The state local governments in Victoria believe that universities, private schools, and solar and wind farms should pay council rates instead of receiving exemptions. 

The councils argue the exemptions - laid out in state law - are unfair as such organisations no longer serve just the local community.

A newly constructed turtle centre will open in Bundaberg this week, aiming to promote environmental conservation, and boost local eco-tourism. 

Environmental Minister Leanne Enoch says that the news Mon Repos Turtle Centre, the location of which is home to the largest population of loggerhead turtles in the South Pacific, will play a crucial role in the protection of the animal.

A drought-stricken southern Queensland town has welcomed a massive donation of hay and water from Australia's Muslim community.

Stanthorpe, which residents fear will run out of water, was the recipient of 438 bales of hay and 190,000 litres of water on the weekend, which arrived on 20 semi-trailers arranged by Muslim Aid Australia.

Spokesperson Riyaad Ally says that the group, which started drought relief assistance in Goondiwindi last year, has received international support to help regional Queenslanders.

Vladimir Putin has called for the creation of a Russian-government funded online encyclopedia, to replace the Russian language version of Wikipedia, which is open to be edited by users.  

The government plans to allocate nearly 1.7bn rubles (£20.7m) to developing a Russian online reference resource similar to Wikipedia in the next three years, according to government documents published in September.

Yemen’s UN-recognised government has signed a Saudi Arabian-brokered power sharing agreement with separatists in the south of the country after months of fighting in the area.

The deal aims to create a new, cohesive government capable of challenging the Iranian-backed Houthi forces that control the capital, Sana’a, and the north.

The national fertility business, Monash IVF Group, which has branches in six Australian states claimed that their email system has fallen victim to a ‘malicious attack’, after false e-mails from the clinic’s account were sent out to patients.

A patient from the clinic believed the emails were sent from the company instead of scammers in the response of correspondence she had sent her clinicians about medical appointments at the clinic.

Data released under Freedom of Information Laws has shown that more than 120 girls under the age of 18 have been strip-searched by NSW police since 2016.

While the law allows police to strip search children between the ages of 10 and 18 when a parent or guardian is present in regular circumstances, it also lets them search a child without the presence of a parent or guardian as long as they think the circumstances are ‘urgent’.

Queensland Police have posted a $250,000 reward to try and break open an unusual missing persons case that has baffled investigators for six years.

Jason John Vance was last seen on October 24, 2013 in the Barakula State Forest, about 280km northwest of Brisbane, where it is believed he walked off into the forest and did not return while on a camping trip with two friends. 

Two devastated families have paid tribute to a young couple who fell to their deaths from a waterfall in far north Queensland.

Sherei Anderson, 32, and Simon Walker, 24, were reported missing in the Cairns area yesterday after failing to turn up to their respective jobs after a camping trip.

Their bodies were found yesterday afternoon at Kearney Falls in Gordonvale, where police believe the couple slipped and fell to their deaths after climbing the steep falls, which were closed at the time.