Hunter Breakfast | Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Hunter trains: There is a good service on the Central Coast and Newcastle line and the Hunter line.

Hunter weather: Hot day with a chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon in Newcastle (36 degrees), hot day in Raymond Terrace with expected afternoon showers and thunderstorms (39 degrees), Maitland is in for a hot and sunny day with afternoon showers and a thunderstorm expected (42 degrees) and a hot day in Scone with afternoon showers and thunderstorms forecast (39 degrees).

Hunter beachwatch by Dave Anderson:  Surf small and clean through out the morning before a Southerly works it's way up the coast during the afternoon. Swell dropping and straightening up to the S/E at 1m.Winds North to N/E shifting South. Mainly shorebreaks on offer at Newcastle Beach,Cliff,Dixon and Merewether.Up at Port Stephens,Samurai and Buribi.Dudley,Hams,Fraser and Catho to the south. Few patches of kelp about and good in to cool down.Swim in flagged areas and water temps on 21C.

► Knights chief executive Matt Gidley said star five-eighth Jarrod Mullen would have to “pay a price” after testing positive to an anabolic steroid at training in November. More here.

► IT was the last question at the end of a difficult press conference for Knights chief Matt Gidley.  And it was about the club's long association with drugs scandals. More here.

► THE Hunter is set to sizzle again on Wednesday, with temperatures of more than 40 degrees forecast for some parts of the region. More here.

► THE NSW Audit Office will be asked to review the NSW Government’s controversy-plagued Resources for Regions program after National Party seats secured nine out of 10 funded projects in a recent funding round, and Upper Hunter coal areas lost millions of dollars in favour of Broken Hill. More here.

► Newcastle Knights star Jarrod Mullen has tested positive to an anabolic steroid and faces a ban of up to four years. More here.

► HUNTER students hoping to commence tertiary study this year are counting down the hours until universities make their main round offers. More here.

► HORSE trainers and agents from Australia’s leading thoroughbred auctioneer are hopeful to find the next champion horse as they tour studs across the valley. More here.

► The state government has denied plans for a new railway station for the Lower Hunter, despite reference to such an initiative in a list of deferred transport projects. More here.

► This time last year Erin Hackney was preparing for the birth of her twin daughters and looking forward to celebrating a new year and new beginnings with husband Adam and their son Jack. More here.

►  Owners of flood-affected properties in the Cessnock local government area may soon be able to apply for funding to assist with raising their homes to reduce the threat of floodwater. More here.

► THEY are the Murray River baby turtles who are hundreds of kilometres away from home on the Central Coast. More here.

► Stockland has unveiled plans for a seven screen Hoyts cinema complex in its $412 million redevelopment of Green Hills. More here.

► It was a day better to forget for Dungog and Paterson's Maitland and District A-grade teams as they both suffered big losses on Saturday. More here.

► PORT Stephens MP Kate Washington is outraged that Boomerang Park is once again under siege, this time from a diesel spill. More here.

► THE Canton Beach foreshore is the venue on Wednesday, January 25, for Australia Day Eve celebrations hosted by Central Coast Council. More here.

► Coal is expected to start leaving Glencore's Integra underground operations by mid-year. More here.

► Amway was big in the 80s, now it’s back. And teams of Amway entrepreneurs, as they like to be known, are headed here from China. More here.

► WHILE working with drug-addicted people experiencing homelessness, Ben Mulley discovered many of them had spent time in prison. More here.

► THE progeny of Hunter Valley Stallions again led the best-seller list at the Gold Coast Magic Millions 2017 Yearling Sales.  More here.

Need a national news snapshot first thing – well, we have you covered. 

►WANGARATTA, VIC: The death of a Wangaratta woman killed while walking across a pedestrian crossing will leave a hole in many lives, say those closest to her.  Married mother-of-three Roberta Brown, 53, was hit by a truck while walking her dog..read on.

►GREAT LAKES, NSW: Shucks, it’s an oyster harvest high on the Mid North Coast.  With the Pacific Oyster industry in Tasmania hard hit by disease, it has created an opportunity for Mid North Coast’s Sydney Rock Oysters to gain a stronger foothold in the market...full story.

► QUEANBEYAN, NSW: It's the stuff of dreams - being paid by a global sportswear brand to travel the world and do what you love, day in and day out.  And pro skater Jack Fardell is living it...read about his journey here.

►TASMANIA: Police are weighing up an historic apology to child-sex abuse victims in institutionalised care whose cries for help were initially not believed by officers...read on.

► Australia's most dangerous venomous creature is not a snake or a spider, nor even a jellyfish.  It's the bee and other stinging insects that pose the biggest public health threat, according to an analysis of more than a decade of Australian bites and stings.

►More than half of Australia's young adults have done unpaid work as part of an internship or a job trial, raising questions about the need for greater regulation of unpaid work to prevent exploitation, a landmark national study has found...full story here.

► A man has been charged following a fatal crash at Hallidays Point near Taree on Tuesday.  At about 5.45pm, a 60-year-old man was riding a BMW motorcycle east along Blackhead Road and collided with a four wheel drive...read more.

► BALI: A hotel security guard has claimed he witnessed Byron Bay murder suspect Sara Connor with her hand around the neck of a Balinese police officer who was later found dead on Kuta beach...full story here.

►PHILIPPINES: Donald Trump's conflict of interest risk is on glittering display in the Philippines at Manila's newest sky-scraper which soars 57 storeys above the sprawling city's financial district of Makati...full story here.

►LONDON: In a historic, detailed speech, Mrs May dashed the hopes of Remainers and delighted Brexiteers by setting out a vision of an independent UK – a "trading nation" that will look beyond Europe to "new friends and old allies".

It’s a classic labour of love for Jill Brookes, her dozen staff and her merry band of nearly 50 volunteers.

Jill is the owner and manager of Dardanup Heritage Park, built on 121ha (300ac) property south east of Bunbury and boasting 20 sheds.

‘The Park’ boasts the largest collection of heritage items in the Southern Hemisphere, along with some of the best "re-builders" and "restorers" – usually retired cockies enjoying life in what, for them, is the best Men's Shed going.

Read the full story here.