Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has appointed former Governor Paul de Jersey as disaster recovery coordinator for the Fraser coast, as the region continues to battle raging floodwaters.

Maryborough recorded over 650 millimeters of rain in the past 24 hours, however Queensland police have since withdrawn an emergency declaration in the CBD to begin recover efforts.

This comes after the body of a 52 year old man was recovered from flood waters near Tiaro, and police continue to search for a 14 year old girl who has been missing near Gympie since Saturday.

Changes may be afoot to Queensland’s cultural heritage laws after Indigenous leaders and conservationists have called on the government to mandate consultation with traditionals owners before large scale clearing on private-owned land. 

This protest comes as the state government is reviewing the findings of a criminal case which ruled in favour of a Cape York grazier being accused of breaching cultural heritage protections on his Kingsvale station. 

The red crab population on Christmas Island has drastically increased due to additional pest control measures to protect the crabs from invasive crazy ants.

Christmas Island National Park Invasive species program coordinator Tanya Detto says a recent survey estimates the current red crab population at over 190 million, which indicates an almost four fold increase in population average over the past 20 years.

A third Chinese city has been subject to strict lockdowns and flight cancellations due to a COVID-19 outbreak, raising the number of people confined to their homes in China to 20 million. 

The lockdown of Anyang, which is home to 5 and a half million people, was announced after two cases of the Omicron variant were reported. 

These lockdowns are the broadest since the shutting of Wuhan and nearby provinces in early 2020 at the start of the pandemic.

Russian soldiers are set to withdraw from Kazakhstan over the next few days after successfully diffusing civil unrest sparked by fuel prices.

Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called on the Moscow based Collective Security Treaty Organisation to send troops and help stabilise the growing conflict, in what he has described as an attempted coup d’etat.

The withdrawal of troops is expected to take no more than 10 days, following conflict that left dozens dead and over 10,000 detained.

A Gold Coast company is currently in talks with the Australian Space Agency to potentially launch new technology capable of detecting bushfires.

The rockets developed by Gilmour Space Technologies are able to produce 110 kilonewtons of thrust over a 75 second test period last week, which is the most powerful in Australia’s history.

Chief Executive Adam Gilmour is confident the successful test will allow space agencies to launch low-Earth orbit satellites capable of detecting bushfires in seconds later this year.

Brisbane train timetables will change to week-end style run times this month as patronage declines and more public transport workers are forced to stay home due to the Omicron out-break. 

Buses and CityCat services are also set to be cut possibly in early February, as Queensland adjusts to the pandemic wave. 

Authorities met yesterday to discuss how much public transport service will be scaled back, with final logistics to be decided on at the end of the week. 

Queenslanders can expect to see petrol prices continue to rise across the South East, following last year’s records for the highest average retail prices of regular unleaded petrol.

RACQ’s Annual Fuel Price Report for 2021 reported an average price of 150 cents per litre, increasing on 2020’s average by almost 30 cents.

The report attributes the price increase to the sudden influx of demand for oil products worldwide, as economies reduce COVID restrictions and people begin to travel more.

Crisis talks have been held overnight between ‘essential' industry groups and the federal government, as businesses try to deal with widespread supply chain issues. 

Supply chains of essential services have been impacted by coronavirus-induced staff shortages, forcing major retailers to enforce product limits on several items. 

The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee released advice yesterday that staff in essential services would be able to continue to work after an exposure provided they return a negative RAT test.