Laws introduced in the Queensland Parliament this week will see child killers spend more time in jail, as the Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council found the sentences for the manslaughter of a child were inadequate and did not reflect the vulnerabilities of children.

Premier Annastacia Palaszcuk says the legislation would expand the definition of murder, with many offenders being convicted of manslaughter rather than murder due to a difficult in establishing intent.

Young Aboriginal people in WA’s northernmost region continue to take their lives after a spate of suicides prompted one of the states biggest inquests alongside findings that community services in the region may need to completely change.

Of the thirteen Indigenous people who died over a three and a half year period in Kimberly, five were aged between ten and thirteen, including two sisters.

Sydney is losing out on close to $16 billion a year due to its underdeveloped night-time economy, according to economic analysis

The city’s night-time economy, which is currently valued at $27 billion a year could be worth $43 billion, Deloitte Access Economics says in a report published by Sydney Morning Herald.

It found Australia’s night-time market represents 3.8 per cent of the domestic economy, compared to six per cent in the United Kingdom

A scientific review of insect numbers suggest that 40% of species are undergoing “dramatic rates of decline” around the world.

Researchers say that some species, such as houseflies and cockroaches, are likely to boom because of warmer conditions and because many of their natural enemies, which breed more slowly, will disappear.

American missionary Richard Daschbach, who founded children’s shelters that have operated for more than two decades in Timor-Leste, has been expelled from his Catholic congregation after admitting to sexual abuse of minors.

Media reports about the allegations have shocked the country, one of two predominantly Catholic nations in Asia along with the Philippines.

Australia’s Largest Pastoral Company says it has lost thousands of cattle in unprecedented flooding, including almost 30,000 head on one its Gulf of Carpentaria stations alone.

In a statement to the Australia Stock Exchange, the Australian Agricultural Company said its 2,500 square kilometre Woondoola station had experienced its highest flooding levels ever; forcing the evacuation of station staff from the property as water rose to the eaves of buildings.

A Queensland private school has banned mobile phones in a bid to force students to socialize face to face. Matthew Flinders Anglican College principal Stuart Meade said, “We don’t want to see phones in school grounds at all.”

The use of other digital devices, such as laptops and iPads are not permitted during break times, unless under supervision in the library.

The New South Wales Land and Environment Court turned down an appeal by mining company Gloucester Resources for an open-cut coal mine because of its potential contribution to greenhouse-gas emmisions and global warming.

The coal mine was planned to be built near the town of Gloucester in the Hunter Valley. It is the first time a new coal mine has been rejected in Australia, the world’s leading coal exporter, because of the potential contribution to global warming.

The royal commission investigating Australia’s aged care system has suggested the need for an national database of carers in order to prevent ongoing elder abuse.

From evidence on Monday, the inquiry has suggested this database needs to be formed to ensure employees who have abused do not have the opportunity to move between facilities or states to repeat the same behaviour.