The former rugby league star pleads not guilty to two counts of aggravated sexual assault against a 26-year-old woman in the NSW Hunter Valley and tells reporters outside court it's been "a very hard time" for his family.

Former Dean of Newcastle Graeme Lawrence is convicted over the aggravated sexual assault of a 15-year-old boy, after a judge found his evidence was not credible.

A champion surf lifesaver who was paralysed in a surfing accident while on holidays with friends last year has taken her first steps with the aid of a sci-fi-like robotic suit.

A post-prison release service in far-western NSW blames delays at the Newcastle morgue for a spike in ice benders by some of its grief-stricken Aboriginal clients waiting up to six weeks to bury loved ones.

An openly gay and Christian psychologist says gay conversion therapy nearly killed him and some of his clients and the sooner it is outlawed the better.

A controversial plan to reopen a 'mothballed' coal mine in the New South Wales Upper Hunter Valley is approved, but a five-year extension on the mine's life is denied.

Jervis Bay one of Australia's world-renowned coastal tourist hotspots, celebrated for its idyllic white beaches, nearly became home to Australia's first nuclear power plant.

Senior members of the Nomads bikie gang are sentenced over their participation in a criminal group, during a period of what the prosecutor described as "extreme" and "unpredictable" violence across the Hunter region.

The drought is dragging on but this Walgett cafe is bucking the trend and expanding and is the shot in the arm this little town needs.

MORNING BRIEFING: NSW Police arrest a man in Guildford over the shooting murder of Parramatta FC soccer player John Odisho, while Barnaby Joyce leads an anti-abortion rally in Martin Place.

A mothballedNSWHunterValley coal-firedpowerstationis to be re-commissioned and the new owners say it willbecleaner andgreenerthanitwas beforeitshutdownfive yearsago.

Firefighters are protecting properties in Belmont, south of Newcastle, as a bushfire fanned by strong winds continues to burn near homes.

A 26-year-old woman is charged with 11 offences after allegedly stabbing members of the public, as well as her daughter, in Salamander Bay near Port Stephens.

The United Wambo coal mine in the NSW Hunter Valley gets the go-ahead, but on the condition that its coal can only be exported to countries that have ratified the Paris climate agreement.

Homicide detectives say 29-year-old Danielle Easey, whose body was discovered wrapped in plastic in a creek near Lake Macquarie at the weekend, had become involved in drugs and was likely killed in mid-August.

Danielle Easey's relatives share tributes on social media after her body was found wrapped in plastic and dumped in a creek in the NSW Hunter Region, as police search for clues about when and why she was killed.

One family has been dairying for 100 years and another is getting back in the game. What is it that keeps them so keen in a struggling industry?

Findings from a probe into alleged cover-ups of child abuse within the Catholic Church in NSW have identified credibility issues among members of its upper echelons.

The search for four men and a woman missing feared dead after a helicopter vanished from radar north of Newcastle will continue after earlier bad weather halted the operation.

While the search continues for five missing people who are feared dead off the NSW coast, one male has been confirmed by the Australian Defence Force as Warrant Officer Gregory Miller.

Two men on trial over a 700kg cocaine importation racket used encrypted mobile phones to help arrange for the drugs to be sailed from Tahiti to Australia, a court hears.

A court has heard Border Force and NSW and federal police officers formed a human chain to unload hundreds of bricks of cocaine from a catamaran linked to an international drug syndicate.

The multi-million-dollar Bylong Valley coal mine is refused development consent by an independent planning panel, citing concerns about "long-lasting environmental, agricultural and heritage impacts".

A NSW firefighter who hatched a plan to start bushfires "so he could fight them" will serve more time in jail than the man who lit them his younger brother.

Australian Jock Palfreeman is a step closer to returning home after being granted parole by a panel of three judges at the Sofia Appellate Court in Bulgaria.

Michelle is calling for ADVOs to be enforced amid fears she will be killed by her ex-partner.

A New South Wales woman says apprehended domestic violence orders are a joke and she fears she will be killed if her ex-partner keeps breaching them.

The family of volunteer firefighter from New Zealand who was killed in a hit-and-run in the NSW Hunter Valley has issued an emotional plea for someone to come forward.

It was a piece of rope in the middle of the ocean that ultimately led to their boat filling with water and sinking. But the three men, who all have 40 years of boating experience, say it hasn't stopped them from wanting to get back on the water.

The National Party wants urgent changes to the NSW Independent Planning Commission, fearing there is little certainty for investors following the rejection of the proposed Bylong Valley coal mine.

The NSW Government admits "safety risks" exist at a light rail intersection in Newcastle where a cyclist died earlier this year, while also raising questions about tram projects in Sydney's CBD and Parramatta.

Wildlife carers say they no longer have to euthanase kangaroos at a New South Wales hospital, after access was cut to thousands of tourists who were flocking to feed them.

The Independent Planning Commission will be reviewed after a 21-year mining lease near Singleton was approved before public submissions closed a blunder the Opposition says will call the system's integrity into question.

Oliver Scales-Copeland, who is accused of stabbing two police officers at a service station north of Sydney yesterday, represents himself in court and becomes emotional when his bail application is refused.

A leading surgeon fears a gravely-ill convicted murderer could die within a year if he is deported to Papua New Guinea.

MORNING BRIEFING: Police have arrested 38 people following a climate change protest on Monday, and there have been more than 240 major crashes on the roads over the long weekend.

The NSW Parole Authority is set to grant parole to convicted paedophile and disgraced former government minister Milton Orkopoulos.

The former Anglican Dean of Newcastle Graeme Lawrence is sentenced to a maximum of eight years over the rape of a 15-year-old boy in 1991.

An inquest has heard that a New South Wales teen spent a week in agony after being diagnosed with gastroenteritis, rather than the ruptured appendix that led to his death.

A man who raised a sawn-off shotgun to his victim's head and pulled the trigger during a violent home invasion has been sentenced to a maximum of 11 years' jail.

The NSW Education Department investigates after a video emerges online of a teacher telling her class that if a woman is raped, her clothing should be held partly accountable.

Generations of Australia's prime breeding cows are heading to slaughterhouses as a lack of water and feed sees more producers opt to "cash in and get out".

The New South Wales Supreme Court has heard a man accused of killing a knife-wielding intruder was annoyed but had no intention of killing the man after a chase and struggle.

A monitoring program to survey bleaching is underway at Lord Howe Island Marine Park with researchers performing underwater assessments and aerial mapping.