The training has provided accredited firefighting qualifications to members of the Port Macquarie-Hastings Aboriginal community. Photo: supplied. ABORIGINAL communities across the NSW North Coast are working with Forestry Corporation of NSW to integrate cultural burning into government bushfire management frameworks. These local partnerships, under the Federal Government-funded Fire, Country and People program, aim to strengthen […]

LAKE Cathie and Bonny Hills residents say they have been blindsided by a letter detailing plans for the development of 360 homes off Forest Parkway. The letter, addressed only “To The Resident”, was sent to a small group of neighbouring property-owners. It asked them to complete a 10-minute phone survey to identify potential impacts – […]

IN GOOD news for Lighthouse Beach and Camden Haven commuters, the Ocean Drive Duplication project is entering its final stage of construction. Crews started laying the asphalt atop the newly duplicated road this week with the process expected to take approximately four weeks. Port Macquarie Hastings Council (PMHC) Group Manager Chris Favaloro said while this […]

THE 2025 Aussie Bird Count, one of Australia’s largest citizen science events, began on Monday. This national celebration of our unique and diverse birdlife will run to Sunday, 26 October 2025. BirdLife Australia invites people of all ages to take just 20 minutes out of their day to spot, identify, and count the birds around […]

TRANSPORT for NSW is leading a “once-in-a-generation” review of the Roads Act 1993 and is seeking input from councils, community members, peak bodies and industry experts about how the legislation should be reformed. “The aim is to create a more modern, flexible and easy-to-use law that can help enable NSW Government initiatives such as housing […]

A drone shot of some of the 10 or 11 juvenile humpbacks off Port Macquarie on Monday. Photo: Alex McNaught, roving-eye.com. This spectacular breach off Port Macquarie’s Town Beach last week has been shared around the world. Photo: Jodie Lowe’s Marine Animal Photography. Whale spotter Leigh Mansfield at Tacking Point Lighthouse. Photo: Sue Stephenson. THERE’S […]

FARMERS and rural landholders can now register to use Farm Firefighting Vehicles (FFVs) to respond to emergency bushfires near their property. Last 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 […]

Members of Camden Haven Surf Life Saving Club raised the flags on Grants Beach on 27 September. Photo: CHSLSC. The Camden Haven and Wauchope Bonny-Hills clubs were represented at the Mid North Coast Branch’s official launch at Macksville-Scotts Head. Photo: CHSLSC. THE iconic red and yellow flags are up at Lake Cathie Beach, Rainbow Beach […]

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 […]

Sarah-Lynn Eade. David Smith, Noel Hiffernan OAM and Tannia Smith. PHYSIOTHERAPIST Bec Dalzell has a vision of making the Mid North Coast one of the most accessible areas in Australia. Her practice sees a large number of spinal cord injury and neuro physiotherapy patients, but her dedication doesn’t end there. Bec juggles a busy family […]