NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian slammed for slashing at least 28 TAFE jobs in Northern Rivers region

 

Office of the NSW Labor Member for Lismore, media release, 22 February 2021:

LISMORE MP Janelle Saffin has condemned the axing of up to 28 TAFE NSW jobs on the Northern Rivers as a betrayal by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who gave an iron-clad promise in 2019 that there would be no public service job cuts in regional and rural New South Wales.

 

“Deputy Premier John Barilaro and his Nationals are just as responsible here too; not lifting a finger as the Liberals continue with their deliberate actions in dismantling TAFE,” Ms Saffin said.

 

“How many cuts can our TAFE system take before it is completely decimated?”

 

TAFE NSW late last week advised the Community Public Sector Union of NSW that the Berijiklian-Barilaro Government is slashing almost 700 frontline TAFE NSW jobs, including 470 regional jobs.

 

“Figures provided to me by the CPSU-NSW show that we are looking at up to 28 local jobs going under two major restructures – in educational support and in student services, facilities management and logistics,” Ms Saffin said.

 

“In our Electorate of Lismore, six positions could be cut at the Lismore campus and one at the Murwillumbah Connected Learning Centre.

 

“In the neighbouring Electorate of Tweed, Kingscliff TAFE will be hardest hit with the Government targeting 12 positions, and in the Ballina Electorate, eight positions at Wollongbar TAFE and one position at Ballina TAFE are under threat.

 

“I will stand with the TAFE staff and their union, and with TAFE students, to fight these cruel job cuts because local communities cannot afford to see their TAFE campuses run down as the NSW Liberal-Nationals pursue their privatisation push, at the expense of local jobs and economy.

 

“Enough is enough.”

The problem of illegal camping in NSW coastal towns just never seems to go away

 

A question that is increasingly facing residents of NSW coastal towns – what do you when a group of loud, sometimes intoxicated people come to holiday right outside your family home? Who use your front lawn as a solid-waste toilet, openly urinate in front of your children, litter the kerb and when they finally leave they are replaced by yet another set of noisy freeloaders.

Council or NPWS fines for camping on streets, in car parks or certain road rest areas, local parks, reserves, foreshores, or other Crown land appear to be barely stemming the influx in some areas.

In New South Wales illegal camping appears to attract a fine of between $1,000 to $5,500. However, I would be surprised if many of these ‘free spirits’ ever pay any fines they incur.

ABC News, 23 February 2021:

Those who flout strict camping regulations risk on-the-spot fines of up to $2,200.(Supplied: Alison Drover)

Edging through the logjam of traffic along Ewingsdale Road, a car horn offers an unlikely reprieve from the tedious hum of engines.

"Welcome to Byron Bay," reads a wooden sign in the distance. "Cheer up, slow down, chill out."

It is, in many ways, an apt reflection of the Byron dichotomy — a city both trapped and liberated by its own reputation.

With roots in the counterculture movement, the coastal paradise is renowned as a mecca for backpackers, the rich and famous and everyone in between.

A place, as one Vanity Fair writer offered, where "nomadic broods" come to "find their tribes on life's journey".

But with Byron's visitor numbers eclipsing its permanent population, the local community has found itself at a crossroads, struggling to reconcile this "free-living" ethos with the inexorable costs of tourism.

And as "van lifers" increasingly seep into the suburbs, it is ordinary residents who have suddenly found themselves bearing the brunt of tourism's ugly side: motorhomes lining residential streets, human waste on front lawns, and authorities trying in vain to keep it under control.

"As an area, we're too open to contradiction," muses Alison Drover, who has lived in Byron for 10 years.

"We're known as being free-spirited and open to everything, but it doesn't really serve us in some ways.

"We're being sort of trampled on."……

Full article here.

It's not easy being a healthy, mature forest red gum in 2021

 EchoNet Daily, 22 February 2021:

The forest red gum (Eucalyptus tereticornis) has been there longer than the Freckles Early Childhood Learning Centre in Tweed Heads West but the impact of the ibises who are roosting there at night are leaving their deposits on the ground. While this is entirely natural for the birds it has been a cause of concern for the Childcare Centre and Tweed Shire Councillor Warren Polglase (conservative) put forward a Notice of Motion (NoM) at last Thursday’s Council meeting (18 February) to have the tree removed.

While Cr Polglase acknowledged that the tree had been there before the childcare centre and that the ‘25 page arborist report was full of jargon’ that he didn’t understand he felt it should be removed at the cost of the Freckles Childhood Centre…….

‘We should be active and take the tree down,’ Cr Polglase told the meeting.

The forest red gum (Eucalyptus tereticornis). Photo Aslan Shand.

Lights, wind, action

An amendment was put forward by Mayor Chris Cherry (Independent) and seconded by Cr James Owen (Liberal) to ‘investigate the treatment of the ibis with lighting and try to deter ibis from roosting in the tree’ according to Mayor Cherry.

Both Cr Owen and Mayor Cherry both highlighted the magnificence of the tree.

