When British tourist Ben booked a holiday on K'Gari (Fraser Island) with his partner Georgia he hoped for some close encounters with Australia's unique wildlife.

But he never expected to be airlifted to hospital after a suspected bite by Australia's second most venomous land snake, the eastern brown.

A now-viral TikTok video captured the entire ordeal, which began when the nature-lover's new drone crashed into the Queensland island's towering dunes at sunrise.

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Ben told 9news.com.au he wandered up the sandy slopes in trainers to retrieve the device, but disaster struck on the journey down.

"l stepped on this darkish thing quite deep in the grass, felt like a stabbing pain, looked down at my ankle and saw blood," he said.

"When we got back to the truck and had a look at my ankle, I saw the two fang marks, then the sudden realisation of long grass, plus summer equals snakes hit."

In shock, Ben said he showed the bite mark to his fiancée. 

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"We both sort of just sat there frozen for a second, quickly realising we had no signal to call anyone," he said.

"The tide was in so we couldn't access the beach to get back. I put pressure on my ankle to try and stop the blood flow."

Georgia sprang into action and ran to a neighbouring campsite, frantically waking a family to help.

"Immediately this lovely lady rushed over to me with a bite kit, she told me not to move, wrapped the bite in a bandage, circled the bite area and wrote the time of bite on the bandage," he said.

"They had been told the day before that an eastern brown snake had been spotted just along the campsite so we needed to move.

"Her husband and his friend carried me into the back of his new Landcruiser and rushed us across the rocks, along the beach to the nearest emergency phone."

READ MORE: What to do if you encounter a deadly snake, spider or jellyfish

About 40 minutes later Ben hear the distinctive whir of a helicopter, and knew help had arrived.

But then a new challenge emerged.

"The helicopter couldn't land at the rest stop we were at because of maintenance works being done to the helipad and they couldn't land on the beach because of the high tide," he explained.

"They circled overhead for a while before making the decision to land on this sandy grass-level part of the beach and the guys drove me down to meet the paramedics.

"The team from the RACQ LifeFlight were brilliant, kept me calm and got me into the helicopter to prepare me for the flight to the mainland hospital."

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Georgia was left on the island as the chopper was at capacity, and Ben was flown to Hervey Bay Hospital.

"The helicopter landed and they rushed me into emergency services, the snake bite procedure requires 12 hours of blood monitoring," he explained.

"They took bloods and hooked me up to all the monitoring machines.

"Both fangs had hit the ankle bone perfectly so it didn't inject venom, lucky escape".

Ben added an eastern brown was still suspected to be behind the bite due to the recent sightings around camp, and the distance between the fang marks. 

With snake season in full swing, Ben said he knew the venomous reptiles in Australia would pose a risk.

However, he's admitted he had three takeaways from the ordeal.

"I've watched nature shows my whole life and I'm pretty switched on with keeping my wits about me, especially in Australia," he said.

"(But) three things to make travellers like myself aware of in the future: wear thick high boots in Australia if you're walking in the bush, always carry a bite kit and assume snakes are everywhere.

"In all seriousness, though this hasn't changed my outlook on anything, I love Australia and I will continue to explore it."

Every year on January 17 Julie Ann Stewart would post a message on Facebook to her brother, wishing him a happy birthday.

Mark Russell had been living rough on Sydney's streets around Woolloomooloo and Kings Cross for the better part of three decades.

He only had two friends on Facebook and very sporadic access to the internet, but, with no other way to contact him, Stewart fervently hoped he would see her attempts to reach out.

Growing up together as wards of the state, the siblings had once meant everything to each other.

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"My father was abusive, and my mother couldn't look after us because she had epilepsy – it was just a whole horror story," Stewart said.

Stewart and Russell were taken to the St Saviour's Children's Home in Goulburn, in the New South Wales Southern Tablelands, when they were six and four years old respectively.

The rambling, historic mansion appeared frighteningly huge to her and her terrified brother, Stewart remembers.

"It was a pretty awful sort of place, like something out of Flowers in the Attic, it was so big," she said.

"I just remember sitting there waiting for our mum to come and visit us, but she never came.

"We didn't see her again until I was 15."

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Stewart and Russell would go on to spend a few years in the home and then the rest of their childhoods in foster care, but they were always placed together.

"For that to happen when you're really young, you look out for each other, which we always did," Stewart said.

Stewart said her brother was friendly and kind. His love of football earned him the nickname "Sharky Mark" in a nod to his favourite team, the Cronulla Sharks.

