The owner and workers of Bowraville Sawmill are struggling under the GKNP moratorium. Nationals Senator Ross Cadell addresses worried workers at Adam’s Sawmill in Bonville. Photo: Senator Cadell. THE Nambucca Valley’s last remaining timber mill is struggling to stay afloat as a result of the Great Koala National Park (GKNP) logging moratorium. Enforced on 8 […]

NEW data released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows that in the period 2023–24, more than 6000 children across NSW without a parent or guardian, sought help from a specialist homelessness service. More than 80 percent of these children did not receive support. While it is hard to put a figure on […]

AFTER announcing the proposed boundary for the Great Koala National Park (GKNP) on Sunday, 7 September, Premier Chris Minns met business leaders in Sawtell to discuss broader economic and social impacts. The park includes 176,000 hectares of state forest and connects existing national parks, creating a 476,000-hectare reserve. The move promises to protect endangered species […]

Premier Chris Minns at Sunday’s announcement with Minister for the North Coast Janelle Saffin (left) and Environment Minister Penny Sharpe. The proposed boundary of the Great Koala National Park. Conservationists welcome the long-awaited announcement. Photo: Penny Sharpe, FB. Members of the Timber, Furnishing & Textiles Union hold up signs saying ‘Don’t burn timber jobs. Talk […]

Across the four days, 865 people were arrested and charged, with 269 arrest warrants executed. Across the four days, 865 people were arrested and charged, with 269 arrest warrants executed. Across the four days, 865 people were arrested and charged, with 269 arrest warrants executed. POLICE have charged 865 people with 2,028 offences during a […]

THE region has again been battered by wild weather, with emergency services mounting a second major response in just over two months. On Saturday 2 August, severe storms lashed the Mid North Coast, bringing heavy rain and damaging winds to the Port Macquarie Hastings, Kempsey and Nambucca regions. The NSW State Emergency Service (SES) received […]

ALARM bells are ringing after the release of statewide Landcover and Tree Study (SLATS) data. It shows that 66,498 hectares of native vegetation, including 32,847ha of forest and woodland, was cleared across NSW in 2023, compared to the clearing of 47,388ha of native vegetation and 21,137ha of forest and woodland in 2022. This represents a […]

PRIME Minister Anthony Albanese has backed a greater role for the government in childcare as he prepares to push through legislation tightening up the sector following horrifying allegations of child abuse at Melbourne early learning centres. Universal affordable childcare was identified by the prime minister during the recent federal election as the one reform he’d […]

WITH droughts on one side of the country, floods on the other, and political volatility overseas, Australia’s agriculture industry has been right in the thick of it. But there is reason for “cautious optimism” in the $90.7 billion sector as uncertain conditions create both threats and opportunities for the nation’s producers, according to Bendigo Bank’s […]

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 […]