Local favourite, the Diamond Head campground. Photo: NSW National Parks.
WITH the cost-of-living already making holidays inaccessible for many families, there are fears a proposed increase in National Park camping fees is set to deliver another blow. Member for Oxley Michael Kemp says some fees could increase so dramatically that a week-long stay at a national park campground may exceed $600, potentially pricing out local […]
Sixty-nine people were sleeping rough in February across the Port Macquarie-Hastings local government area. Photo: AAP Image/Darren England.
THE NSW Government’s annual street count shows the number of people sleeping rough across the Port Macquarie-Hastings local government area (LGA) has increased over the past 12 months. Sixty-nine people were sleeping rough in February, up from 53 in 2024 and 43 in February 2023. Member for Port Macquarie Robert Dwyer said the increase was […]
A PARLIAMENTARY inquiry was established on 7 May to report on the illegal tobacco trade in New South Wales. Among a broad remit, the committee will inquire into links between organised crime syndicates and tobacconists, and the utilisation of money laundering schemes by tobacconists. The inquiry will also explore the impact of the illegal tobacco […]
Tropical Soda Apple. Photo: NSW DPI.
THE NSW Government will deliver $10 million to local councils to target high-risk weeds across the state. The Weeds Action Program funds local councils, known as Local Control Authorities (LCA), to detect and respond quickly to incursions of new high-risk weeds. The program focuses on prevention and early intervention to stop the spread of problem […]
Rob Dwyer is congratulated by Liberal Party leader Mark Speakman after making his maiden speech in the NSW Parliament.
NEWLY elected Member for Port Macquarie Robert Dwyer has used his inaugural speech in Parliament to call for an overpass at Houston Mitchell Drive between Bonny Hills and Lake Cathie. He also highlighted the growing traffic congestion on the Oxley Highway, the need for surf club upgrades, and improved housing affordability. Backed by his new […]
“OVER the past 40 years the share of votes going to independents and minor parties has risen in both state and federal elections,” the Australia Institute stated in a research article in October 2024. “In the 1980 federal election, the combined primary votes for minor parties and independents accounted for only eight percent.” At the […]
Council is looking to ‘unlock’ housing across the LGA. Photo: Matthew Doyle.
MORE than 1800 new homes are to be fast-tracked across the Port Macquarie-Hastings following a major investment in housing and planning by the Minns Government. Council will receive $200,000 through round three of the NSW Regional Housing Strategic Planning Fund for its “Port Macquarie planning control review to unlock housing”. The funding will support the […]
EMERGENCY services volunteers will be recognised for the first time in the 2025 NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards. The Centre for Volunteering added this seventh category to its annual celebration, following the announcement in March of the Premier’s Flood Emergency Citation. The citation ensures that the unique and vital contributions of emergency responders and […]
National candidate Alison Penfold on the campaign trail. Photo: Alison Penfold FB.
THE National Party’s Alison Penfold will be the next Federal Member for Lyne, succeeding the long-serving Dr David Gillespie. As of Monday morning, Ms Penfold held 60.55 percent of the Two candidate preferred count over Labor’s Digby Wilson (39.45 percent) after Saturday’s federal election. Ms Penfold took 37.20 percent of first preference votes, with Mr […]
Treasurer Jim Chalmers is promising taxpayers extra relief worth hundreds of dollars each year. Photo: Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS.
TAXPAYERS are being promised $10 a week of relief in a pre-election sweetener, as Jim Chalmers lays out the economic case for a second term of a Labor government. In his fourth federal budget handed down on Tuesday night, weeks before Australians go to the polls, the treasurer revealed the average earner would be $536 […]
