Ipswich will not have to wait until 2020 to get a redeveloped mall in its heart, Local Government Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said.

Five tenders to begin about $60 million of mall upgrades, $28.97 million cheaper than planned in 2017, have stalled with the council set to be sacked and an administrator to be appointed by the Queensland government.

However, the council still needs to have a new loan approved from the Queensland Treasury Corporation to pay for the work.

Stress and uncertainty about the commercial fishing industry's future are contributing to high levels of depression and poor mental health for many fishermen in Queensland.

A survey of the fishing industry conducted last year showed greater psychological stress and almost double the rate of depression in fishermen than the national average.

The results showed a 19 per cent rate of depression among industry workers compared to the estimated national diagnosis of 10 per cent.

Violence erupted in Harare after an official announcement that the ruling ZANU-PF party has won most of the seats in Parliament, an outcome that opposition supporters believe to be have been manipulated.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission's decision to delay the results of the presidential race for three days after the vote, seems certain to inflame the opposition if President Emmerson Mnangagwa has won.

In the U.S, the White House is considering another sharp reduction in refugee admissions.

Under one proposal currently being reviewed, no more than 25,000 refugees could be resettled in the U.S. next year, a cut of more than 40 percent.

It would be the lowest number of refugees admitted to the country since the creation of the refugee program in 1980.

Labor governments in Victoria, Queensland and the ACT are demanding a future federal government has more scope to make deeper future cuts to greenhouse gas emissions.

With the NEG hanging in the balance, the united stance is aimed at maximising pressure on Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg to go much further than his latest proposal for a review of the target in 2024.

An Aboriginal map detailing significant cultural information has been released for the Lake Eyre Basin, which spans 1.2 million square kilometres across inland Australia.

The map, which took 12 years to make, features songlines, historical trade routes and other cultural information about the basin, which covers 71 language groups.

Northern Territory member of the Lake Eyre Basin Community Advisory Committee, Brenda Shields, described the map as a 'living' treasure.

Koala populations are under pressure, with a drop in population figures of around eighty per cent from Moreton region to the Gold Coast.

Between 2008 and 2014, koalas were shifted 40 kilometres to enable the Gold Coast Coomera Town Centre development to proceed.

Almost half of the 260 koalas shifted to make way for the Coomera shopping centre are dead.

Half of the koalas that remained in bushland around Coomera Town Centre are now also dead.

More than 50 pre-1911 Brisbane homes and several well-known landmarks have been given permanent development protection.

Brisbane City Council put forward an amendment to the Brisbane City Plan on Tuesday, following recommendations from Brisbane’s Future Blueprint.

These properties will join 400 buildings already protected and recognised for their significance.