Helena Burke
Helena Burke is Sydney's 2022 ABC News cadet. She previously covered federal politics for NCA NewsWire from the Canberra press gallery.
Latest by Helena Burke
Manly Sea Eagles player's collapse and death at training session caused by heat stroke, inquest hears
By Helena Burke
An inquest into the death of Manly Sea Eagles player Keith Titmuss hears the 20-year-old experienced exertional heat stroke and had a temperature of 41.9 degrees Celsius before his death in November 2020.
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Sydney's Powerhouse Museum shuts tonight for three years amid backlash
By Helena Burke
Authorities are standing by the three-year closure, arguing the fixes to the building are urgent, but critics say it is unjustified without an approved development application and community consultation.
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Prime minister 'horrified' by 'Neo-Nazi activity' in Sydney that sparked police incident
By Helena Burke
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and NSW Premier Chris Minns condemn the activity of the balaclava-clad group, with the premier considering outlawing the Nazi salute.
Elderly man charged with sexual assault of woman, 87, at Sydney aged care released from custody
By Helena Burke
William Newbold, 80, was visiting another resident at the facility in the city's north-west when he allegedly entered the woman's room and had non-consensual sexual contact with her on two occasions.
Sydneysiders celebrate 'something about Mary' at pub where royal love story began
By Helena Burke
On the eve of Princess Mary's royal proclamation, fans are clinking their glasses at the Slip Inn where her royal journey started almost 24 years ago.
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'You could feel the heat around the corner': Massive blaze erupts in Sydney e-bike repair shop
By Murray Olds and Helena Burke
Residents raise the alarm as a blaze breaks out at a factory in Sydney's inner west, causing traffic disruption and power outages.
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Legionnaires' disease outbreak linked to Sydney CBD puts thousands on health alert
By Helena Burke
Three women and four men were hospitalised after contracting the non-contagious disease from potentially contaminated cooling towers.
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Home ownership 'even more out of reach' for many with home prices surging in 2023
By Helena Burke
Sydney remains the most expensive city in the country to buy a property with the average home in Greater Sydney now worth almost $1.13 million.
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'My world fell apart': More than 5,800 people have been killed on Australian roads in past five years
By Helena Burke
After a dip in the number of road toll deaths during the pandemic, 2023 has seen a sudden spike in deaths in NSW, Victoria and South Australia.
Woman sexually abused by Chris Dawson as a schoolgirl settles lawsuit against New South Wales
By Helena Burke
The woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, claims she was groomed and sexually abused by the former teacher at a public school on Sydney's northern beaches in the 1970s and 1980s.
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Police forcibly remove people protesting against Israeli-owned ZIM shipping company at Sydney's Port Botany
By Helena Burke and Jack Fisher
Activists have been removed from an entry road in Port Botany, as they attempted to block a ship being unloaded. Stating the ZIM cargo ship is being used to transport goods to Israel.
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NSW government rejects federal MP's call for ban on 'anti-Semitic' car convoys
By Helena Burke
Over the past week, two motorcades with vehicles displaying Palestinian flags have travelled through Sydney, with a third convoy planned for Saturday evening.
'We are so proud of you': Lilie James remembered at service with bright colours and florals
By Helena Burke
Hundreds of mourners attended a service for the 21-year-old, who was found dead inside St Andrew's Cathedral School last month.
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McDonald's loses out in legal beef with Hungry Jack's
By Helena Burke
McDonald's loses its case against Hungry Jack's after a court finds the Big Jack burger is not "deceptively similar" to the Big Mac, following a trial in which experts were called in to examine the products.
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Sydney man missing for 70 years changed his identity and died decades later, family discovers
By Helena Burke
Police inquiries determined Donald Gordon Buckley had died in Moree after changing his identity, three decades after last being seen in Sydney by his loved ones.
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'We went for the throat': Matrix producer brings horror show to Tiktok in one-minute episodes
By Helena Burke
In one-minute snippets, writers and directors of a new Western Sydney series need to grab their audience, because, unlike a movie screen, their film is being shown on phones across the world.
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'That's very rude': Mixed reaction to NSW government plan to take control of troubled private prison
The corrections minister said the contract with GEO Group will not be renewed when it expires in March 2025.
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Teenager dies, five others injured after ute crashes into tree in Sydney's northern beaches
By Helena Burke
NSW Police say the vehicle was carrying six boys, all aged between 16 and 17, when it left the road and hit a tree in Bayview early on Saturday morning.
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NSW budget allocation of $224m for social housing 'not enough to solve problem'
By Sean Tarek Goodwin and Helena Burke
Premier Chris Minns announced an allocation of $224 million in Tuesday's budget towards the social and affordable housing system.
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'Lucky to be alive': Police hunt for gunmen after man shot in head and chest in south-west Sydney
Police say a man shot in a car park in Campsie overnight is known to authorities, as they search for the assailants.
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NSW teachers will soon be the highest paid in the country
By Helena Burke
The Teachers Federation Council has voted to endorse the Minns government deal on behalf of about 95,000 teachers.
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Sydney man weeps in court after being denied bail over crash that killed two young boys
By Helena Burke
A court hears the 33-year-old man was travelling at least 130 kilometres per hour in the lead-up to the crash which killed two children.
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Beekeepers start class action against the NSW government over varroa mite efforts
By Helena Burke
NSW beekeepers have launched a class action over loss of business after their hives were destroyed to curb the spread of varroa mite.
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Hundreds of thousands of NSW workers will soon be able to take long service leave between jobs
By state political reporter Isobel Roe and Helena Burke
Workers like Christine will benefit from new laws to be introduced next year allowing NSW employees in the community sector to accrue long service leave no matter how often they change jobs.
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Undetectable social media filters allowing women to change their bodies in videos
By Helena Burke
People have been aware of photoshopped images in magazines and on social media for years, but a new study has found young women are less likely to believe that videos can also be edited.
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