DEAR News Of The Area, PARK the politics! We understand, Gurmesh, that you are the voice for the local timber industry and beholden to your National Party minders, but as our local member can you possibly drop the political blame game and embrace the challenges and opportunities that the Great Koala National Park announcement brings […]
DEAR News Of The Area, I LAUGHED when l read the great poem from Merrin and Con Van Dartel (‘I love a Coffs banana’, NOTA, 30/1026). l am sure Dorothea Mackellar would be very happy with what they have written. Merrin and Con – I have it taped to my fridge. Regards, Marcia Trew, Boambee […]
DEAR News Of The Area, YOUR regular correspondent, John Blackbourn, wrote at length (The Write Direction, ‘Red-flagging a sick society’, NOTA, 23/10/2026) about his abhorrence of recent judicial executions in the USA. My only information about these comes from the usual news reports, highlighting the prolonged suffering of the condemned through technical problems and, in […]
DEAR News of the Area, The Great Koala National Park (GKNP) legislation that was passed by NSW Parliament last week was apparently only the end of the beginning in the fight to secure more state forest land, with many conservationists unhappy that it didn’t go far enough. Greens MP Sue Higginson flagged the fights to […]
DEAR News Of The Area, RECENT conversations and commentary across social media have prompted me to reflect on the importance of respectful public discourse and the way we engage with those who put their hand up to lead and serve our communities. Recent events involving Helen Haines along with growing reports of threats, intimidation and […]
DEAR News Of The Area, THE NSW Government has committed to introduce legislation to regulate labour hire in its first 100 days of a new term, if they are re-elected in March next year. That won’t fix every problem identified in Anti-slavery Commissioner James Cockayne’s harrowing report on modern slavery, but it will break the […]
DEAR News Of The Area, AFTER more than a decade of campaigning, NSW Parliament finally passed the law creating the Great Koala National Park. Within days, Gurmesh Singh MP claimed the park was a cynical carbon scheme, bad for koalas, jobs, housing and bushfire safety. Our community deserves better. He says the park exists to […]
DEAR News Of The Area, FOR nearly 10 years I taught history and legal studies. I taught students to check a claim before they shared it. If Gurmesh Singh’s letter (‘Carbon park misses the mark’, Page 27, NOTA, 27/10/26) had landed on my desk, it would have come back covered in red pen, with a […]
DEAR News Of The Area, I READ with something akin to horror of Councillor Paul Amos’ resignation. With his departure we have lost a true independent representative; one who has the wellbeing of the people at heart and a vision for the city’s future that is not tied to any political party. Thank you for […]
DEAR News Of The Area, COUNCIL has recently called for public submissions associated with the proposal to “revitalise the High Street” (Grafton Street or Pacific Highway), due to a perceived loss of business associated with the opening of the bypass later this year. The first stage of the work involves an estimated cost of $19.6million […]
