RESIDENTS are being invited to have their say on Dungog Shire Council’s Draft Business Improvement Strategy, which outlines a roadmap for how Council intends to improve its operations over the next decade. The draft strategy is currently on public exhibition and will remain open for community feedback until 17 July. Deputy Mayor Liam Ley said […]
THE NSW Government has introduced legislation aimed at creating a fairer approach for drivers who legally use prescribed medicinal cannabis while maintaining strong road safety protections. The proposed Road Transport Amendment (Medical Cannabis and Driving Offences) Bill 2026 would allow eligible medicinal cannabis patients to avoid automatic penalties for the presence of THC in their […]
RESIDENTS are being invited to have their say on Dungog Shire Council’s Draft Business Improvement Strategy, which outlines a roadmap for how Council intends to improve its operations over the next decade. The draft strategy is currently on public exhibition and will remain open for community feedback until 17 July. Deputy Mayor Liam Ley said […]
THE Minns Labor Government has committed an additional $71.7 million in the 2026-27 NSW Budget to help regional, rural and remote patients access specialist healthcare through the Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme (IPTAAS). The funding boost aims to ease cost-of-living pressures for patients and families who must travel long distances for medical treatment […]
IT’S Men’s Health Week and this year Australian men are being reminded that there are ‘101 Reasons to See Your GP’ and urges men to just get on with it. The event’s website, https://www.menshealthweek.com.au/, looks crafted with straightforward, no-drama sensibilities; a brown background, beige writing, and no-nonsense text. “There are 101 reasons to see your […]
BY the end of next winter, ownership of and responsibility for the Rural Fire Service’s mobile assets, otherwise known as its ‘Red Fleet’, will lie with the NSW Government and not local councils. Mayor Darcy Byrne, President of Local Government NSW, said the move would come as a great relief to many local councils, particularly […]
NOTA reported (7 May) that member of Federal Parliament Alison Penfold had introduced a Private Members Bill into Parliament to amend the definitions of ‘man’ and ‘woman’ in the Sex Discrimination Act, suggesting that it was necessary to provide legal protections for women and girls. Ms Penfold’s Bill provides that the definitions of ‘man’ and […]
A GRANTS program that last year helped plant 123,000 trees, shrubs and groundcovers will return in 2026. Grants of between $5,000 and $25,000 are available to support the native planting projects of Landcare groups, Bushcare, Coastcare and Dunecare groups, local governments, natural resource management organisations, not-for-profit organisations and First Nations organisations. It is the second […]
PUBLIC confidence in the NSW criminal justice system has declined over time, with a pronounced fall since 2019, according to new research by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR). Based on a representative survey of 2,000 NSW adults, the study found that public confidence fell across all key measures from 2012 to […]
MANUFACTURING heavyweight 3M is vowing to fight a multibillion-dollar lawsuit over widespread use of “forever chemicals” at Australian defence sites – including the RAAF base at Williamtown. The federal government is suing 3M for more than $2 billion to recover costs from the per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in firefighting foam that contaminated 28 defence […]
