Mackay grandfather, Greg Trembath, is launching a campaign to stop a Mackay Harbour Sand quarry.

He says he is fighting to shut down a sand mine off Mackay beach to protect the environment for future generations.

He has launched his Line in the Sand campaign to bring the area under conservation status as the land falls under Mackay strategic Port Land territory.

The North Queensland Bulk Ports Corporation’s Land Use Plan states fauna surveys recorded 26 species of “special conservation status” on port lands.

During negotiations with crossbench MPs last night, the Andrews Government were asked to wind back some aspects of the suggested laws. 

The news laws, which would give the Premier the power to declare a pandemic alongside the advice of the chief health officer, has received wide-spread backlash from the community. 

The bill is set to be debated in parliament today.

The locally made Black Sky Aerospace rocket launched from a site on the NSW Queensland border on Monday and lasted about four minutes, reaching 30,000 feet prior to parachuting successfully back down to earth.

It is said to be the first time that a locally made rocket has been launched since 1971.

Black Sky CEO Blake Nikolic said, “We set out to get the mission completed and we hit the milestones.”

Environmentalist Greta Thunberg has described the COP26 summit as “very vague”. 

She said the “small progress” made in the talks highlights a “losing” fight against climate change. 

She says, “I have to say unfortunately it turned out just the way I and many others had expected and there is still no guarantee that we will reach the Paris Agreement.”

A Victorian man has been charged after travelling to Hobart from Brisbane while positive with COVID19 causing a three day lockdown.

Tim Gunn, who escaped hotel quarantine, was found by police after being within the community for 24 hours and been charged with two counts of failing to comply with the lawful direction of an emergency management worker, two counts of knowingly providing false or misleading information, 16 counts of breaching a nationally recognised domestic violence order and one count of "possessing thing used for the administration of a controlled drug"

In further COVID news The Queensland government has brought forward the opening of the broader to fully vaccinated travellers, with people able to apply for border passes from 5pm today.  

Anyone seeking to enter from COVID19 hotspots will need to be fully vaccinated, spend 14 days in quarantine, travel by air and have proof of a negative COVID  test within 72 hours of travelling across the border. 

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says “the gold coast is not ready at this stage” and “time is running out for Queenslander to get vaccinated”.

Turtle excerpts have raised concerns that the critically endangered hawksbill turtles are safe but worry as the illegal market expands. 

Marine species program manager for the World Wide Fund for Nature Christine Madden Hof says the turtle species has been decimated, with a loss of around 80 per cent of the hawksbill population with Rosemary Island, off the coast of the Pilbara is home to one of the largest nesting locations in the world for the species. 

Tasmania has potentially had it’s coldest night since 1953 with many waking to see snow blanketing parts of the city.

The Bureau of Meteorology's Luke Johnston says the cold south-westerly air had come up from Antarctica. 

Police are warning motorists to exercise caution in areas affected by snow or ice.

With softening on it’s zero COVID strategy the New Zealand government is still imposing restrictions and vaccine mandates which have caused anti-vaccination and anti-mandate protests.

Worried about concerns for domestic safety especially of officials and Prime Minster Jacinda Ardern herself, experts are concerned about potential threats of terrorism. 

New Zealand’s own terrorism intelligence group have signalled that the potential policies could exacerbate unrest amongst these protestors and likely increase the domestic terrorism threat.