State Matters - 3 November 2025
- Dave Layzell MP
- 29 minutes ago
- 7 min read
GREAT GRANT NEWS!
TWO UPPER HUNTER electorate organisations have been successful in the past week securing NSW Government grants.
Stroud Rugby League Club has received $300,000 from the July 2025 round of the Clubgrants Category 3 Infrastructure Grants Program allowing the Raiders to fit-out their amenities building.
Contributions from the state’s registered club gaming machine profits are reinvested back into community projects through the Clubgrants Category 3 initiative.
And, Dungog RSL sub-branch has secured over $11,500 from the Community War Memorial Fund for projects to protect the state’s war memorial heritage.
Three grants of $3,872 each will enable work to be carried out on the Dungog Memorial Arches, Christ Church Second World War Memorial Gates and the Dungog Memorial Bowling Club gates.
Applications for the 2026-27 Community War Memorials Fund will be open April to June 2026, with more details at: https://www.veterans.nsw.gov.au/heritage/community-war-memorials-fund
SCHOOL FEEDBACK OPENS
The Review of Environmental Factors (REF) for the proposed new public preschool, primary school and high school to be built at North Rothbury is now out for public comment.
To be located at 32 Persoonia Boulevard and on part of 1823 Wine Country Drive, the integrated public pre-school will accommodate 60 students, the new primary school 500 students, and the high school 1000 students.
The Primary School includes two 3 storey buildings and a single storey hall building.
The High School will consist of three 3 storey buildings, a hall building, a single storey VET construction shed and landscaped open space.
The catchment area for the proposed primary school is bound by the respective catchments of Kirkton Primary school, Branxton Public and Greta Primary schools.
The high school intake catchment is bound by the catchments of Singleton High School, Rutherford Technology High School, Maitland Grossman High School and Maitland High School.
A tender for construction has been released and is expected to be awarded in early-2026 for the new schools to be open on Day 1, Term 1 of 2028.
Department of Education information about the school can be found at:
The REF exhibition and comment period continues until 24 November at:
FIRE FEE REVIEW
Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) is seeking feedback from stakeholders on the proposed changes to its fees and charges for certain services.
Following a review by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) in March 2022, FRNSW is proposing updates to these charges.
FRNSW has carried out a comprehensive review of the Fire and Rescue NSW Regulation 2023 (2023 Regulation) and the IPART report titled 'Final Report - Review of Fire and Rescue NSW fees and charges - March 2022'.
A Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) details the results of the review and FRNSW’s determination that the 2023 Regulation should be updated to better reflect the scope of work undertaken and the costs associated with the provision of the services to the community.
It includes attendance at false alarm call outs to Automatic Fire Alarm (AFA) systems, hazmat incidents and special events, fire safety services in the built environment and other services not considered 'core' response.
Have your say by completing the Fire and Rescue survey by Sunday 16 November:
REZ MEETINGS
Gundy and Timor have EnergyCo drop-in information sessions this week on the revised New England Renewable Energy Zone (NEREZ) transmission corridor between Muswellbrook and Walcha.
Gundy Soldiers’ Memorial Hall is the venue on Wednesday 5 November, 3-7pm, with an EnergyCo presentation at 5pm.
On Thursday 6 November, Timor Community Hall is the location, 5.30-7pm.
The latest NEREZ e-newsletter has information on the NSW Government’s Strategic Benefit Payments Scheme for landholders who host transmission infrastructure.
The payments are in addition to the compensation paid to landowners under the Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991.
The e-newsletter also has information on the independent advice available from the Energy and Water Ombudsman NSW (EWON) for landowners and community members across all NSW REZs.
For further information: www.energyco.nsw.gov.au/ne/working-community
DUNGOG SHOW
Hunter Local Land Services (LLS) will be at Dungog Show, which begins on Friday 7 November, with this year’s flood event high on its agenda.
