Rising floodwaters have turned the small New South Wales community of Wee-Waa into an island overnight.

The community may be cut off for the next ten days while floodwaters recede after the local Namoi river reached a height of 7.07 metres, 37 centimetres higher than predicted.

New South Wales SES' Dave Rankin says they’ll be keeping a close eye on the community and managing any resupply or medical issues via boat and helicopter.

Greens MP and Housing spokesperson Jenny Leong MP introduced a bill in New South Wales Parliament yesterday designed to alleviate pressure on those living below the poverty line.

The Private Members Bill proposes the installment of free Wi-fi in public housing as an essential service and waivers on rent while approved property maintenance works remain uncompleted.

Leong says allowing people to live under the poverty line is a political choice and  there are huge structural barriers preventing people from accessing work and education.

A newly identified COVID mutation in South Africa is being described by officials as the worst version of the virus yet.

The UK Health Security Agency said the variant, called B.1.1.529, was much more likely to evade the immune response generated both by prior COVID-19 infection and vaccination.

This is due to a spike protein that is dramatically different to the original coronavirus variant the vaccines were based on.

South Africa's Health Minister, Joe Phaahlahas, said the country had seen an "exponential rise" in new infections due to the B.1.1.529 variant.

The Queensland Government says it is hesitant to announce a Gold Coast-Tweed border bubble due to new COVID-19 cases in Byron Bay. 

Frustration has been expressed by Tweed locals that the upcoming testing requirements upon entering the Queensland border would be impractical for residents living on the Southern side of the border. 

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says the Government is considering the Byron Bay case in their decision on border bubble restrictions.

The Queensland Government has committed a $123,000 for the protection of Mount Etna’s ghost bats. 

The ghost bats are the largest microbat species in Australia and are listed as endangered under Queensland’s Nature Conservation Act. 

Queensland Minister for the Environment says the Mount Etna Caves site is important as it provides maternity and roosting caves for the southern population of the ghost bat, which is considered significant for the ongoing conservation of the species.

Australian Defence Force personnel will be deployed from Townsville to the Solomon Islands today to help quell political unrest.

This follows the deployment of 23 Federal Police members to the capital of Honiara yesterday, in a bid to bolster local law enforcement dealing with riots which have gripped the city since Tuesday.

Federal Member for Herbert and Defence Force veteran Phillip Thompson says the Townsville soldiers based at the airport in the Solomon Islands would only be used as a last resort.

Climate activist Sergeio was granted bail for an appeal of his twelve month sentence yesterday in the Newcastle local court. 

Sergeio was initially sentenced 12 months in prison and six months no parol for blocking a coal train as a part of Blockade Australia’s ongoing mobilisation against the Newcastle Coal Port.

Members of Newcastle, Brisbane and Bellingen gathered on Wednesday in solidarity with Sergeio’s action.

A Chinese navy ship was recently spotted off the east coast of Australia.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the government had been aware of the ship off the Australian coast, and no complaint would be made. 

The ship travelled through Australia’s Exclusive Economic Zone, passing through the Torres Strait and down the eastern coastline, but did not cross into Australian Territorial Waters.