Beaudesert farmer, Derek Shirley found six blown up cows lying dead, in a straight line after thunderstorms swept across south-east Queensland

Mr Shirley believes the cows were struck by lighting, which is what threw them against and into a wire fence.

ABC science expert Dr Karl Kruszelnicki said “the force of being pushed into the fence isn't what killed the cows” rather the electric currents which pass through the body would have resulted in simultaneous heart attacks.

Mr Shirley estimated the four cows and two calves were worth approximately $10,000.

Queensland Attorney-General and Minister For Justice Yvette D’Ath shared to parliament the story of the first same sex couple to marry in Australia.

Sunshine Coast couple, Jo Grant and Jill Kindt  were married on December the 15th 2017, 8 days after the legislation legalising same sex marriage passed in Federal parliament.

The White House is open to providing exemptions to some countries from President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on steel and aluminium.

White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Mexico and Canada could be exempt from tariffs on imported steel and aluminium based on national security reasons and other countries could possibly be exempt based on this process.

Australian Trade Minister Steve Ciobo continues to pursue an exemption for Australia's steel and aluminium interests.

Indonesian zoo staff have apologized after being condemned by animal rights activist when footage of an orangutan smoking went viral.

A visitor allegedly flicked a cigarette into the enclosure at Bandung zoo, and Odon, 22, picked it up and started puffing - adding to Indonesia's bad record of animal protection.

Marison Guciano, founder of the Indonesia Animal Welfare Society, attacked the zoo's management for "weak control", but also criticised a wider lack of welfare standards at zoos.

Research by the Department of transport and Regional Services has discovered that female farmers are responsible for 49% of real farm income.

However, Agricultural Bodies continue to be male dominated, with women accounting for only 13 percent of rural representative body membership, and 7% of the leadership of publicly listed agricultural companies.

A father of two daughters, both diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, is facing jail time after using cannabis juice to ease their pain.

Police allegedly found 107 cannabis plants in Stephen Taylor’s home after the father turned to cannabis juicing for his daughters when no doctor agreed to fill out the application for legal, medical cannabis.

Taylor’s daughters now await medical treatment, with Taylor facing the serious prospect of going to jail.

Brisbane City Council opposition leader Peter Cumming has urged the council to abandon the use of gender specific titles.

Despite women making up one third of elected representatives, the council still only employs masculine titles such as chairman.

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said that he had no objections to the proposed protocol change.

A small mining community west of Bundaberg is celebrating after discovering they produced the gold that will be used to manufacture the coveted Melbourne Cup trophy.

The gold mined from Mt Rawdon, in Queensland’s North Burnett region, will be refined and hand-beaten by jewellers in Sydney in preparation for the 2019 Melbourne Cup.

A spokesperson for ABC Bullion, the company manufacturing the the cup, said they believe this is the first time the cup will be made exclusively from Queensland Gold

Two members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot are still missing after disappearing while returning to Moscow from Crimea on Tuesday.

Olga Borisova and Sasha Sofeyev were in the Crimea to protest the actions of Russian and Russian backed authorities in the region and had been harassed by security forces for the duration of their visit.

A third member of the band, Marsha Alekhina, remains in Crimea, in detention.