NBN News

WHALE WATCHING SEASON KICKS OFF NEXT WEEK

dloudon — Wed, 22 May 2013 08:30:53 +0000

They’re some of the most majestic creatures on earth… And every year, for just a few months, we’re lucky enough to get a glimpse of them frolicking off our Coast.

The official Whale-watching season starts in just over a week.. and this year, the experience is going to be extra special.

GAS SCARE SHUTS DOWN SURFERS PARADISE

Anna Rosendahl — Wed, 22 May 2013 08:30:38 +0000

A suspected gas leak shut down the heart of Surfers Paradise for around half an half an hour this afternoon.

Shops were evacuated and an exclusion zone set up, after a excavator working on the Light Rail scraped a gas pipe.

The fire brigade took air samples, and declared the area safe for people to return.

TRUCK PUSHES CAR ONE KILOMETRE DOWN THE M1

Anna Rosendahl — Wed, 22 May 2013 08:30:32 +0000

A Burleigh Heads man has told how he feared for his life when a truck clipped his car and sent it sliding, for almost a kilometre, down the M1.

The 42 year old father miraculously escaped without a scratch.

A Victorian driver has been charged over the ordeal.

FORMER CHAMPION TRIATHLETE SWITCHES TO LONG DISTANCE IRONMAN

dloudon — Wed, 22 May 2013 08:30:18 +0000

Some athletes unwisely resist change.

Mermaid Beach triathlete, Brad Kahlefeldt’s not one of them.

Realising his Olympic-distance days were numbered, the 33-year-old has ventured down different path.

And, it’s paying dividends.

BOND STUDENT MISSING ON THE SNOWY MOUNTAINS

Anna Rosendahl — Wed, 22 May 2013 08:30:17 +0000

Friends and family of a Bond University student missing on Mt Kosciuszko, remain optimistic he’ll be found alive.

Canadian national, Prabh Srawn failed to return from a hiking trip more than a week ago.

HEAVY FINES PROPOSED FOR WORKPLACE BULLIES

dloudon — Wed, 22 May 2013 08:30:13 +0000

Workplace bullies could face fines of up to $33,000, if a new law is successfully pushed through federal parliament.

The idea was one of many discussed at an anti-bullying conference on the Gold Coast.

SHARKS FORCE EVACUATION OF SOUTH STRADBROKE

Anna Rosendahl — Wed, 22 May 2013 08:30:04 +0000

Dozens of people were evacuated from the water off South Stradbroke Island after a number of sharks were spotted not far from shore.

The police chopper activated sirens to alert surfers.

“Just had the sirens and all that going on making a bit of a ruckus we didn’t really know what was going on until everybody started running out of the water”

Witnesses believe one large beast was a tiger shark around four metres long.

SHORTLAND TO SANDGATE MOVES AHEAD

nwallace — Wed, 22 May 2013 08:12:56 +0000

One of the Hunter’s worst blackspots will get a $1.14-million safety upgrade.

There have been 54 crashes near the Pacific Highway-Industrial Drive intersection at Mayfield West in the past five years.

The work involves widening the road, installing median safety barriers, and building a cycleway.

Meanwhile one of the Inner City Bypass’s biggest logistical challenges – a 50-metre, 1,000-tonne steel and concrete bridge – has been completed.

The $133-million Shortland to Sandgate section is expected to be ready for motorists by the end of the year.

NEW PUSH FOR LAKE MAC CAPITAL

nwallace — Wed, 22 May 2013 08:11:03 +0000

After a failed attempt to rename Speers Point as Lake Macquarie, there’s a new push from council to give the region a city centre.

Councillors will next week consider a report by the General Manager, urging them to apply to the Geographical Names Board to have council’s chambers given the title, Lake Macquarie City Centre.

Council has long maintained having a specific suburban area named Lake Macquarie would help tourism, and better define the city as separate from Newcastle.

DEFENCE EXPO AT WILLIAMTOWN

gsmyth — Wed, 22 May 2013 08:10:52 +0000

They’ve already been a long time coming – now it appears the RAAF’s new generation jets could STILL be another six or more years away.

A defence conference in Newcastle today got an update on the arrival time for the Joint Strike Fighter.