DEAR News Of The Area, DESPITE what we might think of the oppressive regime in Iran, the US and Israel have been in breach of international law in the war they are conducting against that country. There was no imminent threat to the US and Israel as the Omani mediator of talks between the US […]
Legal Hypothetical: Migration law – Love without romance
ANITA, a foreign citizen, has been living in Australia on a temporary visa and has been unsuccessful in obtaining a long-term visa. Anita meets an elderly Australian widower while volunteering at a neighbourhood community centre. Patrick is 85 years old and has lived alone since his wife died six years earlier. Anita initially visits regularly […]
Letter to the Editor: We need direct daytime services to Brisbane
DEAR News Of The Area, RESIDING in Nambucca Heads, the closest capital city is Brisbane. Being a civilised person I would like to travel in daytime hours, taking the train that leaves at approximately 3pm. However this train terminates at Casino and passengers must make a four hour indirect coach trip to Brisbane. The Transport […]
Letter to the Editor: Forestry claims that beggar belief
DEAR News Of The Area, THE letter of 4 March 2026 from Steve Dobbyns, Chair and Director of Forest and Wood Communities Australia titled “We can’t transition to plantations overnight”, is a rolling ball of contradictions, false accusations and exaggerations. In his opening paragraph Mr Dobbyns identifies several comments he made in “an unpublished Forest […]
Letter to the Editor: Clear breach of international law
DEAR News Of The Area, DESPITE what we might think of the oppressive regime in Iran, the US and Israel have been in breach of international law in the war they are conducting against that country. There was no imminent threat to the US and Israel as the Omani mediator of talks between the US […]
Letter to the Editor: Why fear campaigns work
DEAR News Of The Area, I FIND it hard to find sensible discussion about migration coming from the opposition. Instead they seek to politicise the issue and turn it into a fear campaign. Fear campaigns work because they do not require facts, merely a grievance, and appeal to our natural desire for simple solutions to […]
Letter to the Editor: The importance of protecting trees
DEAR News Of The Area, I HAVE read with interest letters published in NOTA about a proposal by Nambucca Valley Council to introduce a tree preservation order. I am delighted that Council is giving consideration to this proposal. However the suggestion that a tree is not worth preserving unless it has a large girth is […]
Legal Hypothetical: Did he have capacity?
MICHAEL has been suffering from chronic schizophrenia since the 1980s and his affairs are under the control of the Trustee and Guardian. When he passes away, his cousins stand to receive the whole of his estate, on the basis that they understand that Michael did not leave a will and that his estate would be […]
‘On the couch’ with Jasminda
DEAR Jasminda, I am doing a complete clean out of my home, but I can’t decide what to keep and what to cull. How do I make these decisions? Claudia D. Dear Claudia, I am the wrong person to ask about this. When I decide to clean my bedroom, I enter the zone of nostalgia. […]
