The end of Australia’s long summer school holidays usually draws crowds to the beach but a spate of shark attacks in the country’s most populous state has triggered warnings to stay out of the water.

A young surfer had a similarly lucky escape at Dee Why Beach in Sydney on Monday, but a shark attack at nearby Manly hours later left a 27-year-old with "life-changing" injuries. On Sunday, a 12-year-old boy was also critically injured when bitten at a popular Sydney Harbour beach.

Beaches have been closed across NSW as four shark attacks in less than 48 hours – two of which left victims with catastrophic injuries – renewed debate over shark culls and sparked calls for increased drone surveillance at patrolled beaches.

We can’t lose sight of the fact that 15 people were wonderful and they’re lost to us, and their lives need to be remembered.’

Heavy rain that fell over the NSW South Coast on Thursday and Friday has edged north overnight while rain and the monsoon continues to affect the tropics.

This is about ensuring that we are enabling people to protest, enabling free speech, but make sure that the community remains safe.”

A court has been told Karin Mohamed Salem was “angry” and “venting” when he made the threat against Anthony Albanese.

Shark mitigation measures have come a long way since the first nets were rolled out in Sydney almost 90 years ago.

After a day of severe thunderstorms and flash flooding, a low formed off the NSW South Coast, causing record daily January rainfall totals.

The NSW Government has announced legislative reforms that will enhance the surveillance powers of investigative agencies including NSW’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). Currently, under the Surveillance Devices Act 2007 (NSW) (the Act),