But as they grew up, Stewart and Russell would go on to lead increasingly divergent lives.

"I went on to finish year 12 and then I got a job after I left school," she said.

Stewart ended up working for the Commonwealth Bank. She married and had five children in Port Macquarie, where she still lives.

Meanwhile, when Mark was 17 years old, he had a falling out with his foster family and took off for Sydney, where he soon fell in with the wrong crowd, Stewart said.

Although he returned to his foster family a few times, it was the beginning of Russell sleeping rough.

With their shared traumatic upbringing, Stewart is only too aware of how little it would have taken to nudge her down the same path.

"I easily could have ended up on the streets too, but I ended up finding a job and getting married and having kids," she said.

Stewart said she was always trying to seek her brother out, but he lived "in his own world" and they only caught up a few, rare times over the years. 

Once, she was able to find him in Kings Cross after physically searching the streets.

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Another time, Russell arranged a catch up when he had planned a trip up the coast, meeting Stewart and two of her children.

Russell himself had two children – a son and a daughter – from fleeting relationships, but both of his offspring grew up having little contact with him.

At the beginning of 2018, Stewart met up with Russell's son, Shayne, and the pair decided they would try their best to track him down.

Stewart said she visited Sydney in January of that year, but didn't get a chance to check all of her brother's favourite haunts.

"We hadn't found him yet, but we were so close," she said.

It was just weeks later that Stewart received the worst possible news.

A foster cousin sent Stewart a Facebook post from NSW Police, detailing the horrific murder of an unidentified man at a bedsit in Clisdell Street, Surry Hills on February 24, 2018.

"As soon as I saw the photo I knew it was Mark," Stewart said.

It was a violent murder. Russell had been stabbed seven times in the neck and five times in the chest. He also had 12 defensive wounds on his hands.

Stewart said she was left stunned and heartbroken by her brother's brutal and untimely end. 

"After everything the two of us have been through in our lives, it was just horrific. You just couldn't believe someone could have that much bad luck in their life," she said.

Police said Russell had only recently moved into the bedsit, after decades of mostly living rough.

Witnesses told police a group of people were inside Stewart's unit the night before his body was found, and arguing or yelling was heard at about 10pm. 

There were also reports that more visitors were inside the unit during the day, but it was not clear if they were the same people who were there later in the evening.

Friendly and social by nature, Russell often left his door open, inviting in a trail of visitors.

Noticing his door was unusually closed the next morning, a concerned friend climbed through his window and discovered Russell's body.

A coronial inquiry in October 2020 heard evidence from police that their investigation had been hampered by a lack of reliable witnesses. There were also forensic challenges, as Russell's bedsit had been "used constantly by numerous persons".

Deputy State Coroner Derek Lee ruled Russell had died of wounds inflicted by an unknown person and referred the case to the unsolved homicide unit. 

A day before the coronial finding, police announced a $1 million reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Russell's murderer.

"I just burst into tears when they said we're going to offer a million-dollar reward," Stewart said.

"I couldn't believe it, I was so humbled and grateful.

"It showed how they (the police) value everyone. Mark was a homeless person and we were nobodies. I didn't think we were worthy of that million-dollar reward."

Stewart's hopes of finding answers were bolstered by the reward, but then came disappointment.

"We thought surely something will come of it, it's a million dollars. But there was nothing," she said.

Stewart said detectives told her they received less than a handful of calls after the reward was posted.

Homicide Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty, said the reward remained in place and the police investigation was still open.

"As investigations continue, anyone who may have information which could help provide much-needed answers to Mark's family is urged to contact police," Doherty said in a statement.

As it nears the five-year anniversary of her brother's murder, Stewart said Russell's family and friends remained desperate for a breakthrough.

"Someone has got to know something, or have seen something," Stewart said. 

"It's the not knowing that's the worst, and thinking about the person who did it and got away with it."

Students at public schools across New South Wales will return to class in 2023 with access to free pads, tampons and in some schools period underwear.

The state government announced today that more than 4600 dispensers had been installed in public schools across the state.

"Getting your period should not be a barrier to education," Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said.

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"I want our young women to feel comfortable in knowing they have access to free sanitary products when they need, in their school.

"Evidence shows that providing sanitary items has a very positive impact on educational engagement and attainment, so we know this program is going to make a huge difference for our students' education."

Some schools will also have access to the Periods, Pain and Endometriosis Program (PPEP-Talk), developed by the Pelvic Pain Foundation of Australia (PPFA) and co-funded by the federal and state governments.

