January 19, 2026
Legal Hypothetical: the dreaded smartphone will
Hypothetical

Legal Hypothetical: the dreaded smartphone will

FOLLOWING a recent health scare, Peter opens the Notes application on his iPhone and creates a document entitled “last will”. The note appoints his brother William as his executor, gifts his house and contents to his brothers and after some monetary gifts to friends and family, gifts the balance of his bank accounts to William. […]

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On the couch with Jasminda
Jasminda's Advice

On the couch with Jasminda

DEAR Jasminda, We have a few family members who work from home and our mannerisms and work styles are getting on each other’s nerves. How do we improve our work-from-home balance? Megan P. Dear Megan, Research by Roy Morgan (2025) stated that more than 6.7 million Australians work from home at least some of the […]

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Quiet heroes: volunteers wanted for new WIRES shelter in Coffs Harbour
Opinion

Quiet heroes: volunteers wanted for new WIRES shelter in Coffs Harbour

As Australians, we are rightly proud of our natural environment. We march to protect forests, campaign for clean rivers and speak passionately about saving wildlife and ecosystems. Those voices do matter, but beyond the headlines and protest banners, another story unfolds quietly every day. It’s a story of people who don’t just speak for wildlife, […]

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Legal Hypothetical: A one-way ticket to the naughty list
Hypothetical

Legal Hypothetical: A one-way ticket to the naughty list

AFTER many years of delivering Christmas Cheer around the world, Santa decides it is time to get his legal affairs in order. He visits his long-time solicitor Ebenezer Scrooge, who dutifully prepares a Power of Attorney (‘POA’) appointing Santa’s son, Kringle Jr. The POA contains a specific power allowing Kringle Jr. to oversee “emergency operational […]

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‘On the couch’ with Jasminda
Jasminda's Advice

‘On the couch’ with Jasminda

DEAR Jasminda, Real tree or fake? Kids are nagging me for a real one, but I have a tree on the mezzanine that I can just drag down and decorate. Katherine E. Dear Katherine, I don’t want to alarm you, but do you realise we are heading towards the pointy end of Christmas? With just […]

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Letter to the Editor: No horses left in the stable
Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: No horses left in the stable

DEAR News Of The Area, IT has been a failure of government through its complacency in allowing evil to insidiously evolve within our communities that has now put our way of life persistently under threat from deranged ideologies and malicious activists that have proliferated in the absence of strong and rational decision making. This current […]

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