Newcastle Ocean Photographer Crowed Best Of The Best

 BY OLI GOELDNER

Newcastle-based photographer Matty Smith has won the global 2026 Ocean Photographer of the Year Fine Art category with his beautiful snaps of marine wildlife. 

The winning pic is a black-and-white portrait of a nurse shark, flanked by remoras in perfect formation. 

Mr Smith received the accolade from the Australian National Maritime Museum, with his images to be on display from November 19. 

There were 10 Australian or Australian-based photographers nominated as finalists in the competition, with more than 15,000 images entered from around the world. 

Mr Smith said he knew the nurse shark photograph would be a winner. 

"The planets aligned at the end of a late afternoon dive in the Maldives," he recalled. 

"Upon ascending from the depths, I crossed paths with this beautiful tawny nurse shark bathed in ethereal evening light.

"I instantly knew it would make a great black and white shot." 

Picture: Matty Smith

In addition to his category winning image, Mr Smith also had a second picture which received highly commended in the Wildlife category. 

The image shows Southern elephant seal pups exploring shallow rock pools on Sea Lion Island in the Falkland Islands. 

Picture: Matty Smith 

Search Under Way For Teen Missing From Thornton

 BY IAN CROUCH

Police are asking for our help to find a teenage boy who's gone missing from the Maitland area.

16-year-old Kobi Hughes was last seen at Thornton on Wednesday September 2nd.

He's described as being of Caucasian appearance, about 170cm tall with a thin build and short light brown hair.

Kobi is known to frequent the Maitland, Chisholm, Thornton and Erina areas.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000

 

Lithium Ion Battery Suspected In Fierce Townhouse Fire At Mayfield

 BY IAN CROUCH

Police and fire investigators are looking into whether an e-bike left on charge was responsible for a devastating townhouse fire at Mayfield overnight.

Eight fire trucks and around 50 firefighters were called to the row of Department of Housing townhouses in Elizabeth Street just before 6.00pm on Wednesday 9 September to find one two level unit engulfed in flames.

Newcastle Fire Command says no-one was inside the unit at the time and 10 occupants from the complex were safely evacuated without injury.

It took about an hour to bring the blaze under control, with crews remaining on scene until just after midnight to mop up and make the area safe.

Fire investigators will arrive on Thursday morning to confirm the cause of the fire.

While the blaze was confined to one unit, there are concerns about the structural integrity of the remaining townhouses.

 

Transportation Revolutionised with Opening of Long-Awaited M1 Extension

 BY MAXWELL HARVEY

The M1 Pacific Motorway extension to Raymond Terrace will open on Friday 10 September, marking the completion of Hunter's largest road infrastructure project.

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held on Wednesday, attended by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

He said the project will revolutionise travel across the East Coast.

"When this road opens in less than 48 hours, we will have no traffic lights all the way from Melbourne right up to Coffs Harbour and later this year you'll be able to go to the Queensland border," he said.

Planning for the $2.24 billion dollar project began in 2004, with major construction finally beginning in 2023.

The project provided employment to over 2700 workers, over 70 per cent of whom hailed from the Hunter.

Works wrapped up recently, over a year ahead of the original schedule.

The 15 kilometre corridor will bypass existing local roads, removing around 25,000 vehicles from notoriously congested chokepoints around Hexham and saving nine minutes during peak traffic.

Infrastructure Minister Catharine King said the project will provide much-need relief for local motorists.

"This takes out five sets of traffic lights, and of course removes a really significant pinch point that has been the bane of the local community for some time," Minister King said.

Included are additional interchanges at Black Hill, Tarro, Tomago and Raymond Terrace, alongside a 2.6 kilometre viaduct over the Hunter River and surrounding floodplains.

Prime Minister Albanese said the project means a lot to him personally. 

"I'm named after my cousin who was four years old who died on the Pacific Highway just before I was born back in 1963," Mr Albanese said.

"The tragedies that have occurred on the Pacific Highway up and down is something that drove me to be very passionate about fixing the Highway."

Tim Crakanthorp, Catharine King, Kate Washington, Jenny Aitchison, Anthony Albanese, Meryl Swanson, and Sharon Claydon. Picture: Ian Crouch

Concerns Held For Missing Metford Teen

 BY IAN CROUCH

A search is under way for a teenage boy who's gone missing from Metford.

14-year-old Xavier Powrie was last seen on Marshall Avenue on Tuesday September 1 and he hasn't been seen or heard from since.

He's described as being of Caucasian appearance, about 160cm tall with a thin build, short curly hair in a rats tail and a diamond earring in his right ear lobe.

It's believed he may be wearing a black hoodie and track pants and is known to frequent the Metford and East Maitland areas.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

 

Missing teen Xavier Powrie

 

Police Release CCTV Footage Of Alleged Getaway Driver In Commonwealth Hotel Armed Robbery

 BY IAN CROUCH

Police have released CCTV footage of a man and a vehicle which they believe were involved in the violent armed robbery on the Commonwealth Hotel at Cooks Hill two years ago.

Last week, 37-year-old John Jarrett and 32-year-old Marley Tiopira were each gaoled for a maximum of 7 years after storming the pub in the early hours of February 28, 2024 armed with a machete and baseball bat respectively.

It's alleged a getaway driver assaulted a cleaner before all three men escaped with $125,000 in a white Mercedes A190 hatchback with damage on the rear left side passenger door.

The third man was wearing a hooded jumper, baseball cap, tracksuit pants and black shoes with a distinctive while mark or stain on the right shoe.

Police believe this man can assist with their inquiries

 

New One Nation Leaders Revealed in the Lead Up to NSW Election

 BY MAXWELL HARVEY

Former NSW Trade Commissioner Mike Newman is set to lead One Nation at the upcoming NSW state election.

His candidacy was confirmed by Pauline Hanson at a Singleton press conference on Friday, which also saw Stuart Bonds announced as the leader for the upper house ticket.

He will be contesting Clayton Barr's seat of Cessnock, which has traditionally been a safe seat for Labor.

Mr Newman said he is living in the region, but refused to comment whether he is located in Cessnock or the Lower Hunter specifically. 

He's running on a pro-business and free trade platform, citing his credentials as a trade bureaucrat and investment banker.

"When I was the NSW Senior Trade Commissioner, the one message that I gave to all of our ministers and bureaucrats was NSW is the least friendly place to do business," he said.

"I had one Korean customer say to me 'NSW lacks the hunger spirit'".

His proposed policies to make NSW more competitive include cutting payroll tax, ending net-zero initiatives, and reducing the number of bureaucrats in the state.

Pauline Hanson said she has full faith in Mr Newman to to lead her party to success

"Mike is passionate about this next election, he's got a lot to offer and a lot to say," she said.

"His policies will actually put both the Labor Party and the Coalition on notice that the people of NSW have had enough of the direction they've been taken in".

Maitland Labor MP Jenny Aitchison has already come out swinging against One Nation's new prospects, criticising Stuart Bond's statements regarding train manufacturing in the Hunter.

"One Nation talks a big game about Australian jobs, but when we bring those jobs home their answer is to suggest we send that work back overseas," she said

Mr Bonds slammed the state government's train manufacturing plan in a social media post, suggesting that trains could be procured at a lower price from Korean manufacturers.

The New South Wales state election is scheduled for March 13, 2027.

Barnaby Joyce, Pauline Hanson, Mike Newman, and Stuart Bonds. Picture: Ian Crouch