Nearly 5 million social media accounts were wiped in the first week of Australia's under-16 social media ban, Communications Minister Anika Wells confirmed today.

The ban, which came into effect on December 10, is the first of its kind globally.

"We are leading the world," Wells told Today.

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"Many people said this could not be done."

But data has now shown that 4.7 million accounts on age-restricted platforms were shut down in the ban's first week alone.

"This is an incredible Australian story for us to show the world what is possible, to give kids back their childhood," Wells said.

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese echoed that sentiment at a press conference today.

"We spent one year making sure that we got the details right," he said of the ban, which he announced was working as intended.

"Young people, instead of being on their devices this school holidays, have been cycling … have been reading books, have been engaging with their friends and family."

Albanese said the ban has given parents peace of mind and protected young Australians from the potentially harmful impacts of social media in recent weeks.

"In spite of some scepticism out there it's working and is being replicated now around the world," he said.

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eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said the government is keeping a close eye on young Australians migrating to new platforms as age-restricted platforms like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Snapchat continue to remove accounts.

"We're preventing predatory social media companies from accessing our children," she said.

She also mentioned plans for world-leading AI chatbot restrictions to be implemented this year.

At the same press conference, Wells acknowledged that Australia's social media ban is not yet perfect and said work is being done to improve legislation.

Age-restricted social media platforms are expected to continue to remove accounts belonging to under-16s as they're found or created.

Earlier this week, Meta announced it banned 544,052 accounts belonging to users under the age of 16 between December 4 and December 11.

Despite wiping more than half a million accounts, Meta has made clear its concerns with the ban.

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"The premise of the law, which prevents under-16-year-olds from holding a social media account so they aren't exposed to an 'algorithmic experience,' is false," Meta senior account executive Kathleen Walsh said.

"Platforms that allow teens to still use them in a logged-out state still use algorithms to determine content the user may be interested in – albeit in a less personalised way that can be appropriately tailored to a person's age."

She said the ban may also isolate teens from supportive online communities.

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Though millions of accounts have been removed from platforms like Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok, real Australian teens previously told 9news.com.au they doubt the ban will work.

"There's a lot of loopholes," Alicia Liu, 13, said on the day the ban came into effect.

At the time she'd only been barred from one platform, Snapchat, and had already found a workaround.

Four of her friends, all aged 14, had not had any of their social media accounts removed.

"Right now I think a lot of teens, the way they help or keep their mental health stable is on social media, talking to their friends or watching creators that help," Rose Pickles, 14, said at the time.

"The social media ban feels like a punishment for something we didn't create."

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Live updates of the A-League clash between Auckland FC and Melbourne City.

A homicide squad investigation is under way after tradies unsuspectingly dug up human remains in a backyard on Victoria's Phillip Island yesterday.

There has been public speculation that the discovery of the human remains may be linked to the Victorian coastal town's most famous murder mystery, however, police have not yet confirmed or ruled out a link.

The skull and bones were found yesterday in a shallow grave in Greg's backyard.

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The discovery sent the rumour mill in Phillip Island into overdrive, with many believing that the finding could be linked to the mum, who vanished in 1986.

"The phone was blowing up, our socials were blowing up," homeowner Greg told 9News.

It's been 40 years since local mother Vivienne Cameron vanished, with doubts surrounding the police theory of what happened to her.

The police theory, supported by coronial inquests, was that Cameron killed her husband's mistress, Beth Barnard, then took her own life.

But her body has never been found.

Crime author Vikki Petraitis, who has written a book about Cameron's disappearance, told 9News: "It's essentially a closed case, but the only problem is nobody on the island believes this is what happened."

"So when remains are found, it's only natural that people think, well, if she didn't jump off the bridge, she has to be somewhere," Petraitis said.

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The property was built on a vacant block sometime in the 1980s and was a holiday home for years, with plenty of visitors.

The mystery will be solved by forensic testing, expected to take months.

Police originally told the owners they'd be digging for several days, but were done in a matter of hours, saying they retrieved everything they needed.

"It would be nice if someone got closure, it really would," Greg said.

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A man was shot dead by police after he aimed a bow and arrow at officers during a welfare check at a home in north-central NSW.

Police said a member of the public saw the man in the street earlier and called police, who visited the property on Quia Road in Gunnedah at 1.40pm today.

Officers spoke with the man who they said went back inside and returned with the weapon.

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"Police returned to their vehicle for cover, however, a police firearm was discharged when the man aimed at officers," NSW Police said in a statement.

The man collapsed and was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics for a gunshot wound but he died at the scene.

The state crime command's Homicide Squad will lead an investigation into the shooting.

