FARMERS and rural landholders can now register to use Farm Firefighting Vehicles (FFVs) to respond to emergency bushfires near their property. On Wednesday the NSW Government launched a conditional registration scheme to enable typically unregistered FFVs to be used legally and under the protection of insurance. FFVs are commonly small trucks, utes or trailers with […]

SIX people were injured in a buggy rollover at Davis Creek west of Barrington Tops on Sunday. The Westpac Rescue Helicopter was among a large contingent of emergency services called to the site, on a farm near Aberdeen, around 2pm on 5 October. A woman aged in her sixties had suffered arm injuries and was […]

MIDCOAST Council is assessing the health of the koala population within the Bootawa Dam area with key research partners including the Koala Health Hub at the School of Veterinary Science of The University of Sydney. Starting this spring, qualified wildlife handlers will catch, collar and tag koalas in a bid to understand the following points: […]

MIDCOAST Council has released its annual Waterway and Catchment Report Card. Water sampling is undertaken across the LGA’s six major catchments – Manning River Estuary, Wallis Lake, Karuah River and The Branch Estuary, Myall Lakes, Kappinghat and Smiths Lake – to check in on their health and allow for a greater understanding of the patterns, […]

BARNARDOS Australia warns that children in regional NSW are bearing the brunt of coercive control, as new crime statistics reveal rural communities are experiencing dramatically higher rates than other areas. The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research quarterly report shows regional NSW recorded 170 coercive control incidents from July 2024 to June 2025 compared […]

THE release of the “National Climate Risk Assessment” (NCRA) earlier this week has alarmed climate groups around the country. The assessment analyses 11 priority risks under three scenarios of 1.5°C, 2°C and 3°C warming. The 3°C warming by 2090 scenario includes warnings that heat-related deaths will rise by 444 percent in Sydney and 423 percent […]

LIVESTOCK producers are being reminded to monitor their stock for barber’s pole worm, with the recent wet and warmer weather increasing larval pasture burdens, making stock more vulnerable. Barber’s pole worms (Haemonchus contortus) are about 1.5 to 2.5 centimetres long and are blood feeders, which attach to the lining of the stomach of livestock including […]

AN INFORMATION session is being held for the community and flood affected land holders to uncover how the May flood impacted the riverbanks of the Manning Estuary. The free expert led information session will be hosted at the Taree University Campus on Saturday 27 September from noon to 2.30pm. Environmental specialists Damon Telfer and James […]

A PARLIAMENTARY committee will review the NSW Reconstruction Authority’s response to May’s record-breaking flood event. After entire townships were left isolated and thousands of homes and businesses were damaged, the NSW Reconstruction Authority has been leading recovery operations, including coordinating clean-up and repair efforts. A NSW Parliament Joint Select Committee has recently commenced an inquiry […]

GLOUCESTER writer and human rights advocate Lynda Holden is a testament to what an individual can achieve against the odds. The published author holds degrees in nursing, midwifery and adult education, a Master of Law, Criminology and Human Rights, and is a member of the NSW Ministerial Advisor Council on Ageing. But her journey wasn’t […]