Our Team

Chris Oldfield  |  Founding Journalist & Team Mentor

Chris is our founding journalist, our first to create our hyper-local content.

Chris grew up on a farm near Lucindale where she still lives today. With tertiary studies in real estate, psychology and agriculture, an award winning career in journalism started in 1992.

Married to David, they have two daughters, two son in laws and five beautiful grandchildren. 

Retiring from full time journalism in 2013, Chris was never going to set foot in a council chamber again. That was until she was approached by a mystery investor and met Michael Waite who wanted to start a newspaper in the midst of a global pandemic.

Of course she could help! And the rest is history. 

Nasik Swami | Journalist

Nasik is a political journalist and our newest team member.

Nasik grew up in a rural settlement on the eastern side of the main island of Viti Levu in Fiji and has worked in the media, public relations, and communications industry for more than 10 years.

He holds a master’s degree in international relations and diplomacy and is passionate about storytelling, which educates, informs, uncovers, shapes public perception, and triggers interest and emotions.

Nasik was the recipient of the 2017 Fiji Media Watch Group National Writers Award.

Married to Sonnia, they have a son.

Nasik loves listening to music, long road trips, and family time.

Laura Bockman | Admin Superstar

As a newbie to the newspaper industry, Laura has embraced her role with Naracoorte Community News. Whilst a Paramedic degree and long time career with the SA Ambulance Service is not the usual pathway, when Michael asked if she wanted to help out at the paper she said ‘why not!’.
Laura is responsible for the accounts, production and administrative tasks at The News.
Laura has a busy sporting family and when she is not out on the netball court herself, she loves watching her kids play their many sports.

With a career spanning over 30 years in Graphic Design, Amanda has worked at The Border Watch, The South Eastern Times, The Penola Pennant, The MSE Budget, as owner/operator of a boutique graphic design/web design service in the South East, and now as part of the team at the Naracoorte News.

While graphic design has always been the basis of her career, Amanda also has delved into eduction, aged care and hospitality.

Never one to shy away from an adventure, she loves the South East and has never imagined living anywhere else.

Kim Batchelor | Sales Leader

Kim moved to the South East of South Australia nearly 25 years ago; working within the agricultural sector for the majority of that time before moving into sales in 2018.

She absolutely loves living in Naracoorte, and the Limestone Coast region.

She enjoys being able to walk down the street for her daily coffee fix (where her local cafe knows her order off by heart), and saying hello to the familiar faces along the way.

In her spare time she also enjoys visiting the nearby wine regions, including the Coonawarra.

Trish Morton | Sales

coming soon . . .

Michael Waite | Founder & Volunteer

Michael was born and raised in Naracoorte, however has spent the last 20 or so years living and working overseas.

Michael’s background is in business operations, applications, finance and accounting. Michael and his wife, Whitney, and their three daughters were based in Seattle, Washington USA until June 2019.

Whilst on a family trip around the world, Michael’s Mum Sue was diagnosed with cancer and COVID-19 hit, which brought him home to Naracoorte.

With no prior experience in the world of newspapers, Michael recognised the community’s need for a printed weekly newspaper and started the Naracoorte Community News. From idea to print in 20 days, he partnered with founding investors, team members, and service providers to deliver the first issue on 6 May 2020.

Alison Fraser