A major slip is blocking the southbound lane of State Highway 54 at Ohingaiti, just south of the Vinegar Hill campground.There are also a number of lesser slips along the road.The police say drivers should take caution if using…

An earthquake has been recorded off the coast of Far North Queensland with dozens of people reporting they felt the tremor.

The 3.9 magnitude earthquake occurred about 66 kilometres south-east of Cairns about 12.16pm local time today.

The quake had a depth of 10 kilometres and 54 people reported feeling the tremors, according to Geoscience Australia.

READ MORE: COVID-19 cases drop in Eastern states, Queensland schools to return

Weak shaking may have been felt in the town of Bramston Beach, which is located about 40 kilometres from the epicentre, as well as Innisfail Estate and Geraldton – about 49 kilometres away.

Parents of New South Wales school children will be able to access an extra $250 worth of vouchers to spend on entertainment or accommodation venues in the state from tomorrow.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said the vouchers were a "thank you" to parents for their efforts, in particular during periods of home schooling over the past two years.

"This is testament and a tribute to all parents who have made an incredible effort over the last two years, particularly in circumstances of home schooling which we all know has been incredibly tough over this difficult period of time," Mr Perrottet said.

READ MORE: How NSW parents can get their $500 back-to-school vouchers

"We want to put downward pressure on family budgets, but importantly as well, we want to support those areas in those industries that have been doing it tough."

The five $50 vouchers will be available on the Service NSW app and can be spent on accommodation, entertainment and recreational activities until October 9 2022.

Parents can use the vouchers at registered Discover NSW businesses, or as part of the Stay NSW program for accommodation providers, which will be launched on February 21.

Customers will be able to pool multiple Stay NSW vouchers with friends or family for the same booking at registered accommodation providers.

Parents NSW vouchers can also be combined and used to redeem $250 off an accommodation booking or Discover NSW booking,

The launch of the parent vouchers comes after the government announced $500 back-to-school vouchers for parents to help with the costs of before and after school care.

Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello said parents and all adults should take advantage of the vouchers on offer.

"We're encouraging parents and all adults in NSW to take advantage of these various vouchers because they are so good in helping to stimulate the economy," he said.

"And ultimately helping in particular small businesses that have done it so really really hard over the last few years."

Immigration New Zealand says people will be able to file their one-off residency visa applications from March 1 without a medical certificate. The change comes after weeks of long overnight queues outside at least two walk-in clinics…

Heavy rain battered the Taranaki region on Waitangi Day, with one weather station recording a month’s worth of rain in just four hours. The rainfall, which followed flooding on the South Island’s West Coast earlier in the week,…

Test your brains with the Herald’s afternoon quiz. Be sure to check back on nzherald.co.nz for the morning quiz tomorrow.

Residents in South Australia are being urged to "prepare to leave" as a fierce grassfire threatens homes.

The fire is burning in in the Mount Lofty Ranges, in the state's south-east, and is currently uncontrolled.

South Australian Country Fire Service (CFS) has issued a Watch and Act Message for those in Echunga Rd, Snelling Rd, Darby Rd, Fisher Rd near Hahndorf and Echunga.

READ MORE: Government defends Barnaby Joyce over text scandal

"Take action now as this bushfire may threaten your safety. Prepare to leave," it writes.

"Check that the path is clear and go to a safer place. Do not enter this area as conditions are dangerous.

"Conditions are continually changing."

READ MORE: Aussie's incredible story from bushfire front line

Smoke from the fire is drifting across Hahndorf and Echunga, the CFS said, as they urged residents to close windows and doors.

It is not yet known how the blaze began.

Two emergency level bushfires are also burning in south west Western Australia, with "hellish" conditions hampering firefighting efforts.

New research has shown how Kiwis’ mental health took a noticeable hit over 2020’s national lockdown, but soon bounced back – something that may be cause for optimism as we begin to process the Omicron outbreak. In a study just…

Health authorities have issued an appeal for the "missing 50 percent" of eligible people in New South Wales who are yet to get their COVID-19 booster shot to book in their jab.

NSW is lagging behind other states and territories in its booster shot uptake, with only around 47 percent of eligible residents having received their third dose.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the figures left him wondering why half of the eligible population in the state were yet to get their booster.

"What's happened to that 50 percent? Why aren't they out and about getting their boosters?" Mr Hazzard said.

READ MORE: PM says it was easy to forgive Barnaby Joyce over scathing text

"Can I say to that group of people, we know the science is in…boosters make a difference.

"It is much less likely that you'll end up being ill, it's much less likely that you will end up in hospital, much less likely that you will end up in ICU and, of course, much less likely that you will die."

A NSW Government advertising campaign will begin on TV tonight, calling on people to get their boosters. The campaign will be rolled out on social media and in newspapers tomorrow.

Mr Hazzard said he believed one of the main reasons people were not getting boosters was because people still thought they had to wait six months after their second COVID-19 vaccination to get their booster.

Eligible Australians are now able to get their booster shot three months after their second jab. The wait time was shortened last week from four months, which led to an extra four million Australians nationwide becoming eligible for their booster.

People who have recently contracted COVID were able to get the booster once they have recovered, which was generally 4-6 weeks after the initial infection, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said.

Mr Perrottet said it was vital for NSW to push its booster rate above 47 percent.

"We want to get that higher, not for the sake of it, because we know that vaccinations and boosters have put downward pressure on our hospitalisations and ICU presentations in this state," the premier said.

New South Wales recorded 28 coronavirus-related deaths overnight.

The state clocked 7893 new infections, a decline from yesterday's number of 8389.

There are 2321 people being treated in hospital, with 147 of those in ICU.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he forgave Barnaby Joyce "quite easily" over a text message the deputy prime minister sent while he was on the backbench calling him a "hypocrite" and "liar".

Mr Morrison said politics was a "brutal business" and Mr Joyce was simply being human when he expressed his frustrations.

"Politicians, they're no different to anyone else," Mr Morrison said.

"People say things and people feel things. People get angry, people get bitter, of course they do. That's all of us. And so, who am I to be judging someone else?"

Aptly, the Prime Minister was speaking to reporters in Parramatta, Sydney this morning at an event for "I 4give Day" when he answered a barrage of questions over the scandal.

Mr Morrison said he did not have a very close relationship with Mr Joyce at the time he sent the messages, and his deputy had made it clear he no longer felt that way.

"A prime minister and the deputy prime minister work very closely together. His observations of me and that relationship has completely transformed his view that he had as a backbencher at a time when his head was in a very different place," Mr Morrison said.

Speaking on Today this morning, Finance Minister Simon Birmingham denied the Coalition was imploding months out from a federal election, reiterating Mr Morrison's comments that Mr Joyce was in a very different headspace when he sent the text messages.

"He was in a pretty dark place, blaming a lot of people for what had put him on the backbench at the time," Mr Birmingham said.

Yesterday, Mr Joyce revealed he had offered his resignation to the prime minister when the text messages were leaked.

Mr Barnaby Joyce said he "should never have written the texts".

"When it came to light a couple of days ago, I rang the prime minister immediately," he said.

"I offered my resignation and he did not accept my resignation."

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age reported Mr Joyce sent the text to former Liberal Party staff member Brittany Higgins via an unnamed third party on March 22, 2021.

Ms Higgins leaked Mr Joyce's message after the deputy prime minister this week called for an anonymous Liberal minister to reveal themselves after their scathing criticisms of Mr Morrison in private texts with former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian were made public.