The Palaszczuk Government has committed more than $13 million in the 2019-20 budget for the prevention of domestic and family violence in central Queensland with $290 000 budgeted for counselling and support services in long reach.

Karyn Battersby, Team Leader for Domestic and Family Violence Services for Relationships Australia Queensland, said there were specific and unique challenges for accessing support in rural communities such as isolation and limited resources.

Sacked Ipswich councillors have told a court they should legally be considered “employees” as they tried to win compensation for losing their jobs.

Tony Morris; representing the former councilors, said at the Queensland Industrial Relations Commision, that even members of Parliament should be considered “employees of the Parliament” under common law and the  councillors had the same rights.

Counsel for Ipswich City Council,  Andrew Herbert says It would be extraordinary to the point of impossible for them to be considered an employee.

A new report reveals the number of people fleeing war, persecution and conflict around the world topped more than 70 million last year.

The figure represents 2.3 million more people than the previous year and the highest level seen in almost 70 years.

National Director of Australia for UNHCR, Naomi Steer, says it's the biggest humanitarian crisis of our time with children among the worst-affected.

Unpredictable new drug cocktails have recently been discovered by James Cook University and  Queensland Health’s Forensic and Scientific Services.

JCU’s Professor Alan Clough said that 52 impurities were found in samples of commonly-used illicit drugs. Many were contaminated or deliberately cut with novel psychoactive substances, otherwise known as designer drugs.

Transplant organs are still being sourced from executed prisoners in China, according to an inquiry in London initiated by a campaign group.

Taking organs from prisoners is illegal and even though the Chinese government previously said it had stopped the practice four years ago, the chair of the tribunal, Geoffrey Nice, said that he believes it is still widespread.

The first polar bear seen in the city in more than 40 years has been spotted wandering in Russia's northern city of Norilsk - hundreds of kilometres from its natural habitat, due to the effects of climate change.

A state of emergency was declared in a remote inhabited area of northern Russian earlier this year as dozens of hungry polar bears were seen scavenging for food.

Climate change has been damaging polar bears' habitats and forcing them to scavenge more for food on land.

Scenic Rim's SummerLand Camels dairy has made the creation of its camel cheddar.The cheddar is made out of camel milk curdling as it contains less fat and lactose than cow’s milk.

The team spent the past year researching and refining their cheese with the help of Tamborine Mountain's Pure Artisan Cheese expert Michael Reeve and research by the University of Queensland.

South Korea plans to send around 50,000 tonnes of rice to North Korea, its first food donation to the  nation in a decade.

A severe drought, compounded by economic sanctions, has led to chronic food shortages in North Korea.

South Korea's unification ministry said the rice will be delivered "as soon as possible".The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) will be in charge of overseeing the food donation.

Investigators have charged three Russians and a Ukrainian with murder over the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

The Dutch-led team says it was going to prosecute Russian nationals Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinskiy and Oleg Pulatov, and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko with murder.

Dutch prosecutor Fred Westerbeke explained We won't demand their extradition because Russian and Ukrainian law forbids the extradition of their nationals.

People with disabilities in Australia are struggling to find appropriate housing as only a small percentage of recipients are eligible for accommodation under the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

Joseph Connellan, Senior Manager of Housing at the Melbourne Disability Institute, said  between 50,000 and 70,000 people accessing the NDIS are in need of accommodation, but are ineligible for the specialist disability accommodation it assists with.