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The PPEP-Talk will help parents and schools understand endometriosis and pelvic pain and early intervention strategies, and will be delivered at selected public schools throughout the state.

"These PPEP-Talks will allow for both male and female students to be able to discuss women's health in a respectful way that reduces the stigma that can come around women's health," Mitchell said.

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Jacinda Ardern has left New Zealand's Parliament for the last time, after resigning as prime minister.

Footage showed Ardern waving to a cheering crowd as she left the building, flanked by security.

Ardern hugged and spoke to a number of supporters, thanking people as she went, before giving a final wave and climbing into a car.

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Chris Hipkins has now also been sworn in as New Zealand's 41st prime minister, following Ardern's unexpected resignation.

Hipkins, 44, has promised a back-to-basics approach focusing on the economy and what he described as the "pandemic of inflation."

He will have less than nine months before contesting a tough general election, with opinion polls indicating his Labour Party is trailing its conservative opposition.

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New Zealand Governor-General Cindy Kiro officiated the swearing in ceremony after earlier accepting Ardern's resignation.

Hipkins served as education and police minister under Ardern. He rose to public prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he took on a kind of crisis management role.

But he and other liberals have long been in the shadow of Ardern, who became a global icon of the left and exemplified a new style of leadership.

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Elizabeth Arthur, Unit Supervisor at Taronga Wildlife Hospital in Sydney, picked up a huge specimen jar packed to the brim with shredded pieces of plastic.

The container came from a large perspex box filled with labelled samples emblazoned with species' names; green turtle, magpie, pied cormorant, Australasian darter, and more are represented.

Inside each cylindrical vessel is a grim reminder of a crisis gripping the natural world.

READ MORE: 'Quite alarming': Why our oceans could soon look very different

"Look at this one, this green sea turtle probably didn't make it," Arthur said, holding up the largest jar.

"Every single jar you see contains plastic, microplastic, or fishing gear, pulled from inside an animal that came into our care.

"Normally it's a marine creature, but not always."

The comments came as 9news.com.au went behind the scenes to learn more about what goes into treating wild animals – and to meet some patients.

Meeting the wild patients

Currently in care at the facility, in Mosman on Sydney's leafy north shore, are two green sea turtles, an eastern long-neck turtle, an echidna, a little penguin, an osprey and a white-bellied sea eagle.

"It's actually been pretty quiet the last week or so, after a very busy month," Arthur said, walking through the cream and white halls.

"That's a good thing though, right?

"Most of the animals have been moved into rehab, and are building up condition.

"But with that said, every animal we're about to meet, apart from maybe the penguin, has had a run-in with humans."

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A rustle in a large, round tub alerts us to the fact we've reached our first patient.

The echidna was found in Sydney bushland with an injured claw, believed to be caused by a motor vehicle and several tics.

While it's on the road to recovery, it's not yet known if the monotreme will ever be released back into the wild.

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The team must first determine if it can dig and find food.

"Our main aim is to get this echidna and all other native animals that we care for at the hospitals back into the wild fully rehabilitated, and the prognosis looks good for this fellow," Arthur said.

We then passed down a hall lined with towels and rags and came to the next patient on the rounds.

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"Five Hook", a sub-adult green sea turtle, was found near Nelson Bay, in Port Stephens, after ingesting five fishing hooks.

"This one has a long road to recovery," Arthur said.

"It wasn't in a good way when it was found, you can tell by the amount of barnacles on it.

"Healthy turtles have cleaner shells.

"We've removed four of the five hooks – we need to do an endoscope to see where the other one is".

An eastern long-necked turtle housed in a nearby room suffered a similar fate; it was found around Blacktown with a fishing line dangling out its mouth.

The hook and the line has been removed and this particular turtle is recovering well.

The liveliest patient of the bunch came in the form of a large white-bellied sea eagle that had been injured after a boat clipped its wing near Newcastle.

Witnesses saw the bird attempt to fly after the hit, but it twice fell onto rocks.

Inside the cage, the bird or prey ran along a large padded branch, erected as a perch, and flapped its injured wing.

"The towelling helps protect its feet as when it was brought in, it had abrasions on it feet, and we want to protect it from further damage," Arthur says.

She explained other seabirds such as penguins and albatross can develop a condition called "bumble foot". The birds have soft feet, and can develop pressure sores, which is why some enclosures have soft, spongy floors.

