Good morning here’s your headlines from around regional Australia and beyond. Scroll down and refresh for weather, road reports and more.
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7:30: MERIMBULA. NSW Rural Fire Brigades right around the state are set to hold Get Ready Weekend activities on September 10 and 11 where residents can learn how to prepare their homes for the bushfire season, which starts in October. Find out more here.
7:25am: NOWRA. They’re one of the most well-travelled retired couple and Shirley Hardy-Rix and Brian Rix will be sharing their story at Nowra Library.
The pair will share their new book ‘The Long Way to Vladivostok: A Journey Through Scandinavia and the Silk Road to Siberia’ on Wednesday, September 7 at 5.30pm. Find out more here.
7.20am: BEGA. How much do you pay for fuel? While average fuel prices in Sydney hover around the $1 to $1.10 a litre mark, Bega motorists continue to pay the dearest prices in the state. Read more here.
Roads and Rail
The South Coast rail line is running smoothly and there is nothing to report on our roads.
South Coast Weather
State of the nation
Need a national news snapshot first thing - well, we have you covered.
► MANDURAH: The grieving father of a man killed in a horrific crash just north of Mandurah in July says he will chain himself to his son’s roadside memorial rather than let it be torn down. More here.
► SILVAN: Mark Tromp has apologised “without reservation” for the hurt and concern caused by his bizarre disappearance. More here.
► BALLARAT: Ballarat diocese will cement itself as a national leader when it sets aside former Bishop Ronald Mulkearns’ estate to help survivors of sexual abuse. More here.
► DORRIGO: Mel Gibson and Bruce Davey’s Icon Productions has acquired the movie rights to ex-Dorrigo local Mark Donaldson’s bestselling autobiography The Crossroad. More here.
► NSW: Cats roaming the bush aren’t feral – but “free-living” – and deserving of equal consideration to the native wildlife they prey on, NSW budget estimates has heard. More here.
► GRIFFITH: A Riverina woman has warned people about a “Tinder con man” who has left a trail of emotional and financial damage in his wake. More here.
► MOUNT ISA: An Amnesty International report said methods of searching of juvenile prisoners is inappropriate, and that police dogs are being used to intimidate children. More here.
► FORBES: Family members, including his father, were in the public gallery at Parkes Local Court on Monday morning when Alex Briggs appeared charged with the alleged murder of his mother Vivienne Slessor. More here.
► BENDIGO: A driving instructor has proposed a radical rethink of L-plater education, recommending compulsory, professional lessons for new drivers and calling on parents to take a back seat in their children’s learning. More here.
► WOLLONGONG: A Wollongong city Council lifeguard who drilled peep holes through the wall of the Helensburgh swimming pool female change rooms was busted by one of his fellow employees, a court has heard. More here.
National news
► Australia's marine environment - already beset by coral bleaching and kelp forest dieback - could face further pressures if the federal government acts on recommendations to wind back protection, green groups say. More here.
► The Immigration Department and Border Force says its public servants could score pay rises of nearly 11 per cent in the next three years, if they sign up to a new enterprise bargaining deal. More here.
► NSW hospitals have been hit by a "tsunami" of sicker patients in greater numbers than they've dealt with before, as Nepean Hospital scores a new low on the latest public hospital report card. More here.
► An Australian man has died after he was bitten by a shark while kitesurfing in New Caledonia on Tuesday afternoon. The 50-year-old from Western Australia was on a reef at Koumac with a group of others on a nearby catamaran at around 3.40pm local time (2.40pm AEST) when he fell into the water. More here.
National weather radar
International news
► BANGKOK: A four-year-old girl hugging her father on the back of a motorcycle while being taken to buy popcorn is among the latest victims of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte's shoot-on-sight crackdown on drug pushers in the Philippines that has left 2400 people dead since July 1. More here.
► SYRIA: The many foreign powers involved in the Syrian conflict won't intervene directly - unless their worst-case scenarios are in danger of being realised. More here.
► JAKARTA: An Australian expert who testified that Indonesian woman Wayan Mirna Salihin was unlikely to have died from cyanide poisoning after drinking a Vietnamese iced coffee will be deported and banned from entering Indonesia for six months. More here.
On this day
The faces of Australia: Stephen Neville
Stephen Neville is living proof of how a father's love can lead him to do something a bit bizarre.
The professional drummer, from Thurgoona, admitted he was “scared” after his idea of a 24-hour drum-off began to gain momentum.
Mr Neville will set-up his drum kit outside Blackline Music in Dean Street on September 30.
From noon, he will attempt to softly play along with various songs for an entire day. Read more here.