A mothballedNSWHunterValley coal-firedpowerstationis to be re-commissioned and the new owners say it willbecleaner andgreenerthanitwas beforeitshutdownfive yearsago.

Firefighters are protecting properties in Belmont, south of Newcastle, as a bushfire fanned by strong winds continues to burn near homes.

A man pleads guilty to burning another man alive after dousing him with petrol on a deserted road south of Newcastle last year.

A NSW firefighter who hatched a plan to start bushfires "so he could fight them" will serve more time in jail than the man who lit them his younger brother.

The family of volunteer firefighter from New Zealand who was killed in a hit-and-run in the NSW Hunter Valley has issued an emotional plea for someone to come forward.

When women at this regional fire station complained male colleagues were harassing them, management's response was to make them work from a dilapidated garage and things got worse after that.

Welcome to fire spotting the job where you get to look into the distance and get paid for it.

Crescent Head is currently experiencing wind gusts of up to 40kph.

Emergency services are keeping a close watch on large blazes at Middle Creek Road, Kangaroo Creek north of Coffs Harbour, and at Verges Creek north of Crescent Head in northern NSW, after residents were warned to seek shelter.

A woman whose house burnt down in bushfires affecting the NSW North Coast said that she and her husband now plan on leaving the bush due to the hazard.

MORNING BRIEFING: A guest is taken to hospital after fire guts a backpacker hostel in Coogee, while Mert Ney is due back in court over the alleged murder of Michaela Dunn and stabbing of Linda Bo.

Experts say bushfires coupled with decreasing habitat in an urbanised landscape is taking its toll on wildlife and improved land management is crucial.

Three girls aged 12, 13 and 14, are before the courts over 13 grassfires police allege were deliberately lit on the New South Wales mid-north coast.

An innovative plan to flood a fireground is being employed on the NSW mid-north coast to extinguish a fire that has been burning for more than six weeks.

The winds are not giving firefighters any breaks as a fire in the Clarence Valley moves in on properties and blazes near Armidale and Tenterfield remain "absolutely enormous", according to the Rural Fire Service.

The number of homes lost to three fires in northern NSW rises to nine as strong winds continue to hamper the efforts of firefighters to bring them under control.

Much-needed support is rolling in for drought-affected farmers hit by a massive bushfire burning in northern New South Wales.

MORNING BRIEFING: A woman has been charged with murder after a man was found with multiple stab wounds in a Sydney apartment complex, while easing weather conditions have helped firefighters in Tenterfield gain the upper hand on a bushfire.

The NSW Rural Fire Service downgrades an emergency warning for a fire at Backwater near Armidale, as hot and dry conditions continue to fuel bushfires in the area.

There are reports of property damage in the town of Darawank, north of Forster-Tuncurry on the NSW north coast where a bushfire is burning at emergency level.

Social media vision of three bushfires burning on the NSW north coast. An emergency declaration has been issued by the NSW RFS with homes under threat.

Emergency crews gain the upper hand in fighting 85 fires across NSW but two blazes near Forster-Tuncurry escalate again.

High temperatures and strong winds fuel blazes across the state, with at least two homes being destroyed near the town of Darawank on the NSW mid-north coast.

The Port Macquarie koala hospital fears more than 350 koalas may have died in a bushfire south of the town, with staff frustrated they cannot yet access the site.

Student Liam Birrer was supposed to be sitting a HSC exam instead he was fighting a bushfire in his local community.

The honey industry is facing hard times along with other producers, having taken a battering over recent years from the drought and a string of natural disasters.

Injured koalas receive life-saving treatment after surviving devastating bushfires on the New South Wales mid-north coast.

Aboriginal followers of a Tongan-born preacher set fire to artefacts considered sacred by many local elders, and dismantle and burn a spiritual law ground.

A meteor possibly as small as a tennis ball bursts into the Earth's atmosphere causing a flash of light and a sound "like thunder" over Tasmania and Victoria, causing some to fear the worst.

Fire is "absolutely the number-one risk" to the city of Hobart, authorities say. But has the island state learnt from the 1967 fires that destroyed hundreds of homes and claimed 62 lives?

When there's a smell of smoke in the air, bushfire survivor Michael King still feels jittery. He describes it as similar to "how a Vietnam veteran might feel if he hears the sound of a chopper overhead".

DAILY BRIEFING: An elderly female driver has a fright after her car swerves off a road and over a cliff, and the Tasmanian Government holds off formally asking the Commonwealth to help pay for firefighting in the Wilderness World Heritage Area last summer.

DAILY BRIEFING: Two bushfires are burning near the small communities of Glen Huon and Miena, but authorities say there is no immediate threat to people and property, and seven little penguins injured in a dog attack have been released into the wild.

DAILY BRIEFING: On a day of total fire ban in Tasmania's south, the fire service is being kept busy dealing with several outbreaks, including at Elderslie and Lachlan, where communities are on watch-and act-alerts.

The Tasmanian Fire Service downgrades the threat from a bushfire in the Derwent Valley where a lack of fresh water had earlier made firefighting "a challenge".

A bushfire burning north of Hobart could pose a threat to the city's suburbs and critical infrastructure if uncontrolled, a fire officer warns, as Tasmania prepares for hot weather and strong winds over the next few days.

DAILY BRIEFING: A fire that started north of Bothwell two days ago has been upgraded to emergency level, with firefighters pulling out because it is too dangerous.

DAILY BRIEFING: Firefighters downgrade the alerts for four bushfires which are burning out of control north of Hobart and in a shack area of the Central Highlands.

As bushfire conditions ease around Tasmania this weekend, the firefighter's union wants laws to back volunteers leaving work in an emergency as the bushfire season extends to as long as six months.

Proposed new powers for South Australia's Country Fire Service volunteers to be able to stop members of the public from operating due to fire dangers has put them at odds with farmers.

Some posts and memes on social media want foreign aid cut until Australians get back on their feet after natural disasters. But is this too simplistic?

Power is being restored to Port Lincoln on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia as authorities consider shutting off power to the Mount Lofty Ranges in response to extreme fire danger conditions in the area.

A police officer helps save a worker who jumped into the ocean for his own safety when the Whyalla jetty caught fire on Wednesday afternoon.