Arthur also pointed out the PVC plastic slats on the windows – installed to prevent wing injuries – and the mesh netted ceiling.

"That stops the birds from scalping themselves if they fly up," she said.

"We're not sure how this sea eagle will fare yet, we hope its wing feathers will grow back."

In the enclosure opposite was another seabird of prey; an osprey.

The bird was found at a sewage treatment plant in Kincumber, on the Central Coast, trapped in a skimmer box where oil is collected.

"We've washed this one countless times," Arthur said, explaining the bird also has a long way to go as it needs to start preening itself.

"We need to see whether it can waterproof itself.

"It has an oil gland at the bottom of its tail, otherwise when it dives the feathers will take on water and it will sink."

New era dawning for hospital 

The two Taronga Wildlife Hospitals – the other is in Dubbo – treat more than 1500 sick, injured, or orphaned native animals each year.

Most animals are brought to the hospitals by members of the community, but sometimes Taronga is called in to help by NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.

Together the two hospitals have released an estimated 50,000 animals back into the wild, after being opened in the 1970s.

But the facilities are no longer deemed "fit for purpose" and a $40 million upgrade is being deployed to improve the animals' care.

With a climate and extinction crisis looming the zoo is looking to break ground on a new Sydney facility in the hope of "future-proofing" Australia's unique fauna for generations to come. 

The "world-class" facility is slated to open in 2025, and comes after a similar "state-of-the-art" hospital opened in Dubbo in December.

The Reptile and Amphibian Conservation Centre in Sydney will also see an upgrade.

The new Taronga Wildlife Hospital in Sydney will increase the hospital's capacity to hold and care for injured wildlife by 400 per cent.

Both the Dubbo and Sydney site will also serve as "teaching" hospitals improving the response to wildlife emergencies, such as the Black Summer bushfires of 2019/2020, which is estimated to have killed, displaced and injured three billion native animals.

'There's so much humans do that we don't realise'

With a public holiday looming, Arthur said there are a couple of easy things citizens can do to minimise their impact, and ultimately reduce the number of wild patients across the two sites.

"There's so much we humans do, we don't realise," she said.

"These animals are only a few examples of that.

"People are trying to help, that's why we get called, but there's more to be done."

Arthur implores all beachgoers, and fishermen, to be mindful of what they leave behind.

"There's so much marine waste," she said.

"Always pick up rubbish, including fishing line, and take someone's else's rubbish too if you see it."

But the advice doesn't stop there.

"Keep dogs on leashes and cat owners should bring felines inside at night, they should always wear a bell," she said.

"On hot days put out a bowl of water for native animals, and always have a cardboard box, pillow slips and a towel handy in the boot of a car if driving through bushy areas.

"You can also plant more native trees, install nest boxes.

"But whatever you do, don't pick up bats – leave that to the animal rescue groups."

Taronga Wildlife Hospitals are open seven days a week, to help sick, injured or orphaned native animals.

A Qantas flight bound for Kalgoorlie in WA was forced to divert back to Perth over technical issues on Tuesday.

Flight QF1608 made it about 100km, as far as Northam, according to flight tracking website Flightradar24, before landing safely back in Perth just after 5pm.

Perth airport said there were no reports of any injuries or major issues on board.

Qantas are investigating.

READ MORE: Qantas flight from Adelaide to Perth turned back over paperwork issue

It marks the second Qantas flight in as many days that's been forced to turn back.

The Adelaide to Perth flight (QF887) had to circle back to the South Australian capital on Monday afternoon over "incomplete paperwork."

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This week's hiccups mark the latest in a line of issues for the embattled Australian airline, with several incidents in the few weeks and months.

A flight from Auckland to Sydney had a mayday call over the Pacific Ocean over engine failure but landed safely last week.

There was a flight diverted to Baku in Azerbaijan just before Christmas and more recently fumes in the cabin forced one plane to turn back to Fiji.

Also domestic flights in Melbourne were also impacted by mechanical issues earlier this month.

Despite five flights being turned around mid-air in the past week, the International and Domestic CEO claims there are "absolutely no issues" with the airline.

A sleeping family woke up screaming after two fighting kangaroos smashed into a tent of young girls on an otherwise tranquil morning at a NSW campground.

Footage of the scrap, which was peppered with punches, double-foot kicks and high-pitched human screams of fright and confusion, was obtained by 9News.

It's believed the two kangaroos had been fighting over territory or a female.

