The Sydney Morning Herald

State political editor Sean Nicholls and senior writer Matt Wade discuss the 2016 NSW budget from Parliament of NSW.

One of Australia's longest-running native title claims has been settled after almost 40 years, with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbulll officially handing back an area of land near Darwin to its traditional owners.

The operator of a 7-Eleven store involved in rampant exploitation of its workers has been handed a record court penalty of more than $400,000, after workers were paid as little as $13 an hour.

Following Collingwood president Eddie McGuire's comments about drowning Fairfax journalist Caroline Wilson, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull weighed into the furore for the first time, saying "there is no place for disrespecting women" – especially by public figures in privileged positions.

‪#‎Breaking‬: Belgian police have detained a man possibly carrying explosives near a central Brussels shopping centre.

First-home buyers won’t be getting any new grants or concessions in the NSW Budget. Instead, they’ll have to wait for high levels of home building to translate into falling property prices, NSW Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian says.

Net debt close to zero, record infrastructure spending - including on housing, health and education - and falling GST revenue are among the highlights of the 2016-17 NSW budget, but the picture won't necessarily stay rosy all the way to 2020.

The reason for this big budget hit is a complex formula used by the Commonwealth Government to carve up the GST to ensure each state has an equivalent capacity to provide public services.
But it means states can be penalised for good performance.

The US Senate has rejected four measures to restrict gun violence, dealing a bitter setback to advocates who have failed to get even modest gun control measures through Congress.

The NSW police tactical commander who was in charge of the three snipers positioned around Martin Place said the one sniper who claimed to have a clear shot at Sydney siege gunman Man Haron Monis had "zero possibility" of executing the shot.

Days after he went viral as the "fake tradie" in a Liberal Party election campaign advertisement, Sydney metalworker Andrew MacRae says he is the real deal.

Despite the continued growth in the property market, HSBC expects house price growth to halve within months.

Everyone knows wages growth has been at record lows, but the turning point could finally be here.

Spending on education will produce a bigger economic growth dividend in the long term than cutting corporate tax, according to a new survey of economists.

Comment: It was another great day for mass murderers – and a fine display of the self-serving hypocrisy of American politicians who mouth words of concern, but consistently refuse to act to curb gun violence.

What you need to know about Brexit.

It is the first major purchase for Sydney Trains since the troubled Waratah project.

The classrooms will come in new schools and upgrades of existing ones across Sydney's crowded inner ring suburbs and regional growth areas.

The winners and losers of the NSW budget for 2016.

This is another cautious budget from the particularly cautious and slow-moving Baird government, writes Ross Gittins.