Former Prime Minister John Howard has praised the memory of Bob Hawke, who died yesterday, remembering him as “undoubtedly a very fine prime minister,".

Howard had only nice words for the fellow former Prime Minister, stating "He was the best prime minister of the labour movement in Australia's history. I would rank him at the top of the list as far as Labor prime ministers were concerned.

Queensland continues to carry its weight on the job creation front, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics Labour Force numbers released on Thursday.

Deputy Premier and Treasurer Jackie Trad said the ABS data shows 5,300 new jobs were created in Queensland in April alone this year.

Minister for Employment and Small Business Shannon Fentiman says these new employment figures show that the Queensland Government's investment in job generating initiatives are working.

A $2 million project installing ‘Smart poles’ around Brisbane will collect data on the city’s operations.

The 20 poles will collect data on pedestrian and cyclist traffic, construction and traffic noise levels, flood levels and air quality, among other potential uses including hosting CCTV cameras.

The result of a popular Russian TV talent show - The Voice Kids - has been cancelled after thousands of fraudulent votes were found to have handed victory to a millionaire's young daughter.

There were complaints after singer Mikella Abramova, aged 10, won with 56.5% of the phone-in vote.

She is the daughter of pop singer Alsou and wealthy businessman Yan Abramov.

Tim Ryan, a Singapore-based market analyst with trade group Meat & Livestock Australia, has claimed that the "African swine fever will be the biggest influence on global meat markets possibly for the next few years, if not possibly the decade."

The fever has led to an estimated 200 million pigs being removed from the global market. Making it one of the largst drops in supply in ‘recent memory’ according to Gregory A. Heckman, the CEO of a New York state based agricultural trading house.
 

Western Australian Unions are demanding action on staff violence in hospitals.

Unions representing enrolled nurses and hospital security staff say an emergency summit with staff who were encountering violence on a daily basis is desperately needed.

United Voice WA secretary Carolyn Smith says violence against nurses and other staff in hospitals was at crisis point with 2018 statistics showing violent incidents in WA hospitals was on the rise, with an average of one incident every hour.

Indigenous traditional owners in remote West Arnhem Land have lost patience with being prohibited from selling valuable barramundi from their coastal waters, while commercial trawlers do just that.

Forty-two clan groups are threatening a three-year ban for commercial barramundi boats in coastal waters between Cape Stewart and Braithwaite Point if the Northern Territory Government and Northern Land Council (NLC) can't agree on a deal about the conditions for access to Indigenous Territory coastal waters.

The Mt Coot-tha Zipline saga has concluded with a confidential settlement between Brisbane City Council and Zipline Australia.

The Brisbane-based company had entered an agreement with the council to operate the planned zipline and tourism facility in Brisbane’s west, but the project was scrapped by lord mayor Adrian Schrinner due to strong community backlash.

On Thursday afternoon, a spokesman for Cr Schrinner confirmed the council had reached a confidential settlement with Zipline Australia, which included that $300,000 had already been paid out to the company.

Healthy Harold and the Life Education Queensland will continue to visit schools across Queensland, thanks to a $1.28 million funding boost from the Palaszczuk Government.

Minister for Health Steven Miles says the extra funding would allow Life Education Queensland to continue educating the next generation.

Mr Miles says that Healthy Harold is a critical tool for helping us achieve a healthier Queensland.