Government accused of abandoning 'Closing the Gap'
A damning report from the Closing the Gap Campaign Steering Committee accused the Federal Government of effectively abandoning its policy to reduce inequalities in health, education, and employment between Australia’s First Peoples and non-indigenous Australians.
The report indicated six of the policy’s seven key measures for inequality were not ontrack to be addressed by their 2020 target date.
Southern Brown Bandicoot spotted in South Australia
Rangers in the Kuitpo Forest, in Kangarilla, South Australia have spotted a Southern Brown Bandicoot for the first time in nearly 4 decades.
The small marsupial grows to roughly 30 centimetres, and is found on southern fringes of Australia’s coastline where their populations have dwindled due to deforestation and growth in predator numbers.
Logan City Council CEO sacked
A vote by the Logan City Council has seen their CEO sacked, with seven votes supporting her termination and five against.
Although no reasons were given publicly the decision comes after a matter listed in the Industrial Court involving CEO Sharon Kelsey and Logan City Council.
The council has said its decision was in relation to Ms Kelsey’s six month-probationary period after which it was decided that she would not be appointed CEO.
New snorkeling regulations on the Great Barrier Reef
New Tourism Industry Codes of Practice mean ‘at risk’ tourists on the Great Barrier Reef will be forced to wear life jackets and must swim with a partner.
The new industry code also requires all reef-bound tourist boats to carry an automatic external defibrillator.
The policy changes come after a horror 2016 for tourism operators, with a total of 10 deaths on the Great Barrier Reef through the year.
Budget airline Tigerair cuts Brisbane services
In the spirit of the letter of the week, "B", on Alphabet Soup this is Nick and Claire bringing you your 8am Zedlines.
Source: Wikimedia
Buckle up for your first drone flight
Buckle your seatbelts, the world’s first passenger drone has made its maiden voyage, taking off from a South China City.
Being able to carry one passenger weighing up to one hundred kilograms, the electric powered EHang 184 drone can fly for 23-minutes at sea level at a speed of 100 kilometres per hour.
Before making its first public flight, the entirely automated machine was tested one thousand times.
Bans on "Polish Death Camps"
Banishing any reference to “Polish Death Camps”, Poland’s President has signed off on a new law banning the perceived mislabelling of historical holocaust sites.
Because of the new law, the commonly used term will be outlawed, and it will be made illegal to accuse Poland of any involvement with the Holocaust.
But many people disagree with the law as it will mean it will be illegal for Holocaust survivors to give evidence that includes Polish citizens.
Breeding hookworms to cue coeliac disease
Breeding hookworms in their own bodies, Cairns based researchers are seeking out a new treatment for coeliac disease.
Based on the premise that the hookworm parasite secretes an anti-inflammatory protein, the study proposes that the protein could be harvested into a pill or gluten-intolerant patients could be intentionally infected with the worms.
Big battery boom in South Australia
Big grid-scale batteries will be installed in South Australia’s mid-north in the same region as the Tesla and Neona batteries at Jamestown.
Battery and solar systems will be connected by Tilt Renewable to their existing wind farms, who will also place a pumped-hydro storage project in a disused quarry at Highbury in Adelaide’s north-east.
Besides only being about one fifth as powerful as the existing big batteries in the region, experts say the new additions of renewable energy storage will still help drive down energy prices.
Budget airline Tigerair cuts Brisbane services
Budget airline Tigerair will no longer fly from Brisbane to Perth or the Whitsundays, as of March 1st.
Badly affected customers will be notified directly by the airline and placed on another service as close to the original departure time as possible, or receive a refund.
Brisbane Airport spokesperson said Tigerair still provides flights to six destinations across the country, equating to 29,000 seats per week.