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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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.

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

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.

Bush schools which harness outdoor exploration and play are increasing, and teachers say they are improving engagement, reducing anxiety and building resilience.

Early figures from Surf Life Saving Australia show that 53 people drowned on Australian beaches over summer.

When Bennett Powell was a child, doctors thought he might never walk but now he's running, cycling and swimming as part of his third Ironman Australia race.

The forestry industry believes the Coalition's pledge of planting 1 billion trees by 2030 is unrealistic, unless it removes barriers preventing the sector's growth.

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

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.

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

People in a packed gallery sit up when inconsistencies begin to appear in the testimony of "person of interest" Paul Savage, a neighbour who claimed he joined in the search for the missing three-year-old.

Whitegoods repairman Bill Spedding tells an inquest into the disappearance of William Tyrrell he was having coffee with his wife on the day the toddler vanished, before revealing the "devastating impact" of the police investigation on his life.

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.

Five new photos of William Tyrrell are made public by the NSW Coroner as well as the transcript of a key witness who said he cursed a woman he saw driving with an unrestrained child in the backseat.

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

The whitegoods repairman who became the chief suspect in one of Australia's biggest child abduction mysteries reveals for the first time how the ordeal "shattered" his life.

More than 40 sawfish die in the Fitzroy River catchment, known to be the world's last stronghold for the species.

The discovery of endangered quolls, bilbies, and rock wallabies on islands of habitat in the Great Sandy Desert offers a rare glimmer of hope for wildlife managers.

Farmers who rely on the Ord River say big-city bureaucrats are getting in the way of progress in the WA region's landmark irrigation scheme.

James Gino Salerno, who was once based in the Adelaide Hills, is jailed for at least eight years for repeatedly sexually abusing a teenage member of the group. His victim says other girls still in the cult "can sleep easy now".

There have been calls for greater transparency on remote cattle stations after a FOI request revealed a push to keep the mass death of a critically endangered species under wraps.

One of the Top End's only female bull riders has taken on the US rodeo circuit despite suffering a serious shoulder injury just days from leaving.

Northern pastoralists are upbeat after the Fitzroy Crossing Bull Sale recorded strong results, despite a year of extreme weather.

More than 2.7 million Australians live in a house with a swimming pool and with growing environmental awareness, residents across the country are converting their pools to ponds.

Investigators reveal that an 11-year-old boy was the driver of a vehicle that overturned and killed a young girl in northern WA at the weekend.

Dozens of children with disabilities are being pulled out of West Australian schools by parents who say they are not getting enough support in the classroom.

Emily Slattery, a doctor herself, describes the recent birth of her son George as "boringly normal", but in fact it was far from ordinary. By using an independent midwife instead of an obstetrician, she has become the first woman in WA to take advantage of a new option in maternity care.

Aboriginal followers of a Tongan-born preacher set fire to artefacts considered sacred by many local elders, and dismantle and burn a spiritual law ground.

A husband and wife team one a butcher, the other a wildlife carer is doing wonders for injured and orphaned wildlife in WA's remote Kimberley region.

Satellite images have captured a usually invisible phenomenon known as atmospheric gravity waves pulsing through clouds off Western Australia's north-west.

Australia is home to some of the best dairy operations in the world, but an analyst has warned that without a drastic increase in production the country could soon become an "import nation".

Asian demand for the humble yabby has boomed in the last decade, but a lack of dam-filling rainfall threatens to pull them from the menu.

One year after the worst disaster to hit Australia's strawberry sector, growers are optimistic about this year's harvest but say they are not out of the woods just yet.

A seven-year-old Perth girl who picked up her toddler sister and held her aloft to save her from an attacking rottweiler dog is among a group of West Australians to be honoured with bravery awards.

A sea snake has washed up on a beach near Esperance on WA's southern coast, marking the region's first verified record of the typically tropical creature.