Australia

The head of the Australian National University's Department of Strategic and Defence Studies, Professor John Blaxland, said he had been inspired by New Zealand's free association links with Niue and the Cook Islands.

Kiribati, Tonga, Tuvalu and Nauru would benefit from similar arrangements, he said.

Prof Blaxland said those countries were facing a conflation of issues - the geopolitical threat posed by rise of China, climate change, and issues with governance.

Yarraka Bayles posted the clip of her son, Quaden, crying after he was targeted at school for his dwarfism.

"This is what bullying does," she says in the video, in which her son also says he wants to end his life.

Now a GoFundMe page has raised 30 times more than its $10,000 target.

The page was set up by US comedian Brad Williams after the video went viral to raise money to send Quaden to Disneyland.

The National Rugby League's Indigenous All Stars team have also invited Quaden to lead out the side for their match against the Maori All Stars on Saturday.

Severe weather warnings for rain, winds and flooding have been issued for coastal areas of the eastern state.

Australia's Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) warned of "dangerous conditions" on Saturday and Sunday.

There has already been flooding in Sydney and other areas along the coast.

Friday was the wettest day recorded in well over a year in Sydney, where roads were closed and public transport delayed.

Other NSW towns faced flood waters as well, including Byron Bay and Coffs Harbour, where 280mm and 250mm of rain fell respectively.

The evacuees were first sent to specially quarantined facilities at a remote airbase in Western Australia.

The Qantas 747 touched down last night (NZ time) at a Royal Australian Air Force base about 1200km north of Perth, carrying 243 passengers, 14 crew, four pilots and officials from the Department of Health.

Several children were on board, with 89 evacuees under 16 years of age, including five under the age of two.

The 747 could not land at the small Christmas Island airstrip, so the passengers will be transferred to two smaller planes to make the trip.

Blue gum trees - an important koala habitat - were harvested from the plantation in December, leaving only a few isolated stands of trees.

Some koalas had starved to death in the remaining trees. Others were apparently killed by bulldozers.

About 80 surviving koalas have been removed and are being cared for.

The deaths come after tens of thousands of koalas were killed in the bushfires that have ravaged Australia. The marsupial is listed as "vulnerable" by Australia's Environment Ministry.

Described as a "game changer" that will help scientists determine whether a future vaccine is effective, experts at Melbourne's Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity on Tuesday became the world's first scientific lab outside of China to recreate the virus.

They will now share it with the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Europe, which will in turn share it with labs worldwide — including one from Queensland — involved in the worldwide race to develop a vaccine.

The team of scientists grew the virus from a patient who had been infected since Friday.

There are currently 1,287 confirmed cases in China, 41 of whom have died.

It comes as China is begins celebrations of the Lunar New Year, one of the most important dates in its calendar.

Many events have been cancelled and a new hospital is being built in the city of Wuhan.

The virus has now spread to Europe, with three cases confirmed in France.

The first case was in Bordeaux, while the other two were in the Paris area, the French health minister said on Friday night.

And one case has been confirmed in Australia.

Australia's High Commissioner to PNG, Bruce Davis, said the initial deployment would assist the Australian military with its response.

PNG prime minister James Marape had earlier offered to send 1000 soldiers and firefighters.

Vanuatu has also come to Australia's aid, donating $US175,000 to the bushfire recovery effort.

On Thursday, Australian prime minister Scott Morrison thanked PNG, Vanuatu and Fiji for their support, calling it overwhelming.

Palau's president has also written to Mr Morrison to offer support.

The declaration, which gives the state and emergency services additional powers, was put into place last Thursday.

Mr Andrews said the extension was needed to manage what was likely to be a significant increase in bushfire activity over the next 48 hours.

The state of disaster covers East Gippsland, the Alpine region and the state's north-east.

Authorities are urging people to leave the Alpine region and all areas east of Bairnsdale, in East Gippsland, as the fire danger once again ramps up.

At least 24 people have died since the fires began in September. Air quality in the capital Canberra was this weekend rated the worst in the world.

Mr Morrison announced the creation of a recovery agency to help those who have lost homes and businesses in the fires.

He has faced fierce criticism over the speed of his response to the crisis.

The weekend saw some of the worst days of the crisis so far, with hundreds more properties destroyed. Rural towns and major cities saw red skies, falling ash and smoke that clogged the air.