11 minute read
Women in Business - Cath Fowler
by Focus
TALKING
DESTINATION
with FIONA BARDEN
FROM COFFS CITY COUNCIL
The Easter holidays are upon us, so we’ve rounded up some fantastic ways to discover the Coffs Coast. Get out and about in our beautiful region, support local businesses, and enjoy spending time with friends and family.
Kids QR Quest Magazine A brand new way for the whole family to find the fun all across the Coffs Coast! This first-of-its-kind publication has been developed by local animator David Knight, in collaboration with Council’s Destination Coffs Coast team. It combines a kids’ magazine packed with 17 games, quests and colouring-in pages, with QR codes that make it super easy and fun to interact with the activities. The QR Quest magazine has been ‘roadtested’ on several Coffs Coast kids with great success. The only problem they had was getting the magazine to themselves… because Mum and Dad love the games too!
Coffs City Centre Block Party
Coffs City Centre is set to shine with an evening of music, shopping, food and entertainment from 4pm on Friday April 8 – supported by the NSW Government, the Live Music Office, Coffs Harbour Chamber of Commerce, and Council. Block Party is free and the perfect night out for the family – and a great way to celebrate the start of the school holidays! Your favourite CBD businesses will open their doors into the evening and showcase the some of Coffs’ best Live & Local musicians. Book a table for dinner and watch the City Centre light up as the sun sets. There’ll be market stalls plus free activities for the kids. Find out more on the Coffs City Centre Facebook page.
Coffs Coast EcoQuest
It’s time for the kids to get outside and find the fun on a real-world adventure – introduce them to Coffs Coast EcoQuest! Using an app created by environmental scientists, kids are encouraged to become ‘citizen scientists’ and open their eyes to the amazing and beautiful life all around. This free, fun, outdoor interactive game helps gather information about the biodiversity of our region, all while collecting points for yourself or your team. Simply download the app, snap a photo of a plant, insect, animal, bird or fish and upload. You can start playing Coffs Coast EcoQuest from anywhere on the Coffs Coast – your backyard, beach or bush – you never know what you’ll discover! Think of it as the Pokémon GO of the natural world. vouchers? The June 30 deadline to use them is fast approaching. It’s a great idea to make a commitment to spend these at a local restaurant, café or attraction you haven’t been to before. Discover something new, treat yourself and support a local
Have you used all business – it’s a winning your Dine & combination! Discover vouchers? The Find the Fun on June 30 deadline to use coffscoast.com them is fast approaching. Find local tourism It’s a great idea to make a businesses, events commitment to spend and activities to these at a local enjoy, all listed on restaurant, café or www.coffscoast.com attraction you haven’t been to before. Horseriding on the beach? Paddling the Orara River? Trekking to a waterfall? Getting a fishy kiss from a seal? Snorkelling the Solitary Island Marine Park… it’s all there to explore and much more!
#ECOcoffscoast #CoffsCoast #PlaceOfPlenty #OurPlaceIsGreat
Dine & Discover
Have you used all your Dine & Discover
STATE OF PLAY
with
COFFS HARBOUR MP GURMESH SINGH
The North Coast of NSW is one of the best places to live on the planet. We have beaches that are the envy of the world, a clean and unpolluted environment, lush rainforests, prosperity and, most importantly, weather that is near perfect year-round.
But occasionally, the weather can turn on us violently. At the end of February, a low pressure system had settled over the north east of the state and resulted in days of heavy rain culminating in the worst flooding we have ever experienced. Communities from the upper Clarence River catchment west of Coffs Harbour all the way north to Gympie in Queensland saw water levels rise rapidly, cutting off properties at first, then whole towns, cities and regions. In the immediate aftermath, I took an aerial tour of the region with the Premier and was shocked seeing villages I’ve known my whole life, like Woodburn, almost completely submerged. The following day, the road to Lismore opened and I joined some volunteers to take food into an organisation that was cooking and distributing food in central Lismore. On the approach to Lismore we passed the airport, and the first real sign of the damage was a plane lying on its roof on the side of the road. Presumably, this plane had been carried from the airport and placed here by the flood waters. From this point into town, the debris was beginning to pile up on the side of the road. Although I had seen pictures of the devastation on the TV, nothing can prepare you for the sheer scale of what the flooding did to that city. I had arranged to meet a friend who was helping clean out a house near where Leycester Creek meets Wilsons River. The houses along that strip had been flooded about 2m into the second storey, so all of their possessions were damaged and had to be removed. Driving through Lismore was reminiscent of the footage you see of a war-torn European city after World War 2. Piles of flood debris taller than the truck cabin lined the streets on both sides. Further downstream, towns like Coraki and Woodburn were cut off by road for nearly a week after the floods began. The clean-up is still continuing and the recovery has now begun. These communities will no doubt never be the same. The enormity of the recovery phase means it will take years. Government grants have started to flow with several tranches of funding already announced with more to come. But it will take more than money to rebuild the Northern Rivers. It will take hope. It will take courage. And it will rely on us all pulling together to support our neighbours as best we
can. Tragedy often brings out the best in people and the best has been displayed over the last few weeks. Support has come from far and wide and the generosity of Australians has been overwhelming. Standing together in times of trouble is what this nation is renowned for.
