COUNCILLOR Alexandria Carruthers was elected as the Deputy Mayor of Dungog Shire at the new council’s first meeting on Wednesday, 16 October. Council conducted the election by a show of hands, with councillor Fred Paton receiving two votes and councillor…
A COALITION government will make home ownership viable for more Australians, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says, promising $5 billion to fast-track building projects. Mr Dutton on Saturday unveiled the coalition’s Housing Infrastructure Program, designed to expedite construction of up to…
HOUSING developments in flood-prone areas should be banned and properties in very high-risk areas must be eligible for buyback schemes. That’s according to a federal parliamentary inquiry into the responses from insurers to major flood claims, which also called for…
A WORKSHOP has been planned in Gloucester next month for local landholders keen to learn more about the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme. “The carbon and farming space can be daunting and many farmers are curious about all things…
ANTI-DISCRIMINATION laws remain outdated in NSW despite recent changes that are set to improve equality for LGBTQI communities, advocates say. A wide-ranging but watered-down bill, drafted by independent MP Alex Greenwich, was passed into law in NSW parliament last Thursday…
BY 8am on Saturday morning, the streets around the Bank Hotel Dungog resounded with roars as highly-polished show cars and bikes, hot rods and rat rods, tractors and trucks rolled into town for the annual Dungog Rumble. There was even…
AFTER more than a decade representing the Lyne electorate, Federal Member Dr David Gillespie has announced he will retire from Parliament at the next federal election. The National Party MP, who was first elected in 2013, cited a desire to…
LABOR may have fallen behind the coalition in Newspoll for the first time in more than two years, but the government is unlikely to hit the panic button just yet. The opposition leads 51 to 49 on a two-party preferred…
AUSTRALIAN farmland sales have fallen to another record low as would-be buyers baulk at owners’ price demands. The Rural Bank Australian Farmland Values Report is the longest-running analysis of the farmland market across the nation. The report has tracked every…
NSW AMBULANCE will roll out eight specially designed vehicles known as Hazardous Area Rescue Ambulances (HARA), the first of their kind in the world, optimising response capabilities during natural disasters and in difficult terrain. HARAs will be rolled out over…