FOLLOWING the record-breaking floods which hammered the region in May, impacted residents were instructed by the NSW Government’s Reconstruction Authority to apply for Disaster Relief Grants. According to MidCoast Council, the Authority is now refusing some grant applications due to homes being classified as within a flood zone. Council says this is despite the Authority […]
PEOPLE living in communities impacted by recent bushfires who require essential medicines, including diabetes, heart and asthma medicines, can now access a limited supply without a prescription at pharmacies. NSW Health has issued an Authority under the Poisons and Therapeutic Goods legislation that enables pharmacists to supply prescription medicines to people without a prescription who […]
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with workers at the Tomago smelter.
MORE than 1000 jobs at a troubled aluminium smelter are secure after the federal government confirmed it would keep the site running with taxpayer support. Rio Tinto, majority owner of the massive Tomago smelter, had for months been threatening to shut down the plant due to spiralling energy costs after 2028, when its electricity contract […]
The CSIRO’s patented neckbands use GPS and wireless sensors to control cattle movements. Photo: CSIRO.
CATTLE and dairy farmers have welcomed the government’s decision to legalise virtual stock fencing, which involves using GPS collars to control the animals through audio cues and electric shocks. The move is expected to reduce physical fencing costs, improve rotational grazing systems, and provide remote access to data on the welfare of herds. Minister for […]
The number of emergency and urgent care patients is the highest since reporting began.
THE latest Bureau of Health Information report shows increased demand for hospital care and urgent surgery across the Hunter New England Local Health District (HNELHD). The quarterly report is based on the period between July – September 2025. There were 108,152 presentations to emergency departments (EDs) across the district, which is 2174 fewer than in […]
Anna Meares said it took her three Olympic cycles to have the confidence to be backed financially. Photo: Dean Lewins/AAP PHOTOS.
SPORTING mums and retiring athletes are key targets of a $50 million funding package from the Australian Olympic Committee. It’s being hailed as the AOC’s most significant athlete-funding initiative since the buildup to the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Capitalising on a boost from its sizeable investment portfolio, the AOC will set up the $20 million Olympian […]
THEY said it couldn’t happen, but the Federal Labor Government has worked with the Greens to pass reforms to the Environment Protection Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act after negotiations fell through last November. The reforms include a new environment watchdog agency; national standards to safeguard nature; federal laws to apply to native forest logging by mid-2027; […]
The smoke clouds as the fire began. Photo: Thomas O’Keefe. Smoke drifts over the coast, leaving a thick blanket above the water at Bennetts Beach, Hawks Nest. Photo: Thomas O’Keefe. Recon and water-bombing aircraft land, refuel and take off from Bulahdelah Showground. Photo: Thomas O’Keefe. The blackened median and verge forest along the Pacific Highway […]
MOTORISTS are advised of changed traffic conditions on Gostwyck Bridge on Dungog Road, Paterson, for structural work. Transport for NSW will carry out maintenance work on the bridge to upgrade sections of the decking and support its ongoing safe operation. Work will be carried from Tuesday 9 December from 7am to 4pm, Monday to Thursday. […]
McGrath Gloucester principal Jonny Tighe is confident the local market will continue to surge in 2026. Dillon & Sons principal Tavis Chivers says Dungog is a unique market given the low levels of property turnovers in the smaller shire. THE inland lifestyle belt stretching from Gloucester to Dungog is finishing 2025 with renewed momentum as […]
