Stage one of Port Stephens Koala Sanctuary unveiled

BY JARROD MELMETH

The first stage of a proposed $3 million Koala Sanctuary was unveiled this morning at a ceremony at Treescape, One Mile.

Stage one of the sanctuary involves the construction of koala rehabilitation pens, which will allow local volunteers to care for koalas locally, rather than having to transport them to Port Macquarie Koala Hospital.

Port Stephens Koalas project manager, Ron Land, said previously, the group have had to either release sick or injured koalas prematurely, transport them to Port Macquarie for further care, or in some cases, euthanise them.

"It gives us now a range of options that we have never had before. Just the transferring of an ill or injured koala to Port Macquarie is very stressful for the koala and did not always have a happy outcome.

"We are able to now, and it is very important for local koalas that they continue to eat the leaf from their local area because their digestive system is very highly tuned and obviously any koala transferred outside of the area is fed the leaf from the Mid-North Coast which is not the same as the leaf they have been reared on here," Mr Land said.

Former NSW Premier Mike Baird announced $124,000 allocated from the Community Building Program for stage one of the project.

Mr Land said together with Council, Port Stephens Koalas have applied to the State Government for an additional $3 million in funding which, if secured will see stage two commence.

"This will include the construction of the hospital buildings as well as a state-of-the-art eco-tourism facility where people will be able to come and see the koalas in their natural environment whilst we carry on our work within the hospital and various parts of the facility," Mr Land said.

Port Stephens Mayor Ryan Palmer says the region is home to one of the last remaining koala populations on the east coast, so it is important to protect them.

Photo: Jarrod Melmeth

Three Charged over Alleged Rape of Young Teenage Girl

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Two men and a teenage boy have been charged with the alleged gang rape of a girl after a party in Lake Macquarie.

Police say at about 11pm on Saturday night police were called to a home following reports a 14-year-old girl had been sexually assaulted after leaving a party at Bolton Point.

A crime scene was established at a different home, and after police spoke to the girl, she was taken to the John Hunter Hospital for medical examinations.

After extensive investigations, detectives from the State Crime Command's Child Abuse Squad arrested two men, both aged 18, and took them to Toronto Police Station where they were charged with aggravated sexual assault in company.

They were refused bail and face Newcastle Local Court tomorrow.

Police made another arrest at 10:30 yesterday morning. A 17-year-old boy was taken to Toronto Police Station where he was charged with aggravated sexual assault in company.

He was refused bail and has appeared at a children's court where he was granted strict conditional bail to reappear on December 18.

Anyone with any information about the incident at Bolton Point are being urged to come forward or contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Return and Earn Reverse Vending Machine first in the Hunter

BY JESSICA ROUSE

The Hunter is now home to the first Return and Earn Reverse Vending Machine in the state in a bid to reduce waste.

The machine is located at the Woolworths in Medowie and it's as easy as putting in a container, and getting 10 cents back to give to a charity, or use at the local Woolies.

The state government will be rolling out more of the machines across the Hunter which will be in use from December 1. The NSW government is aiming to reduce waste by 40 per cent by 2020.

Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald says it's really quite a simple way to reduce the amount of litter on the streets in the Hunter.

"You put your container in, you get your payment or your voucher or your contribution to your charity and at the back of the vending machine there's a 20 foot container and all the material then goes into the back obviously to be collected by the waste industry," said Scot MacDonald.

The government says the machines present a massive logistical exercise which is why it's taking a little bit of time to get them all installed and up and running.

Scot MacDonald said they've been rolled out in South Australia already and so far, so good.

"It does make a material difference to the rubbish on the road that you see in the streets in your neighbourhood. So look it has got the runs on the board, we were talking to the installers there who've come over from Europe and they're saying it has a good track record in some of the European countries."

The containers eligible for the 10 cent refund include most containers between 150ml and three litres. Containers shouldn't be crushed or broken and have the original label attached to be eligible for the refund.

The Link Between Diets during pregnancy and Healthcare costs

BY: ALEX MURRAY

An online survey is underway from dieticians at the University of Newcastle, investigating how diet impacts pregnant women and their babies.

Using the survey, researchers are able to assess mother's in their final trimester in the ways they are eating and whether there is a link between nutrition and healthcare costs.

This will help nutritionists know what to recommend to women at different stages of their pregnancy as well as whether these healthy eating theories are saving the health system any money.

The chief researcher from the University of Newcastle, Professor Clare Collins says:

"Pregnancy is a very important time for women and nutrition can become very confusing with too many recommendations of what to eat and what to avoid."

"At the moment it's really hard for mums to access nutrition advice so we're trying to come up with a rationale to say - it can save everyone time and money if we give mums advice while they're pregnant."

Women who can volunteer for the survey need to be between 28 and 36 weeks pregnant, are over the age of 18 and are delivering their baby at the John Hunter hospital. 

Researchers say what is recommended to eat during a woman's pregnancy can influence not only her health but the wellbeing of her baby. 

