Saffron Howden
Saffron Howden is Rural and Indigenous Affairs Reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald
Hidden hazard: officials sitting on a ticking time bomb
Linton Besser, Saffron Howden She should have turned eight on Easter Sunday. But Jasmine Holt, a child with a porcelain face and ruby smile, will forever be a two-year-old girl.
Bridge safety crisis
Linton Besser, Saffron Howden Hundreds of ageing bridges and culverts across NSW are at risk of collapse, as councils fight a losing battle against a $6.9 billion bill to bring regional infrastructure up to an adequate standard.
Old bridges and limited funds pose serious problem in northern NSW
Saffron Howden, Linton Besser As a small truck makes its way across the gushing creek at the tiny community of The Risk in northern NSW, the rattle of the ageing timber bridge rises in a crescendo.
Hard times create boom for travelling conmen
Saffron Howden A rise in prosecutions of travelling conmen, combined with home renovators struggling through harder economic times, is behind a huge leap in overall fines against dodgy and unlicensed builders in...
Thousands spent on a dodgy kitchen
Saffron Howden Chloe Lenane was just weeks from arriving in the world when her unsuspecting mother hired ''nice as pie'' Stefan Mayer to install a new kitchen in their Turramurra home.
RailCorp can't say how train wire broke
Saffron Howden RailCorp is at a loss to explain how 300 metres of electrical wiring that helps power its trains fell on top of a Tangara train just before morning peak hour, delaying and inconveniencing thousands...
Changes mooted after Aldi win
Saffron Howden THE Sydney Royal Dairy Awards could be overhauled after the global supermarket chain Aldi dominated this year's competition, causing an uproar among small and artisan cheesemakers.
Aldi's show win has artisans cheesed off
Saffron Howden AUSTRALIA'S artisan cheese and dairy producers are up in arms after a global supermarket chain wiped the floor with them at the annual Sydney Royal dairy awards.
Red alert on bushfire threat
Nick Ralston, Saffron Howden NSW is facing its most dangerous bushfire threat in 12 years as the state swelters through a record-breaking heatwave and fire officials express concern about the public's preparedness.
Plan to explore for gas under 40% of state
Saffron Howden THE NSW Aboriginal Land Council has applied to explore for coal seam gas under 40 per cent of the state, sparking outrage from indigenous and non-indigenous people alike.
Rodeos riding into dangerous territory
Saffron Howden Bound to a wheelchair and largely paralysed from the neck down, John Crasti wouldn't mind one last shot at the Orange novice bull-riding winner's trophy.
Raging bulls and pro riders raise dust
Saffron Howden IT IS Saturday night in Tamworth and the biggest show in town will unfold among the pungent smell of farm animals on a stage of dirt.
ACCC moves to scrap ATM fees in remote areas
Saffron Howden Fees for withdrawals and other transactions from some ATMs in very remote Australian communities would be waived under a draft determination issued by the Australian Competition and Consumer...
Less mud, more figures in new female face of farming
Saffron Howden SURROUNDED by rolling green hills, grazing cows, farm tractors and horses, Staci Drew sits in a brick classroom as the unlikely future face of farming in Australia.
Killer given passport, licence and freedom
![FILED 20120103. Recent photo of Trent Jennings, 26, who stabbed Giuseppe Vitale to death in 2003, has absconded from a mental health facility in Morriset where he was in custody. Photo Supplied TRENT JENNINGS.jpg Pic supplied by Ainslie Blackstone [mailto:blac1ain@police.nsw.gov.au] Trent Jennings 2.JPG](http://images.canberratimes.com.au/2012/01/03/2871511/th-p1-20trent-90x60.jpg)
Saffron Howden, Alicia Wood TRENT JENNINGS packed his passport, driver's licence and, unsupervised, took off in a stolen car from a prison psychiatric hospital.
Police came within metres of fugitive but he still got away
Saffron Howden TWO police officers came within metres of the state’s most wanted man and drew their weapons, but he entered an isolated house and vanished.
Sighted: police get within 50 metres of most wanted man
Saffron Howden in Nowendoc Police came within about 50 metres of the state's most wanted man on Wednesday as they closed in on an empty house in remote bushland south-east of Tamworth.
Kiesha's stepfather guilty of manslaughter
Saffron Howden The stepfather of a six-year-old girl allegedly murdered in western Sydney more than a year ago has pleaded guilty to her manslaughter.
Naden shot officer with rifle: police
Saffron Howden Police believe that Malcolm Naden used a rifle to shoot a police officer in isolated rugged bushland yesterday.
'$1 million' left behind in suitcase in cafe
Rachel Olding and Saffron Howden A suitcase reportedly containing "a million dollars" was left in a Sydney cafe yesterday morning in an episode befitting a Hollywood film.
