FLOOD Recovery Centres on the Mid North Coast have assisted more than 9500 people in the past few weeks. Various local and state organisations are on-hand to provide assistance with ID documentation, accommodation, legal and financial support, insurance and mental health support. Centres have operated this past week at the Indoor Basketball Stadium on Hibbard […]

Member for Oxley Michael Kemp has spoken to hundreds of local farmers since the floods. Photos: supplied. MICHAEL Kemp fears as many as 95 percent of flood affected farmers and businesses in the Oxley electorate will struggle to stay in operation if the state doesn’t request a Category D declaration from the Federal Government. The […]

A BACKPACKER hoping for a memorable working holiday on an Australian farm finds himself crammed into a house with 17 people, eating dry bread and deprived of sunshine and fresh air. After arriving on a visa from China, the young man had headed to a small town on the NSW coast in 2024 to pick […]

THE Minns Government is extending free vehicle access to National Parks to all Commonwealth Veteran Card holders. Park entry fees for motor vehicles apply at 45 of NSW’s 895 national parks and reserves. A 2025-26 budget measure will enable veterans from around Australia to apply for a pass to enter for free. The pass is […]

Some of the damage caused by May’s floods in Mid North Coast and Hunter State Forests. Photos: Forestry Corporation. THE region’s State Forests are progressively reopening following the floods and severe weather of May but the Forestry Corporation is urging users to check the status of trails and campgrounds in advance, and to exercise extreme […]

Dr Maarten De Brauwer of SCU and Fisheries Technician Kait Harris conduct estuarine monitoring in Yamba. Dr Maarten De Brauwer and Kait Harris collect samples to send to Wilderlab for processing. Dr Maarten De Brauwer and Kait Harris collect samples to send to Wilderlab for processing. A MAJOR study of NSW estuaries using a novel […]

FORMER prime minister Scott Morrison has been congratulated after receiving Australia’s highest civilian honour, but there is at least one call for him to decline the gong. Mr Morrison is one of 14 people named as a Companion of the Order of Australia in the annual King’s Birthday Honours List, alongside filmmaker Baz Luhrmann and […]

THREE regional MPs are pressing the NSW Government for a clear timeline on the reopening of the Oxley Highway, which has been closed since a major wet weather event in May caused 100 new landslips between Forbes River and Clay Road. Member for Northern Tablelands Brendan Moylan, Member for Port Macquarie Robert Dwyer and Member […]

FAMILIES across the flood-affected Mid North Coast have received another much-needed lifeline, thanks to the Sydney-based charity C3 Cares Woolloomooloo. The organisation delivered 14 pallets of essential items this week to communities in Taree, Port Macquarie, and Kempsey. In Port Macquarie, community volunteers and local councillors joined forces to welcome the delivery. The generous shipment […]

ANTHONY Albanese has pledged to implement lasting and meaningful change in his second term as prime minister, promising his government can meet the moment against challenging circumstances. In his first major speech since winning an expanded majority at the May election, the prime minister said the government had a responsibility to disprove the doubters. Speaking […]