Labor is to outline an election pledge today where they will push to decriminalise abortions as well as offer the procedure for free.

The procedure is to be taxpayer-funded and offered in public hospitals with late-term abortions also potentially on offer.

Tanya Plibersek, Opposition spokeswoman for Women, said a federal Labor government would require public hospitals to offer termination services as part of their Commonwealth funding arrangement.

Brisbane City Council plans to install $1.3m worth of safety barriers to protect bus drivers from physical and verbal assault with passengers.

In 2017-2018, 12 physical assaults were reported on bus drivers, not including reports made of passengers spitting on, and throwing items such as drink bottles at drivers.

Councillor Adrian Schrinner said, “[the] protective barriers will join a broad arsenal of driver-safety methods and equipment, including CCTV, duress alarms, anti-shatter windows as well as training and support programs.”

Ostwald Construction has been forced to pay more than $430, 000 for failing to protect indigenous artefacts on its central Queensland quarry site.

The Emerald Magistrates Court found the construction company cut down Gumbi Gumbi trees, as well as displacing multiple Indigenous artefacts.

Magistrate, Catherine Benson, said, “[The company’s] behaviour amounts to gross negligence on its part.”

The company is in voluntary administration, and already owes more than $40 million.

A new study by the Australian National University claimed the Murray-Darling basin could be missing billions of litres of water.

The authors have claimed the Federal Government have overstated the amount of water being returned via water savings, but the government has rejected the report’s findings and are standing by their figures.

In international news, a major study undertaken by Danish researchers has revealed that there is no link between autism and the mumps, measles, and rubella vaccine.

The study, which has taken place over a decade, analysed over 650,000 children born in Denmark to Danish-born mothers from 1999 to 2010.

Canadian minister, Jane Philpott, has resigned from government, after a corruption scandal led another high-profile female minister to resign a month ago.

Former Attorney-General Jody Wilson-Raybould stepped down a month ago after other cabinet ministers including prime minister Justin Trudeau pressured her not to prosecute SNC Lavalin, a large Canadian engineering company for a case of corruption in Libya.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk, has promised action against the shared pedestrian and cycling hazard at Howard Smith Wharves.

The pathways loose surface has been repaired once before, but continues to cause commuters trouble; an issue that Space for Cycling Brisbane spokesman, Andrew O’Brien, says could be “chaotic”.

Queensland properties have seen an increase in land values for 2019, following the Valuer-General’s report, with Brisbane leading the trend.

Brisbane had a median rise of 7.1 percent, with more than 300 000 residential properties valued. Brisbane’s median residential property now sits at $455,000, and rural residential at $670,000.

Valuer-General, Neil Bray, says in his report, “There are continued signs of strength in some areas of Queensland’s property market.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is set to visit Christmas Island today and announce where asylum seekers who are deemed “a risk” to Australia will go if they apply for a medical transfer.

The PM announced the Christmas Island Detention Centre would reopen after legislation passed Parliament, against the Government’s will.

Christmas Island taxi driver, Chris Carr, says the influx of police and security staff on the island has been beneficial for local businesses.