Lake Macquarie residents are searching for answers after hundreds of dead fish and stingrays were found washed up on the shore of Manning Park over the weekend.

Long-time locals say they've never seen anything like it and now they are left questioning how safe the water is for swimmers and fishers.

"I came down Saturday morning, there were thousands of fish, not hundreds, thousands," resident Tony Povey said.

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"I think there are more fish dying because the numbers on the shore seem to be growing, so not just a one-off thing, whatever is happening it still appears to be in the water."

The New South Wales Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is ramping up efforts to determine the cause of the mass kill, with water and fish samples taken for examination.

An EPA spokesperson said greying around the fish's gills could point to oxygen depletion but said that more tests are required.

"Our initial observations noticed a greying of the gills of the dead fish which suggest a lack of oxygen in the water," said EPA spokesperson David Gathercole.

Another possible cause of death could be due to the fish having suffocated in "hypoxic blackwater" brought on after heavy rain.

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"Blackwater events can be caused by nutrients washing into storm water drains which lead to waterways such as Lake Macquarie, so leaf litter from trees, lawn clippings form gardens," Gathercole said.

But not everyone is convinced. Local Darran Budeen believes the mass mortalities could be linked to the Vales Point Power Station.

"I don't believe that," said local Darran Budden.

"We've had 400mm (of rain) in a week and I've never seen this.

"Never happened before, if the run-off would be here, it'd be from their ash dam, it's just next door."

Vales Point Power Station owner Delta Electricity said "there are no abnormal operations at the station which would suggest that Vales Point has anything to do with the issue".

For now, the environment body is urging everyone to stay out of the water.

A prisoner who police allege was the mastermind behind a detention centre breakout was just months away from potential freedom.

Police said Shamus Touhy, 22, and Matthew Piscopo, 19, escaped from Malmsbury Youth Detention centre, in central Victoria, at about 11.30pm on Saturday, sparking an extensive search.

Piscopo was found by police at a home in Ballarat at around 10.30am on Monday.

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Police are still searching for Touhy.

Piscopo faced Ballarat Magistrates' Court today before he returned to the detention centre.

The court heard the 19-year-old was only a few months away from potential freedom and had only spent three weeks behind bars.

The men's escape was made public on Sunday night, when police launched an appeal for public help to find them, releasing their photos in the hopes someone had seen them

Detective Inspector Juliann Goldrick urged anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers.

"These men are not believed to be violent," she said.

"However, members of the public are advised not to approach either, instead contact triple zero immediately."

Police are scouring the Ballarat area, which the men have been known to frequent.

Touhy is described as 170 centimetres tall with a thin build and red, medium length hair.

Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre has had a torrid time including a riot that involved the escape of 15 inmates in 2017 and a lockdown following an alleged brutal assault on two guards in 2019.

An investigation is underway into how exactly the men managed to escape.

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Power has mostly been restored to homes in a Wellington suburb after going down when a truck crashed into a power pole early on Monday morning.

Fire and Emergency NZ was called to the incident on Marine Drive in Sunshine Bay about 8.10am.

There were no injuries reported in the incident.

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Wellington Electricity's website showed 1049 addresses were initially affected by the outage in the Eastbourne bays on the eastern edge of Wellington Harbour.

Houses in Lowry Bay, Days Bay, Gracefield, Eastbourne, Point Howard, York Bay, Māhina Bay, Sorrento Bay, Sunshine Bay and Seaview lost power.

Gordon Husmann, owner of the service station at Sunshine Bay, heard a "big bang" then "a flash and the power went out'' about 8am.

"I went out and saw a guy in a Waste Management truck had backed into a transformer post, a concrete one. He looks like he's okay. A bit shocked. He stayed in the truck which is the safe thing to do if you have power lines over your vehicle," Husmann said.

Emergency services arrived five minutes later.

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"There was another Waste Management truck just behind it and the crew on that managed the traffic until emergency services turned up," Husmann said.

Traffic had been built up for at least an hour and started flowing again shortly after 9.10am.

Police confirmed just ahead of 1pm the road had been fully reopened.

"It was just chaos," Husmann said.

Eastbourne resident and Stuff journalist Bess Manson said she had just seen her child off to school when the power went out.

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"Just after eight the lights flickered and the power went out. The sirens went about five minutes later," she said.

Manson said traffic was backed up in both directions from "at least Māhina Bay" to Days Bay and included school buses.

Shortly after 8.40am power was restored to nearly 500 homes and by 9.09am only 15 addresses remained affected by the outage. Shortly before 1pm Wellington Electricity estimated the remaining homes would have power back on about 4.15pm.

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Manly Sea Eagles hooker Manase Fainu has told a jury he ran away scared from a brawl outside a Sydney church dance and still has no idea who stabbed a youth leader.

