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What exactly is the long-term future of Group 10 and Rugby League in regional NSW is unknown, following Cowra withdrawing from the Group 10 competition for 2021. Ken Sutcliffe spoke with Group 10’s president, Linore Zamparini, who says that he believes that NSWRL could be doing more for the game. “I really don’t think the NRL and the NSW League are doing enough for grassroots football, especially in out here in the Region”. He says “we’re behind the eight-ball a bit, where we have to travel a fair way for games, and I don’t think those in the NRL understand just how far games are, as most have to dedicate a full day to travelling.” Mr Zamparini says that it appears other clubs are also struggling with numbers this year including Lithgow workies. He also responded to a suggestion from Ken that NRL could take over the comp. “They definitely could take over, but first they have to understand what we’re going and what we’re doing”. He also details that “it’s multiple groups that are in t

  The Annual Charity Shield returns to Glen Willow stadium tomorrow night, when the St George Illawarra Dragons take on the South Sydney Rabbitohs, with Gates open at 5:30pm for a 6:30 kick-off. While the match will go ahead as normal, some changes to spectator behaviours have been made to comply with COVID measures, with a lower crowed expected than in previous year, with patrons also required to sign in via the Service NSW app when they enter the stadium. Image sourced: visitmudgeeregion.com.au While also being a COVID safe event, all food, beverage and merchandise vendors will be cashless; requiring spectators to use credit cards only if purchasing at the ground. Limited parking will be available at the Mudgee Racecourse for general patrons, whilst only vehicles displaying a disabled parking pass will be permitted to park at Glen Willow directly adjacent to the stadium, with Pitts lane closed from 9am tomorrow. The usual free shuttle buses will be operating in Mud

The Mudgee Mudcrabs Junior touch teams from Under-14s through to Under-18s will be in Wagga Wagga over the next three days competing in the Junior State Cup. The Mudgee Race Club’s eight event program on Sunday will again feature the $150,000 CDRA Country qualifier, race 7 on the program over the 1400 metres starting at 4.45. The three locally trained horses in the capacity field of 14 include, ‘Slatey Bay’ & ‘Amy’s Shadow’ for Brett Thompson & ‘Amicus Curiae’ for Mack Griffith. Race 1 is at 12.55 & the last at 5.25. Meanwhile at the Dubbo Greyhounds on Saturday night, owner/trainer Len Haaring will start runners in races 1, 3 & 10, Daniel Hoskins races 2 & 9. Mudgee Dirt Bikes will be back in action tomorrow at Arec, Motocross events starting at 8am through to 4pm.

  RSPCA NSW have seized 79 dogs from a breeding establishment located in Central West New South Wales following reports of alleged breaches to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979. Two RSPCA NSW inspectors executed a search warrant at the property at 8 a.m. on Wednesday 24 February 2021. Due to the size of the operation, six inspectors, two RSPCA NSW veterinarians and two animal transport officers attended the property and assessed the animals. The inspectors seized 79 dogs and puppies requiring varying degrees of veterinary treatment into RSPCA NSW custody. All animals were admitted into care at RSPCA veterinary hospitals by yesterday morning, Thursday 25 February 2021. The investigation is ongoing. A decision to lay charges against the person of interest will be made within 60 days.   (Pic - Supplied)

A men’s mental health initiative is set to launch it’s free 'Growth Rooms' service in Mudgee, with monthly sessions where men can meet up and discuss life's ups and downs. The Banksia Project will see sessions run by volunteer facilitators, who provide helpful modules designed by mental health professionals. The Program will be launched tonight, February 25th, with an information session running from 6:00 - 8:00pm at Club Mudgee. Both men and women able to attend, the project aims to open the lines of communication on men’s mental well-being. Program Director, Jack Jones says what tonight will be all about. “We will be delivering information on what the program is all about, and how they can get involved”. He says “ we’re going to have a handful of people there who have experienced our Growth Rooms before, in other rural communities, and talking about their experiences and the growth they’ve witnessed from others”. Free registration is required to attend, with details

  Mayor for the Mid-Western Region, Des Kennedy, has defended the almost unanimous decision of local Council not to get involved in the upcoming auction of the Mudgee Regent Theatre.  He says everyone would like to see the building preserved and better maintained, but if a private buyer come in to do that it’s a win for ratepayers. "We will do what we can to keep that building looking up to scratch, however, council isn't in the position to go waving their hand around and bidding at an auction.". Mr Kennedy also says "The NSW Government has listed it as a State Heritage listed building, which means even shifting the seats in the theatre would be very difficult". The Mayor argues to the Local Government member in the State, that "if you think it's a significantly-listed building, you can fund the repairs and bring it up to scratch".

