Park rangers are celebrating after the recent but unexpected discovery of quolls, bilbies and wallabies in the Great Sandy Desert region.

Operations officer Bruce Greatwich said the threatened species have never been found in the Great Sandy region before.

The park rangers detected the species using motion-triggered cameras that had been placed on the remote rock-islands in the desert.

The Venezuela-Colombia borders were reopened yesterday, after being closed four months ago in the wake of political turmoil in Venezuela.

Nearby towns have faced shortages of essential supplies, which had caused criminals to smuggle people across the border.

President Nicolás Maduro announced the reopening on Twitter and says that Venuzuelans are a people of peace.

Climate-activist Al Gore is calling on Australia to harness their high amount of sun exposure and transform it into solar energy.

The former US Vice President said that by pursuing fossil fuels, Australia risks missing out on opportunities that would make energy renewable.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she will balance creating jobs and investing in renewable energy.

Seniors will be able to use public transport for free when it is not rush-hour, during this year’s off-peak season.

Brisbane lord mayor Adrian Schrinner said the subsidies will allow seniors to get out and about more, with positive community benefits.

The state government will set aside $3.1 million to fund the free off-peak travel.

The Brisbane City Council has announced plans to close the Victoria Park Golf Course to develop Brisbane’s largest public park in half a century.

Brisbane lord mayor Adrian Schrinner says the golf course has seen a decline in its use and revenue over recent years.

Whether to fund or repurpose golf courses in Brisbane has divided the major parties, with Labor councillor Kara Cook saying that services other than golf courses would benefit more people.

The City of Cockburn in Perth’s south is the first Western Australian government to build a road out of recycled soft plastics.

The road mix is made with about 40,000 plastic bags and also includes printer toner cartridges, car tyre rubber, and recycled pavement.

Cockburn Waste Education Officer Nicki Ledger said they plan to use a similar mix for roads that are potentially a hundred times larger.

This year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours List recognises over 1,000 Australians, including a father-daughter pair who explored the North Pole last year.

Governor-General Sir Peter Grosgrove said anyone who makes a difference in the nation can be nominated, whether they’re known to millions or just a few.

A former prime minister, actors, journalists, lawyers and fashion designers are among this year’s recipients.

A peaceful protest in Hong Kong against plans to allow extraditions to the Chinese mainland turned into chaos early today as police clashed with protesters.

A police spokesman says around 240,000 people marched on the streets violently and police had to use batons and pepper spray to detain them.

Discussions around the amendment, which would allow people convicted of committing a crime in another country to be relocated, will start on Wednesday.

Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, has contributed $715million towards closing coal-fired power plants across the United States.

Bloomberg Philanthropies said the Beyond Carbon initiative would close about 250 coal-fueled power plants by 2030 and make the country fully reliant on clean energy.

Michael Bloombery was the UN Secretary General’s special envoy on climate change last year.