Friday, April 16, 2021: Top stories from the Newcastle Herald, your trusted voice in the Hunter

The state government and the NSW Wine Association have joined forces in a history-making Memorandum of Understanding that will help open new multi-million dollar export markets for the Hunter's wine makers. A man remained in hospital under guard yesterday after he allegedly hit a police officer with a trail bike on a busy stretch of road at Maitland on Wednesday night. Newcastle council wants to build a second access road into the Summerhill Waste Management Centre which it says could save it and other Lower Hunter councils hundreds of millions of dollars over coming decades. MEREWETHER'S Morgan Cibilic gets another chance to enhance his reputation as a World Surf League giant-killer when he contests the Narrabeen Classic, which starts today. Work has officially started on the "missing link" of shared pathway at the end of the Fernleigh Track, which is set to create a 27km active transport route from Adamstown to Murrays Beach.