For those wishing to complete the survey the link directly for participants is:

 https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/pregnancyDQ#newspaper

For more information, contact the Hunter Medical Research Institute or the research team:

WEBSITE: https://hmri.org.au/
PH: (02) 4921 5646

Cabbie Robbed at Cooks Hill

BY IAN CROUCH

Police are searching for a man who robbed a taxi driver at Cooks Hill overnight.

The cabbie was driving along Parkway Avenue near Union Street at about 7.30 when his passenger threatened him, demanding cash.

The bandit fled with the day's takings after a struggle with the driver.

He;s described as being in his mid 20's with a medium build, short light brown hair and a scruffy appearance.

He was wearing a blue cap and a green shirt and was last seen running west along Parkway Avenue.

The driver wasn't injured.

Paramedic Assaulted At Heatherbrae

BY IAN CROUCH

A man is due to face court today (Tues 31 October 2017) accused of assaulting a paramedic twice while being transported to hospital from Heatherbrae.

Police were called to a shop on the Pacific Highway on Tuesday 17 October 2017 after a man started behaving erratically.

An ambulance was called to take him to hospital but it's alleged he spat in the face of a paramedic in the vehicle and grabbed the officer's leg, squeezing it tightly as he got out of the ambulance.

Yesterday, (Monday 30 October, 2017) the 47-year-old man was released from hospital and arrested by police.

He was taken to Raymond Terrace Police Station where he was charged with common assault (x 2).

The man was refused bail to appear at Raymond Terrace Local Court today.

Belmont TAFE sale 'likely'

BY MATT JOHNSTON

Shadow Minister for Skills Prue Car says "the hiring of a divestment portfolio manager is just the latest step in the government's agenda to sell or close TAFE campuses across the state".

 The new divestment portfolio, whose manager is on a $180,000 salary, has Belmont and Meadowbank TAFE campuses listed as likely candidates for sale according to leaked government documents. Minister Car says "the communities around those colleges have every right to be concerned about the future of those campuses".

Across New South Wales TAFE enrollments are down 175,000 since 2012, and 5,600 teaching positions have been slashed, according to Ms Car. "What we need to be doing is to be encouraging young people to get back into TAFE colleges, to be learning the skills they need to get good jobs".

"The Hunter is a community that greatly needs TAFE and greatly needs the skills that it teaches our young people... It'll be devastating for regions like the Hunter if we don't stop this trend [of sell-offs and lowered enrollments]."

In other towns like Quirindi and Dapto, where TAFE campuses have already been divested, replacement services are little more than shopfronts with an internet connection. "You cannot learn to be a baker or a carpenter or an electrician via a shopfront with computers. You need a TAFE college with a teacher and real-world experience."

https://www.facebook.com/TAFENSW/

Historial Morpeth Better Off This Way

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Morpeth residents slammed a decision by Maitland City Council to not hold consultations for a state heritage listing register on properties, but council say it's for the better.

The NSW Office of Environment and Heritage wrote to the council to seek support for the listing on all properties for the historic town.

The office asked for council's "in-principal" support of the register on all properties stating it would allow council more time to consider the nomination and determine if any operational issues would arise.

Councillor Philip Penfold said voting against the listing was the best outcome because realistically not all of the homes in Morpeth are heritage, or in fact old, some are just one year old.

"This isn't a listing that would just affect the homeowners of Morpeth, this is a listing that would last forever, for generations ahead of time,"

"These properties in many cases are between 1 year old and 40 years old - these properties are the ones that shouldn't have this listing," said Councillor Penfold.

Morpeth is listed as a Heritage Conservation Area already with a few properties of historical significance on the State Heritage Register.

Council also say having all of the properties put on a register would impact what homeowners could do to them, making a simple alteration or a small renovation more difficult to achieve jumping through heritage hoops.

"What would concern me was that to go for a year or more to have an extensive consultation period will decimate the housing market in Morpeth - it will put a cloud of uncertainty over property transactions. I've already had people call me late last week concerned that they've got properties listed and they're unsure what might happen if the Labor party were to succeed in their mission to list state heritage register on every single Morpeth property," said Councillor Penfold.

"We need to be careful not to just listen to a noisy minority. We need to listen to the entirety of a community and this isn't just affecting the people who currently live in Morpeth, this affects Morpeth into generations."

EARLIER:

No Say For Morpeth Residents on Heritage

Mystery of the 12 year old Air Rifle

BY TYLER FARDELL


You often hear heartwarming tales of pets reuniting with their owners years after they went missing, but what about air rifles?

12 years after an air rifle from Martinsville in Lake Macquarie was reported stolen, its turned up in Toronto.

Police allegedly found the gun yesterday after pulling over a 28 year old man along Awaba road, after receiving a tip-off the man had been involved in a domestic incident nearby.

Officers then searched the vehicle where they allegedly found the air rifle.

The man was then arrested and charged with possession of an unregistered firearm at Toronto police station.

He will face Toronto local court on November 21st.

Source: Newcastle Herald

Update: Bad Smash At Hamilton

BY IAN CROUCH

Traffic is back to normal after a nasty smash at Hamilton.