‘The forest red gum is a magnificent tree at 1.6m in girth. The arborist report shows the tree is of exceptional health with less than one per cent of [decay] in the crown. I went with an open mind. I thought could be in bad condition. I really want to find a solution that addresses the issue for the early learning centre but doesn’t require the removal of the tree.’

Cr Owen thanked Cr Polglase for bringing the issue to the councillors attention and that he had been working on the issue with the childhood centre for over 12 months.

‘The primary concern [from the childcare centre] was the Ibis,’ Cr Owen told the meeting.

‘This alternative [motion] seems a possible way to go. I have been down several times – I haven’t seen any fallen branches. I have seen a lot of ibis droppings… Chopping the tree down is a last resort though it may be what occurs further down the track. I think it is a sensible approach to protect such a magnificent tree.’

Councillor Katie Milne sought that the investigation of wind spinners as well as lighting as a way to deter the ibis from nesting in the tree. She pointed out to the council that the forest red gum is a ‘is a primary koala food tree and important seed dispersal.

‘We have been advised there is minimal health risk with the tree. We have to have a policy, and we do have a policy, and we should abide by our policy’ pointed out Cr Milne…..

The amendment was carried with Deputy Mayor Reece Byrnes, and Crs Allsop, and Polglase voting against.

For now the tree will remain – but if the attempts to disperse the ibis fail it will once again be in line for removal.

Forty-one NSW towns are part of the initial rollout of the national vaccination program commencing on Monday 22 February 2021

 

Well today is the day....Monday 22 February 2021.

Australian Department of Health, media release excerpt, 18 February 2021:

Australia’s COVID-19 Vaccination Program will commence from next week. People in priority groups who are most at risk and who need protection the most – will receive a vaccine first.

The rollout will begin with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, and following the approval by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) on Tuesday, will include the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine from early March.

The initial priority groups include aged care and disability care residents and workers, frontline healthcare workers, and quarantine and border workers.

A full list of the initial national rollout towns can be found at

https://www.health.gov.au/ministers/the-hon-greg-hunt-mp/media/initial-towns-suburbs-and-hubs-for-covid-19-vaccine.

This is a list of the 41 NSW towns which will be part of the initial rollout of the national vaccination program:

Alstonville, Austral, Ballina, Bangor, Barden Ridge, Blacktown, Collaroy, Collaroy Plateau, Corrimal, Cronulla, Dean Park, Emu Plains, Engadine, Glenfield, Gosford West, Heathcote, Illawong, Jamisontown, Marayong, Minto, Mortdale, Mount Austin, Narrabeen, Orange, Peakhurst, Penrith, Penshurst, Point Clare, Port Macquarie, Prestons, Roseland, Springwood, Stanwell Park, Tarrawanna, Terrey Hills, Thirroul, Umina Beach, Wagga Wagga, Warriewood, Woonona, Woy Woy.

This is Prime Minister #ScottyFromPhotoOps getting one of the first Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine injections one day ahead of official national vaccination program rollout and, I kid you not, he applauded himself afterwards accompanied by clapping from Health Minister Hunt & others pic.twitter.com/xHl6e9CTD4

— no_filter_Yamba (@no_filter_Yamba) February 21, 2021

 

 

How NSW Northern Rivers hospitals are coping with COVID-19 restrictions backlog of elective surgeries

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted on Australian public hospitals with regard to elective surgery and the impact played out thus......

Australian Government, Australian Institute of Health & Welfare:

In terms of elective surgery, following a decision by National Cabinet, restrictions applied to selected elective surgeries from 26 March 2020 including:

• Temporary suspensions of all urgency Category 3 procedures and selected urgency Category 2 procedures.

• No restrictions applied to Category 1 procedures and exceptional Category 2 procedures.

• Similar restrictions on elective surgery were in place through the private sector.

On 16 September 2020 The Sydney Morning Herald reported that:

NSW's elective surgery waiting list has blown out to more than 100,000 patients that will take at least six months to clear after national cabinet's moratorium on non-urgent operations triggered an unprecedented backlog.

A staggering 10,563 patients were overdue for their elective surgeries on June 30, nearly 20-times the number of overdue patients on the same day in 2019, the latest Bureau of Health Information report shows.

Operating theatres are running at up to 115 per cent their pre-COVID activity levels to get through the state's waiting list that hit 101,026 patients on June 30 – a 20 per cent jump (an additional 16,896 patients) compared to June 30 last year.

Patients needing cataract surgeries, total hip replacements, and ear, nose and throat surgeries were waiting up to 55 days beyond the clinically recommended timeframe, the report released on Wednesday showed…..

More than 10,500 people were waiting for knee or hip replacements at the end of September, according to the quarterly Bureau of Health Information report, up more than 22 per cent from the same time in 2019.

According to NSW Health Care Quarterly, Trend Report of September 2020:

July to September 2020 had the largest number of patients on the waiting list for urgent and semi-urgent procedures of any quarter over five years.

