Friday, June 29, 2018

State of Origin 2018: The side of Kalyn Ponga you didn’t know

Kalyn Ponga makes his debut for the Maroons in game two of State of Origin tonight.
At face value, the young Knights player has it all. He is prodigiously talented on the football field, has achieved success that others his age dream about, and has a rare ability to adapt to whichever sport he plays.
At such a young age, Ponga has been through much adversity and hardship.
When the talented athlete was just seven, his 18-month-old brother Kacey drowned in a heartbreaking accident in Mount Isa.

Thursday, June 28, 2018

Hip-hop video by advocacy and peer disability support group uses technology to break new ground

A hip-hop music video released in Newcastle has broken new ground in the genre, featuring two non-verbal artists who rap using communication devices.

MC Jaco (Jacob Hughes) and The King (Robert King) wrote verses that were programmed into the devices, allowing their lines to be spoken.


Seven artists in total are featured in the music video for 'My World' which was released on YouTube at a red carpet event.

Peer worker with Community Disability Alliance Hunter (CDAH) Catherine Mahony said the release "could be a world first".
Read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-21/aussie-hip-hop-and-disability-support-group-breaks-new-ground/9893718

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

New Vice-Chancellor announced

The Council of The University of Newcastle has today announced the appointment of Dr Alex Zelinsky AO as its next Vice-Chancellor and President, commencing in early November 2018.

A computer scientist, roboticist and systems engineer, Dr Zelinsky’s career spans innovation, science and technology, education, research and development, and commercial start-ups.

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

China Merchants takes Newcastle stake amid Australia trade friction

China Merchants Port Holdings (CMPort), the Hong Kong-listed arm of the state-controlled Chinese group, paid A$607.5 million ($457.5 million) for a 50 percent stake in the world’s largest coal port that has ambitions to become a major container port serving shippers in New South Wales (NSW). 

However, exporters in Australia’s highly successful wine sector, including Pernod Ricard, owner of the Jacob’s Creek, the country’s largest wine brand, and the NSW-based McWilliams Wines, have complained of serious delays at China Customs that could jeopardize forecasts for Australian wine exports to top A$1 billion in value for the first time in 2018.

Monday, June 25, 2018

Trump 'welcome' in Australia: politicians

US President Donald Trump would be welcomed by both Liberal and Labor if he decides to visit Australia during a tour around the APEC meeting in Papua New Guinea in November.


Mr Trump, along with other world leaders, is expected to make stops in Australia as part of a tour that will take him to the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation leaders' summit in Papua New Guinea on November 17 and 18.

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

WINTER IS HOUSE FIRE SEASON



When the weather outside gets miserable, heaters inevitably get turned up.


But with more than 4,000 house fires in the state already this year, firefighters are urging people not to get complacent.

Sunday, June 17, 2018

State of Origin | Queensland Maroons choose Newcastle Knights fullback Kalyn Ponga.

NEWCASTLE Knights dynamo Kalyn Ponga has been named to make his Queensland Origin debut in game two of the series against NSW at ANZ Stadium on Sunday night.


Ponga has been chosen on the interchange bench, replacing Brisbane utility Anthony Milford.


The 20-year-old could yet come into the starting side if Melbourne veteran is unable to overcome a lingering hamstring problem.

Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Girl, 12, sexually assaulted in five-hour ordeal in Newcastle

A 12-year-old girl was abducted and sexually assaulted during a five-hour daylight ordeal in Newcastle in bushland next to a public school.

The girl was walking through Hudson Park in the suburb of Adamstown Heights just after 9.15am on Tuesday when she was threatened with a knife by a man who sexually assaulted her, police said. .

WIN family tickets to see Disney on Ice in Newcastle

Disney on Ice is celebrating 100 years of magical moments in its latest show.
The jam-packed 2018 performance includes all the originals such as Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy.  

The Disney princesses are back in skates, from Frozen’s Anna and Elsa, to Snow White, Belle and Ariel. Moments from Toy Story, Finding Nemo, The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and more will leave the whole family with memories from a lifetime of Disney films.

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Gangrenous foot, agonising infections at centre of new Tinonee Gardens nursing home allegations

More allegations have been levelled at a Newcastle nursing home a month after the Federal Government revealed four Australian homes had closed this past year due to failings in their care.

Last month, the ABC revealed Tinonee Gardens The Multicultural Village at Waratah, Newcastle, apologised to the family of Val Simpson amid claims she had languished in urine and faeces with a mouth covered in wart-like filth.
Read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-08/gangrenous-foot-central-to-new-neglect-claims-at-nursing-home/

Life Without Barriers celebrates 25th anniversary with adocumentary screening in Newcastle on June 14

LIFE Without Barriers (LWB) will celebrate its 25th anniversary with the launch of a documentary chronicling its past and present.

Screening at Tower Cinemas from 6pm on June 14, The LWB Story shows how it grew from humble beginnings in Newcastle to become one of Australia’s largest not-for-profit organisations supporting more than 18,000 people.

