The Shooting Foundation of Australia (SIFA) is seeking to unravel Australia’s strict gun regulations, and is using the Victorian election to lobby for more relaxed laws in hope that any newly elected independents in the state will be pro-gun.

SIFA is a key part of Australia’s gun lobby, and uses the same tactics as its American equivalent, the National Rifle Association (NRA).

Up to 80 confirmed cases of the swine flu virus have been reported across the Northern Territory since the start of November, in what authorities have named an ‘odd’ flu season.

With over 40 cases in the last week, doctors are urging residents to vaccinate against the virus, as some patients have become seriously ill, leading to hospitalisation.

Authorities have confirmed that the virus has drifted over the years, and is now a different strain to that declared a global pandemic in 2009.

An alternative all-girls school in Sunnybank is the first school in Brisbane to provide Share the Dignity PinkBox, providing free pads and tampons for students.

Carinity Education Southside is taking steps to ensure their student body, many of whom are at or below the poverty line, are not facing disadvantage by being forced to take days off school when their period comes.

Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council (QSAC) has released a report showing current sentences for child manslaughter are inadequate and do no reflect community expectations.

The council made eight recommendations in its final report, including a new "aggravating factor" be applied when victims are under 12-years-old, forcing courts to consider the defencelessness and vulnerability of the victim.

Council Chair John Robertson said he hoped the report would provide some comfort to the families of victims.

The first ever “solid state” plane, with no moving parts in its propulsion system, has successfully flown 60 metres.

The propulsion system is entirely electrically powered, nearly silent, and with a thrust-to-power ratio comparable to conventional systems such as jet engines.

Long-term, the new technology could help reduce the harmful environmental impact of the aviation industry globally.

The impacts of journalist Jamal Khashoggi's death in Istanbul last month continue to unravel with Turkey accusing the US of trying to turn a blind eye to his alleged murder. 

US President Donald Trump said the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, may have known about the plan to kill Khashoggi, a comment dismissed by Turkey as comical.

The CIA believes Khashoggi’s death was ordered directly by the crown prince, who is Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, but Trump has said the US would remain a “steadfast partner” of Saudi Arabia.

A major dust storm is sweeping across New South Wales, with authorities issuing an air quality forecast alert as “poor” and urging Sydney residents to stay inside if they experience breathing difficulties.

Wild westerly winds of up to 45 km/hr are set to hit Sydney, threatening to limit visibility for the city’s motorists.  

The dust storm won’t be as destructive as the one in 2009 which struck New South Wales and Queensland, but residents should still be aware of reduced visibility and high winds.

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) owned HMAS Moreton barracks site in Bulimba has finally gone on the market.

In 2015, the federal government confirmed the ADF would sell most of the Bulimba site and in February 2017, Brisbane City Council formally adopted a master plan to allow developers to buy the site and build up to five storeys.

A Defence spokesperson said the 20-hectare waterfront development opportunity will deliver housing, waterfront access, and improved community amenity for the Bulimba and Morningside communities.

Plans for a solar farm just outside of Kingaroy in South East Queensland have been shot down by the South Burnett regional council, amid worries of wasting ‘Class A’ agricultural land.

Renewable energy company Terrain Solar have proposed an 80 hectare solar farm 3 kms outside urban development, predicted to generate over 100,000 megawatt hours each year, or enough to power over 15,000 Queensland homes.