New Greens climate change policy pushes for ban on coal burning and exports

The Greens have released a new climate change policy which aims to ban the burning of coal and exports.

The policy aims to have Australia running on 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030 and proposes a $1 billion transition plan for workers affected by the ban on coal.

Greens leader Richard Di Natale says the transition program will create more than 170, 000 jobs and the program intends to avoid any loss of work to Australians caused by the ban.

Australian Air Force appoints new chief

The Australian Air Force has appointed Air Marshal Mel Hupfield as its new chief.

Defence Minister Christopher Pyne announced the decision on Thursday and says Air Marshal Hupfield’s current role as Chief Joint Operations along with other leadership roles make him “ideally suited” to lead the Air Force.

Air Marshal Leo Davies will leave the top job on July 3 after 40 years of service and Major General Greg Bilton will replace Hupfield as Chief Joint Operations.

Gold Coast domestic violence refuge told to boost security

A Gold Coast women and children’s refuge is hurrying to install new security installations after government authorities found inadequate security was putting the shelter residents at risk of violence.

Workplace Health & Safety Queensland told the Gold Coast Bulletin they issued an Improvement Notice to the Salvation Army’s Still Waters refuge facility for domestic violence victims at Southport last year after they observed unauthorised personnel had unrestricted access.

Ex-staff and external stakeholders questioned for review on Moreton Bay Regional Council

Moreton Bay Regional Council will seek the views of former staff and some “external stakeholders” as part of a review into its operations launched this month.

The council voted to instigate a review a day after the revelation of claims made by five ex-managers that the council had targeted staff that raised issues about governance or efficiency within a “toxic” culture of bullying and reprisal.

Women resign from women’s magazine as male editor appointed

11 women have resigned from working at a Vatican women’s magazine as a new male editor is accused of limiting autonomy of the publication.

Women Church World founder Lucia Scaraffia said the women who resigned felt they were being “reduced to silence” under direct male control.

Andrea Mondra, the new editor, said he only made suggestions about what stories to include and people to involve and that the women still have the same autonomy they always had.

Facebook bans white nationalism on all its platforms

Facebook will ban white nationalism and separatism on its platforms from next week and is set to point those who search for them to an anti-hate organisation.

The ban applies to praise, support and representation of white nationalism and white separatism on Facebook platforms, reinforcing its efforts to tackle hate speech.

This ban comes after Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were urged to remove white supremacist and neo-Nazi content from their platforms following the recent Christchurch shooting.

Brisbane youth detainees left without beds, toilets or running water for up to 10 days

A Queensland Ombudsman report into the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre has found young detainees were isolated in rooms without beds, toilets or running water for up to 10 days after a 2017 riot at the facility.

The report said the seven detainees being held in so called “admission rooms” after a violent riot is a form of solitary confinement, with four of the detainees being kept in the rooms for the entire 10-day period.

The detainees had to sleep on mattresses on the floor and had to wait for staff members to escort them to the bathroom.

Calls for One Nation to be preferenced last in next election after Hanson questions Post Arthur massacre

There are now fresh calls for the Coalition to preference One Nation last at the federal election following revelations that Pauline Hanson appeared to question the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, which left 35 people dead in Tasmania.

Her comments have prompted Liberal backbencher John Alexander to expect his party would have to preference One Nation last at the next election.

Brisbane City Council’s LNP councillors reject proposed election campaign spending caps

Brisbane’s LNP City Councillors have voted to reject spending caps on election campaigns proposed by the Palaszczuk government.

At a council meeting on Tuesday night, the LNP motioned to endorse positions made by the Local Government Association of Queensland objecting to council election campaign restrictions proposed by Queensland Government Minister Stirling Hinchliffe.