9AM: And that wraps it up from us folks -join us from 7am tomorrow for your latest news.
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8.50am
8.40am: A COMPANY eyeing off the coal seam gas potential of 1500sqkm of land in the New England region will have its application cancelled.
Trough Exploration, which has just $24 in share capital, applied last year for permission to undertake “surveys and investigations”.
8.30am:
THE government would grow and supply medical marijuana and the drug would be made available to a wider range of patients under an ambitious bill to be tabled in state parliament today. Branding the government’s attempts at marijuana reform “timid and unworkable”, Greens MP John Kaye has drafted a bill aimed at solving the issue of supply and making cannabis available to medical users outside of the terminally ill, such as epileptic children and adults living with chronic pain.
8.20am:
8.10am: A STUBBORN lack of rain will see Tamworth residents subjected to harsher water restrictions from Saturday.
The forthcoming move to Level 3 restrictions was triggered when Chaffey Dam’s storage fell to 35 per cent of capacity on Monday.
8AM: Greens in New England have a plan to restore courses, lower fees and re-open TAFE facilities across New England, said Northern Tablelands candidate Mercurius Goldstein.
7.50am:
A FORMER priest has been committed to stand trial for historic child sex abuse, facing a total of 76 charges. In a committal hearing yesterday afternoon, Magistrate Karen Stafford ruled there was significant evidence for a jury to convict the defrocked priest of an indictable offence.
7.40am: BINDAREE Beef’s development manager John Clements attended the first full meeting of the Australia-Sino 100-Year Agricultural and Food Safety Partnership (ASA 100) held at Parliament House on Saturday.
7.30am:
THE Office of Local Government (OLG) is investigating a code of conduct matter against Moree Plains Shire councillor John Tramby.
The matter related to an incident involving Cr Tramby at the ordinary council meeting on April 10 where he allegedly made derogatory statements to councillors and council staff.
7.20am:
FORUM 6 Tamworth manager and movie buff Grant Lee has named Unbroken as the movie of 2014.
Mr Lee went to the world premiere of the Angelina Jolie-directed movie at the State Theatre in Sydney on Monday night, with the region featuring heavily throughout the film.
7.10am: HOMICIDE squad detectives arrived in Gunnedah last night to help investigate the death of a young woman found in a motel room yesterday morning.
7AM: YOUR WEATHER:
North West Slopes and Plains: Mostly sunny morning. The chance of a thunderstorm on the northern slopes this afternoon. Winds northeast to southeasterly 15 to 20 km/h becoming light in the middle of the day then becoming north to northeasterly 15 to 25 km/h in the evening. Daytime maximum temperatures 32 to 37.
Northern Tablelands: Partly cloudy. Medium (60%) chance of showers in the north, slight (30%) chance elsewhere. The chance of a thunderstorm during this afternoon and evening. Winds east to southeasterly 15 to 20 km/h turning northeasterly 15 to 25 km/h in the afternoon. Daytime maximum temperatures 23 to 30.
Good morning. Need a national news snapshot first thing - well, we have you covered.
► To check out the front pages of Fairfax publications for today, click here
► Two major controversial Hunter Valley mining projects previously rejected by courts have been recommended for approval by the Department of Planning.
►There is barely any room at the inn in Ballarat as accommodation venues are booked solid for the first ever Saturday Ballarat Cup.
► An Illawarra mother of four who slashed another woman's face in a violent glassing incident at a Port Kembla pub last year has been jailed for at least 3½ years.
► One Wagga winemaker who began exporting to China this year is excited by the potential of the new Free Trade Agreement with the world's most populous nation.
► The discovery of 100-million-year-old fossilised bones of an ichthyosaur – an extinct dolphin-like marine reptile that once swam through Australia’s ancient inland sea – has been lauded as a once-in-lifetime find.
► A man arrested by police after a three-hour standoff on a Lavington house roof in October yesterday had the large number of charges against him adjourned until January.
► TASMANIA: He came, he saw, he patted Tasmanian devils. Chinese President Xi Jinping stayed just a few hours in Tasmania, but his visit will have rippling impacts for the state for years to come.
► SOUTH AUSTRALIA: The final school bell has rung for 10,000 Year 12 students across South Australia, who are looking forward to the Victor Harbor Schoolies.
► NEWCASTLE: Merewether Ocean Baths: The life and times - a photo essay
►TAMWORTH: The concept is both powerful and simple – create a social network of farmers who support each other through the emotional challenges of life on the land. A local charity is on the brink of launching the unique Bush Telegraph program, which would form a cluster of 100 retired and active farmers all registered on the one mobile phone contract.
► MOUNT ISA: Residents of Mount Isa and the North West could be a step closer to being eligible for a zone tax allowance of up to $10,000 after discussions in Brisbane today.
►BALLARAT: Nationals candidate Sonia Smith will go against party orders and print her own how-to-vote cards, not preferencing Liberal candidate Ben Taylor.
► While Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping have been feted in the halls of Australian power, and Modi prepared for another rock star welcome in Melbourne, the placards that line the streets they travel tell a different story.
► If Bill and Melinda Gates could live anywhere in the world - and one suspects money would be no object - they would choose Sydney. Yes, really.
► Myanmar's military appears to have blocked popular opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from becoming the country's next president, raising further concern about a stalled transition to democracy in the former pariah nation.
► Australian Greens senator, Sarah Hanson-Young, says she has hardened her opposition to the Abbott government's resettlement of refugees in Cambodia after touring slums in the riverside capital Phnom Penh, declaring the plan "madness, absolute madness."
► Gillieston Heights 16-year-old Taylah Savage has claimed her first top-four finish at an international aerobics event. It may not have been the medal Savage desired but she was buoyed by her performance in a quality field at Federation International Sport, Aerobics and Fitness World Championships held in the Czech Republic. Read more