THE chance of large-scale flooding in a specific catchment area can increase by as much as 700 percent if widespread deforestation has occurred. That is the finding of a new paper by academics who analysed decades of flooding data from regions in Australia which frequently suffer forest fires. The loss of forest canopy has long […]
NSW Government finalising business case for Oxley Highway upgrades
THE State Government is currently finalising a business case for staged intersection upgrades along the Oxley Highway between John Oxley Drive and Hastings River Drive. This update was provided in NSW Parliament by Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Transport and Roads Anna Watson on Thursday, 23 October, following a speech by Port Macquarie MP Robert Dwyer […]
Council staff respond to concerns about the lack of maintenance at the Gaol Point Lookout. Photo: Sue Stephenson
Council responds to CBD eyesores and maintenance concerns
PORT Macquarie-Hastings Council has responded at length to community complaints about the growing number of property eyesores, graffiti, and overgrown parks and reserves. It follows the release of the City Heart Master Plan for public exhibition, which has inadvertently drawn attention to the current state of the CBD and surrounding areas. Council’s Director of Community, […]
Firefighters to integrate cultural burning techniques in bushfire management
Cultural burning practices are integrated with accredited firefighting qualifications Laqueesha Laurie and her father, Dane, participated in the program (Photos: FCNSW) CULTURAL burning techniques are being integrated into government bushfire management frameworks across NSW. Funded by the Federal Government program “Fire, Country and People”, the aim is to strengthen community resilience to major bushfire events […]
Kemp and Minns clash over bail laws
MEMBER for Oxley Michael Kemp and Premier Chris Minns butted heads in NSW Parliament last week over youth crime and bail laws. During Question Time on Tuesday, 21 October, Mr Kemp asked whether it would take a death from crime before the Government acted to tighten youth bail laws. The Oxley MP’s question came days […]
Sudden stratospheric warming causes weather chaos
RISING temperatures over Antarctica have been a major contributing factor to recent volatile weather along the East Coast, according to new information from the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM). A “sudden stratospheric warming” (SSW) is to blame. This is a documented weather scenario in which air temperatures high above the South Pole rise by 30 degrees […]
Changing a long-standing youth conviction principle would only lead to future criminal offending, advocates say, following the release of a review. Photo: NSW Police.
Leaders urged not to mess with criminal responsibility
LEGAL advocates have welcomed a report’s recommendations into a presumption that children under 14 are “incapable of evil”, urging a state not to tinker with the long-standing principle, despite a drop in youth convictions. A NSW review of doli incapax was released on Saturday after it was launched by the state Labor government in May […]
The training has provided accredited firefighting qualifications to members of the Port Macquarie-Hastings Aboriginal community. Photo: supplied.
Old fire practices rekindled as Aboriginal communities collaborate with Forestry Corporation
The training has provided accredited firefighting qualifications to members of the Port Macquarie-Hastings Aboriginal community. Photo: supplied. The training has provided accredited firefighting qualifications to members of the Port Macquarie-Hastings Aboriginal community. Photo: supplied. ABORIGINAL communities across the NSW North Coast are working with Forestry Corporation of NSW to integrate cultural burning into government bushfire […]
Mayor Adam Roberts with council staff and guests at the Cowarra Off-Creek Storage Dam. Photos: PMHC.
Cowarra Dam milestone highlights need for expansion
Mayor Adam Roberts with council staff and guests at the Cowarra Off-Creek Storage Dam. Photos: PMHC. PORT Macquarie-Hastings Council is celebrating two decades since the opening of Cowarra Dam – a critical source of the region’s water supply. Council staff and guests gathered at the site in the Cowarra State Forest earlier this week to […]
Port Macquarie-Hastings Council backs Health and Education Precinct rezoning
3D visualisations of the Master Plan. Photo: PMHC. 3D visualisations of the Master Plan. Photo: PMHC. PORT Macquarie-Hastings Council has voted unanimously to endorse a planning proposal to enable the rezoning of land for a Health and Education Precinct (HEP). The decision was made at Council’s meeting on 16 October. The site is located in […]
