Australia's biggest music events threaten to pull out of NSW and accuse the Berejiklian Government which is preparing to introduce tough new festival laws of "endless nanny state interference".

This organic farming program is turning residential backyards into market gardens to tackle food security, food mileage and social isolation.

Figures released by the Department of Finance last week show the budget is now back in deficit by $4.8 billion. Now some economists doubt the government will be able to reach the projected surplus, including former Treasury advisor Warren Hogan.

A senior constable who performed 19 strip searches during the Splendour in the Grass festival last year tells an inquiry the procedures were "unlawful" and that the experience had been "a massive learning experience".

Game fishers are predicting one of the best seasons in 30 years, but are wary about publicising their big catches online due to growing criticism about the sport.

The withdrawal of the Indian monsoon this year surpassed the previous record by more than a week, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will be another bad wet season for Australia. Here's why.

Burns Pet Food at Riverstone pleaded guilty to aggravated animal cruelty relating to dozens of cattle and an injured sheep only a month before the ABC's 7.30 report into the slaughter of horses.

MORNING BRIEFING: Commuters and HSC students have been advised to avoid the M1 at Berowra after a road worker was hit by a utility early this morning, causing lane closures, and a man dies in a blaze at a Maitland home.

Royal Life Saving Society Australia is warning parents to limit distractions and be vigilant with water safety, as new data shows one-year-olds are at the greatest risk of drowning compared to any other age group.

The Workers Compensation Commission finds in favour of a former House Rules contestant who claimed she was now unemployable because of the negative way she was portrayed on the Channel Seven show.

Billionaire property developer Huang Xiangmo publishes a lengthy and scathing attack at the ATO, which is pursuing him over a $141 million tax bill, and ASIO, which revoked his permanent residency.

Owners of apartments affected by the combustible cladding crisis in Victoria tell researchers of the emotional and financial toll it has taken on them and their neighbours.

Chayse Gannon and his mother, forced to leave dad and baby brother behind, have changed accommodation around Sydney more than 12 times since he was diagnosed in February.

A NSW police officer is accused of "sloppy work" in an inquiry after she mistakenly inflated the quantity of drugs found on a reveller at Splendour in the Grass last year by nearly eight times.

A social media campaign quickly gathers followers as it shines a light on drought-affected towns struggling to maintain their businesses, and encourages people to buy remotely in the lead-up to Christmas.

A seagrass nursery set up to propagate seeds to restore lost seagrass meadows could also be a tool to offset carbon emissions.

Meet John. He's 59, and used to be a teacher. He's also been job hunting for a decade and is one of almost 900,000 people in NSW living below the poverty line, according to a new report.

Ashleigh Gardner has already suffered five concussions in her short cricket career, but the 22-year-old all-rounder hopes to use the experiences to make her a better player.

The current 5.25 per cent interest rate for reverse mortgages under the Government's Pension Loans Scheme has not fallen despite three official cash rate cuts this year.

A 19-year-old woman is charged with torture and causing the death of an animal after allegedly stabbing a cat 20 times and throwing it from a balcony on Sydney's northern beaches.

A leading international transportation strategist says Sydney can never have a world-class public transport system, despite the NSW Government's record investment in major projects.

A solicitor who offered pro-bono legal advice at the Splendour in the Grass festival in 2018 tells a public hearing of a "military-style" operation, which saw shopkeepers and bar staff among those strip-searched by police.

There are growing calls for a royal commission into the racing industry after the ABC revealed emails proving Racing NSW was told more than a year ago about the unauthorised sale of thoroughbreds for slaughter at a livestock auction.

The NSW Government will discuss establishing a national park south of Sydney to protect the state's last chlamydia-free koala colony under threat by urban expansion.

MORNING BRIEFING: Total fire bans are in place as temperatures are set to rise beyond the mid-30s on Friday, and a man in a wheelchair has fallen down 100 stairs at Macquarie Park Station.

Of more than 5,000 strip searches conducted by NSW police in the past financial year, less than a third found any illicit drugs, new data shows.

A NSW Police officer accused of tasering a 16-year-old boy and repeatedly bashing him with a baton will continue to serve in the force, despite being charged over the alleged on-duty assault.

Sudden stratospheric warming it's great for the ozone layer at the South Pole, but not so great for heat and rain levels over the next few months.

The high-end Rockpool Dining Group fronted by Neil Perry is hit by union claims it tampered with digital timesheets as it underpaid workers by up to $10 million, as a former worker enters mediation with the group in the Federal Court.

Pilots are still hungry for the thrill of flying a Grumman Tracker more than 30 years after they last launched it off the back of an aircraft carrier.

A family at the centre of a regional medical mix-up is relieved at an outpouring of support.

The first time I saw my baby Billie was in a photo she'd been born 11 weeks early. The next few months brought agony, loneliness and love and sparked lasting friendships with other mums in the intensive care unit.

The Federal Energy Minister says he will apologise to Sydney's Lord Mayor for "not clarifying" figures he used to criticise her over the council's travel costs.

Extreme winds are churning up dust from Broken Hill to Sydney, with some parts of the central west turning red and forcing residents to eat dinner under bedsheets so as not to spoil their food.

If you think of your favourite British TV shows, one thing that stands out is the great variation in the way the actors sound. So why aren't Australians the same?

'My chest is very tight, it's hard to breathe': More children like Lincon are suffering from asthma as dust storms roll through NSW in the drought.

Ivan Milat, Australia's most notorious serial killer who was serving seven life sentences for the murders of backpackers, has died aged 74. Milat had been diagnosed with terminal cancer in May. He died at 4.07am at Sydney's Long Bay Prison hospital on October 27, 2019.

Shorebirds are increasingly under pressure around Australia, as the nation's wetlands and coastal estuaries continue to be swallowed by housing.

Fines for cyclists who do not wear helmets in New South Wales are more expensive than anywhere else in Australia, and should be drastically lowered, according to university researchers.

Western Sydney Wanderers claim a 1-0 victory over crosstown rivals Sydney FC, while FFA Cup champions Adelaide United celebrate a 2-1 defeat of Newcastle Jets.

Backpacker killer Ivan Milat, who was serving seven life sentences, dies in Sydney's Long Bay Prison hospital six months after he was diagnosed with terminal stomach and oesophagus cancer.