LLS staff will be on hand to offer support and assistance to flood impacted landholders with access to services including grant applications, as well as having general LLS advice and resources on-hand.
The two-day show will feature Farmer Wants a Wife 2026 filming throughout Saturday 8 November, prizes for Best Decorated Vintage Machinery and Best Decorated Bicycle during the Grand Parade plus a childrens’ colouring in competition.
Entry is via the Main Gate in Chapman Street with access for competitors and exhibitors from 6am Friday and Saturday, and for the general public at 8am both days.
For the latest on Dungog Show go to: https://dungogshow.com.au and www.facebook.com/DungogShow.
CAT MANAGEMENT
Councils in the Upper Hunter Electorate are among the new participants in the joint NSW Government-RSPCA NSW feline management program.
Muswellbrook Shire Council, Singleton Council, Cessnock City Council and Maitland City Council are among 19 councils for the phase 2 expansion of Keeping Cats Safe at Home.
Funded by the Environmental Trust, the $6 million program encourages people to practice responsible cat ownership and curb the devastating impact cats have on native wildlife.
Keeping Cats Safe at Home also focuses on increasing rates of desexing, microchipping and lifetime registration while encouraging the uptake of voluntary containment of pet cats.
A new statewide social marketing campaign will also encourage communities to end cat homelessness and prevent domestic cats from roaming away from their home.
For more information, visit: www.rspcansw.org.au/information-and-advice/caring-for-animals/cats-and-kittens/keeping-cats-safe-at-home/
ON THE ROADS
Construction begins this week on the Port to Renewable Energy Zones upgrade at the intersection of the New England Highway and Mitchell Line of Road/Golden Highway, Whittingham.
EnergyCo has advised standard daytime work hours are 7am-6pm, Monday-Friday, and 8am-1pm on Saturdays.
Concrete barriers to ensure the safety of workers and motorists will be installed around the work area over one night shift during the week of 10 November, 6pm-7am, weather permitting.
And, Transport for NSW will carry out essential maintenance work on Kayuga Road at Kayuga Bridge, Muswellbrook, from Monday 10 November.
Working hours to provide a stronger, longer lasting and safer bridge are Monday-Thursday, 7am-4pm with the maintenance expected to be completed by the end of February 2026.
For the latest traffic updates call 132 701, visit www.livetraffic.com or download the app Live Traffic NSW.
GLOUCESTER-SCONE ROAD
MidCoast Council is commencing work on Scone Road following a number of landslips during the May flood event.
A significant landslip occurred 2.5km from Geales Bridge, requiring Scone Road to be closed in both directions due to safety concerns.
Work on this slip site is expected to begin this week to stabilise the road embankment and restore the roadway to its previous condition ahead of reopening to traffic mid-December, subject to weather delays.
The works will be funded under Federal Government Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.
Council is progressing design work and funding applications for permanent reconstruction works at other slip locations along Scone Road, with these further works to be undertaken early next year.
Visit the MidCoast Roads Hub for further information: https://haveyoursay.midcoast.nsw.gov.au/midcoast-roads-hub
EARTHQUAKE MEDIA AWARD
Congratulations to the 2NUR Hunter News team for its recent success on the national stage with an Upper Hunter news story.
The University of Newcastle community radio station won the Outstanding Presenter News and Current Affairs category at the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA) Awards in Hobart.
The award recognises an outstanding news and current affairs presenter delivering well-researched, relevant and engaging content, for 2NUR’s story on Muswellbrook’s fight for earthquake disaster relief following last year’s seismic events.
2NUR News Director, Ian Crouch, has described the award as “pretty special” with the radio station and the Hunter News team “feeling very chuffed” with the national recognition.
SENIORS CHRISTMAS CONCERT
Details have been announced for the NSW Seniors Festival Regional Christmas Concerts with tickets now available.