Fainu, 24, has pleaded not guilty to wounding Faamanu Levi with intent to cause grievous bodily harm at Wattle Grove late at night on October 25, 2019.

The NRL player entered the witness box in Parramatta District Court on Monday and denied any involvement in both altercations that culminated in the stabbing.

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When the violent brawl erupted outside the event organised by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Fainu said he backed right away.

"I started back peddling, walking backwards," he said.

He said he watched the fighting for about a minute or two, and ran away "scared for myself".

"Were any words shouted?" defence barrister Margaret Cunneen SC asked.

"That's why I ran. I heard 'knife, knife'," Fainu said.

Wearing a sling from recent shoulder surgery, Fainu said he felt "a bit depressed, bit down," that evening not knowing whether he'd play football again for Manly.

Earlier he had been at a Guildford barbecue when his friend Uona Faingaa, known as "Big Buck," asked him to drive to the charity event so he could pick up money owed from a concreter he worked with.

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Fainu says he was not drinking and drove four men to the charity event, but waited outside.

"I felt a little bit inappropriate, it was a church dance and … I was wearing a long black tracksuit," he said.

After about 10 to 15 minutes he noticed Big Buck and two others being escorted outside.

"I said sorry to the security guard for their behaviour and then we walked out," Fainu said.

Before driving away Big Buck was angry and said 'I didn't get f***ing paid', he said.

Fainu was told to drive to a Coles car park and then offered to retrieve the cash, saying his friend would not be allowed back inside.

CCTV footage played for the court showed four men following Fainu, who draped a white towel around his head.

This "security blanket" doused in cold water was because he had a headache, denying it was to hide his identity.

He led them to a fence to jump over, saying it was easier than walking around to the front gate.

On the way to the chapel the brawl erupted about 10-15 metres away from him, he said.

He denied holding, seeing, or knowing of a weapon being brought that evening.

After fleeing back over the fence he waited for the others inside the car.

When they arrived he asked what happened.

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"They said nothing," he said.

He did not like to involve himself with fights as his football training taught him to "walk away".

The court was previously told Fainu had entered the dancefloor and was involved in the first fight before he was told "you don't fight on church grounds," and ushered outside with the others.

Crown witness Tony Quach said he watched Fainu later in the car park melee plunge a steak knife into the back of the youth leader.

Mr Quach said he had pushed the footballer who was wearing a distinctive sling and told him to "get out, stop, get out" before he stabbed Mr Levi in an upwards motion.

Crown prosecutor Emma Curran in cross-examination asked Fainu why he felt such responsibility to go and retrieve Big Buck's money.

"I was the driver, I was a good friend. If I drive him there I drive him back," he said.

But he had not spoken to his good family friend or any of the group since the alleged incident due to his bail conditions.

The trial continues.

A man has appeared in court following an alleged drunk driving incident involving a ride-on lawn mower.

Police allege 41-year-old Jordan Brown was driving his mower through the streets of a residential area in Terranora, just south of Tweed Heads on the NSW border, when he was stopped by police in March.

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It's alleged Brown blew almost five times the legal alcohol limit.

He was taken to Tweed Heads Police Station for a second breath test, where he's accused of blowing .243

9News understands the then 40-year-old is a gardener.

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He was charged with high-range drink-driving and using an unregistered motor vehicle on the road.

Brown will return to Tweed Court on February 14 next year.

Three witnesses are scheduled to give evidence during next year's hearing.

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A French scientist has apologised after tweeting a photo of a slice of chorizo, claiming it was an image of a distant star taken by the James Webb Space Telescope.

Étienne Klein, a celebrated physicist and director at France's Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, shared the image of the spicy Spanish sausage on Twitter last week, praising the "level of detail" it provided.

"Picture of Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to the Sun, located 4.2 light years away from us. It was taken by the James Webb Space Telescope.

"This level of detail… A new world is unveiled everyday," he told his more than 91,000 followers on Sunday.

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https://twitter.com/EtienneKlein/status/1553765864553472003?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

The post was retweeted and commented upon by thousands of users, who took the scientist by his word.

Things, however, were not quite as they seemed.

Klein admitted later in a series of follow-up tweets that the image was, in fact, a close-up of a slice of chorizo taken against a black background.

"Well, when it's cocktail hour, cognitive bias seem to find plenty to enjoy… Beware of it. According to contemporary cosmology, no object related to Spanish charcuterie exists anywhere else other than on Earth," he said.

After facing a backlash from members of the online community for the prank, he wrote: "In view of certain comments, I feel obliged to specify that this tweet showing an alleged picture of Proxima Centauri was a joke.

