Personal Hardship Assistance payment extended to new Hunter suburbs
AN additional 29 suburbs in the Hunter and Mid North Coast are now eligible for the East Coast Severe Weather Personal Hardship Assistance payment for people impacted by recent floods. In the Hunter this includes Balickera 2324, Brandy Hill 2324, Butterwick 2321, Duns Creek 2321 and Glen Oak 2320, and comes following further assessments by […]
Letter to the Editor: Where were you?
DEAR News Of The Area, ON Sunday, 7 June, I attended a meeting at the Doug Walters Pavillion. It had been arranged by the Dungog Council, and was to keep all of us locals up to speed with what is going on with the planning for the future Housing and Infrastructure Master Plan, for our […]
Urgent care clinics provide walk-in, bulk-billed treatment for urgent but non-life-threatening emergencies.
Process begins for urgent care clinic in Maitland
AN expressions of interest (EOI) process to establish a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic (UCC) in Maitland closed on 15 July. The EOI was open to existing general practices, community health centres and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services. Fifty new Medicare UCCs were announced in the 2025-26 Budget, set to provide walk-in, bulk-billed treatment for urgent […]
WINC volunteers help care for recovering wildlife like this feather-tailed glider.
No creature too great or small for WINC
AS any pet owner will tell you, with no government subsidies such as Medicare, treating injury and illness in companion animals can be an expensive prospect. What hope is there, then, when native animals are struck by cars, or traumatised by bushfires? That’s where the volunteers of Wildlife In Need Of Care (WINC) get involved. […]
Streets paved with gold in alleged roadworks corruption
CASH, cryptocurrency and even gold nuggets are among the alleged spoils of a long-running scheme to rig and inflate contracts for roadworks. A former department officer is believed to be in hiding, after a failed attempt to leave Australia on a US passport. The alleged rigging and inflation of contracts by Transport for NSW procurement […]
Concerns Bucketts Way traffic could worsen due to quarry usage
BOORAL resident Kieran Fraser has expressed concerns that traffic issues on Bucketts Way are likely to become much worse if the proposed Hillview Hardrock Quarry in Maytoms Lane, near Booral, is approved. According to the application, when operational, there will be 272 two-way truck movements, six days per week, over an eleven-hour day due to […]
Demand for Aussie beef looks set to remain strong, with reason for "cautious optimism" across agriculture after months of extreme weather and trade uncertainty.
Bright spots in agriculture amid market volatility
WITH droughts on one side of the country, floods on the other, and political volatility overseas, Australia’s agriculture industry has been right in the thick of it. But there is reason for “cautious optimism” in the $90.7 billion sector as uncertain conditions create both threats and opportunities for the nation’s producers, according to Bendigo Bank’s […]
Dungog Junior Cricket Club players will benefit from improved irrigation at Bruyn Park. Photo: DJCC.
Dungog Shire community groups win water grants
HUNTER Water has announced the successful recipients of its 2025 Love Water Grants program, with 19 community organisations and groups awarded a share of $125,000 in funding to support water-saving and sustainability-focused initiatives. Now in its seventh year, the Love Water Grants program offers one-off funding of up to $10,000 for projects that promote water […]
Usman Khawaja was out for 14 as Australia's openers again struggled in the third Test. Photo: AP PHOTO.
Australia’s top order crumbles, leaving Ashes headaches
AUSTRALIA’S selectors have four Sheffield Shield matches to sort their openers for the Ashes, after the team’s top order crumbled under lights in Jamaica. The tourists went to stumps on night two at Sabina Park at 6-99 in their second innings, leading West Indies by 181 but with the game firmly in the balance. Sam […]