Monday, June 11, 2018

Hunter School of the Performing Arts students shine on stage

HUNTER School of the Performing Arts students have won all five awards in the secondary schools section in the final of the annual Sharp Short Theatre competition at Parramatta’s Riverside Theatre.

The competition is for 10-minute plays written and staged by people under 18 and, while it is open to schools and youth theater training groups throughout NSW, it generally attracts only Sydney organisations.

Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Stricken cargo ship sails into Sydney dock after containers fall overboard off Port Stephens

The Taiwanese ship that lost 83 containers in rough seas off the NSW coast last week is preparing to dock at Sydney's Port Botany, as a clean-up operation continues on beaches near Newcastle.
The YM Efficiency, making its way from Taiwan to Sydney, was last week hit by heavy swells about 30km off the coast of Port Stephens, which toppled the containers into the sea and damaged another 30.


Ngalika Barker scores late to claim glory for NSW Country and her seven Newcastle teammates

Hunter Sports High School prodigy Ngalika Barker has again proven her rising stock in the world of rugby league, scoring an instrumental late try in NSW Country’s 16-12 victory over arch-rivals NSW City.
The dramatic late four-pointer also secured Country’s victory in the National Championships on the Gold Coast, with eight of the seventeen players in the final hailing from the CRL Newcastle squad.

City invites guests to help with whale count

To kick off whale-watching season today, Newcastle City Council is inviting local families and those from farther afield to come and take part in an annual whale count on Sunday 24 June.


 An estimated 30,000 humpback whales will swim north to Queensland breeding grounds over the next few months in a spectacular nautical parade that's growing every year -- so much so the Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA) needs help counting the whales.

Read more: http://www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/Council/News/Latest-News/City-invites-guests-to-help-with-whale-count

Mass rally down Hunter Street Newcastle as Downer workers strike for pay rise

ALMOST 200 striking unionists marched along Hunter Street to the Downer Group’s light rail construction depot on Wednesday morning as part of a three-day stoppage in pursuit of better wages and conditions.



The majority of the gathering then reassembled in Newcastle and No2 sports ground before marching along Steel Street and then into Devonshire Lane, past the Hunter Unions offices and on to Hunter Street.

NSW Government urged to explain delays in building new disability homes

People with a disability living in large residential centres in New South Wales are being left in limbo due to a delay in the construction of smaller group homes. 


David Cuneo has lived at Newcastle's Stockton Centre for people with disabilities for much of his life, and his mother Wendy said he had been let down by promises of a new home.

The Stockton Centre was set to close this year, but now the NSW Government is refusing to even set a timetable on when it will shut and when residents will be given new homes.

Read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-28/families-left-in-limbo-after-disability-homes-delayed/9806878

Blackbutt Reserve featured in children's book

In the heart of Newcastle, a city by the sea, lies Blackbutt Reserve, where there’s many a gum tree.
So goes the start of a children’s picture book, titled A Visit to Blackbutt Reserve, written and illustrated by Elise Asquith.

The book is being sold for $12 at the Blackbutt Reserve kiosk and budgiebooks.com. 

Netball NSW Premier League: Six matches on-show in second round, including eleven Newcastle players

After an exciting first round of action in the Netball NSW Premier League, the league returns to the big screen this Wednesday evening with BarTV’s comprehensive coverage suite.
For avid Newcastle netball fans, a key match-up coming into the second round will be GWS Fury’s match against North Shore United, which will see Victoria Aoake come up against Sabina Gomboso.


Replacement pines planted on Foreshore

Work crews have planted the first replacement Norfolk Island Pines in Foreshore Park near Nobbys Beach.
 
The first four of 55 mature Norfolks went in this morning after being trucked from a Central Coast nursery, where they reached an advanced state of growth.


"This is just the first stage of plantings that will also include broad-leafed Lilly pillies, coastal banksias, native hibiscuses and kentia palms throughout the Foreshore precinct.

Read more: http://www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/Council/News/Latest-News/Replacement-pines-planted-on-Foreshore

Newcastle, Australia & Surrounds in 4K Drone



Features a lot of local beaches such as Nobbys Beach, Bar Beach, Newcastle Beach, Redhead Beach, Susan Gilmore, Catherine Hill Bay, Anna Bay. Thrown in with some skating, hang gliding, jet skiing and surfing.


Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Renewable energy can power Australia's energy system reliably without coal and nuclear, Analyst says

A Newcastle company’s huge plan for large-scale renewable energy projects in NSW reflects the “huge global investor appetite” in the sector, an analyst says.
“Australia stands to be a massive exporter of renewable energy,” Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis director Tim Buckley said.
“The Australian wind and solar resource are second to none.”
 
NSW Minerals Council CEO Stephen Galilee said the global coal price had doubled and NSW exports had continued at or near record levels in the past few years.
“It's great to see more investment in renewables, alongside the significant investment in new and existing coal projects in NSW, and the construction of hundreds of new-technology coal power plants around the world. 

“All energy sources are needed to meet growing global energy demand.”