Cardinal George Pell returned to court in Melbourne today for what is expected to be a month-long committal hearing for historical sexual offence charges.

Cardinal Pell was charged by Victorian Police in June last year and was granted leave from the Vatican by Pope Francis to return to Australia to fight the charges.

Defence barrister Robert Richter told a previous hearing Cardinal Pell will plead not guilty to all charges.

Brisbane ratepayers have been shelling out millions of dollars for solar projects, but it will be almost 10 years before they see any financial return.

In the last two financial years, Brisbane City Council has spent $2.5 million on energy efficiency and emissions reduction projects - including installing solar panels at some of the city’s bus depots and libraries.

Solar spends are expected to remain high until 2028, but the council believes this is a smart investment.

North Queensland flood victims will be offered additional disaster assistance by state and federal governments after battling heavy rainfall since last month.

Areas such as Burdekin, Charters Towers, Etheridge, Palm Island and Townsville have had a severe weather warnings in place while emergency crews have been on standby throughout north Queensland.

More rain is expected to hit north and south-east Queensland over the coming week.

The Tasmanian Liberals have secured a second term of majority government under leader Will Hodgman, with opposition parties up in arms over claims seats were “bought”.

Mr Hodgman is the second Liberal in Tasmania’s history to win consecutive elections with a majority.

The Liberal victory however was not graciously accepted by oppositions parties, with Labor and Greens leaders claiming they were significantly outspent during the campaign.

The Fair Work Ombudsman’s latest Compliance Activity Report has shown 76% of the Caltex service network is non-compliant with workplace laws.

Investigations into the network commenced in late 2016 across Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide found employees were being underpaid or not paid at all, cash payments were being made ‘off the books’ and employees were being threatened to have their Visas cancelled for any workers who complained.

On Saturday morning, Brisbane streets were shut down by approximately 100 protesters who say they are fed up with being ignored by the Brisbane City Council over their concerns about inner-city developments.

The group, which consisted largely of locals, gathered at the intersection of Vulture Street and Montague Road in West End, resulting in the closure of surrounding streets.

Syrian government forces captured a number of villages and towns bordering the rebel-held area of Ghouta.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said fighting intensified in the area over the weekend, and rebels responded by attacking nearby Damascus.

UN aid officials said they have not been given permission from Syrian officials for 40 trucks carrying supplies to reach the area, despite optimism earlier in the week the convoy would be granted entry.

Isolated areas of Papua New Guinea experienced major aftershocks following a large earthquake which killed at least 31 people in the area.

Three aftershocks measuring higher than magnitude five hit the Southern Highlands area early on Monday.

Aid organisations said nearly 150,000 are in urgent need of emergency supplies as damage to roads hindered the delivery of aid to remote areas.