DEAR News Of The Area, MY name is Erik and I am an 11 year old homeschooler from Macksville. My dad and I have been studying newspaper articles lately and in particular, election campaign articles. It seems to me that all the candidates are pretty much focused on the same issues.

DEAR News Of The Area, LAST week JF Sercombe wrote in NOTA that in Cowper we have a “Teal Party candidate” and inferred she might just be based in Port Macquarie. He said that Independent politicians come in all “colours”, so she might even be left or far left in

DEAR News Of The Area, IT’S been three months since the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) held their so-called ‘Information Session’ in Woolgoolga about managing the reserves north of Coffs Harbour, and guess what? Attendees are still waiting for answers to their questions. The flyer for the event boldly promised a

DEAR News Of The Area, I AM writing to express my fury at cutbacks to private health Insurance that I am sure will affect many local residents. From 1 July private health will no longer contribute to the cost of treatments for macular degeneration. As I have been having monthly eye

DEAR News Of The Area, LAST election the Australian people got rid of a conservative government. In its place they elected a Labor government who had to depend on a hostile Liberal Party, Greens and independents. Labor still provided tax cuts to all workers, and provided funding for apprentices in the

THE airline industry is again in the news with one of its major players, Virgin, deciding to cease their Adelaide to Darwin service due to dwindling numbers. Of course, there were screams of foul play by authorities in Adelaide and Darwin, neither of whom wanted to see a reduction of

DEAR News Of The Area, AS a Valla Beach resident for 20-plus years I have noticed the increase in the residential population from a seaside village to many new housing developments. Many thousands of people now call Valla Beach home. Accidents will continue to happen at the intersection of Valla Beach

DEAR News Of The Area, THE most inspiring bit of altruism happened to us this Sunday. On Saturday I was swimming at Pilots Beach when I felt my three gold wedding-rings slip off my finger in 1.5 metres of water. My wife and I were devastated as we thought

DEAR News Of The Area, IN Australia, the loyalty of voters to the major political parties often goes unquestioned, yet the loyalty of these parties to their supporters is increasingly uncertain. Party followers consistently remain faithful, yet their trust is repeatedly betrayed by the very institutions they support. Take, for instance, the

DEAR News Of The Area, THE image of that bloke chainsawing the "Woke Agenda" (‘Libertarians to contest Lyne’, p1, 19 February) does promote division. Your story ‘30 years of caring and sharing’ (p13, 19 February) about Dungog and District Neighbourcare is the result of a caring and sharing "woke" attitude. The message