In a Brisbane Times exclusive, Queensland is considering reopening the borders with NSW by halving the required number of days with no community transmission to 14-days. 

The 28-day rule will be revisited at the end of September, and all Cheif Health Officers in other states need to agree if the rule is to change.

The last time NSW record14 days of no community transmissions were in mid-June.

For the first time in Queensland History, thousands of prison inmates will be granted the right to vote in the upcoming state election in October.

This legislative change will allow prisoners serving sentences of less than three years the power to vote in state and federal elections.

A spokesperson for the Australian Lawyers Alliance, Greg Barns, said all prisoners, irrespective of their sentence, should be entitled to vote and have a meaningful say on the issues that define their future.

Prime minister Scott Morrison has outlined a ‘gas-led recovery’ vision, and critics are calling it a ‘gas-fueled climate collapse.’ 

Critics say, gas is not a sustainable investment nor a cleaner alternative to coal, and this ‘vision’ undermines Australia’s transition into renewables.

The concept is highly controversial during the climate crisis but the federal government sees gas as the way to transition from coal.

As of Tuesday, September 16, New South Wales health authorities have confirmed 7 new cases of Coronavirus in the last 24 hours.

Daily testing rates have fallen to the lowest number in over 2 months at just 8,800 tests.

However, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian had previously said the state should aim for 20,000 tests per day.

Hurricane warnings for New Orleans, Louisiana, weakened as Tropical Storm Sally shifts east to Mississippi and Alabama.

The National Hurricane Center said, the flash flood warning for New Orleans has been cancelled.

The state of Louisiana is still recovering from the aftermath of Hurricane Laura three weeks ago.

A school dormitory in North West Tanzania has caught fire and taken the lives of 10 students and left 7 others in critical condition.

The fire started in the dormitories of Byamungu English Primary School at around 4:30 local time.

School fires in the region are not uncommon however police and other authorities are yet to enhance the safety of the schools and determine the main cause of the fires. 

There has been a push for a quarantine hub to be created in far north Queensland to assist Australians stuck overseas with the chance to return home by Christmas. 

The far north Queensland federal MP, Warren Entsch, has declared Cairns would be a perfect spot for a quarantine centre, due to multiple hotels being empty due to travel restrictions. 

Entsch says Cairns is equipped with the facilities and experience to cater for such a situation, and would help assist with people arriving from overseas who currently have to do a 2 week hotel quarantine at their own expense.