Sydney news

Toormina went into lock down yesterday on reports of an escaped convict

Bold plans are underway to transform a South Australian country road into a "purple haze", with thousands of blooming jacaranda trees to create a tourist attraction.

A man who allegedly crashed a stolen car in a head-on collision then hijacked a second car at the accident scene is under police guard in hospital.

Jason Day caps a remarkable season by taking out the inaugural Greg Norman Medal for Australia's best-performing international golfer.

Firefighters continue to battle a blaze in a scrap metal yard in Townsville, with authorities concerned the thick smoke could affect air quality in the city.

Sugar milling companies and cane grower groups are engaged in last ditch lobbying efforts as the clock ticks down to a vote on new legislation in Queensland Parliament.

Police using anti-firearms powers raid the western Sydney home of the man accused of supplying the gun a teenage terrorist used to kill police employee Curtis Cheng.

The ACT Government looks to expand its cat containment program to Jerrabomberra Wetlands and Casey.

Looters target bushfire survivors in South Australia's Mid North after last week's deadly fires, as recovery workers warn that residents may refuse help fearing theft.

Newcastle's lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes says she is grateful for a meeting with the Premier that allowed her to broach the subject of proposed council amalgamations.

A woman from Gundagai in southern New South Wales says a hill is set to be blasted away to expand a dump for waste from the Tumut pulp and paper mill.

Sydney FC fans have added their voice to the growing dispute between A-League supporters and the FFA by vowing to boycott matches.

A former Air Force firefighter, who used the toxic foam at the centre of the Williamtown contamination crisis, says he had been assured by chemical giant 3M it was "safe enough to drink".

The company behind a new bauxite mine in Campbell Town blames Malaysian competition for its TasRail contract breaches.

The developer of the community private hospital in Griffith says it was always clear more fundraising would be needed.

A council in the western region is concerned a plan to keep schools partially open during an agricultural show could threaten the event's viability.

The NRL and its 16 clubs will carve up the spoils of rugby league's record TV deal at a meeting at Rugby League Central.

History could be made when a 1,300-metre long grain train enters Newcastle port this evening.

A police operation is underway in Merrylands in Sydney's west.

Newcastle Railway Station is unlikely to be turned into a regional fresh food market, with the majority of locals against the proposal.

Authorities are ramping up efforts to improve the health of a water catchment in the Lithgow district that runs into Sydney's drinking supply.

An energy company says it is hoping remediation works at a former Newcastle gasworks site will enable it to be developed in the future.

Private health services are set to bolstered in the Hunter region, with the expansion of a custom-built rehabilitation unit.

The Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop has told Federal Parliament the government is taking the Williamtown contamination issue seriously.

Newcastle's lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes is confident discussion surrounding the delegation of powers at council will lead to a more streamlined organisation.

Former Test keeper Brad Haddin has dismissed the West Indies' hopes this summer despite admitting Mitchell Starc's injury will "make a difference".

Police charge a woman with murder after a woman's body was found under a bridge at Tathra on the NSW far south coast.

Carnivals in city streets, performances in laundromats and interactive shows are just a taste of what audiences can expect at next year's Adelaide Fringe Festival.

Bathurst residents are being urged to have their say on controversial plans to sell the city's treated effluent to a proposed mine near Blayney.

TAFE says it has identified a possible site for its campus in Bourke after structural problems forced its administrative areas to move.

Vignerons in the Denman area suspect spray drift from the noxious herbicide 24D may be affecting local grape yields.

The Red and Black Bloc has pledged to boycott the Wanderers' clash with Brisbane in its entirety, a step up from Sunday's mid-match walkout in Gosford.

'Sexting' is so prolific in the Cootamundra Local Area Command in south-western New South Wales, one family has left the district after an image of their daughter went viral.

It has been revealed the Federal Government began moves to protect a Hunter Valley woodland, the day before a major mine expansion was approved in the area.

Police charge a man with murder after another man is hit and killed by a truck on the Gateway Motorway, in Brisbane's south.

Museum curators catalogue items left behind on a small fishing boat that shocked authorities when it arrived undetected off Western Australia's coast in 2013 loaded with Sri Lankan asylum seekers.

There are calls for a widened investigation into Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi to be concluded as soon as possible, with the Opposition concerned the ongoing saga is tarnishing the council's reputation.

The mother of Kate Malonyay, who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend, says the Navy is yet to make contact with her after honouring her daughter's killer with a military funeral in 2013.

A man is questioned by police after a pedestrian was hit and killed by a truck on the Gateway Motorway, south of Brisbane.

A man hands himself in to police over a fatal hit-and-run at Oakey on the Darling Downs.

On the New South Wales Central Coast to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Dunbar Way housing estate, the Premier was comfortable chatting with the estate's residents.

A 15-year-old boy dies in hospital a day after the car he was travelling in with three other teenagers crashed into a truck in Melbourne's north.

At two football fields long and with 112 different sections, a video game is helping sailors on board Australia's newest warship, the NUSHIP Adelaide, learn their way around.

The International Cricket Council confirms Nathan Lyon should have been given out on review the day-night Test, with third umpire Nigel Llong getting it wrong.

Queensland's Crime and Corruption Commission charges two more people with money laundering and fraud offences over alleged "boiler room" scams on the Gold Coast.

A replacement is announced for a former vice chancellor at WA's Murdoch University who became embroiled in an investigation by the state's corruption watchdog last year.

The Red and Black Bloc has pledged to boycott the Wanderers' clash with Brisbane in its entirety, a step up from Sunday's mid-match walkout in Gosford.

A fire in a pile of scrap metal and plastic rubbish is sending huge plumes of black smoke over Townsville in north Queensland.

After bringing up two children with disabilities in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Jo Russell says misguided attitudes are still a challenge for families and carers

Inspired by renowned philosopher and author Peter Singer, a couple in Yandoit in central Victoria has decided to embrace the global movement of effective altruism as part of their business practice.