Tag: williamtown
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NBN DELVES DEEPER INTO CONTAMINATION SCANDAL AHEAD OF NEWCASTLE INQUIRY MEET
It’s the agency tasked to protect the people, now the Department of Defence is under investigation for how it handled a chemical spill that’s turned a small community north of Newcastle on its head. Defence officials will be grilled this week, when a senate inquiry travels to Newcastle to investigate a toxic leak from…
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WILLIAMTOWN BUSHFIRE UPDATE
Firefighters are currently working to contain the bushfire in Williamtown, after it jumped Medowie Road late this afternoon. It’s now burning through shrub to both the east and north of the RAAF Base. Medowie Road remains closed to traffic as a precaution, with thick smoke continuing to fill the air. Currently, no properties are under…
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WILLIAMTOWN FIRE THREATENS RAAF BASE & NEWCASTLE AIRPORT
Fire crews in Port Stephens are being stretched to their limits today, as an intense bushfire burns out of control near Williamtown. 25 units are fighting the fast moving fire, which earlier today threatened the RAAF Base and Newcastle Airport.
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RESIDENTS INVITED TO SHARE THEIR STORIES IN CONTAMINATION INQUIRY
Port Stephens residents and workers affected by a Williamtown-based chemical spill will have a chance to share their stories, as part of an Australian senate inquiry into the matter. An inquiry into the events surrounding the ground and surface water scandal from the RAAF base will begin this Thursday with a public hearing in Canberra.…
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NEWCASTLE PRAWNERS TO HOLD OFF TRAWLING UNTIL TESTS COME BACK
Newcastle prawners say they’ve reached a verbal agreement to hold off trawling for two weeks, despite the prawning season officially starting tomorrow. The industry will be able to fish in areas of the Hunter River Estuary that are outside the EPA’s designated red zone, but a spokesperson says they want to clear the product of possible…
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EXPERT PANEL TO ORDER MORE TESTS ON CONTAMINATED FISH AND WATER IN WILLIAMTOWN
The expert panel examining contamination from the Williamtown RAAF Base in Port Stephens, will conduct further testing on water, oysters and fish. The decision follows a meeting at Williamtown Airport today, involving experts in toxicology and health. The expert panel has one year to determine the full extent of the spill of potentially dangerous firefighting foams,…
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NEWCASTLE TRAINER LOSES APPEAL
Newcastle trainer, Darren Smith, has lost his appeal against a 15-year ban over cobalt offences. Smith was disqualified by Racing NSW in March, after he was found guilty of 42 charges. His legal counsel argued cobalt was not a prohibited substance because there was no threshold in place when Smith administered it. But the Racing…
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MAN MISSING FROM WILLIAMTOWN
Police and SES volunteers have been searching in the Williamtown area, north of Newcastle for a missing local man. 55-year- old Michael Fowler, from Williamtown was last seen at a fast-food restaurant on Nelson Bay Road, Williamtown, around midday last Friday. He’s described as being of caucasian appearance, with light-brown hair and hazel eyes, around…
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FORGACS WORKERS RALLY FOR JOB LOSSES
Forgacs shipbuilding workers rallied outside the Williamtown RAAF base today as the Prime Minister Tony Abbott landed in the Hunter. Thirty employees formed outside the base with 160 high-vis vests lined up along the ground, representing 160 job losses last week. The AMWU NSW Secretary Tim Ayres asserts, that unless the government acts soon, the…
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MORNING FOG IN THE HUNTER
The Hunter has been shrouded in thick fog this morning, reducing visibility to a matter of metres. In some areas, frost accompanied the fog making it a good morning to stay rugged up in bed. Due to safety concerns some flights have been delayed at Newcastle Airport at Williamtown, with passengers on four planes arriving…