The state government will be debating a new law that will require a minimum 20-year prison sentence for parents responsible for long-term abuse resulting in the death of their children.

The plan is to redefine the charge of murder to include death caused by an “act or omission with reckless indifference to human life”.

Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath said, "This child homicide offence seeks to capture those most awful cases that the Palaszczuk government wants to see convictions of murder and a minimum of 20 years for.”

Clive Palmer has finally forked over the $7 million he owed to sacked Queensland Nickel workers.

Mr Palmer said he would pay the $7.16 million owed to workers  after the collapse of his nickel business over two weeks ago, but as of Monday morning the money was yet to be paid.

However, a few hours later, Mr Palmer told reporters he had “arranged a payment of $7 million...to be paid in a solicitor's trust account so he [can] pay all the workers."

Security experts have identified a broken security gate at Sydney Airport to be a serious security risk that has left to airport vulnerable to intruders for the past 6 months.

Former police officer Craig Sheridan stated, “Any hostile actor or planned terrorist can certainly enter through that security gate and access the tarmac.”

The gate in question was located at the Qantas freight terminal at the end of a public road, leaving it open for public access.

Australia fell three more spots down global broadband speed rankings last month, landing in 62nd place worldwide for fixed broadband despite slight increases in speeds.

The Ookla speed test also found Australians averaged a download speed of 35.11Mbps during March this year, well below the 57.91Mbps global average whereas Australia’s mobile internet speed ranked 5th worldwide.

Mobile speeds average just 60% of fixed broadband speeds, a sign of the troubles facing NBN Co as it attempts to coax users away from alternative home internet options.

Federal Health Officials in the US have announced that the number of measles cases in the country has spiked, reaching an unprecedented 25-year peak.

As of April 26th, 704 cases have been reported to the CDC, with the majority of cases prevailing in young children who haven’t received the measles mumps and rubella vaccine.

A tame beluga whale has been found by Norwegian fisherman wearing a tight harness with alleged Russian origins.

Joergen Ree Wiig of the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries confirmed the harness strap was emblazoned with the words “Equipment St. Petersburg”, suggesting ties to the Russian Navy.

Scholars in both Russia and Norway have denied any knowledge of programs or experiments involving beluga whales.

Three months after the devastation of the Townsville floods, and a second wave of residents is coming forward to seek government assistance.

The Northern Townsville Community Hub says families who held off coming forward before are now feeling overwhelmed, having run out of money and still not having found a suitable home for their families.

Manager Sandra Elton noted community donations and not-for-profit organisations have been key in helping residents become re-established after the flooding.

RSPCA Queensland has reported that all of the 37 animals they seized from a disabled animal rescue group have been adopted, gone into foster care, or returned to their original owners.

Storybrook Farm Animal Garden Rescue owners are currently facing 80 criminal charges after a search warrant was executed that found extremely ill animals living in their own faeces and urine.