The chief executives of Australia's four major banks will be criticised by politicians about the "appalling behaviour" revealed at the banking royal commission.

The House of Representatives committee on economics will question the heads of Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, ANZ and NAB in Canberra on Thursday and Friday, with a third hearing day to be held next week.

Following claims of job losses and closures at Fairfax-owned regional papers, many rural areas are seeing  a resurgence in independent publishing and media coverage.

Independently owned newspapers are reportedly seen by many locals as a ‘rejection’ of Fairfax-based rural media.

Fairfax also have seen widespread job cuts at rural Victorian, South Australian and outer Sydney publications.

The Gold Coast is currently hosting the Australian Transplant Games, with more than 700 transplant recipients, donors and healthcare allies participating in sporting events to help the community.

Transplant Australia CEO Chris Thomas says that the games exist to inspire all Australians to join the Organ Donor Registry.  

The event is received internationally, with teams from Thailand, Germany, New Zealand and the USA also participating.  

Visit donatelife.gov.au for more information on joining the Organ Donation Registry.

The Queensland State Government has revealed a new website where former ice addicts and families share their stories of battling addiction, in efforts to engage methamphetamine users to seek help.

The state government has planned to spend $100 million over the next five years to reduce drug addiction, with more help centres seen as necessary.  

The Premier has revealed the production of a rehabilitation centre in Rockhampton, with the Federal Government also commiting to a new centre in Caboolture.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has seen a second US-North Korea summit confirmed and happening as soon as possible.

Pompeo’s most recent visit has reportedly outlined de-nuclearisation steps that are planned to be followed by North Korea.  

Issues discussed at the first-ever summit between the nations US President Donald Trump’s June visit with Kim Jong-Un  in Singapore will be strengthened in the second planned summit. Options are still being considered as China, Russia and South Korea all seeking to relax sanctions.

This week, hundreds of scientists and government officials from more than 190 countries have been buzzing around a convention centre in the South Korean city of Incheon, trying to agree on the first official release of a report on global warming.

The report, being pulled together by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, was part of Paris climate change agreement.

The Labor Party’s finance spokesman, Jim Chalmers, said the party would lobby crossbenchers to support a guarantee to legislating a 75c floor in payments to states in relation to GST.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, is vocal in his rejection of this idea, saying the move would create a parallel system.

He further announced that Australia would be ‘better off’ with an extra $1 billion from the federal government in the funding pool.

Statistics from the Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System state one in four people who take stimulant drugs are also using ecstasy weekly.

Participants also revealed half used LSD and one in three used ketamine.

One in five drug users have also reported taking a capsule unsure of what was inside. These reports are a response to deaths at New South Wales’ Defqon 1 Festival, which saw 2 deaths from drug overdose.