October 19, 2025
Making a Difference with free coffee, food and conversation in Wauchope Suzanne Strauh, Julie Bruce, Cathie Pilgrim, Karen Green, Helen Bicket, Lyn Ward and Judy Crick. Photo: Pauline Cain.
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Making a Difference with free coffee, food and conversation in Wauchope

  Suzanne Strauh, Julie Bruce, Cathie Pilgrim, Karen Green, Helen Bicket, Lyn Ward and Judy Crick. Photo: Pauline Cain.   Julie making coffee. Photo: Pauline Cain.   EACH Monday at the Wauchope Country Club, a team of volunteers prepares and serves a hot meal for those in need. Make a Difference (M.A.D), a not-for-profit charity […]

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Roadblocks abound en route to decarbonisation of Australia’s freight industry The freight industry is under growing pressure as it struggles to align with Australia’s sustainability targets. Photo: NSW Government.
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Roadblocks abound en route to decarbonisation of Australia’s freight industry

Transport engineering expert, Dr Elnaz Irannezhad from UNSW’s School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. The freight industry is under growing pressure as it struggles to align with Australia’s sustainability targets. Photo: NSW Government. FREIGHT is critical to Australia’s economy but a University of NSW (UON) expert is warning the industry is falling behind on the […]

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Jubilee Boat at MacKillop College a symbol of pilgrimage, unity and new beginnings Students welcome the Jubilee Boat to MacKillop College. Photo: Pauline Cain.
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Jubilee Boat at MacKillop College a symbol of pilgrimage, unity and new beginnings

Students welcome the Jubilee Boat to MacKillop College. Photo: Pauline Cain. The Jubilee Boat in the Chapel at MacKillop College. Photo: Pauline Cain. THE Jubilee Boat arrived at MacKillop College this week and News Of The Area was invited to join students for a service to celebrate the occasion. The boat is a symbol of […]

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Flood recovery centres encourage locals to ask for help Red Cross volunteers Libby Rooney (Ulladulla) and Lyndall Nairn (Port Macquarie) at the Wauchope Flood Recovery Centre.
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Flood recovery centres encourage locals to ask for help

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 […]

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Businesses and farmers to ‘take matters into their own hands’ over flood relief Member for Oxley Michael Kemp has spoken to hundreds of local farmers since the floods. Photos: supplied.
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Businesses and farmers to ‘take matters into their own hands’ over flood relief

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 […]

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Estimated thousands trapped in Australian farm slavery A parliamentary inquiry has been told imported fruit pickers were subjected to prolonged suffering. Photo: AP PHOTO/ Robert F. Bukaty.
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Estimated thousands trapped in Australian farm slavery

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 […]

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Veterans given free vehicle access to National Parks A family runs towards the sea at Booti Booti National Park, where park entry fees for motor vehicles apply. Photo: John Spencer/DPIE.
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Veterans given free vehicle access to National Parks

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 […]

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State Forests reopening but users warned to check status Some of the damage caused by May’s floods in Mid North Coast and Hunter State Forests. Photos: Forestry Corporation.
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State Forests reopening but users warned to check status

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 […]

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First-ever DNA mapping of NSW river mouths and estuaries Dr Maarten De Brauwer of SCU and Fisheries Technician Kait Harris conduct estuarine monitoring in Yamba.
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First-ever DNA mapping of NSW river mouths and estuaries

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 […]

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Ex-PM lauded over honours gong but not everyone’s happy Former prime minister Scott Morrison has received the top gong in the King's Birthday Honours List. Photo: Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS.
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Ex-PM lauded over honours gong but not everyone’s happy

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 […]

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