The body of a missing 71-year-old has been found on his burnt-out south coast property, taking the NSW bushfire death toll to 20.
Another person has died after a "horrendous" weekend of bushfires on NSW's South Coast, the Southern Highlands and the Snowy Mountains.
NSW Police found a body today on a burnt Nerrigundah property on the state's south coast, the eighth person to die in the region and the 20th in NSW.
In South Australia, a convoy of army vehicles with up to 100 reservists is heading for Kangaroo Island as the bushfire recovery gathers pace.
The blaze, which has burnt more than 155,000 hectares inside a 300-kilometre perimeter, is still active in some areas.
In Victoria, showers are giving firefighters some relief but hot conditions are forecast to return later in the week.
Criticism of Scott Morrison’s leadership on the bushfires is coming from as far as Britain now.
Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan ripped into the PM in a segment featuring MP Craig Kelly on Monday morning (UK time).
“Scott Morrison thought the right response to these fires erupting in Australia was to go lie on a beach in Hawaii and that was a dereliction of his duty as leader of Australia,” Morgan said.
A climate scientist has warned more extreme weather is on the way, bringing cyclones, floods and heatwaves.
Neville Nicholls, professor emeritus at Monash University’s School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, said the peak time for heatwaves in southern Australia – where temperatures nudged 50C on Saturday – was still weeks away.
Prof Nicholls said Australia should prepare for more misery, with extreme weather systems such as “cyclones, floods and heatwaves” set to push our emergency services and resources to their limits.
Just an update on Celeste Barber's fundraising effort for the fireys, the comedian has now raised more than $36 million in three days.
A truly staggering effort.
Celeste Barber has raised more than $36 million for fireys.
The auction of Shane Warne's Baggy Green cap, also for the bushfire effort, is attracting a lot of attention, with bids for the cricketer's cap increasing to over $300,000 in just a few hours.
A theatre production has cancelled its run at Sydney Festival due to concerns about air quality in Sydney.
French screen superstar Isabelle Adjani was expected to star in Opening Night, a theatre version of the 1977 cult movie classic, but the production has been cancelled.
The play, which was the festival's flagship production, was due to be stage inside, in the Opera House theatre.
Sydney Festival director Wesley Enoch said despite the best efforts and assurances, the Opening Night team had chosen not to travel to Sydney as scheduled.
“Naturally, on behalf of the people of Sydney, we are extremely disappointed,” Mr Enoch said in a statement.
Isabelle Adjani was expected to star in the production of Opening Night. Picture: Sydney Festival.
“We have been in constant communication with all international and Australian based companies in relation to any concerns arising from the current fire situation in NSW and we have been buoyed by their responses.
“Overwhelmingly, individual artists and companies – both local and from overseas – have responded by asking how they can help or what they can do to support relief efforts once they are on the ground in Sydney for the Festival.”
All ticket holders will be refunded by January 11. For any questions call 8880 9214.
The Sydney Festival will kick off on January 8 with more than two weeks of events.
More than 11,000 Essential Energy customers had their power restored today on NSW's south coast but about 12,100 remain without electricity.
Parts of Batemans Bay, Moruya, Mossy Point, Broulee and Tomakin had had their power reconnected after days of interruption.
Some customers are not expected to get their power restored until later this week into next.
Those still without power:
* Parts of Batemans Bay, parts of Catalina, Durras, North Durras, Surf Beach, Malua Bay, Mogo, parts of Broulee, Mogendoura, Nerrigundah, and Eurobodalla: 4,600 customers
* Bembooka, Brogo, Numbugga, Cobargo, Bermagui, Kiah, South of Eden, Edrom, Nethercote, Boydtown, Wonboyn: 3,900 customers
* Tumbarumba, Talbingo, Batlow, Tumut: 3,500 customers
* Jingellic: 55 customers
A convoy of cars has been led through a fire zone in Western Australia where the Eyre Highway has been closed for days.
The Eyre Highway is the only road that links Western Australia and South Australia via the Nullarbor Plain and hundreds were stranded in Caiguna after the road was closed.
But authorities today guided about 300 people in a convoy through the dangerous fire ground where a watch and act warning remains in place.
They were led west from Caiguna, to Norseman and Esperance. Previously people been told their best option was to return east from Caiguna.
The fires have been burning since December 20 and is expected to be there for some days.
The blaze is still considered out of control and unpredictable and is impacting the Eyre Highway on both sides at a number of locations.
With AAP
An eighth person has died in fires on NSW's south coast.
NSW Police confirmed a body was found today after a 71-year-old man was reported missing from Nerrigundah in the Eurobodalla Shire.
The man was last seen moving equipment on his Nerrigundah property on New Years Eve.
Police and rescue units were unable to access the area for a number of days due to fire risk. The property had been destroyed as a result of the Badja Forest Road Fire.
Earlier today, a large-scale land search was launched and about 4pm a body was found between the property and a car, which had been destroyed by fire.
The body has yet to be formally identified but is believed to be the missing 71-year-old.
Eight people have now died in the south coast fires, bringing the total death toll in NSW to 20.
Across Australia, 24 people have died during the 2019/20 fire season.
The defence force will deliver an emergency water purification system to SA’s Kangaroo Island after crucial infrastructure broke down during the continuing bushfire disaster.
The blaze, which has burnt more than 155,000 hectares inside a 300-kilometre perimeter, is still active in some areas with authorities concerned about deteriorating weather conditions later this week.
Crews responded to a number of flare-ups, most notably in the Stokes Bay area on Monday.
A convoy of army vehicles and up to 100 reservists arrived on the island to provide the community with immediate help.
Australian Defence Force Chief of Joint Operations Lieutenant General Greg Bilton said that help included the provision of 64,000 litres of bottled water.
"We have people involved at the evacuation centre there to make sure we can distribute fresh water to the human population,” he told reporters in Canberra.
“Then, of course, there is stock that will require water as well and we’ll provide a series of water trucks in cooperation with SA Water, so we’re not doing this on our own.”
Lt-Gen Bilton said an emergency water purification system would arrive to replace one damaged by the fire, which escalated rapidly during dangerous conditions on Friday.
“It can’t generate the same amount of water that is generated by the current system, but we can provide an emergency supply,” he said.
– AAP
The Bureau of Meteorology says smoke haze has reduced visibility in Melbourne to less than 1km.
Premier Daniel Andrews has also been tweeting out advice, telling people to stay indoors and keep their windows closed.
"And if you’re experiencing chest tightness or a shortness of breath – please, call 000 immediately," he wrote.
Hillsong founder Brian Houston has tweeted that their Global Bushfire Appeal has raised more than $500,000.
Sydney influencer known for his 330,000 followers as “Humdinger” died after reportedly consuming cocaine laced with opioids.
An urgent alert has been issued to locate a man who escaped from police custody in Sydney’s southwest.
Logie winner Tony Armstrong has revealed a surprising career move outside of his life on camera - joining a recent trend among Australia’s television royalty.