An Italian judge has ordered the release of the German captain of a migrant rescue ship who had been placed under house arrest for breaking an Italian naval blockade. 

Carola Rackete was arrested after forcing her ship carrying 40 migrants rescued in the Mediteranean into the Sicilian port of Lampedusa, however, Judge Allesandra Vella ruled Rackete had been carrying out her duty to protect life and had not committed any act of violence. 

The Queensland Teachers’ Union wants church-taught gospel gone from Queensland classes given only around a quarter of parents approve of their children being involved in religious instruction. 

Queensland Teachers’ Union president Kevin Bates says church-based religious instruction should be moved out of class hours and offered instead before school or during lunch hours. 

Queensland Minister Grace Grace says there are no plans to change the way religious instruction is offered in Queensland schools, despite it being “a good idea”.

Brisbane river tourism operators expect a boost in the number of tourists visiting Moreton Bay, following the opening of a new $2.5 million public pontoon at New Farm, next to the Brisbane Powerhouse. 

Adventure Moreton Island employee Bradley Ross says visitors can now book trips to Moreton Island directly from the city rather than having to travel to wharves in bayside suburbs.

Two children and their mother tested positive for THC after eating a chocolate brownie which was served to them at a Perth cafe. 

The family was taken to Perth Children’s Hospital, where they experienced hallucinations, nausea and other symptoms of THC intoxication. 

Bada Bing cafe owner Nathan Sharp has been charged with two council offences related to selling unsuitable food, which carries a fine of up to $40,000, but no charges have been laid by WA police.

Adelaide researchers say Kangaroo Island koalas could be the last in Australia entirely free of chlamydia, with a new study finding no koalas on the island tested positive for the disease compared to 47 per cent of mainland koalas. 

The bacterial infection has had devastating on koala populations Queensland and New South Wales, although koala numbers in South Australia have increased in recent years. 

Shanghai enacted strict green policies on Monday limiting disposable takeaway utensils and hotel room essentials, as it rolls out a recycling overhaul to become a leader in clean technology.

The latest report by the UN's renewable energy advisory body, REN21, shows China led renewable energy investment worldwide for the seventh successive year, contributing to almost a third of global investment in renewables in 2018 at $130.2 billion. 

Security forces in Myanmar are committing human rights violations which may amount to war crimes amid ongoing conflict in western parts of the country, according to a UN human rights expert.

Government troops are currently fighting ethnic rebels in the conflict-torn states of Rakhine and Chin and officials have shut down access to the internet and telecommunications in the area since June 22nd. 

Queensland Teachers Union delegates are voting this morning on whether to accept a proposed three-year pay and allowances deal offered by Education Queensland on Monday. 

The new enterprise bargaining agreement offers a 2.5 per cent wage increase, plus a suite of allowances and claims for teachers, costing the Queensland government more than $1 billion over three years if accepted.