Inside the drug house where police found boy
Dan Proudman 10:24 AM The eight-year-old boy alleged to have been locked in a tiny room on a drug property has told police he was first thrown into the room three months ago for being naughty.
Latest NSW news
Ad agency defends 'stoner sloth' campaign
![The "Stoner Sloth" campaign has attracted attention around the world.](/web/20151227002440im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/u/x/1/s/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gluwrv.11bc3y.png/1451157999786.jpg)
Eamonn Duff 6:26 AM "Stoner Sloth" is costing taxpayers half a million dollars, but his creators claim he is worth every cent.
Children injured at trampoline parks
![Beau Yates, 9, broke his arm at Sky Zone trampoline park. There has been a spike of injuries involving children at such parks, doctors say.](/web/20151227002440im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/v/1/2/h/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glukks.11bc3y.png/1451154288417.jpg)
Harriet Alexander 5:23 AM As far as kids' activities go, the warning is about as ominous as they come with risks including serious injury and death.
Shortage of playing fields hits Saturday cricket
![Youngsters start early at a holiday cricket camp run by Geoff Spotswood at Lindfield Oval.](/web/20151227002440im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/u/m/7/1/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glu8op.11bc3y.png/1451128685062.jpg)
Julie Power 12:15 AM There's nothing like the sound of leather on willow on a Saturday morning – players dressed in white, padded up and ready for an all-day session – to conjure up the past. But that's rapidly becoming history.
Catholics defend $55 million a year program
![St Joseph's Primary reading recovery teacher Narelle Cartwright with a pupil.](/web/20151227002440im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/u/r/c/v/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glukxu.11bc3y.png/1451128685062.jpg)
Eryk Bagshaw, Alexandra Smith 12:15 AM One of the state's largest school networks has defended an under-fire program designed to help children with reading problems.
2016: a big year for Sydney anniversaries
![Movie director Alfred Hitchcock at Taronga Park zoo in 1960.](/web/20151227002440im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/e/7/f/0/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gl40to.11bc3y.png/1451137436676.jpg)
Tim Barlass 12:15 AM It will be a big year of anniversaries for some of Sydney's main institutions in 2016. We look at where some of main birthday celebrations will be.
Uber: prices set to soar on New Year's Eve
![Uber fares are set to rise by 2.5-3.5 times the normal price over New Year's Eve.](/web/20151227002440im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/k/w/v/k/9/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gld3ka.11bc3y.png/1451170187757.jpg)
James Silver 9:49 AM Newly legalised Uber has offered no apologies for its inflated pricing system, meaning prices are set to soar in Sydney on New Year's Eve.
Two children critically injured in car crash
![The impact left the car crushed and spread suitcases and belongings in the grass.](/web/20151227002440im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/v/8/n/o/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glv8x1.11bc3y.png/1451162628767.jpg)
Louise Thrower and Georgina Mitchell 7:43 AM Two boys have been airlifted to hospital in a critical condition after a car crashed into a tree south of Goulburn on Saturday afternoon.
Man, 19, found dead in yard of home
![Victoria Police](/web/20151227002440im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/2/c/h/g/v/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glv7xy.11bc3y.png/1451128685062.jpg)
Georgina Mitchell 8:26 PM A 19-year-old man has been found dead in the yard of a Wollongong home.
What really happens at a 5am sale
![Bargain hunters: Emma Spencer and her husband John Castellano.](/web/20151227002440im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/v/3/5/n/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glv336.11bc3y.png/1451138202532.jpg)
Lucy Cormack 12:56 AM More than 300 shoppers lined up outside the Elizabeth Street David Jones store on Saturday, all waiting for the big gold bell to herald the start of the annual Boxing Day sales.
Comanche takes the lead in Sydney to Hobart
![Tight tussle: Super-maxi Comanche, centre, battles it out with Perpetual Loyal and Wild Oats XI.](/web/20151227002440im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/v/5/8/o/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glv4d2.11bc3y.png/1451128685062.jpg)
Jamie Marcuson 3:44 PM Comanche leads the 71st Sydney to Hobart race after a blistering performance that left her rivals far behind in her wake at the sea-mark.
In an instant, Matt Tudor's life changed
![Matt Tudor, 30m sits in his wheelchair in Westmead hospital as he recovers from injuries he got in car accident October this year where his two children also suffered injuries that have changed the family's lives forever.](/web/20151227002440im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/t/k/9/y/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gluf1i.11bc3y.png/1451128685062.jpg)
Rachel Olding In a split second, Matt Tudor's life changed completely.
'The boy, we hardly ever saw him'
![Another view of the trapdoor, on a property near Taree.](/web/20151227002440im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/u/c/q/c/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glupup.11bc3y.png/1451128685062.jpg)
Dan Proudman Neighbours of a family accused of keeping an eight-year-old boy locked in a tiny room within a farm shed have told how they rarely saw the child despite seeing his siblings.
Man falls to death from rock ledge
![Clontarf](/web/20151227002440im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/i/q/y/2/5/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glunbu.11bc3y.png/1451128685062.jpg)
Megan Levy A man has died after falling from a rock ledge while gardening at a home on Sydney's north shore, police say.
'He had three Mercs and a Land Rover'
!["He was not out there getting dirty," neighbours said of Mr McCarthy.](/web/20151227002440im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/u/t/q/z/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glurip.11bc3y.png/1451128685062.png)
Melanie Kembrey, Megan Levy Michael Gerard McCarthy's neighbours noticed the flashy cars he drove, the fine clothing he wore and the helpers he hired to do work around the house.
The teenagers on the bushfire frontline
![Aaron McDonald, 14, from Gunnedah SES and Firefighters.](/web/20151227002440im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/t/v/z/e/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gl5e4m.11bc3y.png/1451128685062.jpg)
Michael Koziol Around the state, the next generation of firefighters and rescue workers are donning their gear and getting ready to defend their communities.
Noise rules put homes near Badgerys at stake
![The federal government has said noise at Badgerys Creek will be less than at Sydney Airport and residents are unlikely to hear noise greater than passing car.](/web/20151227002440im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/s/c/k/j/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glu41m.11bc3y.png/1451128685062.jpg)
James Robertson A new noise standard has cast doubt on the construction of 10,000 homes near Badgerys Creek airport.
How to sell a dodgy diploma: whistleblower
![Whistleblower: Mitchell Broadstock.](/web/20151227002440im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/u/2/3/1/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glttm6.11bc3y.png/1451128685062.jpg)
Eryk Bagshaw Homeless and with a pregnant girlfriend, 19-year-old Mitchell Broadstock was looking for a chance when a private college network offered him a job.
Alleged terror plotters had Islamic flag
![Mohamed Almaouie is arrested by police.](/web/20151227002440im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/t/z/7/4/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glu9jv.11bc3y.png/1451128685062.jpg)
Rachel Olding The arrests brought to seven the number of men allegedly planning to attack police buildings and a naval base.
Want a station nearby? You should pay for it
![The Committee for Sydney says a 'residential area levy' could be used to fund a light rail route through Green Square.](/web/20151227002440im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/k/k/x/u/c/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gltypq.11bc3y.png/1451128685062.jpg)
Melanie Kembrey If you benefit from living near public transport, you should help pay for it, one high-profile Sydney committee says.
Health ad splurge decried as ‘indefensible’
![Opposition health spokesman Walt Secord and Opposition Leader Luke Foley.](/web/20151227002440im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/3/e/v/h/l/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glt6ag.11bc3y.png/1451128685062.jpg)
Harriet Alexander The Baird government has been accused of spending $5.2 million to divert attention from overstretched hospitals.