By Doug CONNOR, Group Editor AFTER just shy of six years manning the News Of The Area news desk, I have made the difficult decision to leave my role as Group Editor. Before I officially depart next Friday (29 May), I wanted to take the opportunity to offer my sincere thanks to everyone who has […]
DEAR News Of The Area. I BELIEVE Port Macquarie-Hastings Councillors will soon have their say on the Ocean Pool. Let’s hope they listen to the 74 percent of the community that support the idea and vote yes on May 21. Given that Council won’t have to fund construction, I wonder has there ever been a […]
DEAR News Of The Area, I WOULD like to say I agree with Keith Wilkinson (8 May Edition). I too have read a couple of Pete Sobey’s letters and think that he means well but like me has never been in a war situation with bullets and rockets whizzing around your head and of course […]
DEAR News Of The Area, I WAS so annoyed by the ridiculous letter written by one who thinks the poor little creatures who live along our coastline will suffer from the creation of an ocean pool! After all, we only have hundreds of miles of coastline containing millions of all sorts of these creatures who […]
DEAR News Of The Area, TIGHTENING the NDIS while leaving gas profits untouched doesn’t add up. On the Mid North Coast, the NDIS underpins thousands of lives, and a growing local workforce. Around 9300 people here rely on it, with over half less than 18 years old. The supports help people get to work, stay […]
DEAR News Of The Area, LAST week Health Minister Mark Butler announced cuts to the $50 billion NDIS budget with little detail other than the end of support which is coming for an estimated 160,000 current recipients; not to mention future hopefuls. While few would disagree that there are national budgetary constraints and the NDIS […]
DEAR News Of The Area, TO the humans planning an Ocean Pool at Oxley Beach, we are the ones you don’t see when you snap your beach selfies. The blue groper who sleeps in the rocky crevices. The sea urchins wedged between basalt. The wobbegong and grey nurse sharks who call these gutters home. The […]
DEAR News Of The Area, HIGH-POWERED electric bikes (“fat bikes”) ridden by teenagers have become a major safety issue around Coffs. I have frequently seen teenagers engaging in risky riding, including: riding on the wrong side of the road, riding without a helmet, doing wheelies, riding while standing or kneeling on the bike seat, looking […]
DEAR News Of The Area, IT’S worth noting that the US/Israel war on Iran is going to affect people differently. Setting aside the effects on the Iranian people, the main effect here in Australia is that the costs of energy and food are going to go up. For working and middle-class people this is going […]
DEAR News Of The Area, AS ANZAC Day approaches, and as wars rage unabated in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, it is important to contemplate the sacrifices made by previous generations and what legacies we have inherited. Almost everyone who participated in WWII is now dead, weakening the direct link to that dark […]
