DEAR News Of The Area, WOMEN’S rights are being attacked by One Nation. The official policy platform explicitly states that the party will “seek every opportunity to roll back brutal and extreme abortion law”. The hard-fought battleground of the Women’s Electoral Lobby ahead of the 1972 election was fertility control and access to legal abortion. […]
STARGAZING: Remember your Sci Fi movies
IMAGINE a world where smart phones were considered high-tech and everyone dreamed of cruising the galaxy in a flying saucer. Welcome to the wonderful world of early TV space shows! These interstellar gems, like ‘Star Trek’, ‘Lost in Space’ and ‘The Twilight Zone’ didn’t just entertain us; they boldly went where no shows had gone […]
LETTER: Hanson courageous in face of ‘woke’ agendas
DEAR News Of The Area, I WRITE in response to your article, “Hanson loses appeal over ‘seriously offensive’ tweet”, (NOTA, 29/7/26, Page 2). Senator Pauline Hanson’s so-called “seriously offensive and racist comment” was made in reply to Senator Merheen Faruqi’s extraordinary and disgraceful statement on the day our late Queen died. Ms Faruqi had described […]
LETTER: Neighbourhood and community centres deserve certainty
DEAR News Of The Area, IN mid-September, I had the opportunity to attend the Local Community Services Association (LCSA) NSW Conference in Wollongong. The LCSA represents 175 Neighbourhood and Community Centres in NSW. All these centres are locally owned and managed and represent the largest network of local, place-based community development organisations in NSW. One […]
LETTER: Paradigm shifts at the expense of General Practice
DEAR News Of The Area, MOST parents have, and probably still do, wish that their children would enter university to become a doctor, nurse, lawyer or financial genius. I have been a doctor for 50 years and witnessed the paradigm shifts with dismay, and sadly conclude I would not advise General Medical Practice in the […]
ON THE COUCH WITH JASMINDA: Grand final conundrum
DEAR Jasminda, My favourite footy team has made it into the grand final for the first time in 25 years. Months ago I RSVPd that I would attend a very important family birthday celebration on the same weekend. Now I’m torn about what to do. This is the event of a lifetime. Evan P. DEAR […]
HYPOTHETICAL: A home for $1
AT 95, Mavis has no intention of slowing down. She still tends her prize-winning roses, knows every neighbour’s business and has lived in her home for 54 years. Mavis’ only income is the aged pension and her home is by far her largest asset. Her nephew, Darren, regularly helps with shopping, appointments and the occasional […]
Deep Breath
LETTER: Stop blaming migrants and start fixing problems
DEAR News Of The Area, A CONVERSATION with an Uber driver on my way to Brisbane Airport got me thinking about where Australia is heading. We talked about youth crime, housing, cost-of-living pressures and immigration. I came away wondering whether our political debate focuses too much on who to blame and not enough on what […]
Time to reconsider Council’s climate policy decision
DEAR News Of The Area, IN May this year, the Port Macquarie Hastings Council repealed its Climate Change Response Policy. The timing could hardly have been worse: it was followed, almost immediately, by an exceptionally warm winter here, and at the same time as an extraordinary summer in the northern hemisphere. France, England, other parts […]
