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 […]
The Søren Larsen, as photographed by Dale Sim.
DEAR News Of The Area, I SNAPPED a few pictures of the Søren Larsen tall ship in Fingal Bay. She sheltered [overnight on 22 September, 2026] in lee of Fingal Island and was still there this morning. According to the Sydney Harbour Tall Ships website, the Søren Larsen, built in 1949, was one of the […]
DEAR News Of The Area, THE NSW Government’s proposed changes to bag limits for snapper and yellowtail kingfish should concern every recreational fisher in this state. Once again, recreational fishers appear to be the easiest target when the Government wants to be seen to be doing something about fish stocks. But where is the evidence […]
DEAR News Of The Area, OUR local MP Kate Washington said her government is “committed to keeping Tomaree Lodge in public ownership” (‘ICONIC FUTURE”, NOTA, 10/9/26). Good on her. But how can she guarantee this after the next State election in six months? What if there’s a change of government? Ms Washington’s a well-respected representative, […]
DEAR News Of The Area, I WRITE in reply to Jennifer Indsto’s letter (‘Tomaree Headland master plan a ‘dog’s breakfast’’, NOTA, 7/8/26) where Ms Indsto labelled the Department of Communities and Justice Master Plan for the future of the Tomaree Lodge as a “dog’s breakfast of confected, artificial concepts, which is trying to be all […]
A RECENT edition of Port Stephens News of the Area pointed to just how far governments have become isolated from the wishes and needs of the local community. Your front-page article ‘Troubled Path’, and Anne Ronan’s Letter to the Editor, both expressed frustration and dismay at the funds being spent on an unwanted pathway. This […]
DEAR News Of The Area, I WRITE in reply to Wayne Duesbury (‘Facts speak louder than a Google search’, NOTA, 4/9/26). Judging by the figures presented by Mr Duesbury, he is touting the views of a particular, long-discredited geologist, whose first book is one of the two in my long life (the other was ‘Mein […]
DEAR News Of The Area, IN his recent letter (Tomago Aluminium bailout is a crisis of Government policy, NOTA, 27/8/26), Troy Radford describes the Tomago Aluminium agreement as a bailout caused by government energy policy. He’s right about one thing: Tomago is enormously important to the Hunter. But blaming renewable energy for Tomago’s challenges ignores […]
THE most-recent edition of Port Stephens News of the Area pointed to just how far governments have become isolated from the wishes and needs of the local community. Your front-page article ‘Troubled Path’, and Anne Ronan’s Letter to the Editor, both expressed frustration and dismay at the funds being spent on an unwanted pathway. This […]
AUSTRALIANS should be asking a very simple question about the government’s decision to support Tomago Aluminium: how did we get here in the first place? Tomago Aluminium is one of the Hunter’s most important industrial employers and a major contributor to the regional economy. Its future matters – not just to the thousands of people […]
