MIDCOAST Council formally adopted its four-year Delivery Program for 2025-2029, Operational Plan and budget for the 2025-26 financial year at its 30 June Council meeting. The budget provides a boost for local roads, with Council redirecting funds from other operational areas to allocate an additional $6.7 million to roadworks in 2025-26, bringing total road investment […]
Regional buses get real-time travel technology
Bus users can use websites and apps to plan their journeys with up-to-date service information. All buses are now fitted out with GPS and automatic passenger counting technology. FOR the first time, all NSW regional bus passengers can access real-time bus travel information from their smart devices. All 3,010 contracted buses across […]
Galleries in the Gardens hosts professional judge at Winter Warmer Art Show
Carolyn Fredericks, aka ‘Aquaa’, receiving her award from Ian Morphett and Hannah Matilda. A warm one inside the Gallery saw plenty of artworks up for the prizes. Barbara Peacock was awarded Highly Commended for her abstract work, ‘Winter’. Another highly commended piece, “A Winter Sea” by Bridget Taylor. Carolyn ‘Aquaa’ Fredericks was crowned the winner […]

Annual farm census underway across NSW
NSW LANDHOLDERS are being asked to report their livestock numbers and land use information as part of Local Land Services’ annual farm census. The Annual Land and Stock Return collects information that helps shape the delivery of animal health and biosecurity services and prepare for emergencies such as bushfires and biosecurity outbreaks. Landholders must lodge […]
Stroud market calls on local producers to join the buzz
FOLLOWING the success of its debut on 15 June, the Magpie Market at Stroud District Country Club is calling on local growers and producers to take the market to the next level. Organised by new Stroud local Victoria Henderson, the market drew a strong crowd and a vibrant mix of stalls showcasing handmade goods, art, […]
MP calls for NDIS pricing changes to be revoked
FEDERAL Member for Lyne Alison Penfold is calling on the Federal Government to urgently revoke the latest National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) pricing changes, warning of the “significant negative impacts on people with a disability living in regional and remote areas”. The changes, announced following the Government’s NDIS Annual Pricing Review, came into effect on […]
Fire ants discovered in Tweed Heads
FARMERS are calling for a government crackdown to stamp out fire ants in NSW after the pests were discovered in Tweed Heads this week. Fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) are prohibited under the NSW Biosecurity Act 2015 and high-risk materials are restricted from infested areas of south-east Queensland. On Wednesday the NSW Government confirmed an immature […]
Flooding and power outages hit Port Stephens as wild weather returns
THE POWERFUL low-pressure system that hit the NSW coast this week resulted in flooding and power outages across Port Stephens. The extreme weather event comes just over a month after Port Stephens was last impacted by severe flooding. The Bureau of Meteorology warned of large waves on the coastline. “We saw fairly significant wave action […]
MidCoast Council addressing housing roadblocks
MIDCOAST Council is attempting to make it “easier and faster to build homes in the region”, with progress discussed at last week’s Council meeting. Council has been addressing the recommendations identified in the 2023 Housing Barriers Review, which identified problems that slow down the building process and offered ways to fix them. A statement from […]

Stinker’s History: The war years
DURING the early years of the Second World War, when there was a large Army presence in the Nelson Bay area, US army engineers constructed a sealed road, which was to form part of the Nelson Bay Road. In the 1940s wartime era there was an army camp for Australian troops (Far North Coast 2/2nd […]