DIRECT seasonal flights will launch between Newcastle and Hobart, connecting the two cities for the first time. Served by Jetstar’s Airbus A320, the new service will start on 2 December 2025 and run three times a week – every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday – until 21 April 2026. The seasonal flights will return each summer […]
Gloucester’s Axel Zimmerman-Davison placed in Australia’s top two percent in spelling bee competition
TEN-YEAR-OLD Axel Zimmerman-Davison is unmistakably an Einstein lookalike with his untamed shock of blonde hair. The pair may also have brains in common, with Axel recently placed in Australia’s top two percent in the ICAS Assessment for Spelling Bee. The test is a series of voluntary academic challenges designed to test students’ thinking and celebrate […]
Add your voice to the CWA’s annual women’s survey
COST-OF-LIVING pressures and the impact on access to basic needs like health services is one of the key issues emerging from the Country Women’s Association (CWA) of NSW Annual Women’s Survey. The survey is now in its second year and is currently open to all women in communities across the state. “Last year’s survey really […]
Farm Firefighting Vehicles are commonly small trucks, utes or trailers with fixed water, pumps or fire management equipment, kept on farms to be rapidly deployed in the event of a fire.
Farm fire vehicle scheme launched after series of trials
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 injured in Davis Creek rollover
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 […]
Koala monitoring to begin at Bootawa Dam
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: […]
Each year between October and April Council works with the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water to undertake monitoring in our waterways.
Council releases waterway report card
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, […]
Children suffer as hidden victims of coercive control
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 […]
United Firefighters Union of Australia National Secretary Greg McConville, said the reports highlighted the urgency of the task ahead of policymakers. Photo: UFUA.
National Climate Risk Assessment alarms more than scientists
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 […]
Barber’s pole worm warning for livestock producers
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 […]
