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.

Minister for Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water Glenn Butcher says the funding boost will give vital support to regional communities to design solutions to their water and sewerage service challenges.

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. 

The nightclub that the two men attended on the 8th of December has been identified as the location of a super-spreader event, with up to 200 of the attendees that night testing positive for COVID-19.

The launch of a luxury tourism destination in Antarctica is raising questions as to whether tourists should be travelling to the continent at all. 

Currently, the tourism of Antarctica is managed by rules agreed upon by the Antarctic Treaty. 

While the Antarctic Treaty requires waste to be removed, and for operators to have no more than a "minor or transitory" impact on the environment, scientists have expressed their concerns that damage caused by tourism can be unavoidable.

The former Toowong Bowls Club near Perrin Park has been revealed as the location for a new inner-west Brisbane school.

This will be Queensland's first vertical public primary school. 

Education Minister Grace Grace says two rounds of community consultation and studies into local traffic, flooding, geotechnical and ecological mitigations had informed the new location.

Some local Gold Coast businesses say they are receiving online backlash for abiding by the vaccine mandates coming into effect today.

The local business owners say the implementation of the mandate is not a personal attack but simply abiding by the law. 

Gold coast marketing manager Scott Andrew says the mandates requiring staff and customers of various businesses to be fully vaccinated are “dividing” Gold Coasters.

Medical clinics across Brisbane have been asking patients and staff to wear masks as they prepare for widespread COVID-19 transmission.

Currently, masks are only mandated in airports and on domestic flights, but it's recommended that Queenslanders keep a mask with them in case they can't physically distance.

Queensland's Chief Health Officer says health authorities were "actively considering" reimposing a mask mandate as community transmission increases, and encouraged people to wear them indoors and on public transport.

Victorian Premier Dan Andrews is in isolation following a potential exposure to a positive COVID-19 case at an event over the weekend.

According to current Victorian guidelines, social contacts of a positive COVID-19 case are required to isolate until they receive a negative test result.

Mr Andrews has taken a test and is now awaiting results while following current health advice.

The Biden administration is planning to impose new sanctions on several Chinese surveillance and biotech companies.

The move will bar American companies from selling components to 11 research institutes that focus on using biotechnology to support the Chinese military.

The sanctions have been put in place due to the Chinese government's human rights abuses of Uyghur Muslims in the country's western region.

Twelve Canadian and American missionaries have been released in Haiti.

The group had been captured by a gang after visiting an orphanage on a trip organised by Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries.

The gang involved in the kidnapping had sought a ransom of one million US dollars for each of the hostages.