Four of the survivors of the deadly Gold Coast chopper crash have released photos of the aftermath of the tragedy, as they say they're still struggling to come to terms with what happened.

New Zealand couples Marle and Edward Swart, and Elmarie and Riaan Steenberg, were on board the descending helicopter that was struck by one just taking off, last Monday.

The ascending helicopter crashed to the ground, killing four people on board including pilot Ash Jenkinson, and wounding three other passengers.

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Michael James, who piloted the helicopter carrying the Swarts and Steenbergs, managed to land safety, though Marle Swart and Elmarie Steenberg were injured.

Today, the four New Zealanders issued a collective statement.

"We want to express our deepest sympathies and sincere condolences to the injured, deceased, and their families," they said.

"Our hearts are deeply saddened by the loss. This has been traumatic for us as survivors, and we cannot imagine the terrible sadness their families and loved ones must be feeling."

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The four also offered thanks to many who had helped them, including "hero" pilot James, and many others whose names they said they did not know, such as bystanders who raced to their aid, and emergency and medical personnel who helped them.

"Their care and heroism changed our lives," the statement said.

"Our pilot, Michael James. You are our hero. You landed the helicopter safely and kept the bystanders and us safe. We are eternally grateful to you.

"Unidentified bystanders who ran to our assistance. The person on the jet ski who was first on the scene and helped us out of the helicopter, the off-duty paramedic who ran to our assistance, the holidaymakers who brought us hats, towels and water, and chairs.

"Every police officer and emergency services personnel both on the scene of the crash and later in the hospital,

The staff of Villas de la Mer who helped our children to visit us and kept them safe. There are no words to describe our gratitude.

"Every staff member involved in our care at Robina Public Hospital. Your discretion and compassionate care during our stay brought us much comfort. We will always remember your kindness.

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"Our community in New Zealand for all their well wishes and messages of comfort.

"Our dear family and friends in Australia who has supported us over this period. We appreciate you so very much.

"Craig and the staff of Sea World Helicopters for their support. We also want to express our deep condolences for the loss of pilot Ashley Jenkinson."

The four also said they were touched deeply by the support and care from strangers in the aftermath of the tragedy.

"The reality of the last five days' events is sinking in and is a heavy weight to carry," they said.

Along with the statement, the four survivors released a number of images, both of the aftermath of the crash and the immediate recovery, with their permission to publish them.

Some are too graphic to be published but show Elmarie and Marle holding bloodied hands after the chopper came to rest on the sandbar.

Others show the victims with blood-streaked legs sitting by the seawater as bystanders close in.

The four said they would continue to help the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and Queensland Police with their investigation into the incident as needed.

They are headed home to New Zealand, where Elmarie and Marle will continue their lengthy recovery.

Meanwhile, tributes at the Gold Coast crash site continue to grow.

The local council has confirmed they will stay for at least a few weeks.

A permanent memorial could also be on the table, with the state government saying it will wait for the investigation to finish, and talk to the families involved before a decision is made.

More heavy rain is set to drench parts of the country.

The foul-smelling corpse flower has begun to bloom at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens.

The peculiar plant started sharing its rotting flesh-like scent last night, and will continue to do so for another 48 hours.

It's the first time the endangered flower has blossomed in nearly 10 years, and it will be another three to five years before it does so again.

READ MORE: Grieving survivors release new images of Gold Coast chopper tragedy

Experts had warned the blooming was imminent, and announced the update on Facebook.

"Our Titan Arum aka Corpse Flower has progressed significantly in the past few hours, and it has decided that NOW is the time to show off its beautiful inflorescence," it said.

"Throughout the night, the plant will begin to pulse its stinky smell as it seeks to attract pollinators to its flowers hidden at the base of the plant.

"It's scent is most potent in the first 24 hours of the bloom, so if you want to experience this rare botanical phenomenon, you will need to act quickly."

The Indonesian flower's smell has made it notorious amongst plant enthusiasts, with the last blooming season attracting 10,000 people trying to catch the famous stench.

Visitors can burn their nostrils and visit the flower until 9pm today or tomorrow.

Entry is free but queues are expected.

First Nations leaders have lashed out at "political games" over the Indigenous Voice to parliament referendum, as Opposition Leader Peter Dutton calls for more detail to be made public.

Dutton accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of treating the public "like mugs" over the proposed constitutional change.

The referendum could be held as early as August, but Dutton argued people don't yet know what they would be voting for.

READ MORE: Grieving survivors release new images of Gold Coast chopper tragedy

"By starving Australian people of the basic detail, he's setting the Voice up for a fail," Dutton said.

In an open letter to Albanese, Dutton called for clarity on a series of questions, asking how people would be elected to the Voice, how much the advisory body would cost, and how it would deliver outcomes for people in the community.

"The Prime Minister has to explain how the Voice will make things better for those kids, and make it better for Indigenous people around the country," Dutton said.

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https://twitter.com/AlboMP/status/1611861341844942848

Albanese hit back in a tweet, saying he had not seen the letter, but labelling the Opposition Leader's move a "cheap culture war stunt".

Dutton said his concerns weren't about opposition to reconciliation.

First Nations leaders said there would be detail provided before the referendum, and that the Voice was about the Australian people and their future.

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Albanese says the Voice is about giving Indigenous Australians a say on the issues affecting them.

The Liberal Party is yet to settle on a formal position on the Voice and may leave it up to MPs to decide for themselves.

The debate is set to gain momentum when parliament resumes early next month.

13-year-old, two 17 year olds and 29-year-old arrested for months of alleged offending.

