In a bid to reduce hospital transmission, Queensland elective surgery patients may be required to undergo COVID tests prior to surgery.

The proposal is one of many aimed to prepare Queensland for the ‘living with the virus’ phase as cases are expected to mount.

Acting Queensland Chief Health Officer Peter Aitken stresses the proposal is not a directive and there is no timeline as to when this may be implemented in the future.

A team of researchers and tour guides are working to revitalise sections of the great barrier reef by relocating coral spores to damaged areas of the reef.

Whitsunday tourism operators and scientists from Southern Cross University and the Australian Institute of Marine Science collected eggs from areas of the Whitsundays during a large spawning event last week and have relocated them to floating nursery pools.

Scientists say they are confident this method will help with the revival of areas damaged by cyclones and bleaching events.

The South Australian Parliament has passed a Bill by the Greens encouraging food businesses to allow consumers to bring in their own takeaway containers to reduce waste.

The Bill passed through parliament yesterday afternoon amends the Civil Liabilities Act to protect businesses that allow customers to bring in their own takeaway containers from liability if the consumer fails to properly sterilise the container.

Greens MLC Robert Simms says 

“This is a great example of the Parliament working collaboratively to deliver positive outcomes for our environment"

Leader of the federal opposition Anthony Albanese has set to cut Australia's greenhouse emissions by 43% by 2030. 

The plan to reach this target involves placing caps on 200 large companies in sectors such as resources and industrial production.

These targets exceed the Liberal governments targets of 26 to 28% reductions by 2030.

A new campaign has launched aiming to increase the voices of Queensland farmers and miners in the climate change discussion. 

University student Charlie Rogers launched the crowdfunded campaign ‘It’s What Queenslanders Do’ after she saw that although many rural Queenslanders care about climate change, they felt hesitant to engage with the movement because it felt unrelatable.

The campaign aims to give miners and farmer’s views a platform through multiple mediums including social media, a website and TV advertising in the lead up to the 2022 election.

Town planners say the Gold Coast is set to expect more high-rise buildings in the near future as the population expands and demand for high density living increases.

With the Gold Coast area expected to reach one million by 2040 and the supply of land dedicated to urban sprawl declining, urban planners say the solution is medium to high density developments.

President of ACE Community Alliance John Hicks says though the developments are inevitable, 

Satellite imagery combined with meteorological data and atmospheric models shows Australia’s methane output could be much greater than the official greenhouse gas emissions reports. 

Research by Christian Lelong shows the methane levels above the Bowen Basin in Queensland amounts to about 1.5 million tonnes per year. 

Reports by the Australian Government in the same time period speak of only a third of the volume of methane in that area.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt is set to step down from politics in the next election. 

Mr Hunt says after two decades in politics his family and children must now take priority and he will step down from his seat in Flinders.

The minister is set to continue to oversee the management of the pandemic in the coming months until his retirement.