Pictured is Shadow Minister for Police Paul Toole who has said “Enough is enough.”

Shadow Minister for Police Paul Toole has backed the NSW Police Association’s move to cease conducting prisoner transfers as police want to get back to doing what they do best, and that is policing.

From 7 July, police across the state will begin refusing to transport inmates to and from court, supervise prisoners in court­rooms, or house them in police stations once they’ve been bail refused — tasks that clearly fall under the responsibility of Cor­rective Services and Juvenile Justice.

This comes after the Police Association of NSW warned Premier Chris Minns and Minister for Police Yasmin Catley of this 12 months ago at the Police Association Con­ference – and they have done nothing about it.

Shadow Minister for Police Paul Toole said the decision to cease prisoner trans­port duties is long-overdue as the situation has been putting both public safety and frontline policing at risk.

“Our police are not prison guards, they’re not taxi drivers for criminals, and should not be expected to play this role,” Mr Toole said.

“Regional police are being pulled from frontline duties to drive prisoners hundreds of kilometres, often sleeping overnight in stations and leaving entire communities without police coverage.

“We’ve got police in the bush off the beat for days, towns left vulnerable, and officers burnt out — all because the Government refuses to properly resource Corrective Ser­vices.

The NSW Opposition questioned the NSW Police Minister at the most recent budget estimates hearing on Labor’s com­mitment made to the Police Association in 2024 to address this issue. The Minister agreed she was aware of the matter but was not aware of any steps being taken to reach a resolution nor committed to prioritising this matter.

“This is a damning failure by the Minns Labor Government and a Minister who has dropped the ball,” Mr Toole said.

Day one of construction on the “Halo of Colour” sculpture.

The completion of a giant “halo of colour” sculpture in the centre of the Condobolin Road roundabout is among the key finish­ing touches now under way for the Parkes Bypass project.

More than 1000 heavy vehicles a day have been taken out of the Parkes town centre since the new 10.5-kilometre by­pass alignment opened to Newell Highway traffic in April, and now crews are in the fi­nal stages of competing a number of activi­ties linked to the bypass.

The first is the installation of a six-metre high and 18-metre diameter piece of public art standing on the 98-metre Condobolin Road roundabout, featuring 24 columns and a number of brightly-coloured panels that have been craned into place since work started this week.

Vibrant artwork on signage being erected at the northern and southern ends of the bypass will welcome motorists, acknowl­edging that the Bypass is on Wiradjuri land, while a second piece of Aboriginal artwork features images of native fauna is in the final stages of being installed high across the highway on the Victoria Street bridge.

Stephen Lawrence, MLC, said “The halo sculpture in the centre of the Condobolin Road roundabout has been created to re­flect Parkes’ brand identity with an outer space theme reflecting Parkes’ iconic Dish, while the pair of Aboriginal artworks created by local Indigenous artists Scott ‘Sauce’ Towney and Kyah and Katlyn Turn­bull represent the land, their elders, local fauna and also Parkes as a meeting place in NSW’s Central West.

“We expect the final touches to the halo artwork to be completed by the end of the month, with the entry signage and the Vic­toria Street Bridge artwork installation to be in place in July.” More information on the Parkes Bypass Project can be found at www.transport.nsw.gov.au/projects/current-projects/parkes-bypass

Construction activities of the Quorn Park Hybrid Farm, on Back Trundle Road, ParkesNSW are progressing onsite, with materials delivered for access tracks and working ar­eas. Road upgrades to Henry Parkes Way and McGrath Lane, including an upgrade to the intersection, have commenced.

Piling works are also progressing on site and are expected to be completed in the upcoming weeks. These works involve steel posts being driven into the ground by a specialised piling machine, forming the framework for panel installation. Due to the hammer-like nature of the piling machines, there will be some noise associated with these works.

The ‘golden rows’ – the first solar panel rows installed on-site, which serve as the benchmark for layout, quality, and installa­tion pace – have been completed. With this key project milestone achieved, the me­chanical crews are preparing to begin in­stallation of the tracker components, which allow the solar panels to follow the sun’s movement and maximise energy produc­tion.

Panel installation will commence in the upcoming weeks, once the mechanical as­sembly of trackers is in progress.

Construction hours are Monday to Friday 7:00am to 6:00pm, and Saturday 7:00am to1:00pm.