The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services has partnered with Change the Record to launch a petition for the government to retain the Indigenous Legal Assistance Program

The Program is the only national program that addresses the disadvantage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the justice system. However, the recent Federal Budget revealed the government's intent to combine the ILAP into a single mechanism, with Legal Aid Commissions and Community Legal Centres.

Clive Palmer has agreed to pay entitlements to workers from his Queensland Nickel company, three years after the refinery was shut down.

Hundreds of workers and taxpayers were owed some $70Mn after Queensland Nickel went into liquidation in 2016.

Despite continuing to refuse responsibility for the dismissal of the workers, Palmer has agreed to pay the $7.16Mn in worker entitlements that were left outstanding by liquidators. It remains unclear whether he will also agree to cover the remaining $66Mn owed to taxpayers.

The ALP has promised $200Mn to bulk-up bulk billing incentives for select pathology services as part of its $2.3Bn cancer fund.

The money will be targeted at reducing out-of-pocket costs and waiting lists for elderly Australians and cancer patients.

The LNP government has spent the first days of the campaign doubling down on its tax incentive rhetoric but has not ruled out matching Labor’s $2.3Bn cancer package.

Australians have until the end of the week to make sure they are enrolled and up to date on the electoral roll.

The Australian Electoral Commission says about half a million Australians are missing from the roll and expect several hundred thousand more to be updating their details before rolls close.

They warn that you may be excluded from voting and potentially face fines for failing to enroll or for not updating crucial information like your address.

The Sudanese are celebrating the end of President Omar al-Bashir’s 30-year dictatorship by singing and dancing to loud music well into the early hours of the morning.

Until last week, residents required a permit to play loud music late at night, but the tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in front of the military headquarters aren’t planning on leaving anytime soon.

The international crowd funding service GoFundMe has formally announced a ban on anti-vaxxers from their platform.
 

In response to reports that one campaigner had gathered nearly £60,000 in donations, the company decided that anti-vax content violates their misinformation terms of service.
 

A GoFundMe spokesman says they are currently conducting a “thorough review” of any campaigns currently underway and will remove any that violate the terms.

Brisbane hospitals are dealing with an escalating beds crisis, with more than 500 ambulance patients left on stretchers in hallways last month.

Under the rapid offload policy, 524 patients were offloaded at four Metro South emergency facilities, including Logan Hospital.

These reports come in wake of last week’s standoff between Logan E.D nurses and paramedics over rapid offloads, which allow paramedics to park patients on temporary trolleys, while they await an Emergency bed and get back on the road.

The Logan Village Police Beat has been assigned huge upgrades for later this year, as it will turn into a police station to service the Yarrabilba and Logan Village area.

The new police station was a Palaszczuk government promise at the 2017 state election and is expected to cost over $550,000. The upgrade was deemed necessary due to infrastructure development and population growth in surrounding areas.

Work on upgrading the building into a police station is expected to begin in three weeks and continue for 12 weeks.

Residents in WA are being warned that the cost of beer is set to spike next year, with the implementation of the state’s container refund scheme.   

As of March next year, drinkers in WA will be able to cash in their used bottles and cans for a 10c refund.

The state government has allocated $4 million to implement the scheme, with more details to come in the coming months.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten have officially locked in the 29th of April as the date of the Federal Election debate.

Set to be held in Perth, the debate will cover key election issues including taxes, health care and employment.

Morrison is putting on a face of confidence, telling reporters the debate will provide a great opportunity to demonstrate what he believes is the very clear choice at this election.