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.

The Greens will push for a Senate inquiry into the processes used by governments to set pension rates following a rate cut announced yesterday.

The federal government announced it would cut deeming rates which are used to estimate how much some pensioners earn on their financial investments.

National Seniors Australia’s Ian Henschke said deeming rates should be set by an independent authority even where the decision-making process is understood.

A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck the Moluccas Islands in Eastern Indonesia Sunday night, causing one death and panic among residents. 

The quake caused over 30 aftershocks which damaged buildings and Indonesia’s meteorology agency says there is no sign of danger causing a tsunami.

The earthquake came a few hours after a magnitude 6.6 quake struck off the Western Australian Coast.

Facebook has been fined $5 billion US over the 2018 Cambridge Analytica data scandal, which will become the largest civil penalty to be paid to the US Federal Trade Commission.

Democrat David Cicilline said the fine is a fraction of Facebook’s annual revenue and isn’t enough to force Facebook to change their attitude towards privacy.

The upcoming settlement from the Federal Trade Commission is expected to include further sanctions on how Facebook handles user data.