COMMUNITY members are invited to attend the End-Of-Life Expo on Wednesday 23 July, from 1pm to 4pm at the CWA Hall in Dungog. Hosted by local End-of-Life Doula Jess Watkins, the afternoon event aims to open up compassionate, practical conversations around dying, death, and care. With a growing national movement towards death literacy and community-based […]
Rural Lands Steering Committee appointed following expression of interest campaign
COUNCIL has endorsed the appointment of three independent community representatives to its Rural Lands Steering Committee following an expression of interest campaign. The Rural Lands Steering Committee was originally formed in September 2019, however the Rural Lands Strategy was placed on hold and the committee ceased meeting. At its June 2025 meeting, Council agreed to […]
Cricketing great Doug Walters honoured with home-town statue
Doug Walters inspecting the statue after it was unveiled. Dungog cricket royalty Doug Walters has been immortalised in stone. A NEW statue honouring Australian cricket great Doug Walters was unveiled outside the Dungog Visitor Information Centre on Saturday. The delivery of the statue was a joint effort between Dungog Shire Council and the Doug Walters […]
NAIDOC plaque unveiled at Stroud church
Members of the Goori Bugg Family at the unveiling. Photo: supplied. The plaque positioned at St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church, Stroud. A NEW plaque has been unveiled at St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church in Stroud to mark NAIDOC Week. Following the successful gathering of the Goori Bugg family in Gloucester from 28-30 March, […]
Wanted: 10,000 households to plug in to energy research
MORE than 10,000 Australian households and businesses will be asked to share ways they generate and use electricity for research to accelerate the net-zero transition. The nation’s science agency CSIRO on Thursday launched the National Energy Analysis Centre that will capture real-world energy use, which has been modelled on a similar body in the UK. […]
NSW farmers gather for annual conference
FARMERS from all corners of NSW will meet in Sydney this week to discuss critical issues such as the future of farming and the energy transition. NSW Farmers’ Chief Executive Annabel Johnson said the NSW Farmers’ Annual Conference was a chance to bring the perspective from the paddock to the city as Australia faced a […]
Dungog Shire Council frustrated with biodiversity laws
DUNGOG Shire Council will write to the Environment Minister to express concerns over the impacts of the Biodiversity Conservation Act. At Council’s July 16 meeting, Mayor Digby Rayward said the Act has resulted in a high number of Biodiversity Development Assessment Reports (BDARs) being required for minor developments such as single dwellings or small subdivisions. […]
Arrests over ‘abhorrent’ child-like sex doll imports
SEVERAL middle-aged men have been arrested for trying to get child-like sex dolls shipped to their homes in rural towns. Australian Border Force officers raided and searched properties around the Newcastle and Hunter Valley area arresting four people over the span of about a year in their crackdown on the “disturbing rise in attempted importations.” […]
Feedback sought on farm connectivity program
THE Australian Government is seeking input from community and industry stakeholders on the “On Farm Connectivity Program” to ensure it is delivering the best possible outcomes for primary producers through the upcoming third round. Through over $30 million in rebates provided over the first two rounds, the government says thousands of primary producers have been […]
‘I'm feeling very energised about parliament coming back,’ Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says. Photo: Lukas Coch/AAP PHOTOS.
Buoyant Albanese plots next phase of Labor dynasty
PRIME Minister Anthony Albanese has backed a greater role for the government in childcare as he prepares to push through legislation tightening up the sector following horrifying allegations of child abuse at Melbourne early learning centres. Universal affordable childcare was identified by the prime minister during the recent federal election as the one reform he’d […]
