Disgraced former Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale has revealed that he plead guilty against legal advice as he “just wanted it all over with.”

Pisasale who was jailed last year after pleading guilty to more than thirty offences, including sexual assault, official corruption, and fraud, says he barely remembers the details of his hearing while suffering from multiple schlorosis.

Despite his plea, Pisasale still refuses to agree with some of the statements made by the prosecution, however he maintains he told the truth. Pisasale will be eligible for parole in October 2022.

Shield laws will be introduced to Queensland parliament this week, with the aims of protecting journalists from having to reveal their confidential sources. 

Attorney General Shannon Fentiman has said the laws protect Queenslanders who come forward with important information and will ensure a free, independence and effective media. 

Queensland is the only jurisdiction in Australia to not have shield laws in place.

The Western Australian parliament is introducing new Aboriginal cultural heritage laws in an effort to prevent tragedies such as the Juukan Gorge disaster last year, however indigenous legal experts are not satisfied with the legislation. 

In May of 2020, the government went against wishes of the local traditional owners and granted permission to Rio Tinto to commence demolition in the state’s Pilbara region, leading to the destruction of sacred rock shelters over forty six thousand years old. 

Health Minister Greg Hunt has announced yesterday funding for a new network which aims to bring Aboriginal and Torre Strait Islander knowledge and sustainable development to address climate change and its impacts on health. 

The network will be funded through the National Health and Medical Research Council and operate across all Australian states and territories. 

The initiative will involve researchers, communities and policymakers on topics related to urban health, bushfires, biosecurity and water pollution. 

Two suicide bombings in Ugandan capital of Kampala have killed three civilians and left dozens injured outside Parliament. 

The attack is believed to have been coordinated by the Allied Democratic Forces, a militant group from the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo with ties to Islamic State.

The ADF have claimed responsibility for a number of recent attacks on Uganda, which Police spokesman Fred Enanga says indicates a need for the police to do more to pre-empt, penetrate, and prevent deadly attacks by domestic terrorists in the days to come.

The Brisbane City Council has formally lodged an offer to buy a West End glass factory ahead of the 2032 olympics. 

The fifty seven thousand square metre property on Montague road currently owned by Visy glass manufacturing is being eyed for the development of a new broadcast facility, sending the games’ media worldwide from Brisbane. 

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said the council is currently waiting on approval from Visy management, and confirmed that any agreement would see the factory remain in place until the company could move elsewhere over time.

400 central Queensland business owners have gathered to express concerns over the impact of the state government’s COVID-19 restrictions for unvaccinated people. 

During the meeting in Yeppoon, it was expressed that due to low vaccination rates in many areas of regional Queensland, small businesses fear they will have to ‘shut their doors’ to navigate their way through allowing unvaccinated people into their premises. 

Queensland Minister for Energy, Renewables, and Hydrogen Mick de Brenni has announced plans to double the state’s production of large scale renewable energy methods.

The new investments include network upgrades between Cairns and Townsville to support a Green Power Hub wind farm in the Northern Queensland Renewable Energy Zone, increased push in the Central Queensland Renewable Energy Zone to transform Gladstone into a hydrogen production hub, and further network investments in the Darling downs to link the MacIntyre Wind Farm with a new Renewable Energy Project in Dulacca.

Human rights advocates have demanded the federal government to outline when strict rules on international travel will be eased for temporary visa holders and refugees seeking to enter Australia. 

This follows more than 10,00 refugees stuck offshore remain in limbo because of the government’s international travel restriction. 

The Human Rights Law Centre has said the government’s refusal to detail a plan for lifting travel restrictions means these groups continue to face uncertainty.