Traffic: No major incidents reported on Hunter roads.

Trains: Good service on the Newcastle and Hunter lines.

Beachwatch: Winds tending sideshore but still some good waves with the combination swell hanging about.Peaky conditions and tides getting bigger as we edge towards the new moon. Swell increasing from the South at 1 to 2m and 2nd swell East at 1m.Moderate wind from the West to S/W going light late afternoon. Southern facing breaks cleanest and check along the beach at Nobbys and Stockton.Cowrie Hole,Cliff and Merewether for the early.One Mile and Boxy up at Port Stephens.Dudley,Blacksmiths and Hams to the south. Expect sweeps to the north and best to swim in flagged areas of Nobbys and Bar Beach.Mild current keeping water temps good in on 20C.

BANKRUPT and banned former billionaire Nathan Tinkler had two words to say on Wednesday after Australia’s corporate regulator acted on his “multiple serious failures” as a company director. “F… off,” Tinkler said during a very brief phone call with the Newcastle Herald before hanging up. Read more.

A black labrador assistance dog named Charlie has given Matthew Connor quality since his diagnosis with post traumatic stress disorder. Read more.

Rugby league player Jake Finn has woken from an induced coma and is talking to family and friends, five days after being found unconscious at a friend’s house. Read more.

LARGE chunks of Newcastle’s inner suburbs could be underwater by the end of the century if worst-case scenario sea-level rises come true, new flood prediction modelling shows. Read more.

THE couple accused of robbing and bashing former Australian Test cricketer Robert “Dutchy” Holland and his wife after they were told not to ride their dirt bike on Awaba Oval will face a trial in Newcastle District Court. Read more.

THE ongoing closure of 1st Rathmines Scout Hall due to asbestos concerns is hitting the small group hard. Read more.

GOSFORD solicitor Manny Conditsis sat at work until 7.30pm on the night of the Lindt Cafe siege, waiting for a call from police that never came. He admits it is distressing at times to think about the “what ifs” of that shocking day and night. Read more.

CYCLISTS have criticised the state government over its cycle plan for Newcastle, labelling it a “flawed” document that would do little to encourage increased bike use in the city. Read more.

JOSH Starling is wearing a brace on his left wrist but Knights coaching staff are confident the prop will be fit for the clash against the Melbourne Storm after the bye. Read more. 

►TASMANIA: Legislation to allow for euthanasia to take place in Tasmania has been voted down for the third time in less than a decade. Read more

►WA: A Nulsen man has been charged after he allegedly challenged a 53 wagon train by waving a piece of wood in a threatening manner.  Read more

►BALLARAT: A victim's drawing of a man who stole $30,000 in gold set the internet on fire last month, but now Ballarat police have released an image of a suspect they want to speak to. Read more

►QUEENSLAND: Locking up paddocks with bulk feed and hoping for no more rain are two things you’d never expect a farmer to say. But for producers in south west Queensland battling Pimelea outbreaks, it’s a harsh reality. Read more

►VICTORIA: Bendigo man Michael O’Connor credits the work of one man, a mental health nurse, with saving his life. Read more

►WAGGA WAGGA: The inspiration for a Wagga son’s revolutionary news app came from an unlikely series of events.. Read more

►NSW: Having travelled half-way across the continent, Yanwyn Kirby trudges over the rain-softened earth under a swollen sky to catch up with his cousin, Les. Read more

►WA: Katherine maternity ward was bustling this weekend. Meet some of the region’s newest members here

National news

►Bill Shorten has signalled that Labor will back an ambitious outcome of the Indigenous constitution convention at Uluru, declaring: "It is our turn to step up, not to find fault, but to find common ground. Read more

►The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet paid $1.3 million through recruitment firms to the company at the centre of what is allegedly one of the largest tax frauds in Australian history, a Senate estimates committee has heard. Read more

►JAKARTA: Three police officers and two suspected suicide bombers have been killed in two explosions near a bus terminal in East Jakarta on Wednesday night. Read more

►BEIJING: Taiwan will become the first country in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage, after a landmark ruling by the constitutional court.Read more

Peter Baguley has been giving back for as long as he’s needed support.

He first came to the Salvos for assistance seven years ago. The organisation has since supported him through university, where he studied horticulture.

The Salvation Army volunteer will be collecting for the organisation’s Red Shield Appeal, which launched on Tuesday. Read more