The Bicentennial Bikeway began upgrading yesterday, with closure starting at the Goodwill Bridge and extending to 1 William Street as part of the Queen’s Wharf development upgrade.

When the 12 month upgrade is completed, it is reported the bikeway will be transformed to include a three-metre-wide separated bikeway with an improved line of sight and removal of dangerous pitch points.

A detour has been implemented along Gardens Point Road, with the speed limit on the shared zone now at 20km/h.  

The Holy Cross Convent Wooloowin, which a property developer bought from the Sisters of Mercy in 2015, is now seeking approval to begin major demolition on the site.

Two of the buildings on the site include the historic heritage-listed Holy Cross Convent and the Holy Cross Laundry; however, these buildings will be preserved.

The developer has plans to build 280 apartments and townhouses on the 3.8 hectare site with plans to commence the construction in the first half of 2019.

Mayo by-election candidate Rebekha Sharkie has called for an inquiry on the use of data mining software to target voters.

Sharkie’s comments come in the wake of comments from opponent Georgina Downer on the resettling of asylum seekers in New Zealand, a recently hot topic with only two weeks until the by-election.

The i360 information sourcing program used by the Liberal party in their Mayo campaign is an area of concern, being used to target voters in key seats, according to Sharkie.

The most recent CEO pay report from the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors demonstrates Australia’s company bosses are receiving the highest wages in 17 years.

Meanwhile, average wage growth is stagnant at 2.1 percent with the wage price index showing the growth is struggling to keep up with inflation.

The peak in CEO pay is being attributed to continually escalating bonus payments, with one in three ASX100 CEOs receiving 80 percent of their maximum bonus.

United States officials have announced plans to talk directly with the Taliban on the issue of ending the war in Afghanistan.

The Taliban have demanded direct talks with the US for some time, viewing the Afghan government as illegitimate.

No dates have been set for a meeting, however, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Kabul last week and is believed to have met with diplomats to lay groundwork for future talks.

A senior New Zealand minister have criticised Australia’s deportation laws, after a rise in deportations of New Zealand citizens on grounds of character.

New Zealand Justice Minister Andrew Little says the deportations have a venal, political strain and are not consistent with any humanitarian ideals he thought both countries shared.  

In the past three years, 1,300 New Zealanders have been deported, despite many of them living in Australia for decades and without criminal records.

An in-depth session will take place today at the International Great Barrier Reef Restoration Symposium in Cairns.

Experts will be providing information into the restoration of the reef, with the investigation aiming to preserve and restore the reef.

It is believed that sunlight reflecting clouds and mass produced baby corals are some of the proposed solutions.