David Goodall, Australia’s oldest scientist at 104 years old, has arrived in Switzerland where he plans to end his life with a voluntary assisted dying program.

He has expressed his frustration over Australian legislation and told an ABC broadcaster he is resentful that he has to go abroad to die as Australia does not allow voluntary euthanasia.

Switzerland is one of the world’s most permissive countries in regards to assisted suicide.

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RSPCA Queensland say their wildlife carers are struggling to cope with the influx of injured animals and it’s Brisbane’s development and bushland destruction that is to blame.

Brisbane’s Wacol Wildlife Hospital took in 21,000 native animals from 2016-17, and they expect this year’s count to be much higher.

A spokesperson for the hospital said jobs in education and fundraising had to be cut to cope with the cost of treating injured animals.

Tourism’s carbon footprint is eight times larger than previously thought according to a new report in Nature Climate Change.

Previous estimates only considered the carbon dioxide emitted in air travel, while this study also evaluates other planet-warming gases produced in the construction and maintenance of infrastructure to support tourism such as hotels, airports, food and souvenirs.

All these combined accounted for  greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 4.5 billion metric tons of Carbon Dioxide, or about 8% of global emissions from 2013.

A professor at Bond university has found that Gold Coast residents are paying higher water bills than Sydneysiders.

The comparative research has found that Gold Coast residents are paying more than double what Sydney residents are paying for their water and these usage fees are higher than any other metropolitan area in Australia.

Ms Baumfield found that connection fees were at least $120 more a year for residents in south east Queensland than those using Sydney water.

The Brisbane City Council has refused a plastic straw ban despite pressures from other Queensland councils.

Councillor Steve Griffiths, said ‘we must do everything in our power to keep rubbish out of Moreton Bay and out of the stomachs of marine life’.

The council has been encouraged to pursue the ban following Moreton Bay and Cairns Regional council pledge to phase out single-use plastic straws at council operated events in April.

The Canadian province of Ontario has issued its first non-binary birth certificate after a successful human rights claim against the provincial government.

Joshua Ferguson identifies as non-binary and was able to change their birth certificate from male to non-binary after petitioning the provincial government for nearly a year.

Ferguson said this is “a victory for the trans community”.

The Trump administration will begin separating parents and children that cross the border into the United States illegally.

This is part of a new scheme to increase criminal prosecutions for those entering the country without permission by taking adults directly to the Federal court while taking children into the custody of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement.

Australia’s largest waste collector Cleanaway said it could be forced to send some recyclables to landfill or stop collecting kerbside bins in three Perth Metro Councils unless local governments involved do not agree to higher fees.

Australia sells the vast majority of recyclables to majority traders who then on-sell to markets such as Indonesia, Korea and China for remanufacturing with China being the biggest buyer until recently.

An Iranian refugee allegedly attempted suicide Monday night on Nauru after her application for resettlement in the US was rejected.

Several Iranians have now had their applications rejected while Nepalese, Rohingyan and Pakistani refugees have been accepted, leading to tensions on the island as people are becoming convinced Iranians and Somalians will not be accepted for resettlement, according to refugee action groups.