More heavy rain set to drench parts of the country.

A lucky Auckland family takes dip in bioluminescent waves.

Mr Miller said the officer was seen by on-site medical staff and taken to hospital

A customer shot and killed a robbery suspect at a Mexican restaurant in Houston, Texas in the USA on Thursday night.

Houston Police say there were about 10 customers inside the restaurant when the masked man walked in, aimed a gun at them, and took their wallets and phones.

Then, as the suspect was walking out the door, one customer pulled a gun and shot him several times.

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The suspect died at the scene.

Police say the suspect was actually armed with a plastic pistol – like an air-soft gun- not a real gun.

The person who shot and killed the suspect didn't stick around.

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Police said he's not being charged with anything.

But they'd like to question him about what happened.

The suspect who died had not been identified.

After two years of separation from his wife in mainland China, Hong Kong resident Cheung Seng-bun made sure he was among the first to cross the border following the reopening of crossing points today.

The ability of residents of the semi-autonomous southern Chinese city to cross over is one of the most visible signs of China's easing of border restrictions, with travellers arriving from abroad also no longer required to undergo quarantine.

"I'm hurrying to get back to her," Cheung, lugging a heavy suitcase, told The Associated Press as he prepared to cross at Lok Ma Chau station.

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Travellers crossing between Hong Kong and mainland China, however, are still required to show a negative COVID-19 test taken within the last 48 hours — a measure China has protested when imposed by other countries.

Hong Kong has been hard-hit by the virus, and its land and sea border checkpoints with the mainland have been largely closed for almost three years.

Despite the risk of new infections, the reopening that will allow tens of thousands of people who have made prior online bookings to cross each day is expected to provide a much-needed boost to Hong Kong's tourism and retail sectors.

On a visit to the station on Sunday morning, Hong Kong's Chief Executive John Lee said the sides would continue to expand the number of crossing points from the current seven to the full 14.

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"The goal is to get back as quickly as possible to the pre-epidemic normal life," Lee told reporters.

"We want to get cooperation between the two sides back on track."

Communist Party newspaper Global Times quoted Tan Luming, a port official in Shenzhen on the border with Hong Kong, saying about 200 passengers were expected to take the ferry to Hong Kong, while another 700 were due to travel in the other direction, on the first day of reopening.

Tan said a steady increase in passenger numbers is expected over coming days.

"I stayed up all night and got up at 4am as I'm so excited to return to the mainland to see my 80-year-old mother," a Hong Kong woman identified only by her surname, Cheung, said on arrival at Shenzhen, where she was presented with "roses and health kits," the paper said.

Limited ferry service had also been restored from China's Fujian province to the Taiwanese-controlled island of Kinmen just off the Chinese coast.

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The border crossing with Russia at Suifenhe in the far northern province of Heilongjiang also resumed normal operations, just in time for the opening of the ice festival in the capital of Harbin, a major tourism draw.

China's borders remain largely sealed, however, with only a fraction of the previous number of international flights arriving at major airports.

Beijing's main Capital International Airport was expecting eight flights from overseas on Sunday, according to the airport.

Shanghai, China's largest city, received its first international flight under the new policy at 6.30am with only a trickle of other international flights to follow.

That number is expected now to tick upward, with booking inquiries for overseas flights overwhelming some online travel services ahead of the Lunar New Year travel rush later this month.

Capital International is preparing to reopen arrival halls that have been quiet for most of the past three years.

China is now facing a surge in cases and hospitalisations in major cities and is bracing for a further spread into less developed areas with the start of China's most important holiday of the year, set to get underway in coming days.

Authorities say they expect domestic rail and air journeys will double over the same period last year, bringing overall numbers close to those of the 2019 holiday period before the pandemic hit.

Meanwhile, the controversy continues over testing requirements being imposed on Chinese travellers by foreign governments — most recently Germany and Sweden.

China says they aren't science-based and has threatened unspecified countermeasures.

Chinese health authorities publish a daily count of new cases, severe cases and deaths, but those numbers include only officially confirmed cases and use a very narrow definition of COVID-19-related deaths.

Authorities say that since the government ended compulsory testing and permitted people with mild symptoms to test themselves and convalesce at home, it can no longer provide a full picture of the state of the latest outbreak.

Government spokespeople have said the situation is under control and reject accusations from the World Health Organisation and others that it is not being transparent about the number of cases and deaths or providing other crucial information on the nature of the current outbreak that could lead to the emergence of new variants.

Despite such assertions, the Health Commission on Saturday rolled out regulations for strengthened monitoring of viral mutations, including testing of urban wastewater.

The lengthy rules called for increased data gathering from hospitals and local government health departments and stepped-up checks on "pneumonia of unknown causes."

Criticism has largely focused on heavy-handed enforcement of regulations, including open-ended travel restrictions that saw people confined to their homes for weeks, sometimes sealed inside without adequate food or medical care.

Anger was also vented over the requirement that anyone who potentially tested positive or had been in contact with such a person be confined for observation in a field hospital, where overcrowding, poor food and hygiene were commonly cited.

The social and economic costs eventually prompted rare street protests in Beijing and other cities, possibly influencing the Communist Party's decision to swiftly ease the strictest measures and reprioritise growth.

As part of the latest changes, China will also no longer bring criminal charges against people accused of violating border quarantine regulations, according to a notice issued by five government departments on Saturday.

Individuals currently in custody will be released and seized assets returned, the notice said.

The Transportation Ministry on Friday called on travelers to reduce trips and gatherings, particularly if they involve elderly people, pregnant women, small children and those with underlying conditions.