May 21, 2026
Budget brawl escalates over rival tax cut proposals The federal government has continued back its budget tax reforms despite opposition criticism. Photo: Susie Dodds/AAP PHOTOS.
Regional

Budget brawl escalates over rival tax cut proposals

A ROW has broken out over the cost of cutting taxes for millions of Australians as Labor and the opposition try to sell rival economic plans to voters. After a week dominated by the state of the nation’s finances, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accused the opposition of failing to properly price its plan to bake […]

Read More
CWA branches debate record number of motions at state conference in Forster State President Tanya Jolly with Mid North Coast Group President Lynn Moore (Port Macquarie).
Regional

CWA branches debate record number of motions at state conference in Forster

Delegates at this year’s conference. Doreen Burns, President of CWA Wauchope accepting items from the Hospital Support Committee. Just under 500 entries for Land Cookery were judged at the conference. Mid North Coast Group Conference Committee: Eunice Roberts and Chrystine Bouffler (Lake Cathie-Hastings), Jan Sullivan (Forster), Julie Deer (Wingham), Rhonda Merchant (Gloucester Evening) and Janella […]

Read More
Forest industry future under review as NSW maps logging reform Minister for the North Coast Janelle Saffin, Premier Chris Minns and Environment Minister Penny Sharpe at the Great Koala National Park announcement last year. Photo: Penny Sharpe MP.
Regional

Forest industry future under review as NSW maps logging reform

THE forestry industry has been a contested space in NSW for many years, with some supporting the continuation of native hardwood logging and others strongly opposing it. The issue was brought into sharper focus recently with the announcement by the NSW Government of its intention to create the Great Koala National Park (GKNP). The establishment […]

Read More
Kangaroos legend Harry ‘Dealer’ Wells celebrates 94th birthday Tom Lockwood, Matthew Hohnberg, Yvonne Wells, Councillor Nik Lipovac, Harry Wells, Jill and Bruce Gain. Photo: Pauline Cain.
Regional

Kangaroos legend Harry ‘Dealer’ Wells celebrates 94th birthday

Tom Lockwood, Matthew Hohnberg, Yvonne Wells, Councillor Nik Lipovac, Harry Wells, Jill and Bruce Gain. Photo: Pauline Cain. Harry Wells in his prime in the 1950s. Photo: ARL Hall of Fame. Harry and Yvonne Wells outside the store they have owned for 56 years. Photo: Flynns Beach Cellars and General Store. Matthew Hohnberg reminisces with […]

Read More
Revitalised regional coach network unveiled The majority of services will be operated by modern coaches featuring wheelchair accessibility, improved seating and seatbelts, mobile phone charging points, onboard defibrillators and toilets.
Regional

Revitalised regional coach network unveiled

NEW routes and modernised coaches have been unveiled as part of a major upgrade to NSW TrainLink coach services. A 36 percent funding increase across the NSW TrainLink coach network will lift total funding to $290 million over the next nine years. From 1 July, 14 coach operators will run 49 routes across the NSW […]

Read More
Push to pin dangerous intersections in transport plan Dashcam of an accident at the Houston Mitchell Drive intersection in late December. Photo: Keiran Rodgers.
Regional

Push to pin dangerous intersections in transport plan

HOUSTON Mitchell Drive and M1 drivers are being urged to leave their mark on the NSW Government’s “Have Your Say” campaign. By going to a map on the Transport for NSW (TfNSW) website, a virtual pin can be placed on the dangerous intersection, adding weight to calls for an overpass. The interactive map will help […]

Read More
Green sea turtle released at Lighthouse Beach after year-long rehab
Regional

Green sea turtle released at Lighthouse Beach after year-long rehab

Lorelei at the Coffs Coast Wildlife Sanctuary the day before her release. Photo: @coffscoastwildlifesanctuary. Coffs Coast Wildlife Sanctuary staff release Lorelei back into the wild. Photo: @alex.mcnaught. Crowds gathered at Lighthouse Beach to farewell Lorelei. Photo: @alex.mcnaught. A JUVENILE green sea turtle known as Lorelei has been successfully rehabilitated and returned to the ocean at […]

Read More
What to know about the often overlooked larval tick nest
Regional

What to know about the often overlooked larval tick nest

TICK nests, or tick bombs to some, are a common phenomenon in the Australian bush. However, few people have heard of them, let alone know what to do when encountering one. News Of The Area spoke with Bellingen local Rosie Lewis, who recently had a severe reaction to a tick nest. She ended up in […]

Read More
Warning after extreme weather’s financial toll revealed Settlement Point Road, Port Macquarie during the May 2025 floods on the Mid North Coast. Photo: Port Macquarie SES.
Regional

Warning after extreme weather’s financial toll revealed

AUSTRALIANS are counting the ballooning cost of extreme weather events after they caused almost $5 billion in insured losses in 2025, more than 700 percent up on the previous year. And the financial toll is only expected to get worse, with independent analysis indicating it could blow out to $35 billion annually by 2050. The […]

Read More