Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with workers at the Tomago smelter.
MORE than 1000 jobs at a troubled aluminium smelter are secure after the federal government confirmed it would keep the site running with taxpayer support. Rio Tinto, majority owner of the massive Tomago smelter, had for months been threatening to shut down the plant due to spiralling energy costs after 2028, when its electricity contract […]
IMPROVED methane capture at six high-emission coal mines appears the state’s best bet to hit climate targets. A report released by climate advisory group Common Capital said NSW could help reach emissions targets with best-practice abatement at the six mines, which produce half the state’s coalmine emissions despite delivering less than 10 percent of the […]
THREE teens and a child have been charged after an alleged highway pursuit. About 6.50am on Tuesday 9 December 2025, officers attached to Port-Stephens Hunter Police District attempted to stop a vehicle on the Pacific Highway, Heatherbrae. When the vehicle allegedly failed to stop as directed, a pursuit was initiated. The vehicle allegedly continued towards […]
A Marine Rescue crew member with a rescued sailor.
MARINE Rescue NSW volunteers across the state returned 823 people safely to shore during November, completing more than 370 search and rescue missions including 108 emergency responses. Acting Commissioner Todd Andrews said demand remains high for the volunteer service. “Following successive record months in September and October, our volunteers were in high demand throughout November, […]
PORT Stephens, the surrounding reefs and islands have the well-earned reputation as being a graveyard for shipping. It was thought that the establishing of a lighthouse on Point Stephens in 1862 would solve the problem. Unfortunately this was not to be the case, particularly for Captain Thomas Kehoe who continually ran aground. From the 1860s, […]
THE NSW Government is rewriting the framework that determines road management in NSW, announcing a new road recategorisation system this week. The move comes in an attempt to provide local councils with certainty over who will manage and maintain different roads, allowing for more targeted investment where it is most needed. Road recategorisation is the […]
LOCAL parents have raised concerns after discovering that Physics will not be offered to Years 11 and 12 students at Irrawang High School in 2026 and 2027. The decision has prompted broader questions about subject availability in regional public schools. University of Newcastle sociologist Dr Karen van Lonkhuyzen said common challenges for regional students include […]
THEY said it couldn’t happen, but the Federal Labor Government has worked with the Greens to pass reforms to the Environment Protection Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act after negotiations fell through last November. The reforms include a new environment watchdog agency; national standards to safeguard nature; federal laws to apply to native forest logging by mid-2027; […]
The smoke clouds as the fire began. Photo: Thomas O’Keefe. Smoke drifts over the coast, leaving a thick blanket above the water at Bennetts Beach. Photo: Thomas O’Keefe. Recon and water-bombing aircraft land, refuel and take off from Bulahdelah Showground,Photo: Thomas O’Keefe. The blackened median and verge forest along the Pacific Highway north of Nerong […]
ANNA Bay siblings Brayden and Landen Weine are regarded as two of the most promising young athletes in the region with an impressive collection of silverware in both track and field. Now their gifted six-year-old sister Indiana, has proven a phenomenal talent after her gold medal haul at the recent Port-Hunter Zone Athletics Championships at […]
