The number of State Emergency Service volunteers have been steadily declining with almost 1000 personnel quitting over the past 3 years.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Acting Commissioner, Mike Wassing, said volunteer numbers would “eb and flow” with community demographics and SES services would not be affected by declining numbers.

Younger people focusing on relationships and employment is also thought to be a reason for the reduction in volunteers.

Accountants based in regional areas are getting mental health first aid training to help them work with clients whose financial pressures are causing them emotional distress.

Central Queensland Accountant Andy Freeman took up the offer for the training from Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand after regularly finding himself a confidant to struggling clients.

The NSW parliament has introduced a bill to decriminalise abortion in the state co-sponsored by 15 people across the political spectrum, aiming to achieve legal termination of pregnancy up to 22 weeks.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian and several ministers have confirmed they will support the bill, the first of its kind in NSW history.

NSW is the only state in Australia that has not decriminalised abortion.

On Saturday Australian Swimmer Shayna Jack revealed she failed a drug test, forcing her to withdraw from the national squad before the world championships in South Korea.

The Queensland swimmer says she doesn't know how the banned substance entered her body, and that it could be found in contaminated supplements.

Swimming Australia CEO Leigh Russell and Jack’s Manager Phillip Stoneman both defend the swimmer and believe she is innocent.

 Forty thousand litres of diesel oil has been spilled into the sea by the mining company CAP in a remote and pristine area of Patagonia, on Sunday. 

The spillage occurred in the Chilean section of Patagonia an area which is one of the planet’s most untouched and has important biodiversity. 

The Chilean navy has said it had deployed ships to the area to control damage from the spill and an investigation has been launched.

According to satellite monitoring data deforestation is on the increase again in the Amazon.

Brazil’s far-right president, Bolsanaro, who many blame for the increase of deforestation, has called the data ‘a lie’ during a breakfast talk with journalists on the 19th of July. 

His comments have caused a fierce backlash from the scientific community which feels under siege from the Bolsanaro administration.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has dismissed calls for council to call a climate emergency calling the planned motion “alarmist”.

Greens councillor Jonathan Sri will move the motion at Tuesday’s council meeting calling on the council to declare a climate emergency and develop a major climate plan.

There will be a rally outside the City Hall on Tuesday afternoon attended by Brisbane climate activists after the meeting.

Brisbane Casinos will remain exempt from trading hour restrictions and mandatory ID scanners as the Palaszczuk Government rejects recommendations regarding Queensland’s contentious laws for pubs and clubs.

The government rejected recommendations from ten 1000 page reports, which found the exclusion of casinos from the policy could undermine its effectiveness.

The review’s lead author, Professor Peter Miller from Deakin University, says violence in casinos, the use of illicit drugs and pre-drinking need to be addressed.

Owners of units in Sydney’s Opal Tower are seeking millions of dollars in compensation from Sydney Olympic Park Authority, a NSW State Government-controlled entity that owns the land in which the building sits.

The lawsuit claims a “breach of warranty”, and the $170 million apartment complex was not designed and constructed with “due care and skill”.

The claim states the tower was not reasonably fit for occupation, after it was evacuated on Christmas Eve when residents spotted cracks in the foundations.