May 27, 2026
Lyne MP’s bid to amend legal definition of ‘woman’ and ‘man’ Lyne MP Alison Penfold outside Parliament with Giggle for Girls founder Sall Grover and Nationals Leader Matt Canavan, after introducing her bid to change the Sex Discrimination Act. Photo: Supplied by Office of Alison Penford MP.
Government

Lyne MP’s bid to amend legal definition of ‘woman’ and ‘man’

Lyne MP Alison Penfold outside Parliament with Giggle for Girls founder Sall Grover and Nationals Leader Matt Canavan, after introducing her bid to change the Sex Discrimination Act. Photo: Supplied by Office of Alison Penford MP. Alison Penfold showing a copy of her Private Member’s Bill to her followers on social media. MEMBER for Lyne […]

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Hall of Fame honours for rugby league greats Sterlo and Cordner Peter Sterling at a Hawks training session earlier this year. Photo: Northern Hawks Facebook.
Sport

Hall of Fame honours for rugby league greats Sterlo and Cordner

Peter Sterling at a Hawks training session earlier this year. Photo: Northern Hawks Facebook. Peter Sterling and Hawks Head of Pathways Garth Brennan at a training session earlier this year. Photo: Northern Hawks Facebook. CORLETTE sporting identity Peter Sterling has been inducted into the NSW Rugby League Hall of Fame. The legendary Parramatta half back […]

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Jaguars roll into Gloucester and Dungog along Mountain Rally route
Event

Jaguars roll into Gloucester and Dungog along Mountain Rally route

Peter and Marlene Grant with the 1953 XK120 Jaguar. Jaguars lined up outside the Gloucester Rec Centre. DRIVERS travelling along the Bucketts Way on the morning of 22 May may have passed a unique convoy of Jaguar cars. Every second year the Jaguar Drivers’ Club of Australia (JDCA) holds its Mountain Rally, and this time […]

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Magpies ‘swoop’ into top spot in national bird count Magpies are Australia’s most-seen bird according to the latest national count. Photo: Kim Duggan.
National

Magpies ‘swoop’ into top spot in national bird count

THE results of the 12th national bird count are in, with the Australian Magpie taking out top spot. The Aussie Bird Count was held last October and saw a record breaking five million birds counted over one week. Organiser, Birdlife Australia, said 64,000 citizen scientists took part in the event. Half of all surveys included […]

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Turtles, fish bounce back after devastating Mid North Coast floods An endangered Manning River Turtle being released into the Barrington River by Aussie Ark in February. Photo: Aussie Ark.
Community, Event, Government, Health

Turtles, fish bounce back after devastating Mid North Coast floods

NEW research indicates Manning River turtles are being recorded at pre-flood numbers, twelve months after one of the region’s worst floods on record. Waterways in the Hunter and Mid North Coast were battered in the floods of May 2025, with serious concerns held about the long-term effects on fish and animals living in the rivers, […]

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Private landholders’ key role in the future of koalas
Community

Private landholders’ key role in the future of koalas

THE Koala Friendly Carbon Initiative is keen to hear from local landholders interested in having koala habitat trees planted on their properties. The initiative is a collaboration between the World Wide Fund for Nature Australia (WWF-Australia) and carbon farming service provider, Climate Friendly, supported by the NSW Government and HP Inc. This first-of-its-kind carbon farming […]

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Crash fears realised at Bucketts Way/Pacific Highway intersection Vehicles queueing at the Bucketts Way/Pacific Highway intersection in early 2026.
Community, Event, Government, Police

Crash fears realised at Bucketts Way/Pacific Highway intersection

A SERIOUS accident on Friday 15 May has brought safety issues at the Bucketts Way/Pacific Highway intersection into sharp focus once more. In April, News Of The Area reported on the strong concerns held by former Roads and Traffic Authority senior engineer Gordon Chirgwin about the dangerous state of the intersection. “I believe that the […]

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Lyne MP’s response to Federal Budget
Local News

Lyne MP’s response to Federal Budget

NATIONALS Member for Lyne Alison Penfold has called the Labor Government’s Federal Budget a “bloodbath for regional Australia”. In her response to Labor’s Federal Budget, delivered by Treasurer Jim Chalmers on 12 May, Ms Penfold said regional and rural communities like those in Lyne had been left behind. “Budgets can make or break the ability […]

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Lower Hunter records highest April water usage in 20 years Chichester Dam, April 2026.
Local News

Lower Hunter records highest April water usage in 20 years

Chichester Dam, April 2026. Grahamstown Dam, April 2026. HUNTER Water is urging customers to make smart water choices as the Lower Hunter records its highest April water usage in 20 years, alongside declining dam levels and ongoing dry conditions. Residential water use topped 3.7 billion litres in the month, equating to 189 litres per person […]

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