May 14, 2026
Green sea turtle released at Lighthouse Beach after year-long rehab
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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 […]

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What to know about the often overlooked larval tick nest
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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 […]

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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.
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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 […]

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Wauchope Show pavilion filled with record number of cakes, slices and biscuits
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Wauchope Show pavilion filled with record number of cakes, slices and biscuits

Cookery Stewards, Lorraine Wedge and Lexie Burton. Photo: Pauline Cain. Sheryl Workman was the most successful cookery exhibitor. Photo: Pauline Cain. Evelyn Park was the most successful competitor in the junior cookery competition. Photo: Pauline Cain. Anzac Biscuits were the most popular class. Photo: Pauline Cain. THE Wauchope Showground pavilion was bursting with treats during […]

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Wauchope CWA’s busy contribution to the Show Lyne MP Alison Penfold (centre) with CWA members (l-r) Deirdre Pfeiffer, Gail Kirkpatrick, Jenny Gaudry, Doreen Burns and Mary McEnallay. Photo: supplied
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Wauchope CWA’s busy contribution to the Show

Lyne MP Alison Penfold (centre) with CWA members (l-r) Deirdre Pfeiffer, Gail Kirkpatrick, Jenny Gaudry, Doreen Burns and Mary McEnallay. Photo: supplied Wauchope CWA members (l-r) Doreen Burns, Gail Kirkpatrick, Donna McKenzie, Deirdre Pfeiffer. Photo: Pauline Cain. Mid North Coast CWA Group President Lynn Moore and member Lea Taylor. Photo: Pauline Cain. Damage to Wauchope […]

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New Giving Fund rules spark debate over charity system gaps in Australia Philanthropy Australia pushes for donations to be equal. Photo: Julia M. Cameron.
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New Giving Fund rules spark debate over charity system gaps in Australia

MID North Coast residents, like most in regional Australia, are known for helping others in need. But changes to charity funding rules have led to concerns that the system isn’t working as well as it could. The Federal Government has announced that “Giving Funds” will be required to distribute six percent of assets each year, […]

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Liberals’ migration plan ‘strange’, from ‘another time’ Angus Taylor is being accused of trying to replicate One Nation's anti-immigration stance. Photo: Lukas Coch/AAP PHOTOS.
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Liberals’ migration plan ‘strange’, from ‘another time’

THE coalition’s hardline migration plan has been lashed as divisive and Australia’s multicultural communities say they are tired of being dehumanised by all sides of politics.  Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has unveiled a plan to boot migrants from the nation if they do not exhibit “Australian values”, shut the door on some asylum seekers and […]

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Seafood industry calls for urgent reinstatement of Stay Afloat mental health program Port Oyster Co.’s Paul Wilson on the ‘farm’. Photo: Port Oyster Company/Facebook.
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Seafood industry calls for urgent reinstatement of Stay Afloat mental health program

Port Oyster Co.’s Paul Wilson on the ‘farm’. Photo: Port Oyster Company/Facebook. Cowper MP Pat Conaghan with Bob St John, GM of Coffs Harbour Fisherman’s Co Op. Photo: supplied. THE loss of a key mental health program for Australia’s seafood industry has prompted urgent calls for funding to be reinstated.  Federal Member for Cowper Pat […]

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Hastings Valley Fine Art Society Prize highlights creative hub Suzanne and David Edwards, Christina Unger, Michelle Randone, Kerry Fox and Chris Higginbotham.
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Hastings Valley Fine Art Society Prize highlights creative hub

Carly Marchment won Best in Show. Photos: Pauline Cain. Deputy Mayor Nik Lipovac, Hastings Fine Art Society committee member Jill Cairns and judge Vivianne Hazenveld. Suzanne and David Edwards, Christina Unger, Michelle Randone, Kerry Fox and Chris Higginbotham. Artist Maddalena Piola with friend Suzi Nichols. Julie Mills with her artwork ‘Bonny’s Due North.’ Artist Kim […]

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