A man has been taken to hospital after he was injured when a bolt of lightning struck the ground near him in Esk, west of Brisbane as severe storms ripped through Ipswich, causing widespread blackouts on Thursday.

The RSPCA has released CCTV footage of a dog trapped inside a garbage truck, west of Brisbane.

The Greens and Labor in the Senate have blocked the Federal Government’s proposed changes to the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

The changes would have reduced the amount of water being returned to the environment in Queensland and New South Wales and instead seen that water used for further supplying irrigation farming.

The move by the Senate could jeopardize the fragile political agreements that make up the Murray-Darling Basin Plan with New South Wales and Victorian governments from both sides of politics threatening to pull out of the plan.

Despite personal claims to be worth near $4 billion, Queensland money magnet and former Federal politician Clive Palmer says he won’t reopen Queensland Nickel’s plant if the company’s liquidators win a submission to freeze $200 million of his assets.

Mr. Palmer recently won a separate legal victory and was award $350 million, but attests that he will be have no choice but to ‘enjoy the fruits’ of that victory if he remains tied up by liquidators.

Amongst those hardest hit by Telstra’s most recent dividend slash are around a million, mum, dad, and self-funded retiree investors.

The teleco reported a 5.8 percent fall in net profit to $1.7 billion this year, which translated to more than a quarter cut to December’s dividend passed on to domestic investors.

The reduction in profit comes after the company’s US video arm Ooyala maybe significant losses throughout the year due to quoted ‘non-cash impairments’.

17 people have been killed and others injured after a school shooting in Florida on Wednesday afternoon just before the school day was due to finish.

A fire drill had already been held that day which confused staff and students when a code red was read over the loudspeaker.

The gunman, a 19-year-old former student, was treated for minor injuries and then released into police custody.

An instagram-friendly frame stating “I took the leap” has been placed on a mountain outside Mackay named ‘The Leap’ and caused concern among traditional owners. 

The historical site is said to be named after an event where an Aboriginal woman chased by police jumped to her death in the 1860s. It is now also acknowledged as the site of a police massacre committed against the local indigenous population.

Domestic violence and homelessness outreach groups have renewed their calls for a dedicated female homeless shelter in Alice Springs following a spike in the number of women in the city sleeping rough and being assaulted.

The Northern Territory has the highest rates of homelessness in Australia, and yet Alice Springs, its biggest regional town, has no emergency accommodation facility for women fearing for their own safety.