First stage quad bike safety measures now mandatory. All new and imported second hand quad bikes sold in Australia must now meet the first stage of the government’s mandatory safety standard after it came into effect on 11 October. As
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Heavy lifting reaches major milestone over Newcastle Road. Dozens of workers spent the night installing a 34-metre-long 44 tonne steel truss bridge across Newcastle Road. Newcastle Road pedestrian overpass bridge leaving fabricator J.C. Butko at Wodonga. The complex process was
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Bridges Renewal Program funding. Barnsley Weir Bridge will be replaced Cooranbong Bridge at Freemans Drive, Cooranabong, to be strengthened. At Barnsley near Edgeworth. The weir across Cockle Creek. Both crossings are in poor condition and need to be upgraded, so
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Urgent safety warning about 6,000 Toyota Corollas just added to Takata recall. The ACCC is warning drivers of an urgent safety risk after about 6,000 Toyota Corollas were added to the existing compulsory recall for vehicles fitted with dangerous Takata
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Mentoring program for Newcastle tourism industry. Fifteen local businesses will learn how to create new or expanded tourism offerings as part of a City of Newcastle program designed to grow the visitor economy. Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes with Reverend Angela
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CIMIC’s Thiess awarded A$340 Million Mt Owen extension. CIMIC Group’s global mining services provider, Thiess, has been awarded a contract extension by Glencore to provide mining services at Mount Owen in the Hunter Valley, Australia. The 18-month contract extension will
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Jemena Reveals Plans to Extend Eastern Gas Pipeline. Newcastle and the Central Coast may soon be further integrated into the east coast gas grid. Energy infrastructure company, Jemena, announced plans to extend its 797km Eastern Gas Pipeline (EGP) from Horsley
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EIS Amendment Report released proposing increase for Belmont drought response desalination plant. Hunter Water’s proposed Drought Response Desalination Plant at Belmont is a step closer to approval with the release of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Amendment Report. Hunter Water
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Nearly all Hunter region councils have committed to sustainable policies. Lake Macquarie City Council, Port Stephens Council, and Cessnock City Council have joined the Cities Power Partnership, Australia’s largest local government environment-friendly network. Seven out of ten local governments in
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Few Australians back Government’s gas-fired plan: national poll. Gas plant at Camden. Photo: Jeremy Buckingham. Only 14% of Australian voters support the Federal Government prioritising taxpayer funds for the gas industry to rebuild the economy. Releasing the YouGov survey results,
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Parkes Bypass named Priority Project in infrastructure-led recovery. Infrastructure Australia has added construction of Parkes Bypass on the New South Wales Newell Highway to the Infrastructure Priority List to support the national infrastructure-led COVID-19 recovery. Township of Parkes, NSW, home
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Mayor demands better than “second-best” Singleton bypass option. New England Highway passing through Singleton – view south through Campbell Street. Mayor of Singleton, Cr Sue Moore says she will refuse to settle for a second-best New England Highway bypass. Transport
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With dams almost full and an impending La Nina cycle, Hunter Water has lifted water restrictions. Hunter Water customers will have level 1 water restrictions removed on 1st October, 2020. No spillway flow at Chichester Dam as levels were lowered
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Children report increased anxiety, trauma from Hazelwood mine fire. Hazelwood Power Station Victoria in 2009. Image credit: Mriya On 9 February 2014, the open-cut brown coal mine servicing the Hazelwood power station in the Latrobe Valley caught fire due to
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Breakthrough water treatment plant claims top Newcastle engineering award. Gilgi water treatment under construction. Project Gilghi by Ampcontrol and Aurecon is Newcastle’s top Engineering Excellence Award winner and Sir William Hudson Award finalist. Gilghi takes feed water from a variety
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Underground mining explosives testing site Australian first. Australia’s only independent underground mine explosives testing facility has opened at Freemans Waterhole. The site will operate under the management of the Mine Safety Technology Centre within the NSW Resources Regulator. It is
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Upgrade of side road around Williams Bridge on Martindale Road completed. A side road bypassing Williams Bridge has been upgraded to concrete in preparation for the bridge’s demolition and replacement. Construction by council contractor Waeger Constructions Pty Ltd has begun
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Activist shareholders claimed three executive scalps over the destruction of the Juukan rockshelters in May 2020. Juuken Gorge encroachment by Rio Tinto before blasting. Image ~ Puutu Kunti Kurrama And Pinikura Aboriginal Corporation. After strong “concerns” with accountability for the
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New plans for city transport as habits change. City of Newcastle is revising parking and cycling plans due to changing travel patterns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent community engagement on cycling in Newcastle (PDF document) heard from almost
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No, not a rodeo. Open cut mine near Singleton. Image ~ Jeremy Buckingham . The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is targeting open cut mines causing excessive dust in the Hunter Valley with the second year of the ‘Bust the
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Gingers Lane Stage One and Two complete. Gingers Lane has reached stage three is underway between Woodlands Drive and Stringybark Place. The project covers road pavement, road widening, kerb and gutter installation, drainage upgrades, road safety barriers, turning lanes and
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New roof changing Central Station’s skyline. Concept for Sydney Central Station by John McAslan + Partners. A “feature roof” is being erected over Central Station as part of the Sydney Metro construction works. The roof over the Northern Concourse is
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Tenders worth $24 million in place for Scone Regional Airport works. Artist’s concept of Scone Regional Airport upgrade project. The Scone Regional Airport project will proceed, with an independent review backing the business case. The report was commissioned in response
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New green hydrogen made from solar power and water extracted from the air. Professor Behdad Moghtaderi and Dr Andrew Maddocks with canisters of green hydrogen, a photovoltaic array, and their “Hydro Harvester” innovation. A system that uses solar energy with
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Sand dune rehabilitation works underway at Belmont. Almost a kilometer of sand dunes along Nine Mile Beach are being restored to their natural state. The work, undertaken by Hunter Water, involves an 800 metre section of dunes on Board land
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Agriculture’s role in economic growth can grow faster if barriers are removed. A reform plan by NSW Farmers for agriculture and regional NSW needs the NSW and federal governments to be aware of where and how productivity can be improved
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Upper Hunter, Singleton, and Muswellbrook residents reminded to keep water usage down this summer. Glenbawn Dam photographed in better times. As of September 2020 the dam is less than half full. With temperatures rising with the arrival of spring, Singleton
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Trial for small bars and restaurants to boost city night economy. Newcastle will trial extended trading hours of restaurants from midnight to 2am for small bars. Ryan Hawthorne from Coal and Cedar and Neil Slater from Scratchleys on the Wharf.
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Post-pandemic gridlock? Public transport users expected to shift towards driving cars. Fewer people will use public transport and instead use cars, causing more congestion. These are the dire preliminary findings of a new report by the Monash Public Transport Research
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There will be improved access to the Barrington Tops with an upgrade to a 5km section of Moonan Brook Road. Announcing the project, Councillor Lee Watts said the $5.6 million in roadworks will improve access to Barrington Tops. The upgrade
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