With the news that COVID Vaccines have begun to be rolled out across the country, Mudgee residents will need to wait a little longer, with the exact time-frame for a clinic in our region not known at this stage. The Federal Government is the body responsible for the rollout, with Federal Health Minister, Greg Hunt says that priority groups include aged care and disability care residents and workers, frontline healthcare workers, and quarantine and border workers. The Minister Hunt saying that the staged approach to the rollout will ensure those who need the most protection get it first. As part of phase 1a of the rollout more than 240 facilities, will receive their first COVID-19 vaccine, with the closest to our area being located at Orange. The remaining phases will be rolled out as the number of vaccines grows, with the staged rollout is guided by Australia’s COVID-19 Vaccine National Rollout Strategy . More information will be published in our local news once details for the Mi

The Crudine Ridge Wind Farm, some 45 km’s from Mudgee, is now wrapping up construction and close to being complete. 37 Wind Turbines have been constructed with a replacement blade for one of the turbines, expected to be completed within the next few months. Commissioning and final completion are yet to be finalised, though testing of the turbines daily will continue daily. The wind farm is set to be fully operational later in the year.  Image sourced: crudineridgewindfarm.com.au  

  A man has been charged with multiple drug-related offences after more than 400 cannabis plants were seized from a property in the state’s Central Tablelands.   In early February 2021, officers attached to Orana Mid Western Police District commenced an investigation into the cultivation of cannabis in the Round Swamp, Capertee area. Following inquiries, police arrested a man, aged 52, during a vehicle stop on Excelsior Road at Round Swamp, about 10.40am on Friday (19 February 2021).  He was subsequently taken to the McDonalds Hole Road property at Round Swamp for the execution of the search warrant.  Police seized 432 mature cannabis plants, approximately 9kg of cannabis leaf, as well as cannabis seeds and head from the property.  The man was taken to Mudgee Police Station and charged with cultivate commercial quantity of cannabis, three counts of possess prohibited drug, and supply prohibited drug.  He was refused bail to appear before Orange Local Court today 

  Federal Member for Calare and Minister for Decentralisation and Regional Education, Andrew Gee has welcomed the roll out of Pfizer vaccine which will start this week, saying it’s a turning point in our fight against COVID-19. Mr Gee says our most vulnerable elderly residents in nursing homes, people with disabilities in residential facilities and front-line workers will be first cab off the rank to receive the Pfizer vaccine, with Orange making the list for the first week. Mr Gee said that the Pfizer vaccine has been approved for use in Australia by the Therapeutic Goods Administration which is one of the strictest regulators in the world.    Image sourced: www.health.gov.au      

  Traffic access for Glen Willow will be improved with the addition of a new road linking to Putta Bucca Road, along with completion of the walking track loop. The follows Council’s purchase of the land needed after a couple of years of negotiation. Mayor Des Kennedy has told 2MG’s Ken Sutcliffe that it will improve traffic flows for major events at Glen Willow   He says the people will be able to exit onto Putta Bucca Road near 2MG, and walking path will also finally link up to the area. He says the previous landowners have up to 12 months to move out. And some ideas have already been floated about the uses for the remainder of the land not used for the road and path construction. He says that casual talk could be a sport & rec facility for the area, and possibly some sort of dormitory style accommodation to fill the shortfall during major events. (File Photo)  Des Kennedy with more:  

A National campaign has been launched by Mid-Western Regional Council to promote our region as a growing hub. Running through till May this year, the message behind the multi-media campaign is 'Choose Mudgee Region to Live Your Life'. As well as a series of 3 TV commercials, longer videos, social media and billboards ads will be used to target young families, business owners and young professionals from Canberra, Newcastle, Wollongong and Sydney. Alina Azar from Council spoke to 2MG’s Ken Sutcliffe about the reasons for the campaign. “Mudgee seems a hot little place to be, not only from a tourism point of view, but also a place that people want to move to. We want to leverage that interest and put Mudgee on the map.” Alina also says the campaign “focuses on living, working and investing here, so we’ve taken case studies of people who have done so in the last 12 months, hearing from them as to why they made that choice.” Locals can see more of how the region is being promoted at

