Giselle Wakatama

Stacey Klimovitch's family and friends sob in court as Canberra man Jason Paul Hawkins, who shot the veteran swimming instructor dead at her Newcastle unit, receives a lengthy prison term.

A Supreme Court jury is told a known ice dealer was gunned down in his car as he fled a "drug rip" — the ripping off of a drug dealer — north of Newcastle. 

A judge is urged to put Canberra man Jason Paul Hawkins, 48, in prison for life, over the "incomprehensible" shooting of a 61-year-old Newcastle woman.

Stacey Klimovitch was murdered in 2021 by Jason Paul Hawkins, who was driven from the scene by Stephen John Garland. As both men await sentencing, Ms Klimovitch's daughters have delivered powerful statements in a NSW court.

St Hilliers is placed into voluntary administration as work halts on its developments around Australia, including major projects in Newcastle, the Central Coast and Brisbane.

Lifeguards from Sydney are called in to support local volunteers patrolling beaches along the coast north of Newcastle after a series of drownings this summer.

Four people have drowned at beaches across New South Wales since Christmas Day and one is missing in what has been described as the "deadliest time" of the year.

The state braces for more wet weather after flash flooding, heavy rain and hail over the weekend.

A Hunter Valley mother is calling on education officials to find a support unit for her autistic seven-year-old, and says multiple suspensions and class time spent "playing Lego on her own little table" do not help.

Kathleen Folbigg, once labelled the nation's worst female serial killer, has the convictions for killing her four children overturned by the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal.

A one-punch attacker's barrister tells a NSW court he was "triggered" by seeing the victim, who was a convicted child sex offender, with a young woman before the fatal assault.

The alleged driver, a 27-year-old man, was taken to hospital with serious injuries, after the car burst into flames in bushland off McCaffrey Drive.

Origin Energy plans to close Australia's largest coal-fired power plant in 2025, but a government review has recommended it stay open.

A jury has found Canberra man Jason Paul Hawkins guilty of murdering Newcastle woman Stacey Klimovitch when she answered her front door.

The stepsister of murdered woman Danielle Easy tells a court during the sentencing of Justin Dilosa that she hopes he "rots", as he becomes eligible for parole due to time already served.

A jury has been told alleged hit man Jason Hawkins had the weapon and the financial incentive to "assassinate" Stacey Klimovitch, shot dead when she answered a knock at the front door of her Stockton home in 2021.

Jason Paul Hawkins tells a jury he ran into the bushes because he wanted "no part" in the plot to murder Newcastle grandmother Stacey Klimovitch.

Protesters blockaded Newcastle Harbour with canoes and other small craft as part of a 30-hour gathering.

An air and water search is underway for a man missing off Stockton Beach.

Graffiti on several inner-city buildings has appeared in Newcastle, marking the 29th anniversary of schoolgirl Gordana Kotevski's abduction after a trip to the local shopping centre.

A man accused of breaking into a Central Coast nursing home and sexually assaulting a woman in her 90s been refused bail after being ordered to undergo a mental health assessment.

The former NSW government minister will be prosecuted for misconduct in public office for allegedly feeding confidential information to a company linked to ex-coal baron Nathan Tinkler.

The daughter of Stacey Klimovitch, who was fatally shot in Newcastle last year, testifies at the trial of her mother's alleged killer, Jason Paul Hawkins.

A jury has heard a hit man was arranged to kill 61-year-old grandmother Stacey Klimovitch, but the defence contends the accused was not at the crime scene.

Police allege Dee Folpp could have already been dead when they did a welfare check at a Muswellbrook unit before officers left and then returned later to find her body.