Archive for category: News

Privacy Awareness Week is a global campaign that involves both public sector agencies and citizens and aims to improve understanding and awareness of NSW privacy legislation, and to raise awareness of a person’s privacy rights and agency obligations.

Privacy Awareness Week NSW takes place from 1 – 7 May 2023 and this year’s theme is Back to Basics: Privacy foundations in NSW.

Wentworth Shire Council is a proud Champion of Privacy Awareness Week NSW 2023 and is committed to protecting the privacy of NSW citizens.

In NSW, your privacy is protected by the:

• Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (PPIP Act) which outlines how NSW public sector agencies, including government agencies, local councils and universities, manage and protect personal information

•  (HRIP Act) which promotes fair and responsible handling of health information. The HRIP Act applies to an organisation in NSW that is a health service provider or that collects, holds or uses health information. This includes both public and private sector organisations.

This Privacy Awareness Week, follow these basic principles to protect your privacy:

• Store – store personal documents such as passports, driving licences, pay slips, tax returns, bank statements and bills in a safe place.
• Destroy – Destroy or shred personal documents you are throwing away such as bills, receipts, credit card statements and other documents that show your name, address or other personal details.
• Secure – If you need to post personal documents, ask the post office for advice on the most secure method.
• Limit – Keep the number of documents you carry around on you to a minimum. Don’t leave personal documents in your vehicle or unattended.
• Check – Check your bank and credit card statements regularly for unusual transactions.
• Vary – Always use a different password and PIN for different accounts and take care when using public computers to access personal information.
• Accurate – Regularly check your records. Make sure your information is correct and up to date.
• Secret – Disable auto-connect to public Wi-Fi and never connect to public Wi-Fi on your work account. Use a VPN, incognito mode and/or ad blocking browser extensions, and clear out your cookie caches and browsing history to prevent your data and activity being collected.
• Ask – Get permission before you share photos or videos of someone, and don’t share posts that contain personal information. Never exchange sensitive information over email.
• Think –Think before you click links or share posts. Social media platforms have around 20 per cent more methods to scam customers than other websites, including malicious advertisements, share buttons and plug-ins.
• Separate – Never use a work email address on a personal social media account. Use your own email address or create a separate one.
• Delete – Remove unused apps from your phone, and disable location, camera and microphone access where it’s not required.

The Information and Privacy Commission (IPC) can also help you understand privacy laws in NSW and give you information on how to protect your personal information and assert your rights. Learn more by visiting the Privacy Awareness Week webpage www.ipc.nsw.gov.au/PAW2023

As residents of the Wentworth Shire Council, you may be aware of the mass fish death event that has been occurring further up-river around Menindee. As the river travels south, it brings some of the low-quality water with it and you may have observed some fish deaths.

The NSW Government has released a community update to inform residents about what is happening and the response being taken. Please read the article below to ensure you are fully informed.

The picturesque Australian Inland Botanic Gardens Mildura-Wentworth hosted Wentworth Winedown on Saturday 25 February with raving reviews. Free attendance at the Wentworth Winedown was only made possible through the Reconnecting Regional NSW Community Events Program funded by the NSW Government.

The aim of this program was to promote the social and economic recovery of regional communities, by renewing social connections and providing a revenue-boost to local businesses, following the extended COVID-19 restrictions across regional NSW and impacts of border closures.

Wentworth Winedown provided great live entertainment from some of Australia’s top performers along with local food and wine vendors serving up a variety of gourmet options.

Local food and drink vendors served up a storm to over 3,000 attendees and included a range of options from Monak Wine Co, Trentham Estate Winery, Fossey’s Distillery, Cappa Stone Wines, Scad’s Cruisin Café, The Van, El Gringo’s Mexican Street Food, Peter’s Souvlakis, Outback Almonds, Verdict pop up catering, Two Black Sheep Cafe, Enjoy Catering Mildura, Grazing Into Brunch and the Lions Club of Buronga Gol Gol & Friends of the Gardens Committee.

Over 5 hours of live performances from Australian artists included Alice Ivy, Allday, Mallrat and the Mildura formed Loose Bricks (now performing on multiple interstate tours). In a Q&A with the artists, they were excited to be playing a regional concert for music fans and to connect the community in one venue. A member of Loose Bricks said “Rural communities often have to travel long distances to get to see live music which is expensive and often time consuming, so events that are local provide accessible experiences for the people in those communities.”