A report commissioned by the ATO has found that wealthy people are using private trusts to funnel money and avoid paying tax of up to several billion dollars every year.

The report, by RMIT University said some wealthy Australians and high net wealth individuals were putting money into discretionary trusts to manipulate the tax system so they could pay less tax.

Law Professor John Glover, an author of the report, told  say that Australia is behind other countries when it comes to the regulation of trusts.

The Northern Basin Aboriginal Nations support Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young’s call for a royal commission into the Murray-Darling. 

The senator claims the fish massacre is just the latest example of mismanagement, and says she would move to establish an inquiry, which would compel testimony from ministers and bureaucrats. 

The Northern Basin Aboriginal Nations argue native title holders have been left out of important decision-making about the Darling River. 

A Brisbane doctor has been accused of using patients identities to write prescriptions for himself. 

The doctor, working out of a Chermside medical facility, has been charged with fraud, forgery and falsifying records.

The man is alleged to have filled the prescriptions on 17 separate occasions.

Queensland students going into their final year of high school will be the last graduating class to receive the 1-25 OP score. 

From next year, Queensland’s secondary school students will join the rest of the country in receiving Australian Tertiary Admissions Ranks.

The new ranking system will be a 100 point grade scale expressed on a scale of “30.00 or less” to 99.95 in increments of 0.05. 

Queensland has just broken the record for the most consecutive days above 40 degrees celsius within the state northern-west regions of Cloncurry and Camooweal.

The previous record holders was Birdsville, Queensland, in 2012 with 31 consecutive days.

However, due to a monsoon developing across the top of Australia, meteorologists forecast the record will continue to rise in upcoming weeks.

The 21.98 million dollar landscaping work at Brisbane’s Anzac Square is set to be completed by the end of January.

Finishing months behind schedule, poor weather forced council to delay work and consequently resulted in the park not being ready for memorial services in November, as was initially planned.

The project saw the planting of mature pines, removal of aged trees, and multiple upgrades to create a safer public space.

Children's playgrounds across the country are predicted to hit ‘hazardous’ heat levels throughout Australia’s current heatwave.

Urban ecosystem scientists have said that artificial turf in day care centres could reach up to 98C and rubber tyres left out in sun for children to play with could hit temperatures of 105C.

With air temperatures well over 38C, children are urged to find indoor activities to remain safe from the heat.

A group of senior tunnelling experts have dismissed Elon Musks claims he can build a 50km loop through Sydney’s Blue Mountains.

The Tesla founder predicted the tunnel, running through the mountains from Lithgow to Penrith, would cost $US 15 million per kilometre.

Engineer Phillip Pells has shutdown the predictions saying that the tunnel won’t be able to be built for the cost stated by Mr. Musk.

Indonesians have taken to social media to express their disappointment at a lacklustre presidential debate.

Both the President and Opposition Leader have been criticised for parroting speeches rather than devising punchy rebuttals on the key issues.

Four more rounds of debates are scheduled in the lead-up to the April election with the second, to be held next month,  focusing on energy, food, natural resources, environment, and infrastructure.