2004 Media Archive

NEWCASTLE HAS HIGHEST TEENAGE UNEMPLOYMENT IN NSW
Date: Friday, December 17, 2004
New figures released yesterday show that Newcastle has the highest rate of teenage unemployment in New South Wales, with the number of teenagers out of work soaring as high as 30.6 per cent.
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BRIGHT HORIZONS FOR NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY
Date: Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Newcastle University today fared exceptionally well in the Australian Research Council's National Competitive Grants Program, exceeding the national success rate in fundamental research Discovery Grants and gaining the 7th largest grant funding in partnership Linkage Grants.
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LABOR AIMS HIGHER FOR HUNTER REGION
Date: Tuesday, October 05, 2004
Federal Labor’s $215m Community Engagement Fund will put back the $3.75m funding Brendan Nelson took away when he removed Newcastle University’s regional status, and will deliver $6 m over four years including $1.2 m going to the Ourimbah campus.
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NEWCASTLE SCORES A REGIONAL GOAL! Latham Labor Delivers! $20 million towards an international stadium.
Date: Friday, October 01, 2004
Sharon Grierson paid tribute today to the people of Newcastle and the Hunter Region for their dedicated campaign for stadium funding.
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Medicare Gold Star for Newcastle
Date: Wednesday, September 29, 2004
49% of Newcastle voters have private health insurance so Mark Latham’s announcement of Labor’s Medicare Gold will mean lower health premiums to almost half of my electorate.
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UNDER HOWARD APPRENTICES PAY UP-FRONT FEES
Date: Monday, September 27, 2004
Howard’s proposed new technical colleges do not deliver answers to the Hunter’s skill shortages, with students having to pay up-front full fees for their apprenticeships.
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TAKING THE PRESSURE OFF FAMILIES’ CHILDCARE COSTS
Date: Monday, September 27, 2004
Labor’s investment in early childhood development and the creation of thousands of additional places will be welcome news to Newcastle families.
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Newcastle Puts Bob Baldwin and John Howard On Report
Date: Tuesday, September 21, 2004
John Howard and Bob Baldwin deserve to be put on report by the voters of Newcastle and the Hunter Region. The people of Newcastle and the Hunter have been asking the Howard government for funds to upgrade our sports stadium for the last 5 years, but John Howard’s team hasn’t been playing the game by the rules.
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LABOR TO BOOST DEMENTIA SPENDING
Date: Tuesday, September 21, 2004
As Co-convenor of Parliamentary Friends of Dementia, Sharon Grierson MP welcomed the World Alzheimer’s day announcement that a Latham Labor government will provide $5 million to develop a National Dementia Strategy and plan for the future needs of people with dementia.
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NEWCASTLE FIRMS COMBINE FOR DEFENCE PROJECTS
Date: Monday, September 20, 2004
The announcement today that ADI and Forgacs will team to bid for Defence’s amphibious ships and oil tanker conversion projects fits well with Labor’s defence policy offer of an increased number of amphibious ships.
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TIME TO ACT ON DEMENTIA
Date: Monday, September 20, 2004
Sharon Grierson MP, Co-Convenor of Parliamentary Friends of Dementia welcomes the report released today by Alzheimer’s Australia, highlighting the importance of early detection and intervention to slow the dementia epidemic.
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More than 6,800 Newcastle families caught in John Howard’s debt trap
Date: Sunday, September 19, 2004
New leaked figures show that John Howard’s family tax debt trap has left more than 6,800 Newcastle families with a debt. That’s 67% of Newcastle families who receive a Family Tax Benefit (FTB) payment that will be slugged with another debt because of the Howard Government’s refusal to change the flawed family payments system.
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LABOR’S BUY AUSTRALIAN POLICY USING GOVERNMENT PURCHASING TO CREATE JOBS
Date: Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Labor’s Buy Australian policy will create local jobs, get better value for the taxpayer’s dollar and boost the nation’s economy.
