Looking across the nation, a recent study has shown lakes in Tasmania’s world heritage listed area have shown some of the highest levels of heavy metal contamination recorded.

Historical mining has been found as the source of these metals, with lakes as far as 130km from the mines being contaminated, including the iconic Dove lake which sits at the foot of Cradle mountain.

An argyle mine in the east Kimberley region of Western Australia has found one of the largest white diamonds ever produced which is a significant find for the diamond mine before they shut down in 2020.

The octahedral-shaped stone, discovered in March, is 28.84 carats and was named Argyle Octavia.

Argyle General Manager of Operations, Andrew Wilson, says, "[The company doesn’t] see many this shape, or colour, or that clarity, generally out of the mine. We’ve probably seen 20 of those in the last 36 years of operations, of the plus-20-carat size.”

In international news, in a letter written to Members of the European Parliament Brunei has defended its decision to impose the death penalty as punishment for gay sex.

Dated April 15, the letter stated that Brunei enforced its own legislation in the interest of preserving its traditional, religious and cultural values, and, as such, they began using the Sharia laws from April 3, punishing sodomy, adultery and rape with the death penalties such as stoning and theft with amputation.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced the world’s first malaria vaccine will be given to about 360,000 children in three African countries as part of a large-scale pilot project.

Malawi has already begun vaccinating children under the age of two and Kenya and Ghana will commence vaccinations in the coming weeks.

According to WHO, the vaccine allows for partial protection from the disease and clinical trials have found that approximately four in 10 malaria cases were prevented as a result.

2,000 people turned out in Brisbane to rally against Adani on Monday - as part of the protest caravan of Greens leader and environmental activist Bob Brown.

Brown’s 200 car convoy started in Hobart last week and is making its way to Clermont, the closest town to the proposed Galilee Basin mine.

The protesters seek to put pressure on the actions of the LNP and the inaction of the Labor party - over the proposed mining activity.

A Queensland grazier has turned to using donkeys to protect his cattle in the past year after previously losing many to wild dogs.

Ian Sylvester from the Sunshine Coast hinterland says he hasn’t lost a calf since assigning 2 donkeys to guard each group of his 120 cattle.

Sylvester says the donkeys are effective against predators due to their inquisitive nature and feisty attitude.

A German start-up company has secured an exploration license from the NSW Government to comb through volcanic deposits for metals used in the batteries of electric vehicles.

Sons of Bavaria Investments are trying to fill the booming demand for metals like copper - and think the mineral deposits at Bulldog Mountain in the Northern Rivers region might just do the trick.

The ALP has unveiled that it plans to axe the Abbott-era Northern Australian Infrastructure Facility and replace it with a new fund if it wins government next month.

The operation started in 2016 but has been criticised over its governance and slow progress, with only one project lined up by the start of 2019.

Labor leader Bill Shorten says “the NAIF has been an abject failure” and proposed to replace it with a development fund that will cover major projects across Queensland, the Northern Territory, and Western Australia.