Assistant commissioner Andrew Holland said the investigation would examine whether mental health was a factor.

"These matters are split-second decisions by police on the scene," Holland said.

"This matter will take several days to investigate."

"There's no concern for safety of the public.

"Police are providing support for the man's family at the scene and for the local police involved."

The investigation will be reviewed by the Professional Standards Command with oversight from the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission.

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Exclusive: Holidaymakers and locals in Wye River are beginning a massive clean-up after "an extraordinary rainfall event" triggered severe flash flooding.

More than 180mm of rain fell into catchments at Mt Cowley, inland from Lorne, within a six-hour span yesterday, leaving caravan parks in ruin and dozens of vehicles destroyed.

A child was airlifted out of the flood zone to hospital after becoming injured when they climbed onto the roof of a building to seek safety, Emergency Management Commissioner Tim Wiebusch said.

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Families were forced to flee to higher ground with just the clothes on their backs, with many claiming flood alerts only came through once towns had already been engulfed.

"By the time I got a notification that there was a flood happening… the flood had already happened," Wye River General Store and Cafe manager Shaun McKinlay said.

The Bureau of Meteorology says a severe thunderstorm warning was released at 11.57am, followed by a watch and act for potential life-threatening floods at 12.58pm.

As many as 300 people were displaced by the weather event, with 60 of those receiving support at an emergency relief centre in Lorne.

"Yesterday we saw an extraordinary rainfall event unfold across the Great Ocean Road with 186.2mm recorded at Mt Cowley, inland from Lorne, in the 24 hour period to 9am," Bureau of Meteorology Hazard Preparedness & Response Manager Diana Eadie said.

"That well and truly exceeded the previous record at that particular location, which was 123.2mm recorded back in 2021."

'Never seen anything like it': Campers described scene of destruction

Charlotte Armstrong and her family were staying in a camper trailer one site above the Cumberland River when the river surged around 12.30pm.

"I looked at the river, we were just getting lunch out and I said, 'Oh, the river is flowing pretty fast', and probably like three minutes later it had risen up to our site," Armstrong said.

"We knew there was rain coming, so we tightened our annexes and prepared for that, but nothing like what happened. It happened just so fast.

"We were just trying to take all the stuff from the riverside, but it was so strong and so fast, there were huge trees coming down the river."

Holidaymakers have been told they can't return to salvage their belongings for at least another 48 hours, leaving many unsure about the extent of the damage.

"With the heavy rain that came in, we have no idea what's left," she said.

Armstrong believes her Subaru Forester was destroyed in the flood, but the family still doesn't know what happened to their camper trailer or the family car.

"We've been going there for over 20 years, we've never seen anything like it. There's been flooding but yeah, nothing like that," she said.

Another Cumberland River Holiday Park camper, whose caravan and car were swept up in the rapids, said the water reached waist height within 10 minutes of the deluge.

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"We were up the other end of the caravan park, further away from the entrance, so we were some of the first people to get affected," the teenager, who did not want to be identified, said.

"I managed to get most of the stuff out of the caravan… everything that was valuable.

"They're still plenty of bedding and like cutlery and stuff in there but we got all electronics and stuff out."

The caravan still has't been recovered, he said.

"It'll be in the ocean somewhere, probably, or on the beach somewhere.

"It might be jammed onto the bridge with the other cars. We don't know."

Campers who were fast enough fled to a nearby hill behind the park, while others had to wade through waters and jump on top of roofs to find safety.

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"Lots of people you know couldn't make it there in time, so they just got on top of like cabins or on top of the reception office," the man said.

"A friend of mine helped some older folks get onto the top of the reception."

A man in his 60s was later winched from the reception roof due to an existing injury that prevented him from getting down.

The 19-year-old's family, who have been holidaying at Cumberland River Holiday Park for 16 years, had evacuated the area just last week as bushfires in the nearby Otways raged through bushland.

"I went into autopilot, honestly. I don't think I felt any fear until afterwards and then I thought it was just like a profound sense of exhaustion," he said.

"I think the main thing that's shaken us up is like, if it happened at night, there would be almost certainly fatalities, like it was so quick."

More severe storms could be on the way

The threat of the flooding has now reduced, but people in the area are being urged to look out for hazards including debris, fallen trees, powerlines and damaged roads.

The Great Ocean Road remains closed between Skenes Creek and Lorne, as authorities continue to assess road damage.

The Erskine River Bridge and Wye River Bridge have both been cleared by the Department of Transport.

But cars and debris remain piled up against the Cumberland River Bridge, meaning authorities have been unable to give it the green light to reopen the Great Ocean Road.

Wiebusch said it was too early to predict when the Great Ocean Road would be fully reopened to traffic.

