Brisbane’s median house price is predicted to jump 20 per cent by 2022, far beyond any other Australian capital city in the same period.

The BIS Oxford Economics Property forecast said the average Brisbane house is expected to increase from $552,000 to $665,000. 

The report said with credit conditions easing and interest rates falling, improving affordability will be a catalyst for raising price growth. 

Brisbane lord mayor Adrian Schrinner had criticised the Labor state government’s conduct regarding the Brisbane metro at an LNP state convention.  

The $944 million council transport project was pushed back after the state government last month called for a planned cultural centre station to be moved.

Mr Schrinner had called the project “Brisbane’s Adani” and said Labor is doing everything it can to get in the way so they can accuse the LNP of failing to deliver on election promises in March 2020.

Dinka Ethnic School in Adelaide has been working to connect second-generation children with the native culture and language of their parents.

Twelve-year-old Sudanese Yar Garang said she doesn’t mind attending school each Saturday to learn about her past and where her parents were born.

Yar’s father Buol Juuk said the school was established when parents noticed a growing communication gap between their children who were immersed in a new English-speaking culture.

There is still no word on when residents can return to Sydney’s Mascot Towers after they were rapidly evacuated last month when cracks appeared in the building.

 Mascot Towers has since been opened six days a week to the residents who wish to retrieve their many personal belongings left behind during the evacuation.

The Mascot Towers Owners Corporations said they are still assessing the buildings but questions surrounding the causes and timing cannot be answered at this time.

New Zealand started the first of over 250 gun buyback collections for banned semi-automatic weapons following this year’s Christchurch massacre.

Police Association president Chris Cahilll said he is expecting a positive community response to the scheme, which is expected to cost $207 million.

Firearms Safety Specialist Nicole McKee said the scheme is being rolled out too quickly, with their being no discussions with the communities affected by the ban.

A Moon-bound Indian rocket set to launch Monday morning was postponed following a technical problem that surfaced less than an hour before scheduled take off.

The Indian Space Research Organisation said they observed an error in the launch vehicle system and called off the launch as a precaution.

The organisation’s chief said the mission is designed to gather data on water and minerals on the Moon is the agency’s most complex mission yet.

Parents of children enrolled in country Queensland and New South Wales schools say the ongoing droughts are putting their future rural education at risk.

Advocates said the relentless dry weather has stripped rural communities of its main source of income, and local children are missing out on essentials without the revenue.

The Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association federal president Wendy Hick said a fund should be established to help with education whenever similar drought conditions affect rural communities.

Liberal National Party leader Deb Frecklington said she would consider calls at the LNP state convention to establish a science review office.

Former state MP Andrew Cripps said the office would be able to ratify or reject scientific reports handed to the government, which can then be used to reinforce decision-making.

But some LNP members raised concerns that a science office could be used by the opposition to discredit the party when research is rejected.

A major Melbourne city street ravaged by a water main burst is expected to reopen today after being closed over the weekend for repairs. 

Drivers travelling eastbound on Victoria Street in the CBD were diverted after the street was flooded with water last Thursday. 

VicRoads said engineers are trying hard to make changes and minimise delays and will continue to issue regular updates.