The Latest Breaking News from Hunter

Skill shortages across the Hunter are at crisis levels, with no industry or sector spared, a summit called to address what has emerged as a major threat to the region's growth has heard.

A flu-tracking survey developed in northern NSW has become an essential tool in the battle against COVID, and it's accessible by anyone with a smartphone.

The NSW government will rake in an extra $810 million in coal royalties this year - and almost $4 billion over the next four years - but has not put an extra dollar into a fund to help coal mining communities prepare for change.

Unions for public and independent school teachers will meet on Tuesday.

About $35 million worth of the NSW government vouchers are yet to be used in the Hunter region.

The state government will invest $55 million in new health projects across the Hunter over the next 12 months.

The price of regular unleaded petrol remains hovering around the 200c/l mark in many places across the Hunter - with motorists being charged as much as 215.9c/l for ULP on Friday.

A steep rise in the number of cases of thefts from motor vehicles at Muswellbrook was at least partly to do with a spate of incidents involving a group of juveniles allegedly committing robberies in the area, Hunter Valley Police District acting commander Superintendent Joanne Schultz says.

Detectives have laid 12 extra charges as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged sexual offences in the Hunter region.

Precious drinking water will be saved as Hunter Water plans to pipe eight Olympic swimming pools, or 20 million litres, of recycled water to sports fields in Lake Macquarie each year.

There has been a sharp rise in the number of thefts from motor vehicles in one Hunter town during the past two years, while property crime has generally gone down across the region - echoing a statewide trend - according to new data.