"If you are heading down into that area this weekend, be aware that there are significant detours in place," he said.

"If you don't need to be going beyond Lorne, then at this point our best advice is please don't travel beyond Lorne."

Local governments are also on scene to help coordinate the clean-up.

The risk of heavy rainfall is now confined to the far east of the state, but severe storms could return early next week.

"We will see a return of the potential for severe thunderstorms to western parts of Victoria on Monday, extending further to the east on Tuesday." Eadie said.

That is expected to be followed by heightened fire danger next weekend.

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More than 1000 structures have now been damaged or destroyed as a result of devastating bushfires across Victoria, as authorities warn more dangerous conditions are on the way.

Ten major fires continue to burn through the landscape today more than a week after catastrophic conditions swept the state.

They includes three fires in Gippsland, a blaze in Mallacoota and the Longwood and Walwa infernos.

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Despite flash flooding at Wye River yesterday, the fire in the Otways did not benefit from heavy rainfall and also continues to burn. 

Eight watch and act warnings remain in place.

Three major fires have been brought under control including the Harcourt, Kennedy Creek and Wyperfeld blazes.

"Importantly, contained doesn't mean they are entirely safe, but it means they should cause no further threat to communities at this point," State Emergency Commissioner Tim Wiebusch said.

The total number of homes decimated by the fire has surged to 289 today, after 40 more properties were discovered flattened by the Longwood fire footprint.

Another 18 homes are significantly damaged across the state and more than 500 outbuildings have been damaged or destroyed.

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Almost 100 impacted roads are still undergoing assessment before they can be safely reopened.

"We would ask people to make sure that you are visiting the Vic Traffic website and planning your journey and the route you may take if you are heading in and around those areas," Wiebusch said.

"The state of disaster remains in place and we do not want visitors or tourists or spectators entering into those fire-affected areas.

"At this stage we should only see residents, or those that are supporting them to get on to their properties."

Relief centres remain open in Mansfield, near the Longwood fire and Wodonga, near the Walwa fire.

Four recovery hubs are also operating in Castlemaine, Cobram, Beaufort and Skipton.

Firefighters are scrambling to control the remaining fires before the next "peak fire period".

"At this stage it is looking like heightened fire danger will return to Victoria on Friday and Saturday next week, the 23rd and 24th of January," Bureau of Meteorology Hazard Preparedness & Response Manager Diana Eadie said.

"Longer term, we are seeing the climate drivers indicate below average rainfall for the rest of the month and more near average for February and March, and warmer than average conditions throughout the period."

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Heavy rain has put many of Auckland’s beaches off-limits to swimmers.

Club president John Rushton died in a two-bike accident east of Woodville.

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British band Pulp has backflipped on its decision to cancel its performance at the Adelaide Festival after the organisers apologised for cancelling Palestinian writer Randa Abdel-Fattah's appearance.

Pulp, fronted by Jarvis Cocker, said it was "appalled" after the Adelaide Festival Board decided to uninvite Abdel-Fattah from Adelaide Writers' Week earlier this month over cultural sensitivities following the December 14 Bondi attack.

"We want to make it absolutely clear that Pulp refuse to condone the silencing of voices. We celebrate difference, and oppose censorship, violence and oppression in all its forms," the band said in a statement. 

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Abdel-Fattah's axing led to Pulp and other acts cancelling their appearance, an exodus of 180 writers, including former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern and Booker Prize-shortlisted British author Zadie Smith, and the Adelaide Writers' Week director, and the former board chair and three board members resigning.

The fallout led to next month's event being scrapped entirely.

With a new board in place, which has apologised to Abdel-Fattah and reinvited her to next year's event, Pulp said it felt it could perform in good conscience in Adelaide next month.

"⁠It is our understanding that the festival programmers are now acting in good faith," the band said.

"The festival board that made this dreadful decision have been replaced, and a full apology has been accepted by Randa Abdel-Fattah, who has been invited to appear next year.⁠

"Given this new and welcome development we feel able, in good conscience, to honour our invitation to perform in Adelaide on 27 February.

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"We hope that our free concert will be an opportunity for different communities to come together in peace and harmony.⁠"

The Adelaide Writers' Week is a world-renowned event that draws in dozens of local and international writers and more than 160,000 attendees each year.

The new board accepted that it had "fell well short" of upholding intellectual and artistic freedom and said it would honour the "powerful human right" moving forward.

The new chair and members are now left to pick up the pieces to restore public trust and repair reputational damage.

Abdel-Fattah has accepted the board's apology and said she would consider its invitation to speak at next year's event.

"Whilst AF's statement acknowledges the harm done, it is not a quick fix to repair the damage and injury inflicted," she said.

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