This year celebrate the festive season at concerts in December at Port Macquarie, Grafton and Goulburn featuring Emma Pask, Nathan Foley, Silvie Paladino and Lorenzo Rositano.
The Glasshouse Port Macquarie is the venue on Thursday 11 December for concerts at 10am and 2pm: www.glasshouse.org.au/Whats-on/NSW-Seniors-Regional-Christmas-Concert-2025-December-2025
All concerts will feature Auslan interpreters, and the venues are wheelchair accessible.
For more information about the Christmas concerts and the performers visit, https://dcjnsw.info/SeniorsChristmasConcerts
If you have any questions, please email the Seniors Festival Team at: nswseniorsfestival@dcj.nsw.gov.au
BEFORE YOUR DIG, REMEMBER TO ..
An unplanned outage that impacted telecommunication services east of Scone last week has served as a reminder about contacting Before You Dig Australia (BYDA).
Telstra says multiple technologies were impacted as a result of third-party boring activity to construct cattle yards which damaged optic fibre in the Segenhoe Valley, near Gundy.
Any calls to Triple Zero from a Telstra mobile telephone when the Moonan Flat exchange is off air will automatically connect to another mobile network, if available, for connection to emergency services.
Telstra customers can continue to make calls and send texts during disruption to mobile ‘phone services by switching on the free Wi-Fi Calling setting on most popular mobile phones: www.telstra.com.au/support/mobiles-devices/telstra-wifi-calling
BYDA is dedicated to preventing injury and reducing damage to Australia’s underground and aboveground infrastructure by providing the community with essential safety information and services.
It operates a free referral service that provides workers and organisations preparing to dig or excavate with detailed plans and safety information for utilities like gas, electricity, water, and telecommunications at: www.byda.com.au.
CONSTRUCTION STARTS
Construction of the new Stroud State Emergency Service (SES) building is getting underway with $2 million funding from the NSW Government.
The new facility is conveniently located in Stroud on the unformed road reserve of Gloucester Street, south of Memorial Avenue and next to Allen Park.
MidCoast Council says the contract has been awarded to Precise Build with construction expected to take 12 months to complete.
Following a community information session the building’s appearance, colour scheme and external wall materials were revised, to soften its visual impact and better align with community feedback.
It will replace the existing facility at Booral which was seen as insufficient to meet the needs of the SES volunteers and to store their equipment.
PARLIAMENT PUBLIC EVENTS
The Parliament of NSW is holding two events next week to mark the anniversaries of several significant historic events.
A special free lecture on Monday 10 November, 4-5pm, in the Legislative Assembly marks the 110th anniversary of the unveiling of the memorial in the chamber to Lieutenant-Colonel George Frederick Braund and Sergeant Rennix Larkin.
Braund and Larkin, who died at Gallipoli, were among the 11 active members of the Assembly who served in the First World War.
Then, Tuesday 11 November, 5.30-6.45 pm, Parliament Unpacked looks at The Dismissal – 50 Years On, which will be livestreamed online.
This special event revisits the 1975 dismissal of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, compares it with the 1932 NSW constitutional crisis, and examines how these events shaped Australia’s democracy.
Discover more at: www.parliament.nsw.gov.au and www.facebook.com/parliamentnsw
CUP COMMENT CALLED
Upper Hunter Shire Council is accepted submissions until Tuesday, 25 November, on the Scone Cup half-day public holiday for the next two years.
As part of its biennial consultation, council want to hear the community’s views about the half-day public holiday for the 2026 and 2027 Scone Cup race meetings.
This event is held annually, and the council want to ensure that it continues to be a positive occasion for everyone involved.
Residents and businesses have the opportunity to provide feedback before a final determination by completing the survey via: www.upperhunter.nsw.gov.au/sconecup
Contact:
Email address: upperhunter@parliament.nsw.gov.au;
New Address: 94 John Street Singleton 2330
Postal Address: PO Box 60 Singleton NSW 2330
Ph: 6543 1065
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