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INVESTING IN NEWCASTLE SCHOOLS
Date: Monday, September 13, 2004
A Federal Labor government will invest in our needy government and non-government schools and ensure that all students have the opportunity to attend a quality high achieving school, while guaranteeing no funding cuts to any school in Newcastle.
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NEWCASTLE CHILDCARE CRISIS
Date: Monday, September 13, 2004
A Newcastle Childcare Survey with initial results from sixty-seven Newcastle parents reveals widespread problems with access to and affordability of childcare in Newcastle.
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LABOR’S FAIRER TAX AND BETTER FAMILY PAYMENTS PLAN: GOOD NEWS FOR NEWCASTLE FAMILIES
Date: Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Labor’s Fairer Tax and Better Family Payment plan will take the financial pressure off families in Newcastle.
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LABOR’S NEW DEAL FOR MEDICARE:GOOD NEWS FOR NEWCASTLE
Date: Monday, September 06, 2004
The 90% of Newcastle people who will miss out on the Howard Government’s tax cut can’t afford to lose Medicare too.
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LABOR’S AGENDA FOR NEW MANUFACTURING JOBS IN NEWCASTLE
Date: Sunday, September 05, 2004
Almost 2,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost in the Newcastle region since John Howard came to power.
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LABOR’S LOW INTEREST RATE GUARANTEE - GOOD NEWS FOR NEWCASTLE
Date: Thursday, September 02, 2004
A Federal Labor government will put downward pressure on interest rates and that’s good news for the 12,000 Newcastle home buyers.
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BETTER OPPORUNTIES FOR NEWCASTLE STUDENTS AND SCHOOLS
Date: Thursday, September 02, 2004
Labor is investing in the future of our children to get the best out of teachers, improve classroom discipline and promote the values of Australian society in our schools.
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MEDIA ALERT - CELEBRATING 140 YEARS OF CONTINUOUS EDUCATIONCELEBRATING 140 YEARS OF CONTINUOUS EDUCATION
Date: Wednesday, September 01, 2004
To mark the commencement of 2004 Education Week Sharon Grierson MP will be celebrating the 140th birthday of Waratah Public School.
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Honouring the defence of Newcastle
Date: Wednesday, September 01, 2004
Sharon Grierson welcomes Labor’s plan to commemorate the defence of the Australian homeland in World War II by declaring the first Wednesday in September to the “Battle for Australia Day” at today’s Battle for Australia Commemoration Service in Civic Park, Newcastle.
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LOCAL STUDENT ENVIRONMENTALISTS MAKE THEIR MARK
Date: Wednesday, September 01, 2004
Recently back from competing internationally for their environmental initiatives, students from the Holy Family Primary School at Merewether have now been selected as finalists in the Westpac Landcare Education Awards for a school or youth group.
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SAVING LIVES FROM WATER ACCIDENTS
Date: Wednesday, September 01, 2004
Labor’s Water Safety Policy released today will boost the great work of organisations like Hunter Surf Life saving and is designed to reduce lives lost through water accidents.
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NEWCASTLE UNI STUDENTS AND FAMILIES DESERVE BETTER
Date: Wednesday, September 01, 2004
Too many Novocastrian students and families are feeling the financial strain of a university education. With the Howard Government giving the go-ahead for HECS fees to rise by 25% next year and the introduction of full-fee paying degrees for local students the burden will become even heavier.
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SHARON GRIERSON LENDS SUPPORT FOR NATIONAL MEALS ON WHEELS DAY
Date: Wednesday, September 01, 2004
Inspired by the outstanding nominations received for the 2004 Newcastle Community Volunteers Award, Sharon Grierson is today volunteering her services and greeting Lambton residents in support of National Meals on Wheels Day.
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SHARON GRIERSON LENDS SUPPORT TO NATIONAL MEALS ON WHEELS DAY
Date: Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Sharon Grierson is volunteering her services and greeting local residents with Lambton Meals on Wheels tomorrow.
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INTEREST RATES TO REMAIN LOW UNDER LABOR
Date: Monday, August 30, 2004
Low interest rates will be a priority under a Latham Labor Government and that’s good news for the 12 000 Newcastle home owners and home buyers.