READ: 'It was a six-foot mad roo': Man fights kangaroo for six minutes in Victoria

Zookeeper Chad Staples says when two kangaroos start fighting, "the rest of the world just fades away".

"Ninety-nine per cent of fights between men come from a discussion over a lady," he said.

"What they're doing is using that driving kicking motion to do damage to the stomach… it's vicious."

A Central Coast man who goes by "Outback Larry" filmed the two kangaroos on January 10, grabbing and kicking one another at Trial Bay Gaol campground, about 80km north of Port Macquarie.

Larry was up at 6.30am as he was heading out to go fishing.

As the fight wound its way across the quiet campground, the two kangaroos eventually tumbled into a tent, triggering a wave of startled squeals from inside.

Four young girls, all aged under 10, were in the tent at the time.

"Don't get near them," a voice can be heard warning a screaming woman.

There are no reports of anyone being injured, but the intruding kangaroo wasn't so lucky: the moment the other roo choked him into unconsiousness was caught on camera before he awoke and accepted defeat.

Dangerous jet ski riders have been put on notice amid a police blitz on Victoria's waterways.

Over the weekend, officers targeted riders on Lake Eppalock, a popular hotspot outside of Melbourne.

A 24-year-old Melton man was among those charged, after being caught without a licence while operating a jet ski on the waterway.

READ MORE: Teen jet ski rider facing charges after alleged hooning on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula

Water Police Acting Sergeant Kristie Clappison said police are concerned about the dangerous behaviour of some individuals.

"People think jet skis are toys," she told 9News.

"People don't realise how powerful and heavy jetskis are and what sort of damage they can do.

"(People) flick others with water, ride too close and sometimes those jet skis become uncontrollable."

READ MORE: Authorities cracking down on jet skiers 'harassing dolphins' in Victoria

Just days ago, a jet ski rider who allegedly rode dangerously close to a boat at a Melbourne beach was charged by police.

The incident at Mornington Peninsula, which was captured on video by a passenger, allegedly involved the teenager deliberately spraying the occupants of the boat with water before speeding off.

Acting Sergeant Clappison said any illegal behaviour would not be tolerated.

Police will continue to patrol holiday hotspots, beaches and waterways across Victoria.

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The South Australian government has been forced to admit it doesn't know the details of the deaths of nearly 60 children known to child protection authorities in the past four years.

9News understands at least two of the children had urgent welfare reports in the year before they died.

The revelations came after heavily redacted government documents showed the 58 children who died in the past four years had been removed from their homes or reported to authorities as being at risk.

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South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said there was no detail in the documents about what actions were taken by the Department of Child Protection after the welfare notifications.

"I have immediately asked my department for even more information about the deaths in the Sydcerc report," Malinauskas said.

"What these statistics don't go into is any sort of detail, which allows someone to say these are deaths that are occurring because of the interaction with the child protection system.

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"I have made it clear to people working within child protection that I am keen to see some improvement and I think there is the opportunity for that."

The deaths largely occurred when the current opposition was in government.

Shadow child protection minister Josh Teague said they needed to have the information in real-time so they could address improvements towards better outcomes.

Rapid welfare checks are being done on 526 at-risk children, with 92 per cent now complete.

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There are growing calls for Kanye West to be barred from entering Australia in response to his anti-Semitic comments.

West is believed to be planning on travelling to Melbourne this month to meet the family of his new wife, Bianca Censori.

The Anti-Defamation Commission, however, is urging Immigration Minister Andrew Giles to block any attempt by the rapper to enter Australia.

READ MORE: Man under police guard after 'violent' fire destroys home in Melbourne

"Kanye can keep spewing his disgusting and revolting conspiracy theories in the United States, not here," Anti-Defamation Commission chairman Dvir Abramovich said.

"This agent of hate and division (of someone) who loves Nazis and worships Hitler, should never be allowed to step foot in this country."

West's anti-Semitic rants previously led him to be banned on social media after an interview where he made discriminatory comments against the Jewish community last year.

Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton told 3AW said West's comments were "disgraceful".

"My inclination would be not to allow him in," he said.

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"His anti-Semitic comments are disgraceful, his conduct (and) his behaviour are appalling.

"He's not a person of good character, and the minister has the ability to stop somebody coming into our country of bad character."

Dutton told 3AW that Immigration Minister had a "lot to weigh up".

A government spokesperson said they could not comment on specific cases.

"All non-citizens who enter Australia must meet the requirements set out in the Migration Act, including security and character requirements," the spokesperson said.