News

A man missing for four days and believed to be living with dementia has been found safe and well. Police and family had serious concerns for 78-year-old Douglas Nelson, who hadn't been seen since last Wednesday (January 9). A media alert over the weekend asked the community to report any sightings, at that time police thought Mr Nelson may have been...

A $3 million facelift for the much loved and respected Eurobodalla Regional Botanic Garden is underway in 2019. A new purpose-built home for the heritage-listed Wallace Herbarium is on track to be complete by February. The former herbarium space will be converted into a new retail area to provide visitor services and sell quality, locally-made art, wares and produce. A...

Stage two of the Broulee Surf Club upgrade is a go thanks to a $350,000 grant from the NSW Government. Club Secretary, Wendy Law says its very exciting and is the culmination of six years of planning. "We'll be replacing our first-aid room which is twenty years old, extending the downstairs area by eight metres which will give us more...

The ACT's native fish stocking program is starting to net results with anglers pulling some big ones out of our lakes, and populations establishing themselves to play their role in the aquatic ecology of the Territory. On Friday (4 January) the release began of thousands of Murray Cod and Golden Perch fingerlings, which have been found to be the species...

Not long ago travel guru Lonely Planet put Canberra on the tourism map by naming it one of the world's top 10 cities to visit. Ranked third on the list of cities to visit in 2018, the national capital, and its Chief Minister, have been dining out on the recognition ever since. Now Andrew Barr and the rest of us can...

2019 brings a focus on restoring natural oyster reefs along the New South Wales coastline, with the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) launching the Oyster Reef Restoration Project. As a starting point, Eurobodalla and Bega Valley oyster farmers are invited to have input via an online survey. NSW Acting Senior Fisheries Manager, Charlotte Jenkins, says the restoration project is a key...

Holidaymakers have stepped up after allegedly finding a man secretly filming children at a caravan park at Lake Conjola. About 3 pm on Friday, December 28, police were called after reports a man was being detained by members of the public. It's alleged that the 43-year-old was using a hidden camera to discreetly take photographs of young girls. Officers from...

Relief across the Snowy Monaro with a wanted violent sex offender captured and arrested without incident. Police had been searching for 46-year-old Christopher Empey since November 23 after the GPS bracelet he is required to wear was located in the Baddiginnie area in regional Victoria. Acting on information from the public, officers from Monaro Police District, with assistance from Southern Region...

A young Bega Valley-based indigenous writer and performance poet has been recognised as an instrument of healing and reconciliation with a prestigious mentorship. Director of the Aboriginal Writers Retreat, award-winning Yankunytjatjara poet Ali Cobby Eckermann offers a yearly mentorship to an unpublished Aboriginal poet she believes writes poetry that ‘has the capacity to heal’. For 2019, Ms Cobby Eckermann has chosen Meaghan...

A Canberra teenager with one failing kidney is facing a death sentence without dialysis and an eventual transplant but according to his mother, doctors at Canberra Hospital have told him he can't be treated because of his autism. Palmerston mother and full-time carer Leanne Browning says she was told on Christmas Eve that her 17-year-old son Caleb, who also has...

Moruya’s North and South Head beaches have been closed again after sharks returned to the area today, potentially putting swimmers at risk. Stan Wall from Lifeguarding Services Australia says a couple of large sharks were sighted around Moruya’s North Head at about 12.30pm by the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) aerial surveillance team and by lifeguards on jet-skis. “They were...

A teenager was airlifted to Canberra Hospital on Tuesday afternoon (8 January) with serious injuries after the car she was travelling crashed into a guard rail. Around 1:45 pm, a Rav4 was travelling south on the Hume Highway about 15km east of Yass when the vehicle lost control and crashed into a guard rail. An 18-year-old female front seat passenger sustained...

Victorian detectives are asking Snowy Monaro locals to be aware of a violent sex offender who is believed to be in the region. Forty-six-year-old Christopher Empey has been on the run since November 23 after the GPS bracelet he is required to wear was located in the Baddiginnie area, police conducted extensive searches in and around the Mansfield area but...

Yass Valley Council says its adamant that a proposed border buffer zone to prevent urban development along the Barton Highway will go ahead, despite significant pushback from the NSW government. That's despite opposition to the buffer from some landowners who may have anticipated a development bonanza. NSW planners have rejected Council's application for a 5km zone north of the ACT...

“This is going to be an incredible facility for our community, and if you want to have a say on how you would like it to come together, now is the time,” says Mayor Liz Innes. The layout of the new Batemans Bay Regional Aquatic, Arts and Leisure Centre at Mackay Park is up for discussion, with three options presented...

Chris Young, secretary of the Merimbula Big Game and Lakes Angling Club, has been up since 4:30 am and fishing all day. It’s now 2:30 pm on Sunday the January 6 and Young is still going strong, getting ready for his club’s annual charity fish auction, which this year benefits Merimbula Marine Rescue. “It’s illegal for recreational anglers to sell...