One of Australia's oldest and most notorious prisons could be sold off to make room for thousands of new homes under a plan proposed by the state opposition.

Long Bay Correctional Complex in Malabar in Sydney's south locks up 1200 prisoners and has housed the likes of backpacker killer Ivan Milat and and crime boss Tilly Devine over its 116-year history.

A bold $3 billion plan would see the site bulldozed to build up to 12,000 homes if the opposition is elected in 2027.

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NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said Long Bay could help answer the state's housing crisis.

"We want to turn the relic of [the] past into hope and homes for the next generation," Speakman said today.

"We know there will be a surplus from this proposal that will be available to reinvest in local schools, in local hospitals if that's necessary, in open spaces and local roads and in providing public transport."

About 30 per cent of the development would be for social and affordable housing.

Current inmates wouldn't move until a new facility was built.

Illawarra on the NSW South Coast has been flagged as a possible location for a new correctional complex.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said new homes in Sydney should be built near public transport hubs.

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"There's no train station at Long Bay, there's no train station at Maroubra," Minns said.

"If we're going to build and have more density closer to the city, it's got to be on public transport lines otherwise we just keep repeating the mistakes of the past."

In response, opposition transport spokeswoman Natalie Ward said a Liberal government would prioritise public transport options if Long Bay was transformed into new housing.

"We will look at future transport options, but that from day one, as we've done on the Northern beaches, that there will be a rapid express bus line service to get them to jobs from here to Kingsford and into the city," Ward said.

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The manhunt for alleged double murderer Dezi Freeman has entered 13th day, with the ongoing search seeing tourists stay away from rural Victoria.

Freeman has been on the run for nearly two weeks since he allegedly murdered two policemen and wounded another who were serving an arrest warrant for historic sex offences on his property at Porepunkah last month.

Police recently issued a $1 million bounty for Freeman's capture as they look for a breakthrough in the search.

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As the police search through the normally quiet Victorian backcountry continue, the tourist dollars are beginning to dry up, with visitors staying away.

"I think it's almost feeling worse than the bushfires and COVID," Bright and District Chamber of Commerce Marcus Warner told 9News.

"They were pretty obvious reactions to [an] emergency. This one, we never saw coming."

The impact on tourism can also be seen in the Alpine regions in the state, with skifields unable to take advantage of record snowfalls.

Mt Hotham has seen its biggest snow base in years, but supply isn't equalling demand.

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"This time of year is typically last minute bookings for the snow, that's the surge that we see and especially given that the snow is so amazing, the best season that we've had in years, we're just not seeing that," Emma Hinchliffe from Alpine Getaways Australia told 9News.

They say locals are still hitting the slopes, but visitors staying away is having a wider impact on the region.

Alpine Getaways say around 80 per cent of their properties are emptied as the hunt for Freeman continues.

There are no winners in this situation, according to Hinchliffe.

"I think we have an understanding of the way a bushfire works, the way a flood works, this is unknown," she said.

Police have urged locals to leave the search to the experts, as Freeman is believed to be heavily armed.

Despite hundreds of tip-offs, there have been no confirmed sightings.

More than 450 officers will continue to search over 100 properties and acres of bushland this week.

Officers have previously stated that they believe some people might know his whereabouts or are potentially harbouring the alleged killer.

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But the landlord who leased the property was considered the ‘meat in the sandwich’.

Police are investigating after a body was found inside of a burning car west of Sydney.

Emergency services were called to the Bells Line of Road near Mount Wilson in the Blue Mountains at about 10.30am this morning after reports a car was on fire.

When the blaze was extinguished, firefighters found a body inside.

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They aware unable to establish the identity of the person or the cause of the fire.

A crime scene was established and investigations into the blaze have commenced, with the State Crime Command's Homicide Squad being informed of the incident.

Bells Line of Road is still closed in both directions between Mt Tomah Road at Mount St and Darling Causeway at Bell.

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Motorists are being told to avoid the are and use the Great Western Highway and Darling Causeway instead.

