The Australian Council of Trade Unions used a recent report by Oxfam International on growing wealth inequality to call for urgent pay rises.

According to ACTU the report showed that Australia’s wealth inequality was amongst the worst in the world.

ACTU Secretary, Sally McManus said that because workers rights no longer balance the power of employers, there now exists a rising and crippling inequality.

The former Holden factory in South Australia has been eyed off by  British billionaire and GFG Alliance boss, Sanjeev Gupta, as a potential site to build electric cars.

South Australian newspaper, The Advertiser, alleged that Mr Gupta approached General Motors Holden to buy assets from the closed factory.

According to the exclusive published this morning, the newspaper obtained a letter written by South Australian Treasurer, Tom Koutsantonis, in which he asked General Motors Holden to support Gupta’s plan.

Two separate fires destroyed an inner-city car dealership and abandoned retirement village in Brisbane over the weekend.

Up to 25 firefighters battled a blaze at a used car business on Lutwyche Road early Saturday morning, closing surrounding streets as they controlled the fire and investigated the scene.

Across the river, in Carina Heights, an abandoned retirement village also went up in flames, the blaze leaving extensive damage and ‘only a few sheds out the back’ according to a Queensland Fire and Emergency Service spokeswoman.

Fuel prices in Brisbane have averaged $1.50 per litre today, as part of a rise of around 20 cents over the last week.

RACQ spokeswoman, Renee Smith, has advised motorists to boycott the big fuel retailers when prices are unreasonable, claiming they are taking advantage of the back to school rush.

Ms Smith has also stated that vehicle owners should support cheaper service stations where they can, and wait for prices to drop.

Humanitarian conditions across Bangladesh refugee camps hosting people from Rohingya have raised alarm bells, according to UN officials.

People fleeing the violence of a brutal Myanmar military crackdown in Rohingya are set to face Bangladesh’s monsoon season, officials said the cramped camps may see a huge number of casualties from landslides and diseases.

More than 600,000 refugees were forced to flee Rohingya from a systematic campaign of mass killings, rape and arson, a situation described by the UN as a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.

The Italian government have launched a new service to crack down on fake news in the lead up to their upcoming general election in March.

The Italian Postal Police, the division responsible for investigating cyber crimes, has set up a “red button” on their website which people can access to report what they think might be fake news.

National police head Franco Gabrielli, said the authorities were trying to provide “a better, more professional and transparent” news service due to fake news potentially swaying public opinion in previous elections.

A survey by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority has found the numbers of migratory shorebirds in the Coorong and Lower Lakes at the mouth of the basin have been dwindling.

Ecologist David Paton from the University of Adelaide said the increased growth of dense algae has made it difficult for the birds, as it affects the vegetation that they rely on to grow.

Mr Paton said the damage, which he suspects may have been caused by drainage water runoff from farms in the area, is likely to be irreversible.

Rural and remote Australian mental health services have been in a state of crisis, according to the chief executive of the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Doctors have been finding themselves overwhelmed by the amount of psychological support they need to provide to their patients, as major disparities between country and city services still exist, despite numerous government reviews designed to address the problem.

Suicide rates in rural areas are 4% higher than those in major cities, and in remote areas, the rate is almost double.

New data has uncovered more than 60% of patients at a major Queensland hospital are not being seen within clinically recommended times.

Government data has shown Logan Hospital was amongst the worst in the state, where 61% of patients were not being seen within the recommended time frame.

Opposition leader, Deb Frecklington, said with the health budget increasing by 8.5%, and the number of patients only up by 5%, there was no reason the system couldn't be improved.