The State Government has invested funding to ensure low income Queenslanders living in Mackay can make their homes more cyclone resilient this storm season.

Member for Mackay Julieanne Gilbert says the $20 million Household Resilience Program will enable families to afford vital upgrades for their homes.

Ms Gilbert says with the frequency of cyclones increasing, these additional protections will provide safety and security for families in the future.   

British Home Secretary Sajid Javid received an extradition request from the US Justice Department for WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange’s extradition.

Assange is due to face court in London today for the extradition hearing.

Mr Javid says the decision is ultimately for the courts and he hopes for justice to be done.

New findings from Archaeologists in China strongly suggest the earliest evidence of cannabis smoking in the world.

The new report published in Science Advance indicates 2,500 years ago, humans smoked cannabis as part of ritualised burial ceremonies on the Pamir Plateau in western China.

The Traces of THC were found in 10 wooden pots buried in a Cemetery by an international team led by Meng Reng of the Chinese Academy of Science.

Australia’s new parliament will sit for the first time on July 2nd, after the announcement of the newly elected senators.

Liberal’s Zed Seselja and Labor’s Katy Gallagher are confirmed as the two senators for the ACT, and will declare their victory on Friday.

The winners of three seats in the lower house are yet to be formally declared, as the votes are being finalised.

Adani has won a crucial approval for managing groundwater that allows the company to begin building its controversial coal mine in Central Queensland.

The Queensland Environment Department has signed off on the plan to manage groundwater on and around Adani’s Galilee Basin Mine Site.

Adani Chief Executive Lucas Dow says he is excited they can now begin the two-year construction period for the mine and rail.

Endangered birdlife on Curlew Island at the Gold Coast broadwater is in danger of being ‘wiped out’ as careless visitors are leaving rubbish and letting dogs roam free.

Rowley Goonan from Gold Coast Bird Rescues says authorities need to step in to save the beautiful island and its inhabitants.

The number of inhabitants are dwindling on the island due to the harmful human activity, seriously threatening migrating species.

Brisbane is set to go greener, with Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner announcing a 10 year vision to create more green space in Brisbane.

The plan was reflected in his first budget which was announced on Wednesday.

The lord mayor says he has committed $42 million of the budget to create new parks and playgrounds throughout Brisbane.

Telecommunications experts are accusing the NBN of misleading Canberra residents, with warnings that internet services could be cut off unless they make the switch.

Robin Eckermann, chief architect of the TransACT network rollout, says customers have no need to make any changes and these letters are not true.

Tens of thousands of homes are already connected to the VDSL2 Service, which is not yet being replaced by the NBN.