An unassuming Western Sydney student conned his way out of handcuffs and into luxury cars, “porn-star experiences” and convinced people to part with bars of gold.

John Barilaro has withdrawn from his new $500,000-a-year position as NSW’s trade commissioner to the US because his appointment was a “distraction” for the government.

Tolls could go up by nearly $100 a year for Western Sydney drivers, with the hike eating into the $750 toll rebate announced in last month’s state budget.

Sydney has nabbed the world’s premier innovation festival – America’s South by Southwest  – to revitalise the city’s post-pandemic events calendar.