DEAR News Of The Area The contempt that Coffs City Council has for the residents of Sawtell and the southern regions was clearly on show last week at the Sawtell Swimming Pool. It would appear that the purpose of this hastily arranged meeting, brilliantly set down for 2pm-4pm on a workday, was to educate local […]
Letter to the Editor: Draft Aquatic Strategy
DEAR News Of The Area In regard to the draft aquatic strategy, what is on offer disregards (as usual with draft strategies) the needs and wants of the community. Why is it that the community is never asked what it wants BEFORE a strategy is drafted? And why does the Council always engage external consultants? […]
Letter to the Editor: government workplace hub
DEAR News Of The Area I refer to the NOTA article on the “New government workplace hub to house 600 staff ” (Friday 19 December, 2025). The article claims a number of advantages for the construction of the proposed Coffs Harbour Workplace Hub, including consolidating 26 existing leases, accommodating 600 staff from six government departments […]
Letter to the Editor: keeping Boambee Creek Reserve ‘on track’
DEAR News Of The Area I was the treasurer of the voluntary trust that used to manage the Boambee Creek Reserve for the last 15 years of its existence. We dissolved the trust because of the need for us to find suitable insurances to protect the trust in these litigious times. (The need to sue […]
Letter to the Editor: the human paradox
DEAR News Of The Area The paradox of being human [is that] Intelligence asks, “Can we?” and Wisdom asks, “Should we?” Humans are the only creatures capable of inventing weapons that could end civilisation, and writing poetry about why we shouldn’t destroy ecosystems and grieving the loss. Or of building machines of war, and dreaming […]
Letter to the Editor: e-bike fright
DEAR News Of The Area, I ride a pushbike on the cycleways and in the space of 5mins, I was [recently] passed by two e-bikes, both travelling about 50km/h – and neither rang their bell before passing. This is very frightening for me and must be even more so for pedestrians. If I think there […]
Letter to the Editor: Valla Expressions supporters thanked
DEAR News Of The Area A huge THANK YOU to both locals and visitors who supported our Valla Expressions Exhibition. It was a most successful show. So many favorable comments from everyone attending, expressing their delight with the wonderful display of quality artwork on offer. The feedback was all positive. Thanks also goes to the […]
Letter to the Editor: Coffs bypass and dangerous goods
DEAR News Of The Area Andrew Simons’ letter (02/01/2026) states that “hundreds of trucks deemed too dangerous to travel through a tunnel can continue to daily rumble through our town centre.” However, best estimates are that only 20 trucks per day will be prohibited from using the bypass (Class 1 and Class 2.1 dangerous goods […]
Letter to the Editor: Coffs’ disgrace
DEAR News Of The Area As a regular traveler from Bonville into Coffs, I continued to be disappointed in the look of the roadside fringes and median strips. I believe some of these areas have not been mowed for more than six weeks with some of the weeds being over a metre tall. It certainly […]
Letter to the Editor: Stand up for Sawtell
DEAR News Of The Area Further to the letter from Liz Philpott (NOTA 2/1/2026), if you are against the current proposed changes to the Sawtell Pool, then please let this Council know. We need to stand up for the people of Sawtell and surrounds. This can be done by emailing your objection to the Council, […]
