Smithton is a world away from his birthplace in rural Pakistan, but Ochre Health’s new GP feels instantly at home.  “I’ve just moved here and I’m enjoying it,'' Dr Syed Kazmi said.  “I’m a village man myself. I grew up in a village, and studied in a village, before I went to medical school in the city. I walk every day and it’s very friendly, everybody says hello and I’m starting to...

A push to trial no trace waste at the Green Point Reserve in Marrawah has been met with severe concerns by locals, who say that the current system is already overloaded as it is. Currently there are five wheelie bins present at the Green Point Reserve, which features a carpark, barbecue shelter, playground and toilets at the beach’s access point. These wheelie bins are emptied fortnightly and...

Opposition to fish farming around Tasmania has increased steadily in recent months, as proven by a Surf Not Salmon paddleout event hosted by Surfrider Tasmania on Sunday at Godfreys Beach. More than 200 people from across the north west attended the event, gathering in protest to potential fish farm developments off the coast of Stanley. Protestors travelled all the way from Marrawah and from...

The Smithton Rotary Club has kindly donated $2500 to fund upgrades to the play equipment at the Blackberry Inn. The equipment is being relocated to a more convenient and easier supervised location on the oval out the front of the facility, with the old spaced to be used for overflow parking. “They approached us, they saw that we had had the band and everything and that we had been advertising...

Smithton Boy Jacob Furphy has shown plenty of promise throughout his short career and it is paying dividends already, being named Captain of the Tasmanian Under 16s basketball team before the tournament was cancelled. Set to take place in Perth, the competition was thrown into jeopardy given the recent COVID-19 spike, with WA slowly shutting its borders to the various states, with teams...