A new study which analyses the Australian Curriculum Senior reading list has found diverse sexual communities are severely underrepresented in the selected texts.

Only two fiction books; The Great Gatsby and Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night – contained characters, experiences or relationships outside of the heterosexual norm.

An audit ordered by the Victorian cladding task force has found the Melbourne apartment complex that was the scene of a combustible cladding fire this week was deemed as a “moderate risk”.

The blaze, which started on the 22nd floor early Monday morning and spread its way up to the 27th floor, took up to 60 firefighters to contain.

Firefighters say the fire was caused by a discarded cigarette on an apartment balcony, which was then fuelled by the cladding.

Hundreds of Queenslanders are homeless and residing in Townsville evacuation centres as authorities rush to find accommodations for those whose homes were destroyed in the floods.

The families could face months waiting for their homes to be repaired following 10 days of mass flooding.

Approximately 20,000 homes are believed to have sustained water damage in the Townsville area.

A new AirAsia service between Bangkok and Brisbane starting in June 2019 is forecast to inject up to $156 million to the Queensland economy over the next three years.

This new route will help to open up Asia and improve connectivity for visitors from key Eastern markets, boosting tourism in the state.

A low wage growth has been identified by the Reserve Bank as a drag on the economy and a reason behind people’s worries about their own future and that of their children, according to Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe.

Polling conducted by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) in August last year indicated that four in five employed people had not had a pay rise that kept them ahead of living costs in the previous year, with half receiving no pay rise at all.

Pope Francis has for the first time publicly acknowledged the scandal of priests and bishops sexually abusing nuns and said he is committed to doing more to fight the problem.

In November, the organisation representing all of the world's female Catholic religious orders, the International Union of Superiors General, publicly denounced the "culture of silence and secrecy" that prevented nuns from speaking out and urged sisters to report abuse to their superiors and police.

The WeChat account of one of Australia’s most popular Chinese online communities has been banned by the Chinese government despite the site’s ‘strict self censorship’, as experts say China’s crackdown on social media has raised concerns for media outlets in Australia.

The founder of the online network, Our Steps, said it has a zero-tolerance policy on any topic associated with the banned Falun Gong movement, personal attacks, racial discrimination, ethnic divisions, pornography, superstition, pyramid selling and all illegal actions.

NSW Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, has been accused of blackmail after tying a $25 million deal for a sporting complex to the election of a coalition candidate.

The premier says the multi-million-dollar, conditional pledge for the proposed Orange Sporting Precinct gives voters a choice between new Nationals candidate Kate Hazelton and sitting MP Philip Donato.

A study released today, initiated by scientists at two Melbourne universities, found fatty acids are taken up into prostate cancer cells, increasing tumour growth.

Researchers then blocked the key fatty acid transporter and showed they could slow the cancer's development.

This reaffirms common knowledge that eating a healthy diet will reduce the chance of chronic illness.

Regional Queenslanders are jumping on board the next wave of renewable energy, with solar and battery installation grants disappearing quickly.

Energy Minister, Dr Anthony Lynham said Queensland has one of the highest penetrations of rooftop solar in the world with more than 500,000 rooftop solar systems.

He also added “the next wave is to be a world leader in battery storage”.