Is NBN's Dominance Ending?

Posted by on October 23rd, 2007
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Posted under: Media

Newcastle City Council's General Manager resigns

Source: Newcastle City Council

Lord Mayor JOHN TATE says the resignation of General Manager JANET DORE is a sad loss for Newcastle but a win for Melbourne.

The General Manager has resigned to take up a senior executive position with the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) of Victoria.

The Lord Mayor says the General Manager is also returning for personal reasons.

“Janet has been under considerable pressure over the past seven weeks following the diagnosis of a serious illness in the family.”

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Posted by on October 23rd, 2007
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Posted under: Hunter Councils

What makes a great mate?

Source: Australian Red Cross Blood Service

A shoulder to cry on; a sympathetic ear; someone who shouts you dinner and makes you laugh – these are some of the qualities that make a good mate – but what extra qualities make a great mate?

This October and November the Australian Red Cross Blood Service (ARCBS) is going to test friendship in a different way, by asking current blood donors to recruit their friends to donate, making them, not just good, but great mates.

To help our blood donors recruit their mates we’ve designed them a unique website: www.matesdonate.com.au

Social network websites are all the rage and the ARCBS hopes matesdonate.com.au will be no exception. Here donors can nominate friends they think should be blood donors, send them an e-mail through the website and track how many of their mates have donated. You can even pick up tips about encouraging mates along the way.

Dr Pip Hetzel, National Operations Manager for the ARCBS said: “One in three of us will need blood or a blood product at some point during our lives, so many of us will rely on others to help us out. You may not have needed blood yet, but is it unreasonable to ask your mates to help out in advance and help other Australians as well?  The Australian Red Cross Blood Service doesn’t think so!

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Posted by on October 23rd, 2007
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Posted under: Health | Hunter Valley News | Newcastle News

Another GP to leave city and retire

Source: MICHELLE MEEHAN, Maitland Mercury

Maitland’s GP shortage has been dealt another blow, with news a long-term Beresfield-based doctor is retiring.

After 19 years working as a GP in the suburb, Dr Toni Kesby will leave the Beresfield Surgery on Christmas Eve to travel overseas with her husband.

The announcement comes two weeks after Morpeth residents learnt they could become a town without a doctor by the end of the year, with ill health forcing the retirement of Dr David Roberts-Thomson.

Maitland is already one of the worst-affected areas in the State when it comes to GP numbers, with the city’s doctor to patient ratio reaching the unsustainable level of 1:1972 last year.

Dr Kesby admitted it would be almost impossible to find someone to replace her, forcing the three other doctors at her surgery to bear the load.

“You can’t get anyone to come in the area at all,” she said.

“It means in the practice I’m in, the other doctors will have to work harder than they are already.”

Posted by on October 23rd, 2007
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Posted under: Maitland

Newcastle dump misfit duo

Source: John Taylor, Daily Telegraph

NEWCASTLE Jets have bitten the bullet with Jorge Drovandi after the Argentine was told to shop around for a new club.

The Jets will also offload striker Scott Tunbridge when the transfer window opens on November 1.

Drovandi, one of three South American recruits, saw only 28 minutes of A-League action as a substitute in the first game against Perth, while Tunbridge never got on the field.

On winger Drovandi, Jets coach Gary van Egmond said yesterday: "He did not fit into our set-up and it’s best for him to move on.

"It’s better for his own football that he finds himself another club.

"It’s his first time in a foreign country and he hasn’t coped with the physical side of things.

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Posted by on October 23rd, 2007
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Posted under: Newcastle Jets

Chemical scare at Lake Macquarie High School

Source: ABC Online

Vandals have caused a chemical scare at Lake Macquarie High School in Booragul, pouring hydrochloric acid in the science block.

Three fire crews wearing protective suits used soda ash to neutralise the acid, making the area safe before the start of the school day.

Principal Ann McGee says the spill was relatively minor and there is no danger to staff or students.

Posted by on October 22nd, 2007
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Posted under: Uncategorized

Study increases our understanding of breast cancer

Source: Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI)

An international study into genetic factors behind breast cancer has brought researchers a step closer to understanding the development of the disease.

The study, a collaboration between the Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI), the German Cancer Research Centre in Heidelberg and the International Hereditary Cancer Centre in Poland, involved 1,940 women from Poland who carry a mutation in the BRCA1 gene which predisposes them to breast and ovarian cancer.

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Posted by on October 22nd, 2007
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Posted under: Health

Jets rue missed chance

Source: Sportal.

Jets coach Gary Van Egmond agreed his side gave up a prime opportunity to go clear at the top of the Hyundai A-League table after Friday night’s 1-1 draw with the Queensland Roar in Newcastle.

Despite going a goal down in the first minute of play, the Jets had the better of the goal-scoring opportunities across the 90 minutes but couldn’t convert a host of chances.

However, Van Egmond also conceded that his side could have easily lost had it not been for a fine save from keeper Ante Covic to deny Roar skipper Craig Moore from the penalty spot in the 65th minute.

"It is one thing losing a game at home and it is another thing drawing – at least if you keep picking up points you keep going towards what the goal is," Van Egmond said after the match.

"The most important thing to come out of it is the fact we didn’t lose, but the feeling in the dressing room right at this moment is that we’ve lost two points."

"But I suppose you can look at it both ways. I don’t know what the possession stat was but I’d suggest we had the most of the ball and mostly in their half."

"But credit to Queensland, we couldn’t break them down very easily. They were very well marshaled by Craig Moore at the back."

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Posted by on October 22nd, 2007
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Posted under: Newcastle Jets

Stoner a perfect 10 in sweltering Sepang

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

Feeling "dizzy" in the steaming heat, world MotoGP champion Casey Stoner clung on to snare his 10th win of the season in the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Stoner led from flag to flag on Sunday but nevertheless said he found it difficult to focus at times and made several unforced errors – one which almost spelt the end of his race.

The 22-year-old, starting from second on the grid at Sepang, smoked away at the start to head the pack into the sweeping right-hand turn and was never headed.

He was hounded early by Honda’s Dani Pedrosa but effortlessly controlled the tempo of the race to claim his second straight win after the Australian GP a week earlier.

The Ducati ace crossed the line 1.701 seconds ahead of Italian Marco Melandri’s Honda with Pedrosa third.

Five-time world champion Valentino Rossi, who started from a lowly ninth on the grid, picked his way through the field to finish fifth behind Frenchman Randy De Puniet.

Suzuki rider Chris Vermeulen was seventh while fellow Queenslander Anthony West, who had qualified fifth, again undid the good work with his second jump start in three races and a ride-through penalty left him in 15th.

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Posted by on October 22nd, 2007
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Posted under: Sports

Welfare-to-work contributes to great divide

Source: HVRF

The Federal Government’s Welfare-to-Work legislation is likely further disadvantage Hunter and Central Coast residents who are already experiencing hardship, a new report into the implications of the legislation for has found.

Jointly released by the Hunter Valley Research Foundation (HVRF) and local welfare agency Samaritans today, the report presents the results of independent studies examining the life circumstances of those requesting emergency assistance from the Samaritans, and how they are likely to be affected by the new legislation.

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Posted by on October 22nd, 2007
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Posted under: Community