Archives: Media Releases

WONDERING WOMEN FOUNDERS NAMED AS JOINT 2023 CRONULLA WOMAN OF THE YEAR WINNERS

Grays Point’s Lisa Tilsed and Cronulla’s Adriarn Crane, who together founded Wondering Women, have been named as joint winners of the 2023 Cronulla Woman of the Year Award.

Lisa and Adriarn have shown great passion and dedication over the last seven years to supporting women to lead active and fulfilling lives.

After starting out as a group to open up hiking to a broad range of women, Wondering Women is now engaging members in a range of activities and causes to help enrich the lives of women of all ages.

It’s testament to their hard work and enthusiasm that the organisation has grown to 2,100 members across the Sutherland Shire and a further 250 in the Bayside area.

As well as arranging activities and development opportunities to help women achieve personal growth, Lisa and Adriarn have driven efforts by members to give back to the community, such as fundraising for charities and a successful drive for household items to support people affected by the floods in northern NSW.

Lisa and Adriarn continue to work in successful careers alongside their hard work to grow and develop the Wondering Women community.

More information on Wondering Women is available on Facebook.

FIRST SOD TURNED FOR CRONULLA HIGH SCHOOL UPGRADE

I was delighted to join school, P&C and student leaders at Cronulla High School to turn the first sod to officially mark the start of construction of new state-of-the-art facilities.

The major upgrade at Cronulla High School will deliver 10 new permanent learning spaces, a new canteen, administration areas, and upgraded student and staff amenities, providing high quality modern facilities that will transform the school to meet the needs of Cronulla High students and staff.

Thank you to Principal Tony Ibrahim, Cronulla High staff and members of the P&C for their input into the design. Their work will mean the school has impressive and fit for purpose facilities to meet the needs of the school community for many years to come.

Work on the project will be completed and handed over in stages. A new building with canteen, toilets and six learning spaces will be completed first. This will be followed by the second new building to accommodate administration facilities and four new learning spaces. Car park works, new landscaping and refurbishment work to create new staff amenities will also be carried out. The entire project is expected to be finished by early 2025.

In addition to this upgrade project, work will begin within the next week or so to upgrade the Cronulla High School hall and expand it by around 50%. This will allow all students to be accommodated inside the hall at the one time.

Replacement shade structure works were completed in January 2023 in time for the first day of the school year.

FUNDING BOOST FOR GRASSROOTS SPORT IN CRONULLA

Eight community sport organisations across the Cronulla electorate will share in $50,000 of funding under the NSW Government’s Local Sport Grant Program.

The successful projects will help promote local participation in a range of sports and provide a welcome boost for the dedicated volunteers and participants at eight of local sporting organisations.

The projects funded by the grants will help provide better equipment, facilities, training and events to help encourage kids and adults to get involved in sport and lead active and healthy lifestyles.

The projects receiving grants are:

  • Cronulla-Caringbah Sharks JRLFC (canteen upgrade) $10,000
  • Cronulla Youth Weight Training Association (new carpet in training area) $10,000
  • Sutherland Shire Junior Cricket Association (new shade gazebos) $10,000
  • Cronulla Seagulls Football Club (covers for synthetic pitch area) $6,367
  • Cronulla Sharks Boardriders (education and training for juniors) $5,773
  • Surfing Sutherland Shire (first aid and shark attach response training) $3,610
  • Southside Malibu Club (replacement of core equipment) $2,250
  • Elouera Boardriders Club (competition / event costs) $2,000.

Grants of between $2,000 and $10,000 per project were available with up to $50,000 available in each electorate.

More information about the program is available here. 

NEW MRI SERVICE LAUNCHES AT SUTHERLAND HOSPITAL

The Sutherland Shire now has a new $7 million MRI facility close to home, as part of the NSW Liberal and National Government’s $88.5 million boost to Sutherland Hospital’s new Operating Theatre Complex.

This means that for the first time in the history of Sutherland Hospital patients can access an MRI on site providing physicians and patients with immediate access to an additional state-of-the-art diagnostic tool.

It will enhance patients’ access to first-class, quality healthcare without the need to travel out of the Shire.

The NSW Government responded to local residents who had campaigned to secure an MRI service for Sutherland Hospital.

The launch of the MRI service is in addition to the $62.9 million redevelopment of Sutherland Hospital, part of the NSW Government’s $160 million investment in health services for the Sutherland community.

 

WARREN RENNIE AM NAMED 2023 CRONULLA SENIOR OF THE YEAR

Patron of North Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club and surf lifesaving servant for 65 years Warren Rennie AM has been announced as the 2023 Cronulla Senior of the Year.

After more than six decades, Warren continues to serve the community with so much passion and energy.

