encourage imaginative literary production.

Even at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gail helped to ensure that children could be uplifted by online storytelling while they were in lockdown. Around 55,000 minutes of story time were presented as part of this Lunchtime Storytime program.

Gail’s energy, resilience and creativity are remarkable. Her fundamental belief in the transformative power of children’s writing has shaped her life’s work and inspired a love of reading among thousands of children.

The other finalists in the 2021 NSW Seniors Festival Local Achievement Awards were:

  • Joy Burns – Grays Point Public School volunteer
  • Reg Chirgwin OAM and Shirley Chirgwin OAM – Sutherland Hospital garden kiosk volunteers
  • Carolyn Davis – Kurnell photographer and volunteer
  • Rina Mandarano – Stella Maris volunteer

The NSW Seniors Festival, which reaches around 500,000 seniors each year, is the biggest festival of its kind in the southern hemisphere.

The NSW Seniors Festival runs from 13-24 April and gives seniors a broad variety of opportunities to build connections in their communities, to be active and to try new things.

It’s also a chance for all of us to acknowledge and celebrate the important contribution of seniors right across NSW.

LOCAL SPORTS GET FUNDING BOOST

Congratulations to the 10 organisations in the Cronulla electorate that have been successful in the 2020/21 Local Sports Grants program. The grants will support these organisations – and their terrific teams of volunteers – to increase participation, provide training, purchase equipment and improve facilities.

Grant recipients:

  • Caringbah Redbacks Football Club (new goals)
  • Cronulla Golf Club (water chillers around the course)
  • Cronulla Seagulls (facilitation of training and purchase of club shirts for new coaches)
  • Cronulla Sharks Netball Club (uniforms for junior players)
  • Cronulla Triathlon Club (online coaching training programs)
  • Kurnell Outrigger Canoe Club (uniforms and paddle equipment)
  • Port Hacking Dragon Boat Club (paddle oars, PFDs and modification to two canoes)
  • Port Hacking Open Sailing Club (new support vessel for junior training)
  • South Cronulla Bowling and Recreation Club (new shade structures around the bowling greens)
  • Southside Malibu Club Cronulla (funding to host the Spring Classic Malibu Longboard Surfing Competition)

FURTHER PLANS FOR SUTHERLAND TO CRONULLA ACTIVE TRANSPORT LINK UNVEILED

The NSW Minister for Transport and Roads today unveiled an outline of the proposed route for the Kirrawee to Caringbah section of the Sutherland to Cronulla Active Transport Link (SCATL). The SCATL project is funded entirely by the NSW Government.

With the first stage of the project (1.3 kilometres from Sutherland to Kirrawee) already open, the proposed route will pick up near Kirrawee Station on Oak Road and continue to Gymea, Miranda and Caringbah, promising more direct links to local facilities and better connectivity to the existing cycling network.

After careful consideration, the preferred route to the north of the rail corridor was chosen because it offers users more direct connections to some of our key education, health, retail, employment and recreational facilities, which in turn delivers transport benefits and helps the local economy.

The ability for pedestrians and bike riders to join and leave the cycleway at more destinations was also a significant factor in determining the route, with the out-of-corridor design allowing users to join and leave the link as they like. An in-corridor route would have limited entry and exit points.

Like Stage 1, the vast majority of the pedestrian and bicycle path for Stage 2 will be off-road with 65 per cent of the route designed as a shared, off-road path and 30 per cent of the link a separated pedestrian and bicycle path. There will also be upgrades at intersections and priority crossings at side streets.

More detailed plans for the project will be on public display in the second half of 2021. Community feedback will play an important part in the planning approval process.

Subject to planning approval, construction of Stage 2 is expected to start late 2021 and be progressively opened from mid-2022.

The community is invited to have their say with community consultation beginning 19 April and running until 9 May. For more information head to https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/projects/current-projects/sutherland-to-cronulla-active-transport-link