Australia’s treatment of refugees has been one of the inspirations for Matthew Salvini, the Italian minister for the interior, who has introduced a tough immigration policy since coming to the government this month.

A public admirer of Australia's hardline "stop the boats" policy, says he wants to save Italy from being "overrun by migrants”, hence his closure of Italian ports.

Care Goondiwindi wants to help some of the most disadvantaged people in the local community, and they need all residents to jump on board. 

The organisation wants to provide a home that offers the options a caring community should have.

“This would be a high quality service, closely monitored and managed, where disability clients can feel independent with the support of a care,” a committee member said. 

The state government has given a parliamentary inquiry into Queensland's toll roads approval less than three weeks after the opposition called for an investigation.

At the end of last month, the LNP said the Sunshine State had submitted more complaints than the rest of the country combined.

The inquiry will look at a variety of things including toll pricing and ways to improve customer service.

Queensland homeowners may end up paying the trash tax the state government is reintroducing to help decrease the state's growing debt.

The charge will apply from New Year's Day and is expected to raise $1.3 billion dollars over four years.

Treasurer Jackie Trad announced that councils would be compensated in advance to cover the costs of disposing of the trash, to spare ratepayers being hit with the charges.

Hundreds of Sunshine Coast residents with eating disorders will gain access to improved healthcare under a $3.2 million project launched on Tuesday.

The two-year project, funded by the federal government, will aim to better equip local doctors to identify, diagnose and refer patients with eating disorder symptoms.

Patients diagnosed with anorexia nervosa or other complex eating disorders will be offered up to 50 therapy sessions, more than five times the number of sessions currently offered.

An international team of polar scientists have found the Antarctic ice sheet has lost more than 2,000 billion tonnes of ice in the past 25 years.

West Antarctica contributed to the most ice loss from the continent, shedding nearly 160 billion tonnes each year since 2012.

According to project leader Professor Andrew Shepherd from the University of Leeds, the increase in melting should act as a wake up call, as the events are strong indicators of climate change and should be of concern for governments worldwide.

Israel's use of lethal force along the Gaza Strip border in recent weeks could amount to war crimes, Human Rights Watch said yesterday.

The rights group accused Israel of repeatedly using live ammunition "with apparent lethal intent" against Palestinian demonstrators who posed no imminent threat to life.

Israeli authorities allege that its soldiers were acting in self-defence and had adhered to the rules of engagement.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said he will issue a formal apology to thousands of survivors of child sexual abuse that went on in schools, religious organisations, and other institutions.

The PM said the government has accepted most of the recommendations from the 2017 report by the Royal Commission, the country’s highest investigative body.

Some of the recommendations include compensating victims and establishing a national office for child safety.

The PM is expected to issue the formal apology in late October this year.

Transgender people in Queensland will now be able to stay married when they change the gender on their birth certificate.

Sally Cripps, the LGBTIQ Training Facilitator of the QLD AIDS council, says that this is an “amazing change.”

“Marriage equality has finally arrived in Queensland. Now that's worth celebrating,” she said