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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

It takes eight wranglers to force a 200 kilogram alligator in its most aggressive state away from a well-guarded nest of eggs, but they need to be taken to ensure their survival.

Two men are injured and thousands forced to evacuate after a barge catches fire during a New Year's Eve fireworks display at Terrigal Beach, on the New South Wales central coast.

Melbourne Victory miss out on the maximum points after a 1-1 draw with Central Coast Mariners in their A-League encounter in Geelong.

Transport Minister Andrew Constance admits it will be impossible to find alternatives to move more than 1 million passengers on Sydney's train strike day.

A highly contentious underground coal mine on the New South Wales Central Coast has been given the go-ahead, despite an election "guarantee" against coal mining in the region.

Central Coast Mariners midfielder Wout Brama faces a nervous wait for the A-League match review panel to ponder his horrible tackle which left Brisbane Roar forward Corey Gameiro in tears.

Sydney has lost nearly 20 per cent of its essential workers in the past decade because of the city's housing affordability crisis, a report finds.

A woman who was punched in a road rage incident on the NSW Central Coast, which was viewed thousands of times on social media, enters a guilty plea for throwing nails and a chisel at another car.

More than 500 workers in Sydney have their jobs terminated after the collapse of the Red Lea chicken company, leaving staff without pay and "eating two-minute noodles for dinner", one former manager says.

Seven people who have eaten frozen pomegranate purchased at Coles have been diagnosed with a unique strain of hepatitis A, prompting a recall of what the company behind the product describes as "a relatively small batch".

The sizzle of a steak on a barbecue may soon sound a little different as Australia's $16.8 billion beef industry prepares to adapt to demands from 'locavores' and technological change.

Do you know how long to rest a steak? Who predicted lab meat in 1931? And do you really know what a heifer is? Dig in to our beef quiz.

The growing demand for transparency and ethically, socially and environmentally sustainable food is one of the hot topics at Beef Australia 2018.

Whale watchers spot hundreds of humpbacks, with the population looking healthy, on annual migration census day.

The former superstar sprinter is set to undertake a trial with the Mariners ahead of a possible shock A-League move.

Football loves a sugar hit and the tabloid frenzy created by images of Usain Bolt in a Mariners shirt had the capacity to give the entire A-League Type 2 diabetes. But the FFA was right not to fund his Central Coast trial, Richard Hinds writes.

Colin Crane, a life member of the Rebels bikie club, appears in court charged with the murder of Clint Starkey at a Peats Ridge service station last year.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is investigating allegations of unconscionable conduct towards growers by one of the country's major vegetable processors.

A man is charged over the death of a woman after he allegedly implanted a plastic snowflake under her skin at a NSW Central Coast tattoo shop.

Some of Australia's most prestigious arts companies Bangarra, Australian Theatre for Young People and Australian Chamber Orchestra have cancelled tours to regional New South Wales, after the state's arts funding agency delivered the lowest funding round in its history.

The sale of government land on the New South Wales central coast waterfront for the bargain price of $38,000 has locals up in arms and prompted Greens MP David Shoebridge to refer the matter to the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

The eight-time Olympic gold medallist did not set the world alight at his first training session, but will be given all the time he needs to prove himself from Mariners coach Mike Mulvey.

A 19-year-old university student from the New South Wales Central Coast dies from meningococcal disease, the region's second death from the illness in as many months, prompting authorities to issue a warning.

One retirement village on the NSW Central Coast is home to half a dozen women who have all celebrated their 100th birthday.

The fishing industry and enthusiasts are warning a NSW Government's plan to designate the Hawkesbury Shelf marine area a marine park could destroy their livelihoods and lifestyles.

Clown doctors in Outback Australia medicate paediatric patients with a regular dose of humour.

The eight-time Olympic champion has a two-year contract offer on the table from Maltese champions Valletta FC, increasing the pressure on Central Coast Mariners and the FFA to lock in a deal.

The A-League confirms Usain Bolt has been offered a contract with the Central Coast Mariners, but it'sfor "much, much less" than what the Olympic great's camp has requested.

Usain Bolt leaves the Central Coast Mariners after a trial, with the A-League club and Olympic sprint legend unable to come to a deal that would have extended the sporting experiment.

A man who stabbed and tried to set alight a woman he met on a dating app led police on a wild chase before lunging at them with a knife, a NSW coroner has heard.

A NSW woman has started an anti-discrimination campaign demanding changes to the way people in wheelchairs can buy tickets to major events and access good seating.

BackTrack, an organisation dedicated to helping disengaged youth, wants to provide education for 60 students in NSW's far west who were left in limbo when their alternative school shut down.

Perth Glory ends 2018 three points clear at the A-League summit after beating the Mariners 4-1 following a 40-minute mid-match delay over snapped goalposts.