Tenants are reporting having political signs endorsing candidates removed from their properties in the lead up to the federal election.

Tenants Queensland describe it as an infringement of the right to political expression, while agents say the reason behind the removal of the signs is safety concerns.

Gregory Real Estate principal John Roberts, who has admitted to taking down numerous signs, insists he has no problem with the political persuasion of the signs, and is only trying to protect the homes.

The city council has spent more than $900,000 on the proposed Mt Coot-tha zipline project, which has since been scrapped due to overwhelming community backlash.

The development application had already cost $300,000, before technical consultation drove the price up to $902,000, which Mayor Adrian Schrinner stated to the council chamber yesterday.

The Mt Coot-tha protection alliance, which appealed against the project, is still crowdfunding its legal costs, though the total bill is not yet determined.

The Department of Agriculture has approved a permit to import bulk wheat from Canada with Australia set to import foreign-grown grain for the first time since 2007.

Since drought has devastated the winter crop of wheat on Australia’s east coast, increasing the cost of grain domestically, there have been months of speculation about potential grain imports.

There are concerns the rising inequality within the UK could soon hit American levels, thus threatening British democracy.

Nobel laureate and Princeton professor Angus Deaton has warned the increasing gap between the rich and the poor is “making a mockery of democracy”.

Professor Deaton is leading a major five-year project, which has just been launched by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, and the review aims to define causes of inequality in the UK.

Prime Minister Theresa May has proposed yet another date for a new vote on the UK’s Brexit deal.

Ms May has set the week of June 3 as the fourth time the House of Commons will vote on the Brexit deal, after rejecting it in each prior vote.

A Downing Street spokesman announced the date of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill to the public after Ms May met with opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, saying it’s imperative the vote is done beofre the summer Parliamentary recess.

The city council will spend over $2 million dollars on 20 “smart poles” to be built in the city.

The poles use CCTV to collect data on pedestrian and cyclist traffic, construction and traffic noise levels, flood levels and air quality, as well as offering USB charging ports and free WiFi access.

The poles are to be trialled to determine how much data they can collect to inform council decisions.

In local news, the state government has selected the winning design for a 1,500 person capacity theatre to be built at QPAC.

The project, headed by local architect Blight Rayner, is expected to be completed by 2022.

The project is expected to allow a further 260 performances per year, and will create up to 100 jobs during its construction.

In national news, the reputation of the mining industry is “nearing crisis” in Queensland with a “bulge in distrust” shown via secret research.

A study carried out by market research company Ipsos for the Queensland Resources Council (QRC) found the industry’s wealth is “strongly associated with self-interest, power and influence”.

The results of the confidential research challenge the notion that the electorate is divided between “coal-loving Queenslanders” and voters in southern states who want stronger focus on climate change.

In international news, state school tuck shops and public hospitals are exempt from Queensland’s food safety laws which is proving to be troublesome for officers cracking down on breaking the rules.

The Department of Health, several hospital and health services and the Brisbane, Gold Coast and Cairns councils were recently audited by auditor-general Brendan Worrall to determine whether food safety was being effectively managed.