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 asylum seeker known as AZC20 in court documents fled from Iran seeking protection in Australia and has been held in detention centres since. 

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. 

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet says this scheme recognises mental health as being quote “the untold story of the pandemic ''. 

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. 

It is believed that the first supply of Ronapreve is expected in Australia by the end of this month and the oral Pfizer is expected to be made available over the course of next year. 

Clinical trials in June found Ronapreve reduced hospitalisation by 70.4 per cent while trials are still underway for the oral Pfizer.

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. 

At the end of a three day congress Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez discussed the new policies introduced by his government which include tougher domestic violence laws alongside reducing the rates of prositiution. 

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. 

The protest, kicking off at 3pm today, will argue these measures are not enough to manage the risk to detainees, many of whom are already immuno-compromised. 

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

Queensland’s Bureau of Meteorology advised of the wild weather forecast for today mentioning the possibility of damaging winds, large hail and heavy rainfall.

The Bureau has estimated close to 50mm of rain is expected to hit Brisbane early this week.

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

Enforcement of fines were initially paused during the pandemic and now that period is over debt collection has resumed. The most significant causes for debt are COVID-19 breaches and hotel quarantine.

Queensland Health says a total of 43,801 invoices have been issued for hotel quarantine and 11 per cent of them are considered "significantly overdue"

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. 

Christine Musgrave, a Laura Ranger and Traditional Owner says a review is due in October 2022 and the rangers believe the species status should be changed to 'critically endangered'.

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.

Some members argue that the new policy will decimate regional communities and cost jobs in regional Australia.