Man extradited from Queensland over East Maitland axe attack

BY JARROD MELMETH 

A 23-year-old man has been extradited from Queensland to NSW over an axe attack at East Maitland last week.

Just before 8pm on July 13, a man and a woman were inside a home on Alliance Street when a group of five people arrived at the home before an argument broke out.

Police will allege the 28-year-old woman was assaulted and the 35-year-old man was struck several rimes with the tomahawk.

Since the incident, two people have been charged in relation to the incident.

Following further inquiries, detectives from Port Stephens-Hunter Police District, assisted by officers from the Queensland Police Service, travelled to the Sunshine Coast where they arrested the 23-year-old man on Tuesday.

A request for the mans extradition was granted at the Maroochydore Magistrates Court.

On Wednesday he was taken to Raymond Terrace Police Station charged with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and affray.

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

Investigations into the incident are ongoing. 

Queensland Border to Close to All Hunter and NSW Residents from This Saturday

BY ISABEL EVERETT

The Queensland Premier has announced the Sunshine State's border will close to all Hunter, NSW and ACT residents from this Saturday, the 8th of August.

During a press conference on Wednesday morning, Queensland's Chief Health Officer, Jeannette Young declared all of NSW a corona virus hot spot.

From 1am on Saturday, Queenslander's returning to state will be forced to pay for 14-day mandatory hotel quarantine.

All visitors will be denied entry, with very few exemptions.

Health Minister Stephen Miles said the lockdown needed to include the ACT because there had been cases of people avoiding quarantine by flying in from Canberra.

The border closure will be reviewed at the end August.

Image Credit: TheNewDaily

Pair Extradited to Hunter Over Alleged Child Sexual Abuse

BY MADELAINE MCNEILL

A man and woman have been extradited from Queensland over the alleged historical sexual abuse of a child in the Hunter.

In November 2016, Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad detectives began investigating reports a young girl had been sexually abused by a man and woman known to her.

After almost three years of investigations, the 59-year-old man and 36-year-old woman were arrested at North Lakes, near Brisbane, on Thursday before being escorted to New South Wales where they briefly faced Raymond Terrace Local Court on Friday.

The pair is accused of sexually abusing a young girl, aged between 9 and 10 at the time, on several occasions.

It's also alleged the man abused the girl again fourteen months later in January 2016.

The pair are due to face court again on Tuesday.

Anyone with concerns about suspected child abuse or exploitation is encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or use the online reporting page.

Adani loan bad for Hunter economy

BY JARROD MELMETH

The Turnbull government is coming under fire for "declaring war on Hunter coal miners" if they proceed with a $1 billion loan to the Adani Carmichael coal mine in Queensland.

Adani has applied for the loan through the $5 billion Northern Australian Infrastructure Fund, which grants concessional loans for the private sector to build infrastructure at the top of Australia.

The mine would become one of the biggest in the world with the potential to produce between 25 and 60 million tonnes per year depending on the plan from which the mine is operated from.

Shadow Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Infrastructure Pat Conroy said the research shows the negative impact the loan would have to the Hunter region.

"It is just straight logic. If demand for a product is falling if you increase supply, by definition the price will fall and that is my main point which has been corroborated by the CEO of Newcastle Port and by the Australian Institute and I have not had anyone dispute that.

"While the coal is a bit lower quality than Newcastle coal in terms of its calorific value and the value of it when you are trying to use it to produce electricity, it still will suppress the coal prices globally.

"When you add on top of that the fact that the Federal government is considering giving a loan to this company, it is bad news for Hunter coal miners and that is why we should be saying to the Government that we should not be giving a leg up to the competition," Mr Conroy said.

Pat Conroy.

Hunter couple's wedding anniversary turned into a much wilder time than they expected!

BY JESSICA ROUSE

A Maitland couple were in lockdown in their hotel room on Daydream Island when Cyclone Debbie came barrelling through on Monday.

Reaching land just south of Bowen in Queensland as a category four system, Cyclone Debbie brought ferocious winds of more than 200 kilometres an hour and pelting rain.

Leanne and Wally Morris arrived on the island on Friday to celebrate Leanne's birthday and their 39th Wedding Anniversary.

The last thing they expected was to be caught facing the full force of a cyclone.

"It was a bit windy here for a couple of days from about Sunday morning and then Monday it was about 12 hours of just pure hell," said Leanne.

Path of Cyclone Debbie Image theaustralian.com.au

It didn't stop there with calm for about an hour yesterday "and then pure hell again for about another I'd say 10 hours until we came out the other side of the cyclone".

After a terrifying 24 hours, Leanne says the weather has calmed down considerably, it's still overcast and misty with only spitting rain and a light breeze, which has revealed the devastation around her.

"There are palm trees snapped everywhere, there's devastation up on the beach I can see, the walkway around to the end of the island is completely covered with dirt and tress and everything; so you can't walk down there, and we've seen the glass panels in a walkway smash through and glass went everywhere," said Leanne.

The couple are hoping flights will be coming into Hamilton island on Thursday so they can get home, but they aren't sure they will even be able to get a ferry off Daydream island with considerable damage to the island's jetty.

As of this morning, the hotel had power, but no water.

The cyclone was downgraded to a tropical low this morning but will continue to cross coastal and inland Queensland with heavy rain which could continue for 24 hours.