Western Sydney International Airport is set to take its first passenger flight on Sunday, marking the end of a long debate over Sydney's second airport. Governments considered many sites since 1946 before selecting Badgerys Creek in 1986. Protests over noise and environmental concerns continued for decades. Construction began in 2018, and the $5.6 billion airport can handle 10 million passengers and 1.8 million tonnes of cargo a year. Residents say they still have concerns about noise and local services.
Deadly Coders, Microsoft and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia will expand an AI skills program to 5,000 First Nations students in 2026 and 2027. The partnership aims to equip teachers to integrate AI into classrooms and bridge the digital divide. A hackathon at Chifley College, Mount Druitt, will teach students app prototyping and design thinking. The program, which began in 2025, has already reached 5,500 students in 32 schools across Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
Western Sydney drill group ONEFOUR will join the 25-piece Penrith Chamber Orchestra for a world-premiere production called Made Men. Penrith Performing & Visual Arts is presenting the show with Sydney Festival at the Concert Hall at The Joan on January 22 and 23. Penrith Performing & Visual Arts chief executive Toby Chapman said the partnership brings together contemporary rap and classical strings. Tickets go on sale from 9am on Thursday.
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Two men have been charged with affray over the fatal stabbing of Joshua Smith, 36, at a park behind the Club Hotel in Mount Druitt. Police allege he was killed during a senseless attack. A 18-year-old man from Mulgoa and a 35-year-old Mount Druitt man were refused bail and will face the Penrith and Mount Druitt Local Court. A 13-year-old boy has been charged with murder, and a 16-year-old boy with accessory to murder after the fact. Police are seeking about a dozen people who were in the area.
Police allege a 13-year-old boy fatally stabbed 36-year-old Joshua James Smith near Westfield Mt Druitt on Friday night. Smith had stopped to speak with a group of young people he knew when another group took offence, police said. The 13-year-old was charged with murder, and a 16-year-old boy was charged with accessory after the fact to murder. Friends and family have paid tribute to Smith, a father of three, and his children are being supported through a GoFundMe campaign. Police say more arrests are expected.
A 13-year-old boy has been charged with murder after a 36-year-old man was fatally stabbed in Sydney's west. The incident occurred near the Westfield shopping centre and train station in Mount Druitt on Friday night. Police allege the stabbing was the result of a chance meeting that turned violent. A 16-year-old boy has also been charged with accessory after the fact to murder. Both teenagers were refused bail and will appear in a children's court on Monday.
A total fire ban applied across greater Sydney on Monday as temperatures rose above 35C in the city's west. The Bureau of Meteorology said extreme fire danger was expected due to hot, dry conditions and possible thunderstorms with little rain. Parramatta reached 34.5C and Olympic Park recorded 35.2C by Monday evening. NSW Rural Fire Service commissioner Trent Curtin warned that dry lightning could start fires in western and central parts of the state.
A 13-year-old boy has been charged with murder after a 36-year-old man was fatally stabbed in Mount Druitt, in Sydney's west, on Friday. Police found the man with stab wounds to his torso, and he died at the scene. The boy was arrested on Sunday and also faces charges of breach of bail and robbery. A 16-year-old was charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder. Police allege the attack followed a chance meeting. Both boys were refused bail to appear before a children's court.
Two teenagers, aged 13 and 16, have been refused bail over the fatal stabbing of a man in his 30s in Mount Druitt, western Sydney. The younger teen faces a murder charge. The 16-year-old is accused of being an accessory after the fact, allegedly helping disguise his co-accused by providing clothes after a bloodied jumper was discarded. The man was stabbed in Dawson Mall and died on Cleeve Close on Friday night. Police Superintendent Darrin Batchelor described the attack as senseless. The teens will return to court on October 23 for another bail application.
Police have charged a 13-year-old boy with murder over the alleged fatal stabbing of a 36-year-old Sydney father in Mount Druitt on Friday night. The man was found with stab wounds to his torso after emergency services were called to a property at about 9pm. He died at the scene. A 16-year-old has been charged with murder as an accessory after the fact. Police say the man was withdrawing money from an ATM for a group of young people he knew when the attack happened.
A man in his 30s died after being stabbed in the torso on a street in Mount Druitt, in Sydney's west, on Friday evening. Paramedics treated him at the scene, but he could not be saved. Police have launched a major investigation and are reviewing CCTV and mobile phone footage from the area. They want to speak with about a dozen people who were nearby at the time. Police say they are working to determine whether the attack was random or targeted. No arrests have been made, and the man has not yet been formally identified.
Police are searching for up to a dozen people after a 33-year-old man was stabbed to death in Mount Druitt, in Sydney's west. Joshua Smith was attacked by a gang of three on Cleeve Close around 9pm on Friday and was declared dead at the scene. CCTV footage captured him running from his attackers before they caught up with him. Some of those involved are reportedly school-aged children, according to witnesses. Police are reviewing security and mobile phone video and urge anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
