In ongoing national news, a cabinet reshuffle will likely occur after Malcolm Turnbull defeated Peter Dutton in a leadership spill, 48 votes to 35, and Dutton resigned from cabinet.

Despite the PM vacating all leadership positions, Julie Bishop was the only nomination for Deputy Prime Minister and retains her role.

Just yesterday Mr Turnbull said he had Mr Dutton's "absolute support".

The federal government is considering waiving the debts of students misled by private colleges under the VET FEE HELP scheme.

The decision comes after Fairfax Media revealed they had more than 5000 complaints from students who were issued loans without their knowledge.

It is expected that up to $1 billion of taxpayer funds will have to be repaid.

The outgoing human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein has warned that the UN is in danger of collapsing completely.

Al-Hussain has warned that China, France, The UK, Russia, and the US’s influence over the council leads to an unequal distribution of power within the UN.

Al-Hussain added that the inability to cooperate with other countries may lead to “horrific conflicts”.

An Australian filmmaker in Cambodia is facing up to 10 years in prison after being charged with endangering national security.

69-year-old James Ricketson was arrested in June 2017 for flying a drone over a political rally held by the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party.

Ricketson has denied the espionage charges, claiming he is not a spy and has been falsely imprisoned for 14 months without any tangible evidence.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has retained his Liberal leadership after Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton contested his position.

Turnbull defeated Dutton in a 48-35 spill vote.

Peter Dutton has since resigned from cabinet.

A team of 75 Queensland disaster support specialists will be assessed this week by International judges to retain their United Nations classification.

With this event taking place every five years, experts from the UK, US, Japan, China and Saudi Arabia will assess the proficiency of the team to response to a range of international disasters.

Fire and Emergency Services Minister Craig Crawford will launch the reclassification exercise tonight and is confident the response team will demonstrate their internationally renowned prowess.

After more than a year of pressure, Lockyer Valley mayor Tanya Milligan has announced plans for the construction of a regional-sized hospital in the district.

The development would result in less patients travelling to Ipswich or Toowoomba for procedures that can be performed locally, and would allow women to give birth closer to home.

Councillor Milligan said data pointing to a significant population increase in the area over the next decade also demonstrates  need for the new hospital.

Renowned Australian Artist Charles Blackman passed away yesterday at the age of 90, surrounded by friends and family in Sydney.

Blackman was most famously known for his works inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, after being introduced to the classic works by his Former wife Alice.

He was known as one of Australia’s greatest painters of the human condition, and recognised as a pioneer of Australian art in the post-war era.

China will continue to provide financial aid to island countries in the Pacific, such as Tonga, to help them achieve sustainable development.

Tonga is amongst the eight island countries with significant debt to China.

Despite China’s lending programs increasing to more than US $1.3 billion outstanding in the past decade, there are fears the debt burden carried by small economies may lead to increased political pressure from China.