Three cars collided at the intersection of Beaumont and Everton Streets just before 7 o'clock.

One car flipped onto its roof.

Ambulance paramedics are treating a man at the scene - he's been taken to the John Hunter Hospital with a cut to his arm.

The occupants of the other vehicles weren't injured.

Newcastle Council Joins Push To Ban Plastic Bags

BY IAN CROUCH

Newcastle Council is joining with others across the state in calling on the state government to ban single use plastic bags.

A recent global study found 83 percent of drinking water supplies contained micro-plastic, while clean-up crews remove thousands of kilograms of plastic containers and bags each month from the mangroves which line the Hunter River at Carrington.

Greens Councillor, John Mackenzie says it's time the NSW government followed the lead of other states and ban the bag.

"...quite an extraordinary situation really when you have every state and territory in Australia as well as the major retailers like Coles, Woolworths and Aldi all committed to getting rid of single use plastic bags, and the only ones lagging behind is NSW," he said.

Newcastle Greens Councillor John Mackenzie

Horror Weekend On The Hunter's Roads

BY IAN CROUCH

It's been a horror weekend on the Hunter's roads, with two men killed in separate crashes.

A motorcyclist died in a head-on crash with a Toyota Landcruiser on the Golden Highway at Jerrys Plains yesterday afternoon.

A man was killed and another injured when a hatchback collided with a utility on the M1 at West Wallsend early Saturday.

Meanwhile,  a 39-year-old man is due front Newcastle Local Court accused of leaving the scene of a fatal crash at Buladehlah two weeks ago.

He was arrested after police stopped a car he was driving on The Esplanade at Warners Bay on Saturday night.

Police Plan for Strike as Government Ignores Complaints

BY TYLER FARDELL


In a move which the local police force had been waiting for, the State Government announced plans for a re-engineering of the Hunter's police management.

They've proposed moving Maitland's upper police management across to Port Stephens and Cessnock's into the Hunter Valley.

However, the Government did not appoint any new police officers to the Hunter Valley, something which they've been calling for a long time.

In response to this, Police from the Hunter unanimously supported taking industrial action at a meeting on Thursday if they don't hear back from the Government within seven days.

This situation would be unprecedented in the Hunter, with around 600 police officers undertaking industrial action for an expected six weeks.

Actions could include officers not issuing infringement notices for traffic violations but instead warnings, and not policing large events and performing administrative tasks.

Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery praised the Police force for the planned strike but says it should have never come to this.

"It's ridiculous that the government has continually ignored this issue", she said.

"The Hunter is understaffed by at least 20 officers and resources are stretched. "I'm glad the police are taking this step so the government can't ignore this issue any further".

Final Consultation Sessions for Broadmeadow Redevelopment

BY SARAH BARONOWSKI

Hunter residents are being urged to have their say about the concept plan for Broadmeadow's Sports and Entertainment Precinct at the final community consultation sessions this weekend.

They'll be held on Sunday at Broadmeadow Showground for the Farmers Market between 10am and 12pm as well as the forecourt of McDonald Jones Stadium at 3:30pm.

The proposed concept plan is looking at ideas for the site's long-term future and issues that need to be addressed.

Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter, Scot MacDonald says they're looking for everybody to have their say.

"Whether you're interested in [the] sports side, the entertainment side, the transport side, the residential aspect to it -- we're looking for everybody's input. I think this is one of the next big exciting steps forward for Newcastle and the Hunter. This is really a chance now to hit the reset button and get the best overall concept to bring in all those elements."

He says this Sunday is the last opportunity for residents to provide feedback for this stage of the plan.

However, if people miss their chance there are other ways they can get involved.

"If you can't get down...you can still have a look at it on the website. Just go to Venues NSW and follow it to 'Concept Plan.' Just follow [the links] through," Mr. MacDonald said.

Concept Plan for Sports Precinct. [Image: Newcastle Herald]

To make a submission visit: http://www.venuesnsw.com/page/conceptplan  

UPDATED! Children Approached Outside Swansea Supermarket

BY IAN CROUCH

Police now say there was nothing suspicious in an incident where two young children were approached at Swansea.

It was alleged a man in his 60's spoke to the 5 and 7-year-old's ate the Woolworths Supermarket in Josephson Street on Thursday afternoon, asking them to go out to his car parked outside.

A man attended Belmont Police Station on Friday morning following media reports and it's now been determined the incident was a misunderstanding and no further action is required.

EARLIER:-

Police are appealing for public help after two young children were approached at Swansea.

A man in his 60's started chatting to the 7 and 5-year-olds outside the Woolworths Supermarket in Josephson Street at about 3.40 on Thursday afternoon, asking them to go to his car parked nearby.


The children didn’t leave the complex and reported the conversation to their mother who in turn reported the matter to police.

The man is described as Caucasian in appearance with a medium build and between 155-165cm tall, and was wearing dark blue 'Croc' style footwear and was driving a metallic light blue van.

Anyone who witnessed the incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.