News

Eurobodalla Shire Council has invited community members to attend stakeholder workshops to shape the branding and naming of the new $58 million Batemans Bay Regional Aquatic, Arts and Leisure Centre. Brand design specialist CITIZEN will conduct a series of workshops in early February 2021 to hear community feedback, and share their initial ideas. Representatives from the more than 90 potential...

Water storage at Brogo Dam, north of Bega, has risen from 10 per cent in drought-stricken January 2020 to 101 per cent currently, following a wet and wild year. It is a similar story across southern NSW, with Blowering Dam at Tumut soaring from below 40 per cent last January to 77.7 per cent this January. Likewise, Burrinjuck Dam in...

Mogo zookeeper Chad Staples has shared his pain at losing one of the two lion cubs he's been hand-raising since the death of their mother more than a month ago. Mogo Wildlife Park’s treasured lioness, Zuri, tragically died three days after giving birth to her first cubs. The seven-year-old lioness gave birth to two healthy cubs on 8 December, but...

A NSW Far South Coast group that has provided 65 caravans to people made homeless by the Black Summer bushfires says its resources are being overwhelmed by demand for housing in the region. The Social Justice Advocates of the Sapphire Coast (SJASC) says there is an urgent need for both transitional and sustainable long-term social housing in Bega Valley Shire,...

While border closures sent Victorian visitors scurrying home from the NSW Far South Coast, tourism in the high country is continuing to build, according to Snowy Monaro Regional Council Mayor Peter Beer. Mayor Beer said cafes and restaurants are busy, with bike riders and walking enthusiasts flocking to the alpine region. "We’ve experienced yet another bumper weekend in the region...

The release of the final report on a Spring 2020 survey of wild horses in Kosciuszko National Park has done little to subdue the squabble over how these contentious steeds should be managed. Conservation groups are viewing the news as a green light to additional culling of the wild horses, while pro-brumby supporters and local landholders say the horse population...

Surfers and swimmers at North Broulee Beach were surprised to see 10 sharks joining them for a morning dip on Wednesday (13 January). A local saw the approximately three-metre long sharks swimming less than 300 metres offshore as he flew over in his glider at 6:30 am. He said there were a couple of swimmers in the water at the...

Eleventh hour efforts are being made by Reclaim Kosci to secure the 20,000 signatures required for an e-petition that would trigger a second NSW Parliamentary debate on the issue of wild horses in Kosciuszko National Park. With 10,500 signatures already secured, the final push to get the remaining 9500 names nailed before the 11:59 pm deadline on Wednesday, 13 January,...

Residents in the NSW town of Yass could be waiting for years for a solution to their brown, smelly water, with the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment telling the local council it doesn't support plans for a new water treatment plant. The silver lining is that the department has backed Yass Valley Council's proposal to upgrade the existing...

If you have purchased a tub of coleslaw at Woolworths recently, it's time to check the refrigerator. Woolworths is recalling the product due to the potential presence of salmonella, which can cause headaches, fever, stomach cramps, diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting. Symptoms often start six to 72 hours after infection and usually last for four to seven days, sometimes much longer....

A fast-moving grass fire that burnt 52-hectares on Robbs Lane in Chatsbury near Goulburn on Monday afternoon has served as a reminder that large parts of regional NSW should remain on high alert for grass and crop fires, particularly as the mercury rises. Buildings were under threat when the fire broke out at 12:00 pm yesterday (11 January), but brigades...

The ACT and south-east region are experiencing the first real taste of summer this year, but the soaring temperatures this week also bring an elevated fire danger. Yesterday's temperatures in the low 30s will rise during the week, and the Bureau of Meteorology has issued a high fire danger rating across the region until Thursday (14 January). On the NSW...

Mogo Wildlife Park's two adorable orphan lion cubs have been named Moto and Maji (pronounced Mar-ji) a month after their birth. The zoo's director Chad Staples has been taking care of the girl cubs at his house since their mother Zuri and siblings tragically died, and was given the honour of naming them. Moto means 'fire' and Maji means 'water' in Swahili. "I...

The staff and customers at Jindabyne Bowling Club were surprised to see a brown snake slither up to the bar at lunchtime on Sunday (10 January). A video on social media showed anxious patrons gathering around the snake as it moved towards a table and chairs near the bar. Michael Jamieson was behind the camera and said no one knew...

A journalist investigating what she believes may be the longest running case of false imprisonment in Australian legal history has furthered her quest to exonerate the convicted man through a residency program at The Australia Institute in Canberra. Amy McQuire is a Darumbal and South Sea Islander journalist with over 13 years’ experience working in primarily Aboriginal and independent media....

Reality TV star Grant Crapp has announced he has a love child on the way, revealing his long-term partner, Lucy Cartwright, is pregnant with their first baby. The former Canberra schoolboy and now Batemans Bay builder, 25, found fame on Love Island Australia, winning the inaugural series. His relationship with Lucy caused a social media storm in 2018, with the...