A new report's list of affordable suburbs reveals first home buyers in Sydney and Melbourne need to be searching as much as 100 kilometres from the CBD.

A man who attempted to abduct a woman on the NSW Central Coast on Sunday is believed to be the same person who sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl last month.

A new program supporting young innovators in regional Australia is launched by the ABC and the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development.

The father of a young girl who uses medicinal cannabis to treat her severe form of epilepsy vows to continue lobbying for law reform, after being found guilty of charges of possession and cultivation.

A man is charged with possessing a prohibited firearm after police find an MP40 submachine gun, the type of firearm used extensively by Nazi soldiers during World War II, in a car on the NSW Central Coast.

Regional communities are being touted as winners in this year's New South Wales budget, crowned by a Regional Growth Fund of more than $1 billion for projects to promote economic advancement outside of cities.

A year's worth of accumulated wisdom rests easy on the shoulders of current World Surf League ratings leader, Matt Wilkinson.

Police search for two men believed to be involved in a shooting on the New South Wales Central Coast today, in which a 22-year-old man died and another man was injured.

A 28-year-old man is charged with murder of Jayden Mason, who was found unconscious on a road on the NSW Central Coast last month, while two other men are arrested in connection with his death.

A taser is deployed as police seize two vehicles and raid properties after the arrest of three people over a fatal shooting at Wyong on the New South Wales Central Coast yesterday.

A fake doctor working at a Sydney hospital was detected as a fraud but allowed to continue working in the health system, an independent inquiry is told.

A NSW Central Coast man has been donning camouflage to attack girls, one as young as 12, with police describing the clothing worn in one attack as a ghillie suit.

Former Robertson MP Belinda Neal, who once told a fellow parliamentarian her baby would turn into a demon, is expelled from the Labor party over alleged branch stacking.

Dash cam vision shows a man punching a woman in the face in a suspected road rage incident on the New South Wales Central Coast, with the woman posting on social media she "smashed his window" after being hit.

A man is hit and killed by a garbage truck on the NSW Central Coast, with the driver left "significantly traumatised" as the men had become good friends over the years.

A man is charged over a road rage incident, captured on a mobile phone, on the New South Wales Central Coast

Police charge a 21-year-old woman over a road rage incident on the NSW Central Coast, after footage of the assault went viral and a 41-year-old man was also charged.

A man is taken to hospital after crashing an allegedly stolen truck full of donuts and flavoured milk into a family home on the Central Coast.

A third person is charged over a road rage incident on the central coast, which became viral on social media as it showed a man punching a woman in the face.

A private rideshare-style service to move people between their doorstep and the train station will be trialled in Sydney and on the Central Coast, the New South Wales Government announces.

NSW Police charge a man who allegedly wore a camouflage suit as he abducted and sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl while she was walking to school on the Central Coast three months ago.

A video posted on social media shows a man getting out of a vehicle, walking towards a woman as she stood next to her ute, and appearing to punch her in the face.

A Newcastle immunologist on trial for abusing dozens of women has argued vaginal and anal examinations he performed on patients were for medical, not sexual reasons.

Take a peak inside the pouch of the world's friendliest animal, with a baby quokka born far away from its native West Australian home Rottnest Island.

NSW Police say Lance Pearce is found dead inside his prison cell at Silverwater jail after being accused of strangling his ex-partner Blair Dalton, who later died in hospital.

One side of the tracks has brick homes with pools and watered lawns. Just 100 metres to the other side, generations have lived in an pre-war bush block labelled a "shantytown" with no water, sewerage or roads, underlining two-tier disadvantage in peri-urban Australia.

STAN GRANT, PRESENTER: Now, when I say the word shanty town, what springs to mind? A slum in India, a refugee camp?

Defending champions Sydney FC get their title defence off to a perfect start a 1-0 win over Melbourne Victory, while the Newcastle Jets demolish Central Coast Mariners 5-1.

The judge describes it as a murder "on a whim" as Rebels motorcycle club member John Richard Weston is sentenced to 34 years in jail for killing a man over a rare motorbike.

A woman suffers a suspected punctured lung after being stabbed by a man who breaks into her home on the New South Wales Central Coast.

Perth Glory get their first win of the season against the Mariners after Newcastle Jets beat Brisbane in a controversial game at Lang Park.

Natural disasters can have devastating effects on communities, with the ensuing financial and psychological pain taking years to ease, but being prepared can reduce the impact.

Sunday proves to be a day of A-League score draws as the Mariners hold Victory to a 1-1 draw after the Jets and Wanderers battle it out for the same scoreline.

The Brisbane Roar and Central Coast Mariners are still waiting for their first A-League wins this season after playing out an unremarkable 0-0 draw.

The Central Coast Mariners get their first win of the season and hand Sydney FC their first loss, to get round six underway in Gosford on Friday night.

The principal of three alternative schools in New South Wales says she will run them illegally if she is forced to close following a scathing report into their compliance.

Adelaide United travels to Gosford to meet Central Coast Mariners as it looks to break a three-match losing streak in the A-League. Follow all the live scores, stats and commentary.

Sydney FC go back on top of the ladder with a 3-1 win over Brisbane, after the Mariners surprise the Phoenix in Wellington.

Check your public transport timetable before leaving the house this week in Sydney and NSW as more than 9,000 new weekly train, bus and ferry services launch for the Greater Sydney network.

The NSW Government allocates $3 million to fund nine new palliative care specialists in health districts across regional NSW.

She hits the water at speeds of up to 80km/h and it scares her every single time she does it, but fear hasn't stopped cliff diver Rhiannan Iffland making an impact on the world stage.

The Video Assistant Referee has again been a focal point as the Western Sydney Wanderers recorded a 2-0 win over nine-man Central Coast Mariners.

Angry Mariners coach Paul Okon pledges to appeal against red cards handed to Wout Brama and Jake McGing from Saturday night's controversial loss, as the Video Assistant Referee yet again comes under the spotlight.

Review systems in sport are always controversial but Central Coast Mariners' coach Paul Okon's broadside against the Video Assistant Referee this weekend should not be dismissed out of hand, Richard Hinds writes.

Three men with links to the Rebels bikie gang are refused bail after being charged with the murder of a Central Coast man who was beaten so severely he spent two months in a coma before dying.