Plus - the Premier backs calls for an appeal of the jail term handed to the killer of Newcastle mother Mackenzie Anderson

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Data from the annual street count shows a rise year-on-year. 

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Also today - nine new police officers start across the Hunter today. 

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The southbound lanes remain closed between Ourimbah and Mount White

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Southbound lanes are closed between Ourimbah and Mount White as a major clean-up operation plays out. 

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It's the largest single cohort to do so in more than a decade. 

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The EPA has confirmed chemicals were discovered in every bird tested following that tragic event earlier this year. 

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Also - EPA confirm pesticides present in tests following mass bird deaths in Newcastle in March. 

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Hunter Water are in repair mode as we speak. 

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Newcastle face South Sydney at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday. 

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