British swimmer Duncan Scott refused to share the 200m freestyle podium with Chinese swimmer Sun Yang in the second protest at the World Aquatics Championships against the controversial gold medallist.

Last night’s protest comes after Australian swimmer Mack Horton accused Sun of drug abuse on Sunday, a move Scott said many within elite swimming supported. 

Governing body FINA has warned both Scott and Horton over the protest for inadequate behaviour, saying FINA events should not be used to make “personal statements”.
 

Legislation that could ban overseas Australian citizens with suspected terrorist links from returning home for up to two years is heading to the Senate.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says the bill will guard against potential terrorist attacks in Australia, adding that some Australians are being complacent about the risk.

Security expert John Coyne from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute says the legislation could perpetuate feelings of isolation among targeted Australians and worsen the issue.

Brisbane Times has obtained police documents detailing how Aboriginal children were held in maximum security facilities, on average, for nine hours longer than non-Indigenous children in 2018.

Although only comprising 5 per cent of Queensland’s total child population, nearly double the amount of Indigenous children were held in watchhouses compared to non-Indigenous children in the same period. 

The Palaszczuk Labor government has replaced the number of public servants sacked under former premier Campbell Newman more than twice over.

The latest workforce figures show there are over 30,000 more full-time equivalent employees in the Queensland public sector than the Newman government had in December 2014. 

A new report by the Australia Institute reveals Queensland’s mining royalties regime is essentially giving subsidies to exporters of low-quality thermal coal.

The new report details how the staggered system in Queensland has low-value coal taxed at a lower rate, which acts to incentivise thermal coal mines such as Adani’s Carmichael project.

The Queensland government has spent more than $155,000 on legal experts over the sacking of the Ipswich and Logan councils.

Local Government Minister Stirling Hinchcliffe says they were obtaining legal advice over the sacking of 15 people from the Ipswich City Council who were charged with a combined total of 86 criminal offences. 

A further $10,000 was spent on advice relating to Logan City Council, where Logan mayor Luke Smith and seven councillors were charged over the dismissal of the council's chief executive officer Sharon Kelsey.

A circus in Adelaide has been shut down following two performers suffering serious injuries in separate incidents within a week.

Stunt bike rider Bentang Sejarah broke his back in three places and suffered serious facial injuries performing a jump, while earlier in the week aerial performer Gabby Souza fell 8.5m from a hoop to break her wrist and dislocate both elbows.

Australian mining giant BHP will spend $571 million to reduce carbon emissions in its own and their customer’s  operations in plans announced on Tuesday.

BHP CEO Andrew Mackenzie says the need for climate action is indisputable and carbon pricing is not enough, with a ‘coordinated global response’ required. 

Customers of BHP’s products produced 580 million tonnes of carbon between 2017 and 2018, with the company maintaining long-term goal of achieving net-zero emissions by mid-century.

Kenya’s Finance Minister Henry Rotich has pleaded not guilty to 10 charges of corruption over the awarding of $640 million worth of contracts to an Italian company for the construction of two dams in the country. 

Mr Rotich is among 28 officials charged by the country’s chief prosecutor over the scandal, with more than $300 million spent on two dams that are yet to begin construction.