"Let's learn to be wary of the arguments from positions of authority as much as the spontaneous eloquence of certain images."

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On Wednesday, Klein apologised for the hoax, saying his intention was "to urge caution regarding images that seem to speak for themselves".

In a bid to make amends, he posted an image of the spectacular Cartwheel galaxy, assuring followers that this time the photo was genuine.

The Webb telescope, the most powerful telescope ever launched into space, officially began scientific operations on July 12.

It will be able to peer inside the atmospheres of exoplanets and observe some of the first galaxies created after the universe began by viewing them through infrared light, which is invisible to the human eye.

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Chinese forces took part in drills focused on land attacks and long-range airstrikes around Taiwan on Sunday, its military said, on what was expected to be the final day of extensive exercises rolled out in response to a visit to the island by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese military said on Sunday around noon local time that it conducted live-fire drills in the waters and airspace around Taiwan "as planned".

"The drills focused on joint fire land strikes and long-range air strike capabilities," the command said in a statement posted to its official account on the social media platform Weibo, without specifying whether the drills have ended.

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The exercises, planned to take place in six zones around the island, began Thursday and were scheduled to last until Sunday at noon local time in Beijing, Chinese state media reported.

Taiwan's Defence Ministry said that as of 5 pm local time on Sunday, 66 Chinese warplanes and 14 Chinese vessels were detected operating around the Taiwan Strait.

Among the 22 jets entering the airspace around Taiwan, 12 crossed the median line, the statement read.

The ministry previously called the drills a "simulated attack against the main island of Taiwan and Taiwan's naval vessels" —a slight dial-up of language from Saturday when it said that Chinese military drills around the island could be a "possible simulated attack."

Taiwan's military "closely monitored" the situation and deployed aircraft and vessels to "appropriately" react to Chinese military drills around the island, the Defensc Ministry added. It also said drones "intruded" into outlying islands controlled by Taiwan.

China announced the drills—whose scale marks a significant escalation from past activities— within an hour of the arrival of Pelosi and a congressional delegation in Taiwan on Tuesday evening. The stop, which was expected but not announced beforehand, was part of a larger Asia tour.

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Chinese officials had repeatedly warned Washington of unspecified repercussions in the lead-up to the expected trip. In addition to the drills, Beijing also launched a raft of diplomatic penalties, including canceling future phone calls between Chinese and US defense leaders and suspending bilateral climate talks.

The Chinese Communist Party views self-governing Taiwan as its territory, despite never having controlled it, and has long vowed to "reunify" the island with the Chinese mainland — by force if necessary.

The previous days' drills had seen a number of air and maritime operations around the island, including the launch of 11 ballistic missiles on Thursday— some of which flew over the island of Taiwan and landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone. That marked the first time China had sent missiles over the island.

On Saturday, 14 vessels and 20 planes operated by the Chinese military were detected around the strait, according to Taiwan's Defence Ministry. Of the 20 aircraft, 14 crossed the median line, it added.

On Friday, 68 Chinese warplanes were reported in the Taiwan Strait, according to the ministry. Of those, 49 entered Taiwan's air defence identification zone— a buffer of airspace commonly referred to as an ADIZ. That was just a few planes short of the record set last year when 56 Chinese warplanes entered the ADIZ on the same day.

Taiwan's Premier Su Tseng-chang on Sunday reiterated Taiwan's condemnation of the drills.

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"Not only Taiwan but other countries in the region as well as freedom-loving countries like the US and so on have vehemently protested and condemned China's arrogant military operations disrupting regional peace and stability," he said during a press engagement.

"We call on the Chinese government to not flex its military muscles and disrupt regional peace."

A US National Security Council spokesperson on Saturday called China's recent military activities around Taiwan a "significant escalation in China's efforts to change the status quo."

"They are provocative, irresponsible, and raise the risk of miscalculation," the spokesperson said. "They are also at odds with our long-standing goal of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, which is what the world expects."

US allies have also come forward to condemn China's actions, including in a joint statement issued Friday by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa following their meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Cambodia.

The diplomats "condemned (China's) launch of ballistic missiles," including those the Japanese government said landed in its exclusive economic zone, for "raising tension and destabilizing the region," and called on China "to immediately cease the military exercises," according to the statement released by the US State Department.

China hit back on Saturday evening, with its embassy in Australia calling the US "the biggest saboteur and destabilizer of peace in the Taiwan Strait" and disputing the "legal basis" for Japan's claims regarding the missile landings.

"China is the victim of political provocation from the US. The actions taken by the Chinese government to safeguard state sovereignty and territorial integrity and curb the separatist activities are legitimate and justified," a statement from the embassy read.

EXPLAINED: What is behind the China-Taiwan dispute?