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SCRATCH ME NOT HAPPY JOHN
Date: Monday, August 30, 2004
Peter Costello’s statement today that he can’t be sure he won’t challenge John Howard for leadership makes this election a lottery for voters and Sharon Grierson’s office has election “Scratchies” available for voters who want to make a punt before casting their real vote.
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ENROL FOR BETTER OPPORTUNITIES
Date: Monday, August 30, 2004
Every election thousands of eligible voters, particularly young people, can’t have their say at the ballot box because they haven’t enrolled. Voting is a right and a responsibility to choose the best opportunity for our nation’s future.
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CAMPAIGN TRAIL TO BETTER OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEWCASTLE
Date: Sunday, August 29, 2004
Sharon Grierson welcomes the beginning of a campaign to deliver opportunity to all Novocastrians and give them a strong voice in a Latham Labor government.
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VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN – PREVENTION IS THE ONLY LONG TERM CURE
Date: Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Violence against women is a major problem in the community affecting up to 1 in 4 Australian women. It must not be tolerated, it must be stopped. Nicola Roxon, Shadow Attorney-General and Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader on the Status of Women, Sharon Grierson, Member for Newcastle, and Giovanna Kozary, Labor Candidate for Paterson, today met with the Newcastle Sexual Assault Service to hear first hand the impact of violence on women and children in our community.
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NEWCASTLE & CENTRELINK DESERVES BETTER
Date: Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Sharon Grierson has today backed a campaign by frontline Centrelink staff to improve services to the public by properly resourcing the organisation, better managing workloads, and simplifying policy.
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Newcastle’s Vietnam Veterans celebrate 10th Anniversary with Parliament’s only veteran
Date: Friday, August 20, 2004
Graham Edwards, Labor’s Parliamentary Secretary for Defence and the only Vietnam veteran in the Australian Parliament, is in Newcastle today to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Newcastle & Hunter Region Vietnam Veterans’ Association.
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PLASTIC BAG FAMINE – BAGGING A BETTER FUTURE
Date: Friday, August 20, 2004
This weekend is the National Plastic Bag Famine. Sharon Grierson urges fellow Novocastrians to join her in giving up plastic shopping bags for the weekend and swapping to calico bags instead – for the sake of our environment.
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JOIN ME IN A PLASTIC-BAG FREE WEEKEND
Date: Friday, August 20, 2004
Sharon Grierson urges fellow Novocastrians to join her in giving up plastic shopping bags for the weekend and swapping to calico bags instead - for the sake of our environment.
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Graham Edwards and Newcastle’s Vietnam Veterans to celebrate 10th Anniversary
Date: Thursday, August 19, 2004
Graham Edwards MP, Labor’s Parliamentary Secretary for Defence and the only Vietnam Veteran in the Australian Parliament, will be in Newcastle as the guest speaker at the Newcastle & Hunter Region Vietnam Veterans’ Association’s 10th Anniversary Dinner.
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Labor boosts campaign to save Newcastle Jobs
Date: Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Pressure continues to mount on the Howard Government today over the awarding of an $18 million Airservices Australia contract for emergency response vehicles to an overseas company - sending Australian jobs offshore.
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FUNDING FOR HUNTER GP ACCESS AFTER HOURS –JUST ANOTHER ELECTION BAND-AID BY TONY ABBOTT
Date: Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Tony Abott’s decision to grant a one year ‘stay of execution’ for the Hunter GP Access After Hours (GPAAH) service is nothing more than a cheap band-aid bid to win the election and does nothing to secure its ongoing future.
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2004 August Question On Notice - Varley Engineering
Date: Thursday, August 05, 2004

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Newcastle's Varley Engineering Misses Out. Sharon Grierson Asks Why!
Date: Thursday, August 05, 2004
In July, the Howard Government shipped to Austria millions of taxpayers’ dollars as well as jobs, apprenticeships and critical training opportunities for the Hunter region when Airservices Australia bypassed Newcastle firm Varley Engineering in a contract to manufacture 18 emergency response vehicles for Australian airports.