Investigators are appealing to anyone with information to come forward or to contact Crime Stoppers.

They are also seeking anyone with dashcam footage recorded in the area between 10am-10:45am this morning to inform police.

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A man has been charged with murder after a man's body was discovered in Melbourne's north-east earlier this week.

Police are investigating a suspicious death after a 27-year-old man was found dead on a driveway on Linden Avenue in Ivanhoe on Tuesday.

The cause of his death is yet to be determined.

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Detectives have since charged a 26-year-old man following a pursuit in Pakenham early today.

He was charged with one count of murder.

The charged man will appear before Melbourne Magistrates' Court today.

A second man, aged 25, was also arrested following the pursuit.

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Police allege the two men had been driving a stolen car on Power Road in Doveton just before 2am today.

The car allegedly evaded officers and drove through Officer before being dumped on Darwin Way in Pakenham, where the offenders fled on foot, police said.

The pair were arrested shortly after on Botanic Drive.

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Prince Harry will return to the UK for the first time since Apri this week, sparking rumours of a reunion with his father King Charles III.

The Duke of Sussex will be in the country to announce a donation to charity Children in Need early next week, whilst he will also be in London for an awards ceremony for the WellChild charity.

Whilst King Charles was not in the country in April, he will be at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, as he is expected to mark the anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's death on September 8.

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The fact both will be in the UK at the same time has royal watchers wondering if the pair will have a reunion, having been somewhat estranged in recent years.

After Prince Harry's marriage to former actress Meghan Markle 2018 and their exit from the royal family in 2020, Prince Harry has spent much of his time in the USA.

He hasn't seen his father since early 2024, when the King revealed his cancer diagnosis, and relations between the royal family and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been strained at times.

However, representative on both sides were pictured together at a private members club in July, sparking rumours a meeting was being planned.

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According to the BBC, both sides denied leaking the photo, and there has been no official confirmation on if a meeting will be set up during Harry's visit.

Prince Harry also gave an interview in May saying he was open to the idea of a reconciliation with his father and the royal family.

"I would love a reconciliation with my family," he told BBC News in May.

"I don't know how much longer my father has. He won't speak to me because of this security stuff… but it would be nice to reconcile."

Prince Harry was referencing a court case between the two parties, where Harry failed in a legal challenge over the level of security he is entitled to when he is in the United Kingdom.

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A mass Russian drone and missile attack on Ukraine’s capital today killed at least two people and left smoke rising from the roof of a key government building.

Associated Press reporters saw a plume of smoke rising from the roof of Kyiv’s cabinet of ministers building, but it was not immediately clear if the smoke was the result of a direct hit or debris, which would mark an escalation in Russia’s air campaign.

Russia has so far avoided targeting government buildings in the city centre.

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The building is the home of Ukraine's Cabinet, housing the offices of its ministers.

Police blocked access to the building as fire trucks and ambulances arrived.

Ukrainian officials said two people were killed and 15 injured in the attack.

“For the first time, the government building was damaged by an enemy attack, including the roof and upper floors,” said Ukraine's Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.

“We will restore the buildings, but lost lives cannot be returned.”

“The world must respond to this destruction not only with words, but with actions. There is a need to strengthen sanctions pressure – primarily against Russian oil and gas,” she said.

Among the dead was a one-year-old child, whose body was dug out of the rubble by rescuers, said Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv’s city administration.

Russian drone debris struck a nine-story residential building in Kyiv's Sviatoshynskyi district and a four-story residential building in Darnytskyi district, according to Mayor Vitallii Klitschko.

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Today's attack is the second mass Russian drone and missile attack to target Kyiv in the span of two weeks, as hopes for peace talks wane.

The attack comes after European leaders pressed Russian leader Vladimir Putin to work to end the war after 26 of Ukraine's allies pledged to deploy troops as a “reassurance force” for the war-torn country once the fighting ends.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is ready to meet Putin to negotiate a peace agreement, and has urged US President Donald Trump to put punishing sanctions on Russia to push it to end the war.

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