Calls for casual workers to be paid sick leave to limit virus spread
Over the past few months, there have been growing calls for Australians to stay home from work if they are sick, to limit the spread of COVID-19.
However, this has proven to be a difficult decision for many casual workers in Australia.
4ZZZ reporter, Jeremy Cook, looks at how the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted calls for casual workers to be paid a type of pandemic sick leave to control the spread of the virus and the concerns surrounding sick leave for casual workers in preventing future viral outbreaks.
Brisbane protesters walk in solidarity, at a distance
For the past seven weeks, socially distanced demonstrators have been donning masks and gloves to protest the indefinite detention of asylum seekers at a Kangaroo Point Hotel.
They argue the protest complies with the Chief Health Officer’s directives, but they’ve been receiving pushback from police and protesters say this pushback is political.
4ZZZ reporter Lillian Rangiah has the story.
Deep ocean warming study
4ZZZ reporter Alice Leggett speaks with UQ PhD candidate Isaac Britto-Morales about his research on deep ocean warming and its predicted future impacts
Escalating bird and flying fox injuries due to fishing waste
4ZZZ reporter Eliot Rifkin had a discussion with Michael Beatty from RSPCA Queensland about escalating injuries to birds and flying foxes from fishing waste and its impact on RSPCA's Wildlife hospital. It seems fishing enthusiasts are leaving their cut fishing line along with hooks around after they leave.
For information on this May's "RSPCA Million Paws Walk", visit: https://www.rspcaqld.org.au/
Malaria biomarkers identified by international science team
JCU’s Professor Denise Doolan shares a recent development in malaria research. Alice Leggett has more.
Guerrilla gardeners grow community in Brisbane's Inner South
Can gardening be an act of resistance?
Growing Forward are transforming abandoned spaces of the Southside into urban farms to feed communities left vulnerable by Coronavirus and assert First Nations sovereignty.
Lillian Rangiah reports.
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8AM Zedlines
Sisi and Jess present Tuesday's 8AM Zedlines
Australia's Catholic bishops want greater regulation of digital platforms
Australia’s Catholic bishops are calling for a crackdown on media platforms like Facebook, Google and Twitter.
The bishops say platforms should be fined for sharing fake news and offensive content to ensure basic standards are not lost in a profit-maximising scheme.
The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference says governments "have a responsibility to support robust and independent journalism, particularly through the public broadcaster."
Cause found for south QLD pasture dieback
A destructive mealybug has been identified by scientists as the cause of pasture dieback from Townsville to the New South Wales border.
QUT microbiologist Caroline Hauxwell warns against using chemicals to control the bugs, instead calling for a long term solution.
One proposal is to breed other insects who are natural predators of the bugs, but there are no clear-cut solutions yet.
North Qld glider habitat burnt down
Queensland environmentalists say land intended to protect marsupials has been burnt down.
The Australian Conservation Foundation discovered greater gliders in land expected to be cleared at Meadowbank Station.
The ACF say they asked the federal government to suspend approval of the clearing, but no action was taken.
The ACF’s nature policy analyst, James Trezise, says aerial images show about 400 hectares of woodland has been burnt, including the area gliders were found.