Our chance for change in Cowper
Carolyn ‘Caz’ Heise has set her sights on becoming the first woman and the first Independent to be elected as the Member for Cowper. She wants to return power to the people and secure a better future for everyone.
Caz Heise is no stranger to working hard to meet challenges head on.
She moved from Tamworth to Bellingen after leaving school and had her daughter Elora and son Issac while working in the social services sector and studying to become a registered nurse.
A passion for further education led her to eventually gain a Master of Business degree.
Caz has served as the North Coast Manager for Mission Australia and the Director of the The Mid North Coast Cancer Institute.
She was managing a multi-million dollar budget and thousands of staff as the Director of Nursing and Midwifery at the Coffs Harbour Health Campus when she was diagnosed with cancer in 2019.
She is now cancer-free and serves as a non-paid director on the board of the Cancer Council of New South Wales.
Caz says her decision to run as a community Independent candidate was actually quite easy.
At the core of Caz’s election campaign are the concepts of respect and fairness.
“The lack of respectful political leadership is why many people don’t feel they are equal, valued or have the same opportunities to thrive.
“ We need political leadership which shows real respect for women, for First Nations people, for our elderly, disabled and disadvantaged, and for those who are different.
“We need politicians who respect science, transparency and honesty, and we need decision making based on facts, fairness and merit rather than party political gain.
“We need to restore integrity to politics to eliminate the waste, the lies, rorts and favours for rich mates which is now par for the course.
“As a nurse and senior health manager, Master of Business and board director I know how to fix our health, aged and disability care systems, address climate change, support seniors and families, grow business, create real new jobs and uplift women.
“I want to do what needs to be done because it’s the right thing to do.” Because I have chosen not to be supported by a party I’m not constrained by party politics and nor am I a puppet to big industry. I answer only to the Cowper community and to my conscience.
www.caz4cowper.com.au
Authorised by Carolyn Heise, Independent Cowper Pty Ltd. 65 Hickory Street, Dorrigo, NSW 2453.
focus_contributor.
REAL
ESTATE
with CHRIS HINES
FROM UNREAL ESTATE
CURB APPEAL MATTERS WHEN SELLING REAL ESTATE
First impressions matter most. This is one concept that many homeowners trying to sell their homes and first time property investors trying to sell or rent property fail to understand. Curb appeal is the first impression when it comes to a house. This is the place that you as an investor or seller want those driving buy to think of as home. For this reason you should pay careful attention and spend some degree of time and effort making the outside of the home inviting and appealing to potential buyers or renters.
One of the first things that people will notice is crumbling paint and bland or tired and faded colours on the exterior. Cladding is often inviting because it is easily cleaned and reinvigorated. It also happens to be fairly low maintenance, which often appeals to buyers and renters alike. There are those however who will argue that cladding detracts from the potential personality of a home. To each his or her own in this, as it is a personal decision on behalf of the buyer and the seller. Regardless, a clean and crisp paint job or cladding makes a much better impression than an apparent state of disrepair.
Remember those first impressions are important. If the outside of the home is rather unimpressive potential buyers are quite likely to discover the diamond that is the inside of your home. Another thing you can do to add curb appeal is to plant low maintenance flowers and plants around the exterior of your home. You do not want to invest in plants that require constant care nor do you want to seriously invest in plants that are going to grow out of control and look unwieldy. At least you do not want to plant these around the exterior of your home that is facing the road. Bushes and climbing vines do well in many cases along fences that surround the property however, or as a dividing privacy line between your property and neighbouring properties.
If you live in an area that isn’t conducive to green grass you may want to consider some sort of hybrid that can thrive with less water or choose some form of landscaping that doesn’t rely on large open patches of grass in order to be beautiful. The point is to make the house as attractive and low maintenance on the outside as you hope those viewing the property will find the inside.
Another thing to keep in mind when making the upgrades is to clean the footpaths and driveway if it is concrete. It is amazing what a high power pressure washer can do to your sidewalks, driveway, and/or front verandas. Don’t stop there however; take the time to make sure your doors and windows are clean as well. These little things often make the biggest impression. If you care properly for the exterior of your home and keep it nice and shiny chances are (in the buyer’s mind) that you will have taken the same care of the inside of the home that they are quite possibly now considering. Taking the extra time to insure that the outside of your home is attractive to buyers can translate into higher and quicker offers than neglecting the essential real estate between the front door and the curb. Do not overlook this powerful piece of advice and you should enjoy a little more success in your efforts to sell your home or investment property.
