Dear News Of The Area I keep rainfall records for Port Macquarie. August is our driest month. The median is 53.1mm (Hill Street 1841 to 2002). So far this month it is 358mm (airport). BUT the biggest August rainfall was 775mm in 1899. There were two others – in 1843 (395mm) and 1879 (384mm). So […]
Letter to the Editor: ‘appalling misallocation’ of funding
Dear News Of The Area THE chance to register opposition to spending $20 million to upgrade the Pacific and Oxley Highway roundabout at Thrumster – “The Donut” – ends at midnight next Monday. In my submission, I will be arguing that this project is an appalling misallocation of road funding and should be postponed indefinitely. […]
Letter to the Editor: Roundabout roadworks
DEAR News Of The Area, I WOULD like to draw your readers attention to the ongoing road works just south of Lake Cathie that hundreds of motorists must traverse each day at 40km/h. This project to install a roundabout on Ocean Drive was begun last year and is about 300 metres in length. For some […]
Letter to the Editor: Faster trains that won’t break the bank
DEAR News Of The Area, HARRY Creamer’s dream of a foreign funded high-speed rail for Australia (25 July) sounds like another eye-wateringly, never-ending, expensive AUKUS scheme. Australia simply doesn’t have the population to support high-speed rail projects. Even if most city-to-city travel was taken by rail, there still won’t be enough usage to pay for […]
Letter to the Editor: A question of sovereignty lost
DEAR News Of The Area, THE growing calls from eminent and expert Australians for an urgent review of the AUKUS strategic defence pact and issues over sovereignty are sadly 50 years too late. The recent US Administration pressing Australia to up our defence spending and make a pre-commitment to engage in conflict with our major […]
Letter to the Editor: Support for pensioners
DEAR News Of The Area, I WOULD like to see our State MP try to get some assistance for pensioners who have to get orthotics as part of their medical or physical treatment. I would also seek financial assistance in gym membership fees for pensioners. Orthotics are around $600 a pair and gym memberships are […]
Letter to the Editor: The climate is changing, so must we
DEAR News Of The Area, THE Mid North Coast is no stranger to tough times, but the weather is becoming more extreme and harder to live with. In just a few years, our region has faced devastating bushfires and record-breaking floods. The recent floods are another hit to our region, hurting our people, our livestock, […]
Letter to the Editor: Does the Treasurer own a calculator?
DEAR News Of The Area, LABOR’S proposal to introduce an unrealized capital gains tax on superannuation funds has created quite a bit of attention since Chalmer’s Federal Budget back on 25 March. I don’t believe Jim Chalmers owns a financial calculator or has thought through the effect of his tax. Recently the Government estimated that […]
Letter to the Editor: Superannuation changes
DEAR News Of The Area, I WISH to comment on Pat Conaghan MP’s statement in NOTA on June 27, about the Labor Government’s economic performance and particularly his statements about the proposed tax on superannuation earnings on balances over $3million. I question Mr Conaghan’s claim that this tax will badly affect farmers and small businesses […]
Letter to the Editor: Who is the better economic manager?
DEAR News Of The Area, I acknowledge Pat Congahan MP for his statement in last week’s edition (Port Macquarie NOTA, 27 June). He clearly knows how vulnerable this electorate is after two close elections. However his claims regarding Labor’s economic management cannot go unchallenged. Inflation has been tamed, interest rates cut, a third budget surplus […]