DOG owners tempted to leave their pet in the car when they run to the shops, will soon risk tougher penalties. The State Government is delivering on its election promise to review the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979 (POCTAA), flagging heavier fines and longer jail sentences. Minister for Agriculture, Regional and Western NSW, […]

RESIDENTS of Port Stephens were urged to prepare for the heat as January temperatures reached the high 30s. The Bureau of Meteorology forecast severe to extreme heatwave conditions across southeastern NSW on 10 January, including in coastal areas like Port Stephens. From Monday 12 January, coastal winds remained mostly east to northeasterly. By the end […]

THIS is my 50th year in Port Stephens and I still feel like I am scratching the surface. Being a Fingal Bay resident for all those years I know every rock on the land and in the water. Fishing in my tinny everywhere from the Outer Light south to Rocky Point for all those years, […]

FOR the first time in more than two decades, foster and kinship carers across NSW have received a 20 percent increase to their care allowance. The increase aims to ease cost-of-living pressures and strengthen support for vulnerable children in out-of-home care. The tax-free increase took effect from 1 January 2026 and applies to authorised carers […]

LEGAL Aid NSW is urging anyone impacted by the recent bushfires in the Central Coast, Mid North Coast, Upper Hunter and Central West NSW to seek free legal help early. The Legal Aid NSW Disaster Response Legal Service (DRLS) can advise people about issues relating to insurance claims, tenancy rights, accessing disaster grants and payments, […]

THE NSW Ageing and Disability Commission (ADC), in partnership with the University of NSW Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC), has released a report highlighting the pervasive and complex issue of neglect affecting older people and adults with disability across NSW. Funding was provided by the NSW Department of Communities and Justice. The ADC is responsible […]

UNIVERSITY of South Australia scientists say they have developed a powerful new way to uncover the genetic interactions that fuel cancer progression. The AI-driven method, published recently in the Royal Society Open Science journal, reveals that tumour progression is driven by cooperating groups of genes, rather than mutated genes acting alone. Lead researcher Dr Andres […]

MUSICNSW has released a new report detailing how to strengthen regional and remote music, setting a map for action for government, industry and communities across NSW. The report gathers insights from 80-plus representatives from across the NSW music sector. The contributors participated in a NSW Roundtable held at the 2025 Regional and Remote Music Summit […]

IT WAS in the early evening of Sunday March 15 1959, that a cyclone had built a huge sea with crashing surf and whitewater breaking across the entrance to Port Stephens. The sea was rolling into the Port as far as Corlette. Conditions on the water were extremely hazardous. Sydney based, Italian owned trawlers had […]

POLICE are appealing for public assistance to locate a woman missing from Nelson Bay. Brittany Cleary, 32, was last seen on Teramby Road on Wednesday 31 December. When she was unable to be located or contacted, she was reported missing on 2 January. Officers attached to Port Stephens-Hunter Police District have commenced inquiries into her […]