The State government’s buy queensland policy will support best practice workplaces in Queensland with the delivery of key enhancements to government’s procurement policy.

Minister for Housing and Public works Mick De Brenni said the government was delivering on its commitment to quality, secure local jobs and safe workplaces for all Queenslanders.

The Minister said Buy Queensland had delivered a boon for local Queensland business since it was introduced.

The Queensland Government Reconciliation Action Plan 2018-2021 was launched by Deputy Premier, Jackie Trad, with Elders, community and peak reconciliation bodies to kickstart 2018’s National Reconciliation Week.

The action plan will be delivered in partnership with Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander people, service providers, peak bodies and industry leaders.

Corporate Watchdog ASIC has requested more funding from the federal government to install staff into the big banks to combat misconduct.

ASIC would install specialist supervisors to ensure compliance with rules and regulations in the wake of banking misconduct uncovered in the royal commision, and comes after ASIC’s approach to regulating has been criticized for being subservient.

Financial Services Minister Kelly O’Dwyer is expected to receive the proposal in the coming days.

Two Iranian asylum seekers have spent a second night on the roof of Green one compound inside the christmas island detention centre according to Refugee action coalition.

The protest began around 2:30 Friday May 25, the two protesters have food and blankets to sustain themselves.

The two protesters are long term detainees, both protesters have been in detention for over four years, one as long as six years.

Two thirds of Afghanistan is suffering from drought, with the United Nations warning up to two million people could be at risk of severe food shortages.

A precipitation deficit of 70 per cent has affected winter harvests, with many farmers delaying planting and running out of feed for livestock.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi for talks over the weekend discussing issues of peace and security in the asia-pacific.

New Zealand is the first western developed country to sign up to China’s One Belt One Road initiative, an infrastructure development scheme looking to link Europe and Asia.

Mr Peters, who has been labelled ‘anti-china’, had a change of tone, speaking highly of China-New Zealand relations says Chinese foreign minister.

The State government will publish regular court statistics about domestic and family violence.

It comes after the government introduced multiple reforms to help tackle domestic violence including a new criminal offence of strangulation, to increase penalties for breaches of domestic violence orders and to make domestic violence an aggravating factor in sentencing.

Attorney General and Minister for Justice Yvette D’Ath said the government hopes to increase victim’s faith in the system.

The Queensland Alliance for mental health has called upon the government for continued investment to cope with the increasing amount of Queenslander seeking mental health treatment.

QAMH said there is a rising rate of suicides, mental health-related emergency department presentations and community mental health contacts and more investment in community care is needed to relieve government services.  

An $8m taskforce set up by the federal government has been cautiously welcomed by doctors and Aboriginal community controlled health organisations working against HTLV-1.

Earlier this month it was found that several central Australian Aboriginal communities have the world’s highest rates of HTLV-1, a fatal virus with no cure or treatment.

Central Australia academic health centre is also working with Congress to convene a workshop in early August to discuss appropriate responses to HTLV-1.