Letter to the Editor: Compassion and safety are not opposites
DEAR News Of The Area, AUSTRALIA now faces a difficult question: what do we do about the Australian women and children still stranded in the Syrian camps? The debate has become so politicised that the basic facts – and the basic humanity – are being lost. Under our Constitution, Australia cannot refuse passports to its […]
Letter to the Editor: Facts, not hypocrisy, on plantations
DEAR News Of The Area, IN the NOTA article of 18 February 2026 titled “Forestry organisations promote sustainable management in new report”, Steve Dobbyns, the Chair and Director of Forest and Wood Communities Australia, accused proponents of the Great Koala National Park of “hypocrisy” in telling Australians that plantations would replace native forests. Telling the […]
Letter to the Editor: When is a structure not a structure?
DEAR News Of The Area, THE recent refusal of the Land and Environment Court to acknowledge agricultural polytunnel structures as ‘structures’ requiring development approval, highlights once again the need for urgent State-based planning reforms encompassing all zoned land, including rural lands. While we all recognise the value of the Industry, the current established laws have […]
Legal Hypothetical: Probe into late-life transfers
ALAN makes a will, leaving the whole of his estate to his three daughters. However, shortly before he passes away, he makes a new will, leaving the whole of his estate to his neighbour, Henry. When Alan passes away, his daughters seek legal advice and soon commence proceedings. Henry says that he had formed a […]
‘On the couch’ with Jasminda
DEAR Jasminda, My wife recently picked every green mango off our tree because she was worried about possums and bats. Now we have green mangoes all over the house and they don’t seem to be ripening. Has she made a fatal mistake? George F. Dear George, Since I’m not a mango expert, I was tempted […]
MAFS Coalition
Letter to the Editor: We need our train back
DEAR News Of The Area, COULD someone from Transport for NSW please confirm when and if the XPT will ever actually run as it used to. Why? I’ll tell you We live in the Urunga area and for 20 years we’ve caught the XPT from Urunga to Sydney twice a year to catch up with […]
Letter to the Editor: Have your say on Tree Preservation Order
DEAR News Of The Area, I WELCOME the opportunity for the community to have a say on the Council’s draft proposal to require a permit for the removal of trees in non-rural areas. Good civic design that benefits humans is design that benefits all life. Nature is our life support system and biodiversity is essential […]
Letter to the Editor: A glaring contradiction
DEAR News Of The Area, IN the years since the Global Financial Crisis, one contradiction has quietly persisted at the heart of modern economic culture – a contradiction so glaring that it should unsettle anyone who still believes our systems reward contribution and punish harm. We shame the unemployed. We mock them, dismiss them, and […]
