Queensland has recorded twenty new cases overnight. 

Four of those cases are from overseas, sixteen are locally acquired and five are identified as being the omicron variant. 

Queensland's Health Minister Yvette D'Ath says the virus is spreading across the state, proving the need for a mask mandate.

The Queensland Government has granted oil and gas leases in Western Queensland without consulting the traditional owners. 

The leases were granted in the environmentally sensitive Channel Country despite repeated promises to protect the area.

New Zealand farmers have been denied their bid to trademark manuka honey in UK courts. 

Australian manuka producers have long argued a trademark should not be permitted as the plant from which the honey is produced is native in both Australia and New Zealand.

The chairman of the Australian Manuka Honey Association, Paul Callandar says 

A NASA spacecraft has officially touched the sun for the first time, plunging through the solar atmospheric region known as the corona.

Exploring this magnetically intense region up close can help scientists better understand solar outbursts that can interfere with life on Earth.

Masks have been mandated in Queensland for all indoor settings as of 1am Saturday the 18th of December.

The mandates require that all people in retail settings, on public transport and in rideshares and taxis must wear a mask. 

The Queensland state government has announced permanent funding for the Queensland Water Regional Alliance Program.

The program has been responsible for the implementation of efficient sewerage systems and urban water supply outside of South-East Queensland.

The Lunar Electric festival in Newcastle has been cancelled this year amid concerns of the Omicron COVID-19 variant.

The cancellation of this event comes right after two men have been fined a total of fifteen-thousand dollars for isolation breaches.