The WeRide Australian Cycling Economy Report launched by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has revealed that last year the cycling industry has contributed $6.3 billion to the Australian economy. 

The direct value added to our GDP is more than three times the Australian motor sport industry. 

This report has been released just as Queensland’s Cycling Strategy from 2011-2021 has come to an end, contributing to safer and direct cycling networks and pathways.

The Palaszczuk Government has granted $20 million dollars to Smithfield state high school, marking the start of a $51 million dollar boosts towards state school infrastructures this financial year.

The school’s brand new centre is for athlete development and performing arts and aims to boosts not only jobs for tradies, but also aims for future job growth in those industries. 

This decision comes at a surprising population growth in the North Queensland region.

The coalition’s divisive climate negotiations have not yet been resolved, as the Prime Minister wrestles with the National party for consensus over a net zero by 2050 emissions reductions target.  

While the Liberal party has a mandate to adopt the net zero target, the Nationals cabinet is holding out, with members expressing concern about the impact on the regional job market. 

The PM remains adamant a consensus will be reached this week, having confirmed his attendance at the COP-26 climate conference in Glasgow.

Australian children left behind by Islamic State are facing indefinite detention in north-east Syria with little hope of being released. 

After the fall of the Islamic State in 2019, there are more than 40 Australian children stranded in the desert camp among the thousands of other children whose parents supported Islamic State. 

The Middle East regional director for the international committee of the red cross has described this as the most complex child protection crises in the world. 

Sovereign Kabi people removed by police from a sacred site will take to Gympie’s Department of Transport and Main Roads in protest tomorrow morning.
 

Kabi protesters had been staging a continuous occupation of Djaki Kundu to prevent a Bruce Highway upgrade they say would destroy and desecrate the Gympie sacred site. 

They were forcibly removed by police last week, but will continue protesting in Gympie, with protests scheduled for 9am tomorrow at the TMR Department, and 10am this Saturday at Gympie’s Memorial Park.

With excitement growing among interstate Year 12 students for the annual schoolies celebrations, the Commissioner for Fair Trading, Victoria Thomson has warned school leavers of the need to carefully review their accommodation booking terms and conditions.

This warning has come following last year when the pandemic was new and unprecedented, some interstate people were not provided refunds under the accommodation provider’s T &Cs.

Australia’s Auditor General has discovered that more than a quarter of regional grants awarded by the Commonwealth government have actually been awarded to recipients from major cities.

A report released by the Australian National Audit Office on Tuesday has found that more than 27%  of regional development grants awarded since 2018 were to recipients with postcodes in major cities. 

It can be recorded these grants awarded to major cities were worth $624 million.

A mass kidnapping of US missionaries in Haiti is the latest indication of the country’s rising instability.

The Caribbean nation is struggling in the wake of the president’s assassination in July this year, a subsequent catastrophic earthquake and a worsening fuel crisis, bringing the Haitian economy to the brink of collapse.

Rising insecurity and gang violence has seen Haitian workers strike indefinitely. 

At least 328 kidnappings were reported in Haiti over first eight months of 2021, up from last year’s overall total of 234 kidnappings.