A lantana removal expert claims the spread of the poisonous weed is a ‘catastrophe’ for Australia on a scale that has not been properly recognised.

According to Biosecurity Queensland the weed has spread to an estimated five million hectares of coastal and hinterland areas of Queensland and New South Wales.

Creeping Lantana is toxic to stock and smothers native bushland, affecting more than 1,400 native species.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner announced last night that Brisbane ratepayers will face an average increase of 2.5% after the 2019 and 2020 budget is handed down on Wednesday.

The council’s $3.1 billion budget will retain last years 2.5% average increase for owner-occupied properties, or $40 a year.

This years budget will focus on infrastructure and lifestyle with a new platform of green space and parklands.

Economic analysis from the Australia Institute has revealed the government’s income tax plan will gift Australia’s top earners thirty-three billion dollars in benefits.

The Morrison government made it clear this unlegislated income tax package is one its its first priorities, stating it is an all-or-nothing deal.

The Australian Institute’s senior economist Matt Grudoff stated that low and middle income taxpayers are more likely than high income earners to spend their tax cuts and stimulate the economy.

A group of water scientists in a review of the Adani mine groundwater management plan say one of the world’s last unspoiled desert oases risks extinction.

The seven scientists concluded that the Adani mine risks permanently drying up ancient springs south-west of the mine.

The scientists are urging both Adani and the Queensland government to take more time to improve its groundwater management plan to better mitigate risks of drying up the spring.

At least 95 people have been killed in an overnight attack on an ethnic Dogon village in central Mali, Africa.

A Malian security source at the site described the village as ‘virtually wiped out’.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility, but tensions have been rising since an ethnic Dogon militia was accused of carrying out a massacre in a Fulani village in March.

A study on human destruction of the living world has found 571 plant species have been wiped out since 1750.

This new figure is four times the number of extinct plants recorded in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list.

Dr Maria Vorontsova, a scientist at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, called the discovery ‘frightening’, not just because of the number but because scientists believe it is a gross underestimate.

A Queensland coroner has revealed police and paramedics failed to recognise the deteriorating health of an indigenous man during a violent, drug-induced episode in 2015.

Shaun Charles Coolwell died in hospital after being sedated and restrained by emergency services, however Coroner Terry Ryan found on Monday that Mr Coolwell only struggled for a very short time after being handcuffed.

Mr Ryan says police should have recognised restraint was no longer required from their observations in relation to his pulse, breathing and vomiting.

Researchers from the University of Queensland will be conducting a nation-wide survey looking into how pain can be influenced by psychological factors.

Dr Rachel Elphinston from the UQ Recovery Injury Research Centre said factors such a stress can increase pain and lead to resilience on medication.

The research team is looking for adults who suffer from chronic pain to answer a short questionnaire in the hopes to improve access to the right treatment.