Cadbury has announced that it will cut 40 workers from it’s Tasmanian factory over the next four months as machines replace workers.

Independent Denison MP, Andrew Wilkie, says the Cadbury factory is a bedrock of the local community and the the loss of 40 jobs will hurt.

The job cuts come after announcements by Cadbury’s US parent will spend $20 million to upgrade machinery, raising the total number of job cuts in the company to 170 since 2015.

Rural queensland environmental artist, Amber Countryman, has turned litter collected from local beaches to create an art installation in protest against single-use plastic material.

The installation, entitled ‘77 species,’ featured crosses made of discarded wood, adorned with washed-up litter to represent the numerous species affected by the pollution.

The work was displayed by the seaside at Yeppoon's Village Festival in August.

A key member of the US House of Representatives will soon introduce legislation to extend operations of the International Space Station.

Currently, the Space Station’s authorisation will run out in 2024, but Republican Senator Brian Babin says his bill would extend its operations to 2030 unless a financially viable private sector alternative was available sooner.

A Swedish advertising watchdog has ruled use of the “distracted boyfriend” meme as sexist.

The popular meme was used in a recruitment drive by an internet services provider, where they labelled the boyfriend as “you”, the girlfriend as “your current workplace”, and the woman he’s staring at as “Bahnhof”, the internet service provider.

The South Australian Government says the price tag of Adelaide's tram extension is on track to go over budget by $44 million.

Transport Minister Stephan Knoll says the cost of the one kilometre upgrade could reach up to $124 million due to signalling problems which have delayed the opening of the line down North Terrace.

The controversy over the price has sparked a name-blaming game between the current liberal Transport Minister and the opposition's spokesperson, with Mr Knoll blaming poor project planning by Labor when they were in Government.

Six of the nine Australian universities which made the Times Higher Education world university rankings have slipped out of the top 200 since last year amid funding cuts.  

Global rankings editor Ellie Bothwell, says things aren’t all rosy in Australia’s higher education system as the national picture is a cause for concern, with many universities remaining stagnant and even declining.

Without universities sustaining investment there is a high risk that many could continue to decline on the world-stage.

Queensland Minister for Training and Skills Development Shannon Fentiman may be referred to the parliamentary ethics committee after failing to provide information on Commonwealth Games tickets purchased by TAFE Queensland for board members and staff.

The LNP has written a letter to Speaker Curtis Pitt after TAFE Chief Executive Mary Campbell revealed the total cost of tickets purchased was over $230,000 in an estimates hearing, a figure which Minister Fentiman diverted answering in Parliament.

37 new spider species have been discovered this week on Queensland's Cooloola Coast, and biologists believe there are more waiting to be found.

Volunteer and spider enthusiast, Robert Whyte says the most interesting newly discovered species is the 1.14mm-long Baalzebub, which has been named after the god of darkness.

While the spiders have venom to hunt their prey, none of the species are dangerous to humans.

The team of scientists and volunteers will return to rainbow beach to continue their search of more spiders.