Companion’s rate cut in full

From The Herald 16.04.2009

Hunter-based home lender Companion Credit Union has led the way in passing on the Reserve Bank’s full interest rate cut.

Companion said yesterday it was slashing its home loans by the full reduction. Companion chief Ray O’Brien said the credit union’s interest rates were at a 30-year low.

He said the Hunter lender was one of the few to pass on the full 25 basis points.

“Our home loans now start from 4.97 per cent,” he said.

Posted by Admin on April 16th, 2009
Leave a Comment »
Posted under: Community | Maitland

Steamfest Volunteers Needed

Source: Maitland City Council

Chug chug chug chug, toot, toot…

When you hear the sound of 150 years of history and feel the vibration of almost 200 tonnes of steel pulling up on the platform, your heart feels heavy with pride.  The skies of Maitland will fill with steam from these magnificent mechanical marvels on the 19^th and 20^th of April to celebrate the 23^rd Hunter Valley Steamfest.

If you have some spare time and want to give something back to the community, if you enjoy helping people or want to experience the thrill of an engine travelling full steam ahead - Hunter Valley Steamfest has openings for you!

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Admin on January 16th, 2008
1 Comment »
Posted under: Maitland

Population explosion

Source: BRIONY SNEDDEN, The Maitland Mercury

Maitland is at the centre of a bigger-than-expected population explosion with predictions the city’s residents will number 102,597 in 2031.

Updated Hunter Valley Research Foundation projections show Maitland’s population will double based on an average annual growth rate of 2.14 per cent - increasing by about 2000 people each year until eclipsing 100,000 in 2030.

Maitland leads the Lower Hunter in population growth. Port Stephens is next with 1.64 per cent.

The Hunter’s regional population is projected to rise from 589,000 in 2006 to almost 710,000 in 2026.

The revised modelling, issued yesterday, incorporated the latest Census data, fertility rates, death rates and building approvals.

“There isn’t a great change in the average annual growth rate for the Hunter - but in Maitland, it’s very significant because it would mean the population would double in 30 years,” the foundation’s researcher Michael Jonita said.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Admin on November 7th, 2007
Leave a Comment »
Posted under: Maitland

Bitter and angry

Source: OLIVIA COLLINGS, The Maitland Mercury

Some Morpeth business owners, Christmas shoppers, tourists and residents have been left bitter and twisted after the weekend’s inaugural international boutique beer festival.

Maitland City Council vowed yesterday that the event would go ahead again in 2008 - but not in Morpeth.

Angry shop owners have complained they have been left out of pocket because their businesses were inside the festival’s fenced-off area along Swan Street.

Regular customers wanting to shop along Swan Street needed a special entry wristband or else had to pay the $15 entry fee to the festival.

Prominent business owner Trevor Richards pulled out of the festival only days before the start out of concern for his regular customers and the potential loss of income.

Mr Richards had supported the festival being a ticketed event when it was first announced in July, but dropped out after deciding the $15 entry fee might keep customers away.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Admin on November 7th, 2007
Leave a Comment »
Posted under: Maitland

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 Admin on October 23rd, 2007
Leave a Comment »
Posted under: Maitland