A mute asylum seeker detained in Australia for 8 years has been granted approval to be released into the community under guard or moved to Nauru. 

The decision to relocate the asylum seeker came after it was found the prolonged detention in Australia was contributing to his poor mental health. 

The NSW government will put 130 million dollars towards mental health after alarming rates of self harm were reported throughout the pandemic.

The funding will assist in suicide preventation by giving public access to a range of private psychiatrists, psychologists and mental health beds. It will also provide training for 275,000 people including parents and teachers. 

Australia has gained access to two new COVID-19 treatments. 

Health Minister Greg Hunt is expecting Queensland to be supplied with 15,000 doses of Ronapreve and 500,000 courses of the Pfizer oral antiviral drug. 

The Prime Minister of Spain has pledged to abolish prostitution in the country. 

While sexual exploitation and pimping are illegal in Spain, prostitution is unregulated and the industry drives demand for human trafficking. 

Activists will take to Brisbane’s Home Affairs office this afternoon to protest the continued detention of refugees and asylum seekers in hotels across the country, after six detainees at Melbourne’s Park Hotel tested positive for COVID-19.

Australian Border Force says protocols are in place to deal with the outbreak. 

Wild weather is heading towards Queensland this week with storms and heavy rain coming off the eastern seaboard. 

A new report shows that Queenslanders owe the state government more than a billion dollars in unpaid fines. 

Sightings of a rare sawfish have indigenous rangers and wildlife scientists calling for a change of endangerment status.

The call for change comes after a rare freshwater sawfish has been found in Lakefield National Park, making it the first recorded find on the east coast of Australia in 29 years. 

Nationals have failed to conclude a policy on climate change following a meeting between ​​MPs and senators in Canberra yesterday. 

National members attended the meeting to discuss Australia’s net zero carbon emissions reduction target ahead of the Prime Minister's trip to the COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow, where he is expected to commit Australia to reaching net zero emissions by 2050.