Gosford uses a new take on consultation for its city challenge

Harvey Grennan EVERY public authority pays lip service to community consultation. Often it is just a couple of news releases, a few advertisements in the weekly paper and some dusty display boards doing the rounds...

Suspended Hartcher aide beat fraud charge

Sean Nicholls THE staff member in the electorate office of the NSW Energy Minister, Chris Hartcher, suspended over alleged breaches of election funding laws, was charged with fraud during the 2007 state election...

Hayden killing: CCTV clue released

Lisa Davies A man wearing light-coloured pants and a fluorescent top may be crucial to solving the fatal stabbing of a 15-year-old boy.

Mounting credit card bills drive bankruptcy boom in western suburbs

Nicole Hasham MOUNT DRUITT, Campbelltown and Liverpool have emerged as Sydney's bankruptcy hot spots as families succumb to mounting credit card debt and chronic unemployment.

Comments 108

Singles, pensioners don't stand a chance of affordable digs

Adele Horin OF THE 10,385 properties advertised for rent in the Sydney region on a weekend this month, only 25 were affordable and suitable for people on the age or disability pension or parenting payment.

Litany of failure: horror hospital stories emerge

Amy Corderoy Patients at Royal North Shore and their families have hit out over the treatment they have received at the hospital.

Comments 194

All dressed up and nowhere to go as rain plays spoilsport

David Sygall SYDNEY'S lost summer played havoc with sporting events yesterday, with nearly all outdoor fixtures cancelled.

Everyone on board injured as minibus rolls on F3

Stephanie Gardiner A minibus carrying a soccer team has rolled and crashed into a tree on the F3, leaving one man needing surgery and 11 others in hospital. Police said the bus, carrying 12 men, rolled at Wyong about 4.

Jail for couples in child sex ring

Joanne McCarthy FIVE people in Britain have been jailed for their part in an international child pornography network ''dominated'' by a former Hunter Valley couple awaiting sentence for similar crimes.

Train commuters to try a little less conversation

Jacob Saulwick TRAIN commuters travelling between Newcastle, the central coast and Sydney will soon be able to ride in ''quiet carriages'' where talking is discouraged.

Comments 257

Top former art dealer faces 87 charges after fraud probe

Eamonn Duff One of Australia's former leading art dealers, Ronald Coles, faces up to 10 years in jail after being charged today with 87 offences relating to an alleged multimillion-dollar investment art fraud...

Fact file: crashes

Stephanie Gardiner Recent fatal crashes on the Pacific Highway:

Man, 20, dies after Ettalong brawl

Alicia Wood A man has died after a brawl at Ettalong on the NSW Central Coast.

Councillor 'frustrated' over code of conduct

Kelsey Munro SHOULD a councillor be free to call his colleagues ''arrogant'', or to dub a weekend retreat at a luxury resort for fellow councillors a ''junket'' and a ''rort''?

Call for compassion in program to move young mothers off welfare

Adele Horin DANIELLE TROY thinks compassion rather than punishment should guide the federal government's new approach to teenage mothers.

Public hospitals told poor hand hygiene rates won't wash

Melissa Davey Health NEARLY 20 per cent of public hospitals have failed to meet the national benchmark for hand hygiene standards according to data released for the first time yesterday, sparking a call for hospital...

Missing Edward found

Glenda Kwek Police have found a man missing for almost a week from his central coast home and say he is "safe and well".

Art dealer stays mum on losses

Eamonn Duff THE former high-profile art dealer Ronald Coles is a man of few words.

New funding system for disabled pupils welcomed

Anna Patty State Politics NAPLAN test results and school assessment will be among a range of measures the state government will use to help it distribute funding for the rapidly growing number of children with disabilities...