New data shows dolphins, turtles and stingrays made up 94 per cent of the marine life caught by shark nets on some of New South Wales's most popular beaches.

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.

South Sydney misses its chance to jump into the top four, losing to the Bulldogs, after the Storm lost to the Raiders and the Knights broke their drought with a big win over North Queensland.

With no photographic evidence of the Victoria Theatre from when it first opened, a university team has scoured archival eyewitness accounts and architectural floor plans to recreate the theatre in the virtual world.

Newcastle Knights coach Nathan Brown to leave the NRL club after four seasons.

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.

The Roosters make light work of the Dragons with a commanding 34-12 triumph, as the Sharks and Tigers enjoy their dominant victories in the race for the NRL finals.

A rugby league player is handed a jail term for a "ferocious" on-field assault that left an opponent with major facial injuries, but immediately appeals against the severity of the sentence.

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.

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?

The Sharks wrap up a spot in the finals with a 25-8 win over the Tigers as Robbie Farah's career comes to a close, while the Panthers end a disappointing season with a 54-10 thrashing of the Knights.

A man pleads guilty to burning another man alive after dousing him with petrol on a deserted road south of Newcastle last year.

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".

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 parents of an Australian man detained in Bulgaria are calling on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to intervene and help secure his release.

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.

Six months after Murrurundi's water ran out, the community is struggling to survive on extreme, level-six water restrictions, in a grim prediction of the future for other country towns facing their own impending water crisis.

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.

If you suffer from trypophobia, or an aversion to the sight of clusters of small holes, you might want to take a deep breath before laying your eyes on a Suriname toad.

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.

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.

A transport company seeking lucrative contracts to run Adelaide's public transport networks has shared fake quotes of former Labor ministers in an apparent bid to assist the South Australian Liberal Government press its case for rail privatisation.

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

A man who denied knowing anything about $245 million worth of drugs onboard a catamaran he skippered from Tahiti faces life in jail after being found guilty of the crime.

For residents in the Upper Hunter, keeping an eye on air quality alerts from the Office of Environment and Heritage is a daily ritual.

Social media went into meltdown after images emerged of a power pole in the middle of a Newcastle street.

A recent Harvard study found Australia's economy is less complex than Kazakhstan or Uganda, but is the assessment fair? And, if it is, what can be done to diversify the economy away from its mining dependence?

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.

The Aboriginal language Gathang largely disappeared when its last fluent speaker died in the 1960s, and now the task of revitalising it has begun.

Running on a wedding day is normally a sign something has gone very wrong but not when you are running together, at a parkrun event.

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

Port Macquarie resident Kim Dahler was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in her 40s and wants others to know life can still be fulfilling.