Two grandparents and another sailor die after a catamaran capsizes off the coast of Newcastle in rough conditions, with the father and daughter surviving by clutching onto the overturned yacht.

When Chontelle Grecian took up the Plastic Free July challenge, she was looking for a simpler way of living. What she discovered was a way to save the household budget and have fun with the whole family.

A high school in the Hunter region is offering counselling for students and staff who saw a student fatally struck by a bus while riding his bike to school.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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 man who previously admitted to the kidnap and sexual abuse of an 11-year-old girl in Newcastle has pleaded guilty to three further offences.

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".

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.

Zohara and Celia wanted to give back to their community, but they found it hard to find the time around their studies. Until they found pop-in volunteering.

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 food technology company has patented a process it claims can keep 100 per cent natural milk fresh for at least 60 days without additives or preservatives.

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.

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.

He established some of Australia's best-known national parks and fought for World Heritage listings across the globe. But for the late Peter Hitchcock, conservation was no walk in the park.

A coastal paradise town becomes a safe haven for refugees, despite being outside of a government-supported resettlement zone.

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

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

Stories of struggle, the Stolen Generations, mission communities and the death of a traditional language: how would you vocalise three generations of Indigenous history?

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

Chef Julie-Anne Booth, after a lifetime sometimes cooking for royalty, is back home sharing her food experiences with regional food producers.

There are calls for better police training in mental health after a man was shot dead following a nine-hour stand-off at his home on the NSW Mid North coast.

A woman whose house burnt down in bushfires affecting the NSW North Coast said that she and her husband now plan on leaving the bush due to the hazard.

An inquest into the disappearance of toddler William Tyrrell hears an SES volunteer who was involved in search efforts for the toddler on the NSW mid-north coast, did not respond to police questions.

As debate continues over the best way to teach children to read, parents and experts say dyslexic students are falling through the cracks and struggling academically and emotionally.

MORNING BRIEFING: A guest is taken to hospital after fire guts a backpacker hostel in Coogee, while Mert Ney is due back in court over the alleged murder of Michaela Dunn and stabbing of Linda Bo.

Three girls aged 12, 13 and 14, are before the courts over 13 grassfires police allege were deliberately lit on the New South Wales mid-north coast.

Police recapture prisoner Matthew Furner, who escaped from custody at Port Macquarie Base Hospital on the NSW Mid North Coast and fled into nearby bushland.

The number of homes lost to three fires in northern NSW rises to nine as strong winds continue to hamper the efforts of firefighters to bring them under control.

A 3.5-metre leopard seal has come ashore in northern NSW as authorities warn eager onlookers to keep their distance from the potentially deadly marine mammal.

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

Farmers along Australia's normally green east coast are reeling from the worst drought they have ever seen and face a tough summer if it doesn't rain in the next few months.