DEAR News Of The Area, IN the NOTA article of 18 February 2026 titled “Forestry organisations promote sustainable management in new report”, Steve Dobbyns, the Chair and Director of Forest and Wood Communities Australia, accused proponents of the Great Koala National Park of “hypocrisy” in telling Australians that plantations would replace native forests. Telling the […]

DEAR News Of The Area, AUSTRALIA now faces a difficult question: what do we do about the Australian women and children still stranded in the Syrian camps? The debate has become so politicised that the basic facts – and the basic humanity – are being lost. Under our Constitution, Australia cannot refuse passports to its […]

DEAR News Of The Area, THE recent refusal of the Land and Environment Court to acknowledge agricultural polytunnel structures as ‘structures’ requiring development approval, highlights once again the need for urgent State-based planning reforms encompassing all zoned land, including rural lands. While we all recognise the value of the Industry, the current established laws have […]

DEAR News Of The Area, THE City of Coffs Harbour is soon to determine the future of its professional ocean lifeguard service – a decision that will decide whether this long-standing in-house team continues to serve the community or the service is outsourced. Before such a significant step is taken, it is important to reflect […]

DEAR News Of The Area, COULD someone from Transport for NSW please confirm when and if the XPT will ever actually run as it used to. Why? I’ll tell you We live in the Urunga area and for 20 years we’ve caught the XPT from Urunga to Sydney twice a year to catch up with […]

DEAR News Of The Area, HISTORY shows us that authoritarian regimes – including Nazi Germany – treated symbolic dissent as a crime. Burning a flag, questioning a leader, or refusing to perform patriotic rituals could lead to imprisonment or worse. When modern governments talk about jailing people for symbolic protest, they are echoing the same […]

DEAR News Of The Area, NEW Liberal leader Angus Taylor promises that by returning to Liberal values he will restore our standard of living, protect our way of life and restore the Australian dream of home ownership. In trying to sell this snake oil, he turns a blind eye to the fact that successive Liberal/Nationals […]

DEAR News Of The Area, THE construction of the Coffs Harbour bypass now includes a new fence being erected along the Korora boundary, obviously for safety reasons, to ensure wildlife does not stray onto the roadways. The numerous wild deer that previously roamed in the vast bushland surrounding Korora Hill, will now be forced to […]

DEAR News Of The Area, THE breakdown in relations between the partners of the former COALition are indicative of a failure of leadership that has been a long time in the making. The Nationals and the Liberals are more focused on internal power plays than the welfare of the citizens of this country. As former […]

DEAR News Of The Area, JUST my opinion, but I miss seeing the hanging boat at each entry to Urunga. I believe the boat represented Urunga well – boating, fishing, relaxing and catching up with old friends. I am sure weary drivers and children were happy to finally see the hanging boat as a sign […]