Surf Life Saving Queensland are urging young people to show greater care on the beaches this summer, as the 1st of December marks National Water Safety Day.

Throughout 2021, 75% of deaths on Queensland beaches were people aged between 20 and 50 years old. Additionally, the average age of the 2,704 people rescued was 24.

Surf Life Saving Queensland’s General Manager of Lifesaving and Community Peta Lawlor is encouraging young people to look at ways of enjoying the beach safely, including only swimming during daylight patrol hours, and not swimming after drinking alcohol. 

An activist has spent over eight hours on a coal train in Central Queensland in an effort to protest Adani’s new controversial Carmichael mine.

Tom Ryan is believed to have climbed atop the train carrying the first shipment of coal from the mine yesterday morning, until a cherry picker was brought in to safely remove him in the late afternoon. 

Mr Ryan’s action is the sixth demonstration in protest of the shipment, with five other similar arrests being made. 

A manhunt is underway at the Howard Springs quarantine facility after three people scaled a fence to escape.

It is believed the trio escaped the centre just after 4 o’clock this morning, with police arriving on scene to confirm the escapees’ identities and monitor vehicle traffic in the area.

The escape comes after a man in his 30s was admitted to the facility on Monday, who tested positive for the new Omicron Variant of COVID-19 upon returning home from South Africa.

West Papuan migrants around the world are today raising a banned flag of independence to support their homeland’s struggle for self-determination. 

The morning star flag was first raised on the 1st of December 1961 in protest of Indonesia taking control of Dutch New Guinea and renaming it Papua and West Papua.

Today marks the 60th anniversary of the flag raising which is still illegal in West Papua, as migrants remember decades of conflict in support of independence.

An investigation is underway after a Brisbane tidal creek turned blue due to the release of an unknown contaminant.

The creek located behind an Industrial Area in Eagle farm was reported blue on Saturday, after a local resident noticed the unnatural colour and several dead fish. 

Residents of the Queensland and New South Wales Border town of Inglewood have been evacuated amidst rising flood waters overnight.

The Coolmunda dam is continuing to overflow, causing further road closures in Goondoowindi, and emergency alerts have been issued for the nearby town of Leyburn.

BOM Senior Meteorologist Peter Markworth says rainfall is expected to ease in the South East, and is therefore unlikely to contribute any further to existing river conditions. 

A survey from the Migrant Workers' Centre has revealed 65% of Australian visa holders have been underpaid for labour, while over ¼ believe they have been exploited.

The 'Lives in Limbo' Report surveyed over 700 migrant workers, and found migrant workers with temporary visas were more likely to be exploited by employers, making it harder for them to find guaranteed work for a future of employment in Australia. 

Barbados has been declared the world’s newest republic, cutting ties with the monarchy after centuries under British rule.

The Caribbean island nation held a formal ceremony, in which Barbadian Governor General Dame Sandra Mason was inaugurated as the first ever President. 

The ceremony was closed to the greater public, however singer Rihanna and Prince Charles were mong the honoured guests.