NSW

Out now!

Out now!

David McPherson, NSW DPI. Dr Law is one of Australia’s leading forest ecologists, with the sustained excellence of his research and distinguished service to Australian zoology recognised with his appointment in 2021 as a Fellow of the Royal Zoological Society of NSW. In the history of the Society there have been fewer than 100 Fellows elected ... Criticisms of the scientific excellence or objectivity of the research undertaken by Dr Law are unfounded.

New support to improve the mental health of people working in social and community sector organisations will be available in the seven flood-impacted local government areas of Northern Rivers NSW ... “Having worked in the social sector for many years, I’ve seen the almost normalised acceptance of this kind of burnout and mental ill-health across the social sector – a sector that is always on the frontline when disasters and pandemics strike": Julia Keady, founder of The Xfactor Collective Foundation.

Janelle Saffin. Jamie Simmonds, the man who directed the relocation of the town of Grantham, shared his story with Lismore when Janelle Saffin MP hosted him during a visit ... Ms Saffin said it was a great opportunity for locals like South Lismore’s Harper Dalton, who established the Relocate Lismore Homes Facebook group, to link with a planning and development expert who nowadays advises disaster-affected communities globally on managed retreat.

Emma Pritchard. After helping to keep the Clarence Valley community safe for 20 years alongside his fellow crew members from South Grafton Fire and Rescue 307 Station, Graham Richards has been recognised for his selfless contributions and dedication to his role. On December 7, the local firefighter was proudly presented with the long service and good conduct medal by Zone Commander Greg Lewis.

Emma Pritchard. Spectators, supporters, coaches, and team members cheered loudly from the banks of the Clarence River near Memorial Park as more than 50 skilled athletes made a splash on the water when they competed in the 2022 Grafton Rowing Club Regatta on December 11 ... As a number of Queensland based athletes enjoyed plenty of success throughout the program, local rowers from Grafton, South Grafton, and the Lower Clarence also demonstrated their strength, durability, and endurance on the water, winning several races during the day.

The program of plays will open in April with the premiere of Hungry Ghosts written by James May and directed by Junia Wulf ... The second play to be staged in August is David Williamson’s Dead White Males, an exploration into the importance of language and truth ... Rounding off the season in November is Closer by Patrick Marber, to be directed by Kylie Fuad.

Kym Watling. November has come and gone in Unumgar without the sighting of a Christmas beetle – once a reliable reminder that the Christmas season was about to commence. It wasn’t that long ago that Christmas beetles were plentiful in the Northern Rivers.

The Northern Regional Planning Panel chair Penny Holloway heard 38 people speak for or against the development application for the Bentley Quarry expansion at an online meeting on Wednesday, December 7 ... Ms Holloway announced that the quarry expansion DA was considered to be in the public interest and the DA was approved.

Out now!

Out now!

The fur seal spent three months in rehabilitation at Sea World before being released outside the heads of Sydney Harbour last week. It was a great success, with tracking data showing Skip travelled 100 km south within the first 24 hours, and he’s currently swimming about 130 km south of the NSW-Victoria border, an impressive 550 km from where he was released.

Vic Jurskis responds to ARR.News questions including about the different methods for monitoring koalas, sustainable koala populations, koala habitat and the relationship with timber harvesting ... "Gathering numbers should not be an end. Deliberations of the TSSC assume that more is better. The koala’s ecological history of irruptions and crashes in numbers after European arrival clearly shows this not to be the case. Effective monitoring requires an understanding of the reasons for any real changes in numbers."

A partnership between Forestry Corporation of NSW, Pentarch Forestry and the Tumbarumba community has seen donated timber enhance facilities at Tumbarumba Carcoola Children’s Centre and Tumbarumba Public School. The partnership has seen renewable resources used to benefit children and the community, said Forestry Corporation’s Billie-Jo Brown. 

Eighty-three year-old Narrandera woman Marjory Longford has set the record straight on the origin of an unusual 19th century meat smoker that has been preserved at Griffith’s Pioneer Park Museum ... The smoker is made from a hollow log cemented to the ground and connected to an underground tunnel three metres long, which leads to a firebox smoker ... it came from her grandmother’s farm near Bringagee Station.

Sean Cunningham. Narrandera boxer Jesse Riddell has made his debut in the ring following his selec­tion in an indigenous All Stars team taking on The Rest Of The World boxers in Sydney. Under the guidance of his trainer Troy Prior-Greedy, the 25-year-old unleashed his fists of fury, losing in a split decision, but has gained an invaluable insight into the sport.

Residents and landholders have breathed a sigh of relief this week as flood waters peaked at Moulamein at a height of 6.235m. While the peak is a welcome sign, the impacts of the flooding are still dramatic on the community ... In what is typically a busy time for mixed irrigators of Moulamein, the flooding is hampering the harvest of winter crops and rice production.

As the weather warms up and dissolved oxygen in the local rivers and creeks remain dangerously low, the community is leading the fish protection response. From old bedframes with dripper lines supplied with air compressors, to garden hoses circulating water, and even a paddleboat churning through $700 in fuel per week in an effort to provide an oxygenated refuge for native fish. The Murray Downs Marina dissolved oxygen went up above 5mg/L after four days with the Iron Dry paddle boat running.

New GP with Ochre Medical Centre Cohuna, Dr Gilda Geranmayeh, is delighted to finally be here. Originally from Iran, Dr Geranmayeh spent four years of her childhood in Adelaide while her father completed a PhD in geochemistry and she has been keen to return ever since.