The number of patients on the waiting list for nonurgent procedures was up 30.0% (17,803) over five years, from 59,319 in July to September 2015, to 77,122 in July to September 2020. However, it decreased from its highest level in April to June 2020.

By 9 December 2020 The Sydney Morning Herald was reporting that:

Orthopaedic surgeries were not only running behind, with 27 per cent occurring later than clinically recommended, but also had larger than usual wait lists at the end of September, up 21.3 per cent for knee replacements and 25.6 per cent for hip replacements compared to 2019. Usually on-schedule eye surgeries were also hit hard.

On 19 February 2021 elective surgery wait times were again in the news:

Waiting for elective surgery can be a postcode lottery in NSW, with waits as long as 375 days at some country hospitals but just days in the city.

So how are public hospitals in the Northern NSW Local Health District faring?

Given that this health district has a significant retiree population, by way of example I looked at three elective surgeries which appear to occur with relative frequency in older people.

PUBLIC HOSPITAL ELECTIVE SURGERY MEDIAN WAITING TIMES IN NORTH-EAST NSW

Lismore Base Hospital:

Hip Replacement - the median wait was 83 days in 2011-12 and blew out to 127 days by 2017-18 and latest figures for 2019-20 stand at 102 days.

Total knee replacement - the median wait was 150 days in 2011-12 and blew out to 229 days by 2016-17 and latest figures for 2019-20 stand at 142 days.

Currently Lismore Base Hospital patients tops the state for the longest wait for knee replacement - a median 375 days - with 63 per cent of patients waiting more than a year. 

Shoulder joint replacement - the median wait was 14 days in 2016-17 and blew out to 16 days by 2018-19 and latest figures for 2019-20 stand at 14 days.

Ophthalmology - the median wait was 323 days in 2011-12 and latest figures for 2019-20 stand at 341 days, the highest median waiting time in the last nine financial years.

Between July and September 2020 a total of 1,360 unspecified elective surgery procedures were performed.

Grafton Base Hospital:

Hip replacement - the median wait was 6 days in 2011-12 and blew out to 77 days by 2017-18 and latest figures for 2019-20 stand at 67 days.

Total knee replacement - the median wait was 10 days in 2011-12 and blew out to 145 days by 2017-18 and latest figures for 2019-20 stand at 135 days.

Shoulder joint replacement - the wait was 8 days in 2016-17 and blew out to 11 days by 2017-18 and latest figures for 2019-20 stand at less than 5 days.

Ophthalmology - the median wait was 285 days in 2011-12 and latest figures for 2019-20 stand at 326 days, the highest median waiting time in the last nine financial years.

Between July and September 2020 a total of 652 unspecified elective surgery procedures were performed.

The Tweed Hospital:

Hip Replacement - the median wait was 65 days in 2011-12 and blew out to 130 days by 2017-18 and latest figures for 2019-20 stand at 119 days.

Total knee replacement - the median wait was 114 days in 2011-12 and blew out to 201 days by 2017-18 and latest figures for 2019-20 stand at 197 days.

Shoulder joint replacement - the median wait was 24 days in 2016-17 and blew out to 28 days by 2017-18 and latest figures for 2019-20 stand at 22 days.

Ophthalmology - no patients listed between 2011-12 and 2019-20.

Between July and September 2020 a total of 1,084 unspecified elective surgery procedures were performed.

Murwillumbah District Hospital:

Hip Replacement - the median wait was 39 days in 2011-12 and blew out to 48 days by 2017-18 and latest figures for 2019-20 stand at 30 days.

Total knee replacement - the wait was 53 days in 2011-12 and blew out to 59 days by 2017-18 and latest figures for 2019-20 stand at 30 days.

Shoulder joint replacement - the median wait was less than 5 days in 2019-20.

Ophthalmology - the median wait was 323 days in 2011-12 and blew out to 336 days by 2014-15 and latest figures for 2019-20 stand at 128 days.

Between July and September 2020 a total of 438 unspecified elective surgery procedures were performed.

Casino & District Memorial Hospital:

Performs limited orthopaedic procedures predominately as day surgery.

Does not currently perform ophthalmology surgery.

Between July and September 2020 a total of 252 unspecified elective surgery procedures were performed.

Maclean District Hospital:

Provides a small number of elective orthopaedic list procedures once a month.

Does not currently perform ophthalmology surgery.

Between July and September 2020 no elective surgery of any type occurred.

Ballina District Hospital:

Does not currently perform orthopaedic or ophthalmology surgery.

Between July and September 2020 a total of 307 unspecified elective surgery procedures were performed.

Byron Central Hospital:

Does not currently perform orthopaedic or ophthalmology surgery.

Kyogle, Bonalbo, Nimbin and Urbenville Multi-Purpose Services:

Do not currently perform surgery.

NOTE:

All statistics were found at the Australian Institute of Health & Welfare.

Tweet of the Week

 

pic.twitter.com/DTuGdnyS7J

— Caitlin (@LacyMartini) February 17, 2021

 

Cartoon of the Week

 

Cathy Wilcox