Warren’s enthusiasm comes from knowing that surf lifesaving is about saving lives and his unwavering commitment over such a long time is an inspiration to so many people.

He has provided strong leadership in many roles at the club and the fact that he continues to serve as a patrol member says so much about his dedication to serving others.

Warren typifies the amazing volunteer spirit we have in the Shire and I congratulate him and the other finalists who continue to make a difference for our community in their senior years.

I thank all of our local seniors for the valuable volunteer work they do for so many organisations and groups.

The 2023 Cronulla Senior of the Year was presented was part of the NSW Seniors Festival Local Achievement Awards held to coincide with the annual NSW Seniors Festival, which is the biggest festival of its kind in the southern hemisphere, reaching up to 500,000 seniors each year.

Seven finalists were presented with awards at the function attended by family, friends and representatives of the organisations where they volunteer.

The other local achievement award winners were:

Laraine Lucas, Cronulla
Volunteer service to SRE (special religious education), bringing her experience as a teacher and school principal to teaching and overseeing training of SRE volunteers.

Pat Pender, Caringbah
Volunteer service to community radio 2SSR since 2006 as a regular program presenter and roles as membership services officer and program manager.

Richard Pinker, Caringbah South
Decades of volunteer service to Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club including as president, life member, committee member, in fundraising and a member on beach patrols.

Robert Short, Burraneer
Volunteer service over several decades to Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club, including as president, life member, committee member, district inspector and beach patrol member.

Jan Taylor, Grays Point
Volunteer service over more than 20 years to Sutherland Shire Council Bushcare and at the Shire’s Community Nursery and as an active member of the Australian Plants Society Sutherland Group.

Ian Toll, Gymea
Volunteer service over more than 50 years as a founding and life member of Elouera Surf Life Saving Club, serving in roles including club president, current chair of the Shire district life saving council, as well as more than 55 years as a Justice of the Peace.

NEW AMBULANCE STATION FOR SHIRE COMMUNITY

Shire residents are set to benefit from a major boost to frontline emergency care, with a new ambulance station to be built near Sutherland thanks to the NSW Government’s record $1.76 billion investment into ambulance services.

The new Sutherland ambulance station is one of 30 stations being built across NSW as part of the NSW Government’s $1.76 billion boost which will also deliver 2,128 extra staff.

The new ambulance station is being delivered as part of the $615.5 million NSW Ambulance Infrastructure Program.

As our Shire community continues to grow, the new ambulance station will help our dedicated local paramedics to provide the best emergency medical care now and into the future.

The exact location for the new ambulance station will be determined following further planning and consultation with key stakeholders including Council. Community consultation will be done as part of the planning process and the construction timeline will be determined once a site has been confirmed.

The new station will feature internal parking for emergency ambulance vehicles, vehicle wash facilities, staff parking, multipurpose spaces to support staff education and rest, logistics and storage spaces, an office area for administration and staff amenities.

The new ambulance station near Sutherland is additional to the Caringbah Ambulance Superstation delivered by the NSW Government’s $184 million Sydney Ambulance Metropolitan Infrastructure Strategy program and officially opened in 2018.

The NSW Liberal Government has also invested in the new $88.5 million Sutherland Hospital operating theatre complex, which is well underway, and has also delivered the $62.9 million Sutherland Hospital Redevelopment Stage 1, which was opened in 2018 and delivered a new and expanded emergency department, a larger intensive care unit, and additional general medical and surgical beds.

NORTH CRONULLA SURF CLUB FUNDING BOOST

North Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club will receive a further $382,000 grant from the NSW Government to continue upgrading its facilities to support the vital work its members do for the community.

Surf clubs play a critical role in keeping our community safe. The NSW Government is committed to helping the clubs provide modern and fit for purpose facilities to support the great work of their hard-working volunteers.

This grant will provide further support for North Cronulla’s redevelopment project, helping the club deliver its new facilities and quality ongoing training for volunteers.

The grant of $382,000 will help deliver the following work at the North Cronulla club:

  • new energy efficient and smart LED lighting and sensors for the existing heritage surf club building and the new surf club building areas
  • new CCTV and security and access system to secure and protect club facilities and assets and provide increased safety for members and visitors
  • wi-fi, wired network and audio-visual devices throughout the facility to support training and education sessions.

The latest grant brings NSW Government support for North Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club capital works to more than $1.3 million. The other Bate Bay clubs, Cronulla, Elouera and Wanda, have together received NSW Government capital works funding of more than $1.4 million since 2011.

The grant for North Cronulla announced today is part of the NSW Government’s $5.2 million Surf Club Facility Program for 2022-23 to help clubs throughout NSW to develop facilities that will enable increased participation in surf life saving for all people, increased facility usage and improved safety.

