Brisbane’s diocese is making unparalleled strides in gender equality, with 8 more women being ordained than men in the past decade.

Sydney’s diocese still does not permit women to be ordained, with Archbishop of Brisbane Phillip Aspinall saying his Sydney colleagues have a more conservative interpretation of the bible.

One of the newest entrants to their ranks is the Reverend Rosemary Gardiner, 30, anointed last weekend before a packed congregation in St John's Cathedral on Ann Street.

After decades of failed attempts to rejuvenate the dying Ipswich CBD, Ipswich City Council plans to turn their inner-city into a centre for aged care and health facilities.

The plan will see the council chambers and library sold to the Health Department in order to expand the hospital and the Metro Hotel turned into a 99-bed aged care facility.

Anti-racism protesters in the United Kingdom claim they had more than triple the support of their pro-Brexit counterparts during marches on the weekend.

The two protests met at Trafalgar Square and began to verbally taunt each other, prompting police action to control the crowds.

The national coordinator for the anti-racism movement, Laura Parker, says it’s important for Britain to make clear they will not tolerate fascism.

Beaches and landfills in Vietnam are being overrun by tetra paks as the country’s recycling infrastructure fails to keep up with demand.

Over 8 billion tetra paks were sold in Vietnam this year as the dairy industry shifts its focus from West to East, doubling the region’s milk consumption over the past ten years.

Tetra pak recycling companies have slowed production as the process of recycling the paks is not cost effective and impossible to profit from.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development says Australia's financial stewards and bank regulators should be prepared for a soft fall in the housing market as house prices have fallen gradually since late 2017.

In its latest assessment of Australia, the OECD found the housing market poses a risk to the nation's economic growth going forward.

Refugees remaining on Manus Island and Nauru are filing two class action lawsuits today, alleging torture, crimes against humanity and the intentional infliction of harm by Australia’s offshore detention centres.

Lawyers from the National Justice Project claim asylum seekers are deprived of civil liberties, denied proper medical assessment and treatment and given inadequate food and water, amongst other points.

A Greenslopes man alleges he was brutally bashed by his neighbour in a racial attack on Friday.

Rohan Sharma, 23, suffered a black eye and fractured nose in the fight which he claims began over a shared garage.

The university student told 9News he was on the phone to a friend when his neighbour started racially abusing him and his sister.

The matter has been referred to the police, who have been unable to comment on whether they have caught up with the pair.

The four-lane upgrade of the Telegraph Road corridor in Brisbane's north has been completed under-budget, Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk says.

The suburban arterial road running through Bracken Ridge, linking Carseldine and Deagon and surrounding suburbs, was originally budgeted for a $260 million upgrade.

French president Emmanuel Macron plans to break his silence and address protesters after the fourth consecutive weekend of civil unrest.

The president is accused of being arrogant and out of touch after his policies contributed to the rising cost of living.

The protests are causing chaos and damage nationwide, with ministers describing it as a social and economic catastrophe.

The United Kingdom’s National Health Service is funding exploitative working factories in Malaysia, according to a new investigation by The Guardian.

The factories allegedly subject migrants to forced labour, overtime, debt bondage, withheld wages and passport confiscation.

Workers tell reporters they are trapped in factories working 12 hour days, seven days a week, with only one day off per month.