Just days after reducing its flights by 45 per cent, Regional Express (Rex) has announced it will be suspending its public air services in every state except Queensland from 6 April. However, the airline says the changes will not affect its other services which include Ambulance Victoria fixed-wing air ambulance services, charter contracts with mining companies, freight services, and pilot...

Benjamin Lucas, 23, of Catalina has been refused bail at Nowra Local Court after he faced one count of acts done in preparation for, or planning, terrorist acts. The offence carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. He was also charged with two counts of possessing a prohibited firearm. Lucas is one of three men arrested and charged by the...

It's the question on everyone's lips: when will schools close in response to the virus which puts our elderly population and those with low immunity at risk? Today, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian is urging parents to keep their children at home if possible but no official shutdown has been announced. Last week, Mumbulla School for Rudolf Steiner Education, a small...

A man in his 30s has died after fleeing police in Yass last night (22 March). Police officers were patrolling the town centre of Yass when they attempted to stop a vehicle on Laidlaw Street at about 11:45 pm. When the driver failed to stop, police activated their lights in pursuit of the driver. The vehicle was discovered a short distance...

Regional coronavirus cases are beginning to proliferate across the Capital region and southern NSW as cases are confirmed in the Eurobodalla, Goulburn, Queanbeyan Palerang and Murrumbidgee districts. Southern NSW Local Health District (SNSWLHD) has confirmed six cases of COVID-19 have been formally identified. These include: A Canberra man in his 60s who was recently overseas and on his return showed signs...

NAPLAN tests will not take place this year amid the threat from COVID-19, the Education Council (EC) confirmed on Friday (20 March). Education ministers from around the country acknowledged the risk posed by coronavirus, saying the cancellation of the exams will allow teachers and staff to focus on the wellbeing of students and learning. With the prevalence of COVID-19 rising...

A community solar battery farm in Goulburn has been given $2.1 million from the NSW Government to help locals access and invest in cheaper power from a renewable energy source. The community solar farm, run by the not-for-profit group Community Energy 4 Goulburn (CE4G), is hoping to co-own the project with Goulburn residents, with each share worth $400. The funding...

There’s been an unfortunate side effect to the shortage of toilet paper in the Hilltops region. As supermarket staff stave off busloads of city shoppers who ride into our towns hell bent on raiding shelves for the necessities that residents are already lining up at dawn to buy, it seems shire-wide sewerage systems are now buckling under the pressure. Hilltops...

Communities north, west and south in the Bega Valley are waiting for the clean-up of bushfire affected properties to start but there are growing concerns that many people whose properties were destroyed in the fires still haven't registered for the free service. Bega Valley Council estimates this could be as many as 40 per cent of properties, and there are...

The Federal Government announced tough visitor restrictions this week for aged care facilities in response to COVID-19, but BaptistCare lodges has even gone further, declaring a total lockdown at its Griffith and Queanbeyan facilities. BaptistCare PR and communications manager Marcela Cuevas said the closure of all BaptistCare lodges was a preventative measure following the death of a 90-year-old resident at the Dorothy Henderson Lodge...

Regional Express airlines (Rex) has cut most of its regional services amid an economic downturn for the aviation industry as new travel restrictions and warnings come into effect across Australia. Weekly return services between Merimbula and Sydney, and Moruya and Sydney, have each been reduced to 12, down from 19, while weekly return services between Melbourne and Merimbula have been...

DO NOT TRAVEL is the stark warning from the Australian Government. For the first time ever, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) has raised its travel advice to level four – the highest warning level – for every country in the world. DFAT has advised that there may be a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 overseas. "You may come in contact with...

The Eurobodalla region's beaches took a battering during the fires, followed by heavy rain but are now well on their way to being clear, according to local authorities. The region's waterways drain towards coastal outlets and the heavy fire damage to forests means that much of the rubbish ended up at river mouths, or being washed onto beaches after 271,000...

The ban on non-essential indoor gatherings of 100 people or more will not affect schools in NSW according to the measures announced by the Prime Minister this morning (18 March), meaning all schools will remain open and there will be no change to the schedule for school holidays. The Prime Minister said he can't guarantee there won't be school closures at some...

As supermarkets shelves continue to be emptied of toilet paper, hand sanitisers, and dry and canned foods, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has bluntly told Australians to stop hoarding and panic buying. While not waving a big stick yet, Mr Morrison called it un-Australian and a distraction from other measures and efforts to maintain supply chains into shopping centres. "It is...

"With great sadness and regret," the email from Four Winds Easter Festival begins, "we have decided not to go ahead with the 2020 Easter Festival in Bermagui." The Four Winds Easter Festival joins the growing ranks of cancelled community events around the country because of COVID-19, which was categorised as a pandemic by the World Health Organisation on 11 March....