The Victorian government has been ordered to release details of confidential lockdown briefings after the state's privacy commission found there was significant public interest. 

The state opposition, which applied for the release of the documents under Freedom of Information laws and has been calling for health advice to be publicly released since the start of the pandemic. The request was initially rejected, a decision partially overturned by the commission. 

Chinese president Xi Jinping recently vowed a reunification with Taiwan amid rising tensions, contradicting his last major speech in July this year where he pledged that China would “smash'' any attempts at formal independence in Taiwan. 

Taiwan responded shortly after by calling on Beijing to abandon its coercion, reiterating that only Taiwan’s people will decide their future. 

According to a statement from the Queensland Police Service there were 16,267 border pass applications submitted between September 5 and October 18 from people who identified themselves as returning Queensland residents and people wanting to relocate to Queensland from a COVID-19 hotspots.

Applications are assessed in chronological order with the assessment team advising applicants once a hotel quarantine vacancy becomes available. 

Extinction Rebellion have continued a week of ongoing direct action in Canberra with giant koalas at Parliament House for the last sitting week before the international Glasgow climate talks.

Koalas are vulnerable and in danger of going extinct unless urgent action is taken to protect habitat and halt global heating. 

In the black summer bushfires of 2019/2020, three billion animals were killed or displaced with Koalas now among them facing extinction in many regions of Australia. 

The federal government will begin winding down Covid disaster payments as each state and territory hits 70% and 80% target vaccination rates for their populations aged 16 and over. 

When a state or territory reaches 70% fully vaccinated people will have to reapply each week for the payment instead of it being automatically renewed. At 80% the payment will be phased out entirely. 

The move is designed to push premiers and chief ministers to minimise their use of lockdowns by withdrawing the financial safety net. 

The United Kingdom's Science Museum has taken funding from a subsidiary of well-known coal conglomerate, Adani Group, to sponsor the gallery on energy transition. 

The museum is hosting the government’s Global Investment Summit next week as part of the preparations for the crucial climate summit meeting at the end of the month in Glasgow. 

Former director, climate scientist Professor Chris Rapley, resigned from its advisory board on the second of October over the issue. 

Demand for affordable family-friendly homes close to schools and parks has sparked a rental boom across some of Brisbane’s western suburbs, with prices climbing by over 20 per cent in just 12 months.

The latest Domain Rent Report released last week for the September quarter revealed that the steepest rent hikes were collected in the middle and outer city rings of the Queensland capital, with Mount Ommaney claiming the most expensive title after house rents there rose a massive $138 per week to $690 over the last year. 

The final Brisbane Metro Vehicle Design has been revealed ahead of its 2022 Pilot Launch. 

After testing in virtual reality and on a life-size timber model, the pilot Brisbane Metro vehicle will contain upgrades to improve accessibility and commuter comfort in the south-east Queensland climate. 

Lord mayor Adrian Schrinner claimed the vehicles will be the first of their kind in Australia when he revealed the final design for the first of 60 articulated and electric buses that would underlie the council's $1.2 billion high-frequency transport initiative.