Towns record their driest summer in years
LUCY CARROLL Sydney notched up its driest January in more than a decade this month, with most of the state left parched and facing little rainfall for the rest of summer.
Latest NSW news
Female teacher quits top Catholic boys school
Anne Davies A teacher has resigned from one of the north shore's leading Catholic boys schools, St Aloysius College, after an internal investigation revealed she had been having "inappropriate relationships" with a number of year 12 boys.
SA abuse claims failed to go to court
PAUL BIBBY 2:24pm Dozens of alleged rapes and indecent assaults against boys at a Salvation Army home in southern Sydney that were reported to police years later never came to court because of reluctance to "fish for victims".
Bood-alcohol level set at .15 for 'intoxication'
6:17pm People will be found to be "intoxicated" under the NSW government's proposed new one-punch laws if they have a blood-alcohol level equivalent to those of people charged with high-range drink driving offences.
Venues face music as boundaries are drawn
NICOLE HASHAM They are the black lines on a map that may determine the financial fortunes and late-night ambience at a host of popular Sydney pubs.
Councils to separate climate threats
JULIE POWER In an overhaul of the state's planning rules regarding the rise in sea levels, the NSW government will tell councils to separate immediate threats such as storms from longer-term threats caused by climate change.
Buses big killers of pedestrians in CBD
Jacob Saulwick, Megan Levy 4:35pm Almost half of all pedestrians killed in road collisions in Sydney's central business district in the past decade died after being struck by buses.
Eastern Distributor opens again
4:57pm A truck that blocked a tunnel on Sydney’s Eastern Distributor for hours has been removed and traffic returned to normal.
Transport
Cootes loses trucking contract following crash
MATT O'SULLIVAN 10:56am The Victorian trucking company involved in a fatal fuel tanker crash in Sydney’s northern beaches late last year has lost a major contract to supply Shell petrol stations across the country.
Woman trapped under bus in CBD dies
8:22am A woman who was hit by a bus and trapped for two hours on Wednesday afternoon has died. The 53-year-old suffered critical injuries but died in hospital.
Scott died swimming in Hawkesbury River
10:53am A friend of a man who drowned in the Hawkesbury River at Windsor says the 25-year-old was attempting to swim to the other river bank when he simply "went under".
Brother 4 Life insignia banned
12:43pm A ban on bikies wearing club insignia from entering pubs and clubs in Kings Cross will be extended to include the notorious Sydney gang Brothers 4 Life.
Mining companies set to get fees refund
12:43pm Potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees are set to be refunded to two mining companies in a bid to head off legal challenges to the NSW government's decision to tear up their lucrative mining licences.
Warnings on north-west rail link plan ignored
The O'Farrell government was told it would save $200 million from building the north-west rail link with smaller tunnels - a decision that will mean the new line will never be able to run double-deck trains with more seats.
Former manager sues Woolworths for $1.3m
A woman who claims she was sexually harassed by her former boss at a Sydney Woolworths is suing the company for $1.3 million, claiming she developed post-traumatic stress disorder and attempted suicide as a result of his behaviour.
George skips into kindergarten life
Having now parted and reunited with her daughter Maia at the gates of Stanmore Public School hundreds of times, the first day of year 2 felt fairly routine for Maria Kyriacou.
Record numbers cause headaches
LUCY CARROLL About 100 NSW medical graduates are likely to miss out on internships this year, despite a record number of junior doctors landing jobs at the state's public hospitals.
Decades before plans to stop chaos kick in
JACOB SAULWICK Transport planners inside the state government are working on a fix for the crippling congestion along Military Road and to Sydney's northern beaches - by 2036.
New laws set to increase prison population
Sean Nicholls, Anna Patty A Sydney barrister who advised the O'Farrell government in opposition has attacked its proposed mandatory minimum sentences for alcohol-related violent crime as ''reactionary'' and doomed to fail.
Health Minister pushes overhaul to cut 'waste'
DAN HARRISON Health Minister Peter Dutton says new figures showing an escalation in health spending demonstrate why the government must cut ''waste'' in health.
Union veteran received death threats
A building union stalwart says he received death threats after he tried to stop his union's dealings with a Sydney crime figure, as mounting revelations see the PM poised to announce a royal commission on union corruption.
One-punch laws: legislation delayed
Anna Patty, Sean Nicholls New ''one-punch'' laws are proving difficult to implement and the government has been forced to delay the introduction of mandatory sentencing for serious assaults until the end of next month.
Public servants face fresh assault on wages
ANNA PATTY Salaries are under further threat from the O'Farrell government, which is determined to claw back money from public servants under its controversial wages cap.
ICAC finds assessor corrupt
A former heavy vehicle competency assessor who solicited and received kickbacks for falsifying drivers' log books engaged in corrupt conduct, the Independent Commission Against Corruption has found.
Gatsby would have danced all right - Luhrmann's epic wins 13 awards
Just as it did at the box office around the world, The Great Gatsby has triumphed at the country's main film and television awards.
Dilute the nightlife concentration to surrounding areas
I own a licensed premises about five minutes' walk outside the new Sydney central business district entertainment precinct. My pub is licensed to trade until midnight.
VIDEO
Bus death: 'don't rush, be safe'
A business owner next to the site of where a woman was killed by a bus in Sydney's CBD pleads for people to be careful on the road.
Truck stuck in Sydney tunnel
Major delays are expected after a truck became jammed in a tunnel on the Eastern Distributor in Sydney, Thursday morning. Nine News.
Body recovered from Hawkesbury River
Scott Mackenzie was swimming in the river with friends before getting into difficulty around 6pm Wednesday night. Nine News.
Bus victim's ordeal was 'harrowing'
Witness John Preston tells 2UE's Garry Linnell of the moment a woman was caught under a bus in Sydney's CBD on Wednesday.
Woman trapped under bus dies
A woman who was trapped under a bus for two hours in Sydney's CBD on Wednesday has died in hospital. Nine News.
Woman trapped under bus
RAW VISION: Paramedics are working to free a woman trapped under a bus in Clarence Street in the city.
Targeted shooting in Sydney's west
Police investigate a possible targeted attack after a 38-year-old man was shot in the shoulder in Smithfield on Tuesday night. Nine News.