Hunter Valley

Hunter Valley wineries threaten to charge at the cellar door

Jo Casamento, Heath Aston THE Hunter Valley's biggest wineries will be forced to start charging for tastings unless the state government reverses a decision to scrap a tax subsidy that the industry says it relies on to remain...

Detective charged with lying to commission investigating drug use

Nick Ralston A former senior detective has become the second person charged with lying to the Police Integrity Commission during its investigation into drug use and supply within the NSW force.

Macdonald denies gifting mine to a mate

Linton Besser Ian Macdonald has denied allegations at the state's corruption watchdog that he "gifted... hot property to a mate", when he directly issued a coal licence to former union boss John Maitland.

Coal licence issued in spite of wrong map, ICAC hears

Linton Besser Ian Macdonald's friend and political ally John Maitland has insisted he was passionate about a training facility and not a commercial mine when he applied to the former resources minister for a coal...

Conscience clear, says Schwartz heir

Jo Casamento, Paul Bibby The mysteries surrounding the death of hotels matriarch Eve Schwartz have transfixed Sydney this month.

Residents feel the pull of the east as high-rise living makes up ground

Matt Wade In a modest reserve in the suburb of Ermington, just north of the Parramatta River and not far from Olympic Park, is the point that marks the demographic centre of Sydney.

'Improvised' testimony to ICAC: company director resigns

Linton Besser A director of NuCoal Resources Ltd, the company that owns a Hunter Valley exploration licence at the centre of a corruption probe, has been forced to resign from the company after admitting he...

Memo reveals Maitland had plan to drum up support for training mine

Linton Besser An internal memo to the board of the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service from 2007 showed former union boss turned multimillionaire John Maitland had formed a ''strategy'' to generate political support...

'Political cover' given for training mine licence, inquiry told

Linton Besser There was an active arrangement within Ian Macdonald's ministerial office to produce "political cover" for the "gifting" of a coal exploration licence to a company associated with one of Mr...

Inquest hears triple-0 call after child's death

Stephen Ryan An inquest into the death of a severely disabled Hunter Valley girl has been played the triple-0 call her father made after discovering her body in the family's home.

Special orders for 'goldmine'

Anne Davies ''Need to demonstrate benefits and not a goldmine for entrepreneurs,'' a consultant from PricewaterhouseCoopers noted when taking down instructions for a submission to the state government on the...

'I improvised', ICAC witness says, denying lie

A document designed to persuade the NSW government to grant a mining exploration licence in 2008 was peppered with so many false and misleading statements it amounted to fraud, a corruption inquiry...

NuCoal director admits minister's friend 'opened doors'

Linton Besser The managing director of NuCoal admitted in a private examination by the state's corruption watchdog that John Maitland, a friend of the then mining minister Ian Macdonald, had done his job by...

Police seek purse to help solve murder

Melissa Davey Elizabeth ''Betty'' Dixon was found stabbed to death in her car in bushland more than 30 years ago but her purse and its contents have never been found.

'It may end in tears': union boss on mining proposal

Anne Davies The current federal president of the mining union, Tony Maher, has told the corruption watchdog he refused to support the proposal for a training mine being advanced by his predecessor, John...

One dead and five children injured in head-on crash

A seven-year-old girl is undergoing surgery after a fatal car crash killed her aunt and injured five others in the Hunter Valley.

Retired priest on charge of hiding sex crimes

Joanne McCarthy A PRIEST from the Hunter Valley who retired more than 15 years ago has become the second Catholic priest in Australia charged with concealing child sex crimes.

Miners lobbied premier to pull plug on environmental legal centre

Heath Aston The mining industry urged Barry O'Farrell to scrap funding to the Environmental Defenders Office - and months later the government did just that.