There’s a major call out for more employers to offer students school-based apprenticeships for the 2021 SKILLSET program across Western NSW. The Skillset School2Trade school-based apprenticeship and trainee-ship program is offered to high school students who are currently completing years 10 and 11, to gain hands-on experience in the workplace, and achieve a nationally recognised qualification by the time they complete their HSC. The successful candidates will complete one day per week work over the next two years and the opportunities currently on offer cover a range of industries including business, automotive, nursing, horticulture and community services. Skillset is currently calling for high school students to apply for the jobs on offer, as well as encouraging more organisations to join the School2Trade program who may be able to host a high school student. A program which started only last year, it aims to give 45 students across the Central West the opportunity. Marketing M

Mudgee Indoor swimming Club members are off to Wellington this weekend for their final hit out before concentrating on preparing for NSW Country Championships in Sydney to be held next month. The Mudgee cricket draw tomorrow has Ori Bulls playing Paragon on the Glen Willow Synthetic and Federal Frogs against Kelly’s Irish Pub at VP. In the Gulgong competition, Bowlers V Goolma at VPG, Coolah at home to Centennial. Junior cricket is on tomorrow for the U-11s at CP, U-13s Walkers, U-15s GW, while the junior & masters are in action at VP. Softball will be played at West End tomorrow morning starting at 9am. Local LA’s is back at Walkers this afternoon following a break for the Regional Championships at Dubbo last weekend. Racing is at Dubbo on Sunday, Cheryl Crockett, Brett Thompson, Bob Howe & Mack Griffith with runners in races 4 to 7. Meanwhile, Brett Thompson will saddle up ‘Costas’ and Mack Griffith ‘Will to Excel’ in the class 3 Highway Handicap over 1800 metres

Local Residents wishing to address Mid-Western Regional Council can do so once more, with a trial of the Open Day section of Council’s monthly meetings. The Open Day is an opportunity for residents to address Councillors on matters within the business paper as well as other topics within Council’s reach. Speakers must contact the General Manager’s Office by 4pm the day before the Council meeting each time to register, also identifying the topic they want to cover. Only four speakers are to be permitted to speak on the same topic. At present, the Chambers will remain closed to the general public, with only four people permitted to speak on one topic. Meetings will continue to be streamed on Council's website – with the first ordinary will be held next Wednesday, February 17th. Image sourced: midwestern.nsw.gov.au    

Agricultural show and field day organisers that cancelled their events in 2020 because of COVID-19 now have another opportunity to recover eligible expenses, with Agriculture Minister David Littleproud saying that eligible shows and field days are now being invited to submit supplementary expense claims. He says that almost $34 million in cash has been rolled out to the 378 shows and field days approved for funding for costs paid from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020, and now they will be able to claim additional eligible expenditure not included in their initial application, provided they haven’t exceeded the funding cap for their show size. Supplementary expense claims under the Supporting Agricultural Shows and Field Days Program will be treated similarly to original applications in relation to assessment and decision making. Eligible shows and field day organisers will be contacted directly with an invitation to make a supplementary claim for the period 1 July 2019 to 31 December

  The efforts of local tourism providers have been praised by NSW Tourism Minister, Stuart Ayres. He says “The visitor information centres have been recording increases of over 12% in visitation, but I think it’s important to mention the accommodation providers in Mudgee have been reporting 50% increases in overnight accommodations.” The Minister explains that “this means that rather than just having those taking day trips out to enjoy just lunch and wine, they’re staying longer and investing more into the Mudgee economy.”     Image sourced: www.parliament.nsw.gov.au The Minister spoke with Ken Sutcliffe on 2MG, saying the service is one of the keys to the growing numbers.  “This is one of the trends we saw in 2021. We’ve had many Australians who travel overseas to places like Europe and are used to high quality service, and so now they’re travelling around NSW and they still have that same expectation.”

  The Group 10 draw has been released for 2021, with a 14 round competition set the kick off on ANZAC day weekend. Mudgee Dragons will kick off the season at home, with Cowra their opponent. Group 10 president, Linore Zamparini says that the following round is one of the seasons highlights with the traditional local derby being held. The Bathurst Knockout is scheduled for March 12 & 13, Group 10 v 11 on May 22nd, and the June long weekend will once again be a general bye. Linore says what Covid restrictions will be in place are still up in the air, however, he expected that NSW Health and NSWRL will have guidelines in place closer to kick off in April.

