MANUFACTURING heavyweight 3M is vowing to fight a multibillion-dollar lawsuit over widespread use of “forever chemicals” at Australian defence sites – including the RAAF base at Williamtown. The federal government is suing 3M for more than $2 billion to recover costs from the per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in firefighting foam that contaminated 28 defence […]
I AM fascinated by the direction of the commodities taxing debate. The PM is saying he won’t increase taxes on the production or export of gas and minerals, while his principal advisers are saying the opposite. Australia’s present economic position centres on the very high borrowing regime of our government’s ever-growing debt structure as high […]
ROCKY Point is one of the best kept fishing secrets in Port Stephens. Accessible by both 4×4 and boat, this rocky outcrop and the surrounding beaches and bays have a fascinating history of fishing, lobstering and the mining of shell grit. Big Rocky, as the name suggests, is a big rocky outcrop just far enough […]
Recovery Centres and Recovery Access Points were open from Raymond Terrace to Macksville in the wake of the May 2025 flooding. Photo: NSW RA.
A REPORT has been published examining the NSW Reconstruction Authority’s response to the severe weather event that hit the east coast in May 2025. The review was undertaken by the Joint Select Committee on the NSW Reconstruction Authority, composed of MPs from across the political spectrum. “This inquiry had a focus on the severe weather […]
THE NSW Government has released an online tool for comparing connectivity quality across the state, producing some surprising outputs for the Hunter and MidCoast regions. The NSW Digital Connectivity Index, accessible via the NSW Government website, breaks digital connectivity down into three key areas: Access: how strong is the coverage, how well the network performs […]
This year’s brick and rolling pin throwing competition is on 11 July.
IT’S time to start practising for the 2026 Stroud Brick and Rolling Pin Throwing Competition. This unique celebration of the town’s heritage and community spirit will be held at the Stroud Showground on 11 July. Started by the brick-making towns of Stroud in the US and UK in 1961, the competition spread to Canada and […]
MIDCOAST Council’s Southern Estuaries Coastal Management Program (CMP) was adopted at its 27 May meeting. The 10-year program aims to protect the lakes, lagoons and river systems from Wallabi Point to the Karuah River. The CMP has been developed with funding and technical support from the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and […]
Town Team Movement Ltd received an FRRR grant funded by the Future Drought Fund to build community resilience to drought in WA’s Wheatbelt Central region.
MORE than $3,000,000 in grants is now available to empower eligible agriculture-dependent communities to prepare for drought by building and maintaining their social resilience. This is the second round of funding to be delivered by the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR) through the Future Drought Fund’s (FDF) Communities Program, which is funded by […]
DEAR News Of The Area, I was concerned to read about the Private Member’s Bill that our Federal MP Ms Alison Penfold has presented to Parliament, intended to make changes to the Sex Discrimination Act. In the article published on 28th May, Ms Penfold was quoted as saying “sex is biological and binary and should […]
