The Australian Tax Office is increasing its enforcement on income from rental properties, and will audit 4,500 taxpayers it deems “high-risk”.

The office states that taxpayers are abusing a law which allows them to claim losses made on investment properties, often overstating losses as well as failing to declare casual income made on property rentals such as Airbnb rentals.

Brisbane’s newest tower, Skytower, which reaches the city’s tallest allowable height of 274 metres, is nearing completion at 222 Margaret Street.

The 90 floor building is so big it could house the entire population of Longreach, which is fitting considering Brisbane is often referred to as a “big country town”.

In local news, UQ researchers, led by professor Neena Mitter, are cultivating avocado trees which grow in a fraction of the time, thanks to stem cell science.

The professor was driven to develop and grow the new varieties of avocado in her laboratory after hearing from growers struggling to obtain enough plants to keep up with industry demand.

A stem cell multiplication method will slash the times for plants to reach commercial orchards from ten years to three.

Coles and Aldi supermarkets have announced they will cease selling milk at 1 dollar a litre, increasing the price by 10 per cent and paying this increase directly to farmers.

The change comes hours after farmers rallied at Coles Coorparoo, and will temporarily settle a price war which began in 2011, when Coles first announced their dollar-a-litre milk.

The increased price of water, power and grain has sent many dairy farmers out of business, leading supermarkets to make a change Aldi calls “a short-term solution to an industry-wide problem”.

Brisbane City Council may take a portion of every e-scooter trip to offset the fee it would charge scooter hire for operating in the city.

Scooter company Lime’s trial finishes at the end of next week, with a vote on March 26 on whether to allow their scooters to remain in Brisbane under a year-long contract that more than a dozen scooter companies were hoping to snag.

Tropical cyclone Trevor has been downgraded to category 2 as it continues to track across Far North Queensland, with Aurukun and Weipa in its trajectory.

The storm crossed Lockhart River yesterday, with winds of up to 133km/hr, and more than 300mm of rain recorded in the area.

The Queensland Government is reaping millions of dollars in revenue benefits following the rollout of new speed cameras and updated red light cameras.

The latest Government figures show $396m was made last year on fines, expected to grow to $444m in the next financial year. By 2021, the figure is expected to exceed half a billion dollars.

This year’s Abel Prize has been awarded to a woman for the first time ever.

Karen Uhlenbeck, a mathematician and professor at the University of Texas, received the prestigious mathematics prize which is modelled after the Nobels.

The prize is awarded by the King of Norway to mathematicians who have greatly influenced their field and it includes a cash award of 6 million Norwegian kroner which is equivalent to almost $100,000 Australian.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May is writing to the EU to formally ask for Brexit to be postponed just nine days before the March 29 exit date.

EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier says the EU would not grant a delay without a “concrete plan” from the UK following the second rejection of the withdrawal deal last week by 149 votes.

Mrs May hopes to get in front of MPs for a third go, but says even if that happens and they vote in favour of it, the UK will need a short extension to get the necessary legislation through Parliament.