Buses will return to Beaumont Street – if Labor wins power at the March state election. That’s what the Member for Newcastle promised today, claiming businesses have been haemorrhaging money since the route was cut in January.

The arrival of the joint strike fighters caused quite a stir across the Hunter. Hundreds of people got out of bed early, to watch that first flyover.

One drives faster for a living, the other tells drivers to slow down. But it seems, when it comes to road safety, Supercars stars and police are on the same page. They’ve joined forces to plead with motorists to obey the rules, and drive to conditions this Christmas.

It’s one of the largest saltwater lakes in the southern hemisphere, but for the last four years, no chartered cruises have operated on Lake Macquarie. That changed on Monday, as a newly-refurbished vessel made her maiden voyage.

Lake Macquarie is set to host a major surfing event early next year. Today it was announced the JQS-1000 Surfest pro junior will move from Newcastle to Redhead Beach, with almost 100 boardriders from around the world expected to take part. Local teenager Connor Lee has been given a wildcard. The two-day event gets underway on February 9. (audio in parts)

A ferocious storm has hit the state’s mid-north coast, uprooting trees and pulling roofs off houses in the suburb of Red Head. A roof landed on a neighbouring property on Cottesloe Circuit around 1pm, and on parked cars below, leaving trails of debris. Thankfully, no injuries have been reported.

Other than a few isolated incidents, police say bad behaviour was kept to a minimum over the Newcastle 500 weekend. And despite the crowd being down on last year, organisers say the event was actually bigger than they expected.

Hunter musicians say they’ll march on state parliament if they have to, in order to save the live music scene. It comes amid a difficult time for the industry, which a census shows is surviving…but not thriving.

Newcastle East Public School is about to get a long overdue spruce-up. Work will begin shortly on four new classrooms and a covered outdoor learning area, with Gosford-based group Artel Constructions awarded the tender. The Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter says the school has been struggling to cater for its expanding student population. Construction is expected to wrap up in early 2020. (audio in parts)

The Westpac Rescue Helicopter circled Redhead Beach early this morning, after a boat’s location beacon was activated. Along with Water Police, the chopper scoured the area in search of a missing vessel, but thankfully it was later revealed to be a false alarm. The beacon was traced back to a fishing trawler which had – by then – safely docked in Newcastle. (no audio)