December 5, 2025
Deforestation can cause eight-fold increase in flood event risk, says report The loss of forest canopy has long been claimed to increase the risk of flooding – but actually proving the direct link has proven difficult since the impact of other factors such as changing climate are hard to exclude. Photo: NSW SES.
Regional

Deforestation can cause eight-fold increase in flood event risk, says report

THE chance of large-scale flooding in a specific catchment area can increase by as much as 700 percent if widespread deforestation has occurred. That is the finding of a new paper by academics who analysed decades of flooding data from regions in Australia which frequently suffer forest fires. The loss of forest canopy has long […]

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Raymond Terrace Lions’ Biggest High Tea raises record-equalling $10,000 for childhood cancer research Raymond Terrace Lions Club’s working committee helped raise a record-equalling $10,000 for the Australian Lions Childhood Cancer Research Foundation.
Community

Raymond Terrace Lions’ Biggest High Tea raises record-equalling $10,000 for childhood cancer research

RAYMOND Terrace Lions Club has raised a record-equalling $10,000 for the Australian Lions Childhood Cancer Research Foundation through its fourth annual Biggest High Tea. This strongly supported event is held each year in St John’s Anglican Church and continues to raise public awareness of the plight of young children diagnosed with cancer. Lions Club membership […]

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Residents invited to help shape how roads and streets are managed in NSW Road users are being invited to contribute to a survey. Photo: TfNSW.
Local News

Residents invited to help shape how roads and streets are managed in NSW

TRANSPORT for NSW is leading a “once-in-a-generation” review of the Roads Act 1993 and is seeking input from councils, community members, peak bodies and industry experts about how the legislation should be reformed. “The aim is to create a more modern, flexible and easy-to-use law that can help enable NSW Government initiatives such as housing […]

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Infrastructure ‘key’ offers to unlock regional housing Planning Minister Paul Scully says the NSW government is supporting housing growth in the regions. Photo: Bianca De Marchi/AAP PHOTOS.
Regional

Infrastructure ‘key’ offers to unlock regional housing

SOME regional Australians may get a reprieve from the housing crisis as councils are offered interest relief to build more drains, roads, and other infrastructure. Though many parts of regional Australia have ample residential land, it often isn’t ready for development due to a lack of funding and planning for critical infrastructure, a 2024 national […]

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Spitfires swoop in on Nelson Bay A previous meet of the Triumph Sports Owners car clubs.
Community

Spitfires swoop in on Nelson Bay

FRIDAY 17 October marks the start of a weeklong national meeting for the Triumph Sports Owners car clubs in the Port Stephens area. The Anchorage at Corlette will house 120 registrants from all over Australia for the meet. “Some of their number will have driven from as far away as Perth and Adelaide,” said member […]

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Seasonal flights to Tasmania launched from Newcastle Served by Jetstar’s Airbus A320, the new service will start on 2 December 2025. Photo: Jetstar.
Local News

Seasonal flights to Tasmania launched from Newcastle

DIRECT seasonal flights will launch between Newcastle and Hobart, connecting the two cities for the first time. Served by Jetstar’s Airbus A320, the new service will start on 2 December 2025 and run three times a week – every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday – until 21 April 2026. The seasonal flights will return each summer […]

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Man charged for alleged role in violent armed robbery Following extensive inquiries, strike force detectives arrested a 31-year-old man in Ultimo last Thursday. Photo: NSW Police.
Police

Man charged for alleged role in violent armed robbery

NSW POLICE’S Raptor Squad has charged a man following an alleged aggravated robbery in Port Stephens earlier this year. Strike Force Bromsgrove is an investigation by State Crime Command’s Raptor North into a series of aggravated robbery-related incidents in the Nelson Bay area in March 2025. About 5.25am on Thursday 27 March, emergency services were […]

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Practice in Community: Investing in artists working in regional Australia Penny Dakin, Scott Howie, Ros Abercrombie, Andrew Barker, Danielle Fusco and Imogen Castledine.
Community

Practice in Community: Investing in artists working in regional Australia

REGIONAL Arts Australia is launching a “transformative” new funding initiative with $2.4 million dollars in support from Minderoo Foundation. The program offers multi-year grants of $160,000 to support independent artists living and working in regional communities across Australia. “Practice in Community” will deliver two funding rounds for independent artists working in Community Arts and Cultural […]

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Spring lunch backs Smith Family’s Learning for Life program at Nelson Bay VIEW Club Vicki Haines with her cross-world motorbike sidekick, helmet-wearing long-term NBVC members Sue McMahon and Gwen Harris and frocked and feathered members Jan Bell and Pat Gibson.
Community

Spring lunch backs Smith Family’s Learning for Life program at Nelson Bay VIEW Club

NELSON Bay VIEW Club hosted a spring luncheon on Friday 26 September in support of the Smith Family’s Learning for Life program. The initiative brought together the “frocked and feathered” from within the community, all focused on giving disadvantaged students the resources they need to succeed in school. Guest speaker and “local hero”, Vicki Haines, […]

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Drone survey confirms koala population around Grahamstown Dam
Community

Drone survey confirms koala population around Grahamstown Dam

A POPULATION of koalas continues to live around Grahamstown Dam, according to a drone-based survey undertaken by Hunter Water and the University of Newcastle.  Using drones fitted with thermal cameras and spotlight technology, the project surveyed more than 2,000 hectares across Hunter Water-managed land as part of Australia’s most comprehensive drone fauna survey ever undertaken […]

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