Hunter Economic Breakfast

BY ARIANA GATTI

The Hunter Research Foundation will be holding an Economic Breakfast tomorrow morning in NEWCASTLE, in celebration of its 60^th birthday.

The Celebration Breakfast will be looking at past and future prospects for the organisation, as well as promoting its launch of three new research publications.

The research will include the analysis on the state of the Hunter economy, as well as business engagement and the community’s level of well-being.

The publications will be delivered by Dr Anthea Bill, Dr Brent Jenkins and Michael Blythe on the day.

[Image courtesy of: http://www.hrf.com.au/]

Greens MP: Special Commission lacks direction

Greens MP, David Shoebridge has urged the government not to delay in releasing the report from the commission into child sex abuse in the Hunter.

Mr Shoebridge says the public needs to review the effectiveness of the commission themselves.

“People in the Hunter in particular have been given an expectation of what this report will deal with and assess this institutional failure to deal with child abuse in the Hunter,” Mr Shoebridge said.

The report form the NSW Special Commission of Inquiry into child sexual abuse in the Hunter is expected to be handed down this week.

The inquiry was supposed to look into alleged cover-ups by the police and Catholic Church however, Mr Shoebridge claims the commission focused too much on whistle-blower Peter Fox.

“Peter Fox… has been in the witness box for some 14 days that’s close to institutional abuse of the whistle-blower and it doesn’t seem like anything like the same attention has been applied to the church and the police.”

Mr Shoebidge said the inquiry has become a “side show” and had lost direction.

“Have the inquiry run in a more balanced consideration of, yes, the allegations and the veracity of Peter Fox but also the obvious failings of the church and polices seeming inability to deal with that,” Mr Shoebridge said.

Community survey on intersection upgrade

Community feedback is being sought on the proposed 2-million dollar upgrade on Newcastle Road at Lambton to improve traffic flow and safety.

The design includes installing traffic lights with pedestrian crossings at the Lloyd Road intersection, and providing right turn access from Newcastle Road onto Morehead Street.

The call follows an alarming statistic, in the five years to June last year there were 47 crashes on the stretch of road, which resulted in 17 injuries.

Cessnock's Asian Cup goal

Cesnock and Newcaslte are engaged in friendly competition to host a team during the Asian Cup next year.

The Cup kicks off on January 9 and Newcastle has already secured four games including a semi-final and third place play offs.

Newcastle is hoping defending champions Japan will chose the city as their base camp while Cessnock has had some interest from Kuwait

Cessnock Mayor, Bob Pynsent, says the Kuwait head coach was very positive about the towns facilities