CONTRACT AWARDED FOR SUTHERLAND TO CRONULLA ACTIVE TRANSPORT LINK STAGE 2 EAST

The Sutherland to Cronulla Active Transport Link (SCATL) has taken another important step forward with the NSW Government awarding the contract for construction of Stage 2 East between Miranda and Woolooware.

Sydney Civil has been appointed to construct and deliver the next stage of SCATL, which when completed will transform active transport between Sutherland and Cronulla. Work is expected to begin on site next month.

It’s fantastic to mark this important milestone in the delivery of this project as SCATL will make walking and bike riding safer and more convenient for the Shire community.

SCATL Stage 2 East will run along the Kingsway and the southern side of Denman Ave from just east of Westfield Miranda to the intersection of Denman Avenue and Gannons Road, with existing links through to the Captain Cook Playing Fields, Woolooware and Cronulla High Schools and Woolooware Bay.

This will provide safe active transport access to Sutherland Hospital and link Miranda and Caringbah train stations.

The NSW Government is upgrading the intersections of Kingsway, Willarong Road and Banksia Road at Caringbah to increase safety for both road and active transport users as part of this stage. The upgrade includes installation of new signalised pedestrian crossings at the intersection of Willarong Road and Kingsway.

Planning and design is ongoing for SCATL Stage 2 West (Oak Road Kirrawee to Jackson Avenue Miranda). Following previous community feedback, public display and consultation on a preferred route is expected to be open for submissions mid-year.

When all of Stage 2 is complete, SCATL will deliver around eight kilometres of pedestrian and bike paths between Sutherland and Caringbah to connect public transport, schools, hospitals, residential and retail precincts.

Funding for SCATL includes Stage 3 through Woolooware and Cronulla and detailed planning and community consultation will follow planning for Stage 2 West.

Fine out more here.

FUNDING COMPLETE FOR THE HUNGRY POINT CLIFF TOP WALK

I’m pleased to announce the remaining funding for the proposed cliff top walk at Hungry Point Reserve, which will provide the missing pedestrian link between the Esplanade and Darook Park at Cronulla.

A grant of $4.9 million has been provided to Sutherland Shire Council through the Places to Roam stream of the NSW Government’s Open Spaces Program, bringing funding for the project to $6.9 million.

The cliff top walk around the spectacular perimeter of Hungry Point has been a community vision for many years and I am delighted that we have secured funding to deliver the project.

The Esplanade already provides amazing views for walkers and extending the path around Hungry Point to Darook Park will unlock spectacular and seldom seen views of Port Hacking.

I thank the Hungry Point Reserve Land Manager (the trust) and Sutherland Shire Council for the work they have done to prepare the walkway plans that will enable access for the community around this spectacular location while preserving he heritage and environmental values of the reserve.

The proposed suspended walkway is of lightweight construction comprising of a steel frame and fibreglass composite decking with stainless steel balustrading to certain locations. The walkway will also include staired sections, provision for seating and viewing areas with interpretive signage.

Following a community information session in Cronulla by the trust during October, plans for the walkway were put on public exhibition by Heritage NSW (as delegate of the independent Heritage Council) during October and November.

Subject to approval of the plans by the Heritage Council, construction of the walkway is planned to begin in 2023.

SPECTACULAR VIEWING FOR NATURE’S SPECTACULAR

A spectacular new whale watching platform at Kamay Botany Bay National Park is set to establish Sydney as the whale watching capital of Australia’s east coast. 

Cape Solander is a spectacular site attracting more than 300,000 local, domestic and international visitors each year.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has built the $2.5 million facilities in response to burgeoning demand from people wanting to see the spectacle as tens of thousands of whales pass the NSW coast each migratory season.

The new lookout provides greater capacity and triples the viewing area protected from the weather, with new tiered seating to increase the overall visitor capacity of the site.

The results are outstanding given the many challenges that had to be overcome to complete this spectacular project, including pandemic delays, contractor availability, and the extremely wet weather from November to April.

The new facilities provide wheelchair accessibility, improved visitor access, and safety enhancements.

Increased car parking provides upgraded pedestrian safety, including footpaths, signage, line-marking and barriers, complemented by extensive landscaping works.

The NSW Government funded the new facilities as part of the largest visitor infrastructure program in national park history, enabling the renewal, improvement and enhancement of park visitor facilities, safety and infrastructure.

This new facility complements other works completed or underway at Kamay Botany Bay National Park, including the Kamay 2020 sculptures, restored Alpha House and the proposed new visitor centre. 

Read more about the upgraded whale watching platform here.