Extra tickets will be available for the Charity Shield from 12 noon today (Monday, 8 February) at 123tix.com.au as part of a Second Allocation release. The St George Illawarra Dragons will take on the South Sydney Rabbitohs for the fourth annual pre-season game at Mudgee’s Glen Willow Stadium on Saturday, 27 February. Patrons are advised to get in quick with the First Allocation selling out within a matter of days. General Admission tickets start from $25 for adults, $18 for concession card holders and $18 for juniors (aged 5 – 15). Whilst children 4 years of age and under are free to attend, NSW Public Health Orders require each child attending to be individually registered. If you are planning on bringing a child aged 4 and under, please contact 123tix on 1300 001 238 before the close of business on Friday, 5 February to be issued with a free ticket. Due to capacity limitations, non-ticketed children will be not permitted to access the stadium on game day. To meet current physic

Twelve Mudgee athletes will compete at the compete at the Regional qualifying championships At Barden Park Dubbo starting today and concluding tomorrow. Round 15 of Mudgee senior cricket will be played tomorrow, the top two teams on the ladder, Kelly’s Irish Pub & Ori Bulls clashing at VP, Federal Hotel playing Paragon in the other match at CP. In the Gulgong competition, Goolma will host the Coolah X1, Centennial taking on Bowlers at VPG. Junior cricket continues tomorrow morning, the U-11s at CP, U-13s at Walkers, U-15s Glen Willow, the junior & master blasters at VP. Softball returns tomorrow at West End, games starting at 9am. Racing is at Gilgandra tomorrow, Bob Howe runners in races 4 & 5, Brett Thompson race 5. At the Dubbo greyhounds tomorrow night, Len Haaring has starters in races 1, 2, 4 & 7, Daniel Hoskins races 3, 4, 6 & 10, John Barrass R3, Arthur Barrass R7.

The Mudgee Small Farm Field Days is back in action this July – after being axed last year from the antics of COVID. While hygiene practices and number restrictions will be in place, it’ll be exhibits galore turning out for the 2-day event. General Manager for AREC and the Mudgee Small Farm Field Days, Cassandra Stanford, says the aim of the event is simple. “The Field Day’s aim is to provide innovation and sustainability in agriculture and rural living, by informing, educating and connecting rural people with information and rural providers.” She says ,“It has also developed into a fun and family-friendly day out with something for everyone, including kid’s activities, the fashion parade, horse events, food, wine and live music”. However, Cassandra says there will be changes to keep in mind. “There’s definitely going to be changes this year, including; online ticketing, COVID marshals, increased sanitisation, physical distancing, maximum patron numbers in certain areas, trying to meet

Mudgee Medical practices have received four new doctors in order to improve availabilities of getting an appointment with a GP. Arriving this week is three staff for the medical centre located next to Mudgee hospital, while another has been tasked to the South Mudgee practice. Practice Manager of the Centre, Colleen Best says, it could be a short-lived relief. “We can only sign-up registrars for a six-month period. So we’ve got them until July, but ideally we are looking for fellow doctors who want to move here”. Ms Best also says “the registrars are practically a Band-Aid solution that we put in so much groundwork for that we did back in October to employ the four we have now”. Even with a few extra hands jumping on board, she says it balances the situation faced by the town. “At the moment, Mudgee Medical Centre will have fifteen doctors all together which will take the pressure off our appointment books”. Locals are able to start booking appointments with the new doctors from next w

  The conspiracy trial of former NSW Labor Ministers Eddie Obeid and Ian Macdonald resumed yesterday with final submissions. The pair have pleaded not guilty to conspiring over a coal exploration licence for the Obeid family farm in the Bylong Valley near Mudgee, between 2007 and 2009. The judge-only trial was delayed several times in 2020. The ABC reports the prosecution case saw the Obeid family had negotiated a $60-million windfall after the licence was secured, of which they received half. The allegation encompasses the accused willfully engaged in misconduct between 2008 and 2009 over a coal licence for the Obeid family farm, Cherrydale Park, in the Bylong Valley. The crown case is that the Obeid's stood to make $60-million from the project.  The prosecutor said communication between the three men proves they were in a conspiracy, saying the more the evidence against them is scrutinized, the more compelling it becomes.