The Nationals are hoping to cling on to their seats, including a few held on very slim margins, and add to their tally by winning a three-cornered contest. But the country-based party has problems, and some say they're at risk of losing a handful of seats.

A joyride along a NSW beach in a stolen vehicle has ended in irreparable damage to a century-old shipwreck. As police search for the culprits, locals are fuming over the wanton destruction of the iconic relic.

Loneliness can grow more acute in the twilight years, particularly for LGBT+ Australians. Researchers from Charles Sturt University are hoping that with a few tweaks, robots could prove worthy companions.

Five men are charged over the murder of a Queensland man who was beaten to death with a steel bar before his mutilated body was dumped, set alight and eventually found by firefighters near Taree.

The company proposing a coal mine for NSW's Manning Valley, refused by an environment court on the grounds of its contribution to climate change, will not appeal the decision.

The NSW regional electorate of Cowper has the largest number of voters in the country, the latest Australian Electoral Commission elector count reveals.

Jigna Chauhan offers free henna crowns to women who have lost their hair during chemotherapy treatments, helping them feel more positive and confident.

During the final week of the Federal election campaign, National Party ads accuse Rob Oakeshott of having never "done a hard day's work in his life".

Debra Hood

The reliability of roadside drug testing for cannabis is in question after new research reveals a "concerning" proportion of the tests are inaccurate, while a driver argues the 'passive smoking' defence and has charges dismissed.

MORNING BRIEFING: Former Newcastle Knights star Jarrod Mullen is charged over his alleged role in a cocaine ring in the Hunter region and Australia's country music industry is in shock after singer and producer Glen Hannah dies.

A study reveals a visit from a rare bird to a tiny NSW town generated hundreds of thousands of dollars for the economy, highlighting the untapped potential of birdwatching tourism.

Barrington Tops is receiving its first winter dusting as cold conditions hit the east coast of New South Wales.

Researchers monitoring the impact of climate change say golden bowerbirds and other highland rainforest species are being pushed to higher altitudes by temperature rises and fear they'll eventually have nowhere left to go.

People on Lord Howe Island are trying to save their slice of paradise from a rat infestation, but a controversial eradication program has divided families and friends on the tiny outpost 600km off the NSW coast.

Free martial arts classes being offered to victims of bullying could have a major impact on the mental health of young people, experts say.

A NSW court hears 81-year-old David Allen Esling, charged with the attempted stabbing murder of his wife of 54 years in April, had formed a suicide pact with her.

Recent whale entanglements on the NSW coast highlight the man-made threats marine life face at an increasing rate, and experts say we can expect to see more.

The Mini Minor car was a symbol of the Swinging Sixties and now it is helping one veteran dairy farmer keep a perspective on the rigours of family life and work.

Honey from Australian native stingless bees is not technically honey and moves are buzzing around to change that.

Investors are calling for entrepreneurial skills to be taught in schools to help prepare children for the future 'gig-based' economy.

MORNING BRIEFING: Police investigate what is believed to be a human bone discovered by passers-by at a Port Macquarie beach, while a Sydney northern beach road is closed after a pedestrian was killed by a car overnight.

Corellas were once an inland bird but are now living in coastal areas in huge numbers which is causing human-wildlife conflict. What has driven their sea change and what are the solutions?

Members of the NSW legal fraternity have spoken out against a bill to change the state's double jeopardy laws brought forward following the acquittal of the prime suspect in the Bowraville murders.

An Australian man and his partner are murdered in Canada, backpackers have disappeared from NSW. This is how police will begin to solve the mystery of what happened, writes Wayne Petherick.

Pixie weighed less than 200 grams when she was rescued after her mother was hit by a car. Carers thought she was too tiny to survive, but they were wrong.

Relatives visiting the gravestones of their family in a NSW town, who found the gravestones razed, thought it was the work of vandals.

A research project is underway to determine the impact of the controversial Lord Howe Island rodent eradication program on a threatened currawong species and wider ecosystem.

Toddler William Tyrrell, who vanished from his foster grandmother's home in the sleepy town of Kendall almost five years ago, was likely abducted by someone who chose to "act on their desires", an inquest into his disappearance hears.

Ross Miller has no intention of putting the rod into the rack. Instead, he is building another prawn trawler as a legacy to his son.

The former chief investigator who led the investigation into the disappearance of three-year-old William Tyrrell on the NSW mid-north coast is accused of misleading a neighbour during a police interview two years ago.

As the Coronial inquest into William Tyrrell's disappearance had a special sitting in Taree just 40 kilometres from where the toddler was last seen family members have been left frustrated by delays and disappointed by its failure so far to turn up any substantial new leads.

Today the Macleay Valley is suffering unprecedented drought, but 70 years ago it was inundated with "mighty waves as high as telegraph poles" that flooded the region and left 2,000 people homeless.

A Kendall resident says he is certain he saw William Tyrrell being driven away by a blonde woman in a car at high speed moments after the toddler vanished from the New South Wales mid-north coast almost five years ago.

An innovative plan to flood a fireground is being employed on the NSW mid-north coast to extinguish a fire that has been burning for more than six weeks.

What started as a school project to make art from drink bottle lids has ended up with 3D-printed prosthetic limbs made from recycled plastic.

MORNING BRIEFING: NSW Sports Minister John Sidoti says claims he misused his position in a conflict of interest are 'gross misrepresentations', while Deputy Premier John Barilaro urges governments to take climate change seriously.

Exchanging garbage for clothes might seem an unusual trade, but that is exactly what happens at the Seaside Scavenge.

Young, adventurous and enterprising couple Jess Davidson and Andy Hoffman quit their jobs to follow a dream more than a year ago.

A common struggle for Aboriginal elders is how to make their language and culture appeal to young people in order for it to be carried on.

Members of a NSW rugby league club who were photographed at an airport wearing offensive t-shirts emblazoned with a topless mermaid look set to face the wrath of the sport's officials.

NSW Police confirm two men, reported to be father and son, died in a plane crash west of Coffs Harbour.

Coach and former professional surfer Wayne 'Huddo' Hudson loves sharing his passion for the waves, but there was a time he was told none of it would be possible.

MORNING BRIEFING: A woman has been charged with murder after a man was found with multiple stab wounds in a Sydney apartment complex, while easing weather conditions have helped firefighters in Tenterfield gain the upper hand on a bushfire.

The NSW Rural Fire Service downgrades an emergency warning for a fire at Backwater near Armidale, as hot and dry conditions continue to fuel bushfires in the area.

Emergency crews gain the upper hand in fighting 85 fires across NSW but two blazes near Forster-Tuncurry escalate again.