Politicians, human rights lawyers, community advocates and people seeking asylum have rallied together to sign an open letter to the CEO of Accor Group, Sebastien Bazin, to urge him to stop the use of Accor hotels to detain refugees and asylum seekers. 

Nearly 100 refugees are currently detained in prison-like conditions in the Mantra Bell City Hotel and Mercure Darwin Airport Resort. 

The letter was started by Refugee Active Collective, a grassroots organisation in Victoria that campaigns to protect refugee rights. 

New research from Carnival Cruise Lines has found that Australians are in desperate need of a holiday. 

On average, Aussies have taken less than six days of annual leave this year, with over three quarters of those surveyed saying that every day currently feels the same. 

Jennifer Vander from Carnival Cruise said that two thirds of those surveyed said they took travel for granted before COVID. 

The Queensland heatwave is expected to ramp up over the coming days with temperatures on the south east coast to rise 5-6 degrees above average on Sunday. 

Meteorologist Ricus Lombard said the overcast conditions on Thursday brought only a brief reprieve from the heat for half of Brisbane. 

He says Sunday is expected to be the hottest, with temperatures maintaining through Monday and Tuesday then dropping to 28 degrees on Wednesday.

A large bushfire on Fraser Island is moving south-west towards Lake McKenzie. 

Kingfisher bay remains on a prepare to leave warning 

The Department of Environment and Science said that firefighters are unable to use freshwater from landmarks like Lake McKenzie, due to “biosecurity and cultural” concerns. 

The ban prevents pest fish, insects, seeds or plants from being transferred which the department describes as being “catastrophic” to the island’s natural ecological balance. 

The Gold Coast council has invested $100,000 in a music festival this week to boost interest in live music and support local acts and venues, which suffered under the COVID-19 restrictions.

However, due to ongoing restrictions, venues are unable to let patrons dance indoors, with artists feeling extra pressure to perform and provide a positive experience to make up for it. 

Many residents whose homes were damaged in a Brisbane hail storm over a month ago have still been unable to return to living in their houses. 

Despite around $305 million in damages, necessary repairs have been unable to go ahead quickly due to low resources of construction materials and many workers being unable to travel interstate during the lockdowns. 

Rent in the area has skyrocketed, leaving many families competing for the same properties and many still unable to afford to move, but unable to live in their damaged homes.

An advisory body of the UNESCO world heritage committee has found that climate change threatens a third of the world’s natural heritage sites, including five within Australia. 

The conditions of the sites, which include the Great Barrier Reef, Blue Mountains, Gondwana Rainforests, Shark Bay, and Ningaloo Coast, have all worsened significantly in the past three years, with the Great Barrier Reef now in critical condition.

A Sydney hotel worker has tested positive to Covid-19, ending the state’s 26-day streak of no locally acquired cases.

Confirmed by the NSW health minister Brad Hazzard, it is said the woman worked at both the Ibis and Novotel hotels in Darling Harbour doing ‘domestic work’.

The woman’s test returned positive yesterday morning, however her five family members returned negative results, further investigations are now underway.
 

Singapore has given a US startup their approval to sell lab-grown chicken meat, a world-first regulatory approval for a slaughter-free meat product according to the organisation.

In its first launch, the meat will be sold in the form of chicken nuggets at a restaurant in Singapore with its price similar to that of premium chicken.

The introduction of this new food product reflects a surge in demand for alternatives due to environmental, health and animal welfare concerns.