THE chance of large-scale flooding in a specific catchment area can increase by as much as 700 percent if widespread deforestation has occurred. That is the finding of a new paper by academics who analysed decades of flooding data from regions in Australia which frequently suffer forest fires. The loss of forest canopy has long […]

DPIRD Senior Fisheries Management Officer Travis Morgan with Minister for Agriculture Tara Moriarty ahead of a FAD deployment. Photo: supplied, DPIRD. Three FADs have been deployed off Crowdy Head, Laurieton and Port Macquarie. Image, Google Maps. FISH Aggregating Devices (FADs) have now been deployed along the state’s coastline, giving recreational fishers a better chance of […]

LIVING in one of Australia’s fastest growing regional areas, Anna Noon was watching in despair as nature made way for sprawling housing developments. “There was a lot of land clearing happening,” she says of her home at Lake Macquarie in the rapidly-expanding Hunter region. “I knew that was leading to habitat loss, species extinction and […]

FOUR months after the devastating May floods on the Mid North Coast there is still a lot of work to do. Susie George, Executive Director Regional Delivery with the NSW Reconstruction Authority, has been on the ground in Nambucca Heads, Kempsey and Taree this week. ”The focus now is on getting out to people through […]

FOUR months after the devastating May floods on the Mid North Coast there is still a lot of work to do. Susie George, Executive Director Regional Delivery with the NSW Reconstruction Authority, has been on the ground in Nambucca Heads, Kempsey and Taree this week. ”The focus now is on getting out to people through […]

Original members and committee celebrate 20 years of U3A. Photo: Pauline Cain. The original IT team of Nick Ogbourne and Michael Matthews. Photo: Pauline Cain. PORT Macquarie Hastings University of the Third Age (U3A) celebrated its 20-year anniversary on Sunday, 7 September, with members past and present gathering at the Tenison Woods Centre to mark […]

FROM time to time we need the services of a Justice of the Peace to witness a statutory declaration or affidavit or to certify a copy of an original document. They are trusted to be honest and impartial when performing these functions. Barry Hacker is the JP Desk Coordinator for the Port Macquarie Support Group […]

AS bat season nears in the Hastings region, health authorities are warning residents to take extra care and avoid all contact with flying foxes or microbats. A spike in sick and distressed bats arriving at wildlife hospitals across Northern NSW and Southern Queensland in recent weeks has prompted the alert. Authorities stress that touching or […]

FAN Artists at their exhibition opening. Photo: Pauline Cain Gloria Muddle ‘Tidal Edge’, textile. Photo: Pauline Cain. Catherine Erskine’s ‘Swamp Creature’ and ‘Falling Leaf’ make use of dead vine wood. Photo: Pauline Cain A chest made in China in 1879 and belonging to T.K. Steanes, inspired Joanne Steanes’ work. Photo: Pauline Cain “LOOKING Back Moving […]

THE State and Federal Governments have announced a $50 million Housing Support Package to assist eligible homeowners, renters and primary producers impacted by recent severe flooding. Ashlee Abbott, Acting Head of Preparedness and Recovery at the NSW Reconstruction Authority said, “We understand the community has been anxiously awaiting this package and we have been working […]