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UNI CLASS SIZES BLOW OUT UNDER HOWARD
Date: Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Under Howard there are fewer lecturers per student at the University of Newcastle.
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LABOR BACKS HUNTER GP ACCESS AFTER HOURS
Date: Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Labor’s announcement today to commit to ongoing funding of the Hunter GP After Hours Service (GPAAH) and its promotion of our service as a benchmark model nationally is welcome news for everyone in the region.
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JOBS ARE LESS SECURE UNDER THE HOWARD GOVERNMENT
Date: Tuesday, July 20, 2004
Australia now has more than 2.2 million casual workers – around 27 per cent of the workforce. Labor’s Shadow Minister for Workplace Relations and the Public Service, Craig Emerson MP, will be in Newcastle tomorrow and will be available to discuss Labor’s plan to support casual workers.
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LABOR’S YOUTH GUARANTEE:TACKLING YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT IN NEWCASTLE
Date: Tuesday, July 20, 2004
Labor’s Youth Guarantee means that unemployed teenagers in the Newcastle region will get more support and assistance to get them into a good job, Jenny Macklin announced today.
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JENNY MACKLIN MEDIA ALERT TUESDAY 20TH JULY 2004
Date: Monday, July 19, 2004
Jenny Macklin and Sharon Grierson will make a specific announcement about Labor’s plan to tackle high youth unemployment in the Newcastle region TOMORROW.
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NELSON RUNNING SCARED
Date: Thursday, July 15, 2004
Brendan Nelson is playing the politics of desperation releasing for at least the third time a "hit list of Labor's private schools".
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Howard sends Newcastle jobs overseas
Date: Wednesday, July 14, 2004
The Howard Government has shipped jobs, millions of dollars, apprenticeships and critical training opportunities overseas, after what appears to be a questionable tender process for the manufacture of emergency trucks.
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RECOGNITION FOR NEWCASTLE’S OUTSTANDING SPORTS PEOPLE
Date: Tuesday, July 13, 2004
More than forty happy Novocastrians will today receive recognition for the outstanding contribution that they make to Newcastle’s sporting community.
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ABBOTT SHUNS NOVOCASTRIANS’ HEALTH CARE - AGAIN!
Date: Thursday, July 08, 2004
I welcome the announcement today that some Medicare offices will now open on Saturday mornings, but if Tony Abbott and the Howard Government were serious about providing decent access to health care, they’d commit funding to Newcastle’s GP Access After Hours (GPAAH) service.
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GREATER SECURITY AND MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR MATURE AGE AUSTRALIANS
Date: Thursday, July 08, 2004
The Howard government has failed Newcastle’s mature age job seekers. With an ageing population and growing skills shortages in key industries, wasting the skills and experience of mature age Australians is not an option.
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NELSON’S MESSAGE TO NEWCASTLE – BUY A PLACE OR MOVE AWAY IF YOU WANT TO GO TO UNIVERSITY
Date: Friday, July 02, 2004
Today Brendan Nelson short-changed Newcastle, offering only 28 fully funded university places at the Callaghan Campus for 2005. Growth in places at the Ourimbah and Port Macquarie campus doesn’t help students from the Newcastle and the Hunter unless they’re prepared to move away or buy a place to stay.
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HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY GP ACCESS AFTER HOURS – BUT WILL IT REACH ITS SECOND BIRTHDAY?
Date: Thursday, July 01, 2004
Congratulations to the GP Access After Hours (GPAAH) service for successfully completing its first year of expanded operation in the Newcastle and Hunter region. After just 12 months of operation, the GPAAH has provided a quality local solution to the problem of accessing health care after hours.
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Labor promotes manufacturing in Newcastle - Encouraging enterprise, exports, growth and jobs
Date: Tuesday, June 29, 2004
Manufacturing has always been the backbone of the Hunter Region economy. However, the industry has faced challenges as manufacturing shifts towards smaller companies producing hi-tech products.
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