DEAR News Of The Area, I AM disappointed that a cabal of conservative councillors hijacked a recent Port Stephens Council meeting and suspended our local policy on Emissions Reduction. To make matters worse, it appears that the motion was rammed through without any community consultation, by a narrow margin of five votes to four against. […]
DEAR News Of The Area, DURING a recent meeting with Port Stephens Council, regarding our local dirt roads at Swan Bay, at which 18 residents attended, Council made it abundantly clear they are now only undertaking road repairs based on a quick temporary fix and not repairing them properly. They say it is done this […]
DEAR News Of The Area, PORT Stephens Councillors should be commended for their stand on overhauling drainage issues in Medowie. Could the drainage issues be a result of poor infrastructure planning prior to the mass and rapid urban development of the area? We need improved stormwater drainage and management across Port Stephens, especially in areas […]
DEAR News Of The Area, EVERYONE needs to play their part in reducing emissions, preventing pollution and putting a brake on global warming. We owe it to future generations to take urgent action now. Many scientists are saying it’s already too late. Because of this urgency, I don’t want a Council that is going to […]
DEAR News Of The Area, STATE MP Kate Washington needs to understand that all the talk of funding may make us feel warm and fuzzy, but the problem is the haphazard approach and lack of accountability for how road repairs are being undertaken. Take the intersection of Lemon Tree and Oyster Cove roads. When you […]
PORT Stephens Council has and still is performing above expectations in current economic and climate circumstances. It will take some time to fix major issues like roads but with the professional management team and dedicated staff the future looks bright. I would like Councillors and management to consider the danger of large trees in residential […]
DEAR News Of The Area, LAST Monday night, I attended an industry seminar down in Martin Place in Sydney with the Australian Institute of Energy (AIE) and electrical industry professionals. I’m a member of the AIE Newcastle branch and this seminar was called “The Challenge of Social Licence in the Energy Transition” which was basically […]
DEAR News Of The Area, I write in response to Cherylle Stone’s letter ‘Nothing responsible about it’ in NOTA on 26 June 2025. She states that offshore wind development ”has the potential to seriously deplete and further distress the ocean, our main already overburdened heat and carbon sink”. Depleting the ocean implies diminishing its quantity, […]
DEAR News Of The Area, THE concurrent use of the terms “responsible” and “offshore wind farm development” in Australian waters is oxymoronic. There is nothing responsible in developing something offshore that costs twice as much as a similar development onshore, will take twice as long to get up and running and has the potential to […]
DEAR News Of The Area, AUSTRALIA has long supplied energy and manufactured products to the world. We can protect this tradition by updating. Local companies have already moved into cleaner production and we already supply more than 40% of our National Electricity Market with clean energy. At independent industry think tank Beyond Zero Emissions, we […]
