A French dad has built a robotic exoskeleton to help his wheelchair-bound son walk. 

Fastened to his shoulders, chest, waist, knees and feet, the exoskeleton allows Oscar, who has a genetic neurological condition, to walk across rooms and turn around through voice activation. 

The exoskeletons have been sold to dozens of hospitals in France but are not yet available to private individuals.

Some of Queensland’s first hydrogen-powered cars have hit the streets and are revving their way towards a zero-emissions travel revolution.

Hydrogen Minister Mick de Brenni said the arrival of five hydrogen-powered Hyundai NEXOs takes the Palaszczuk Government’s fleet of zero-emission vehicles to 60 of a planned 144 electric vehicles in total by year's end, backing a sector that is a key part of Queensland’s economic recovery plan.

Queenslanders will soon see the five Hyundais join the growing number of electric vehicles in the government fleet.

The number of fire ant nests plaguing Brisbane backyards have skyrocketed, with confirmed cases five times higher than in 2014.

Fire ant nest sites have risen from nine hundred in 2014 to a reported eight thousand six hundred in 2020.

Head of the National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program, Mark Furner says, “The number of properties with confirmed infestation has increased predominantly in eastern areas, where the program has not yet commenced the eradication or clearance phases.”

Australia's efforts to close the gap on Indigenous disadvantage failed following an analysis by a Productivity Commission revealed stark failures.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders born between 2015 and 2017 are expected to live 8.6 fewer years amongst boys, and 7.8 fewer years amongst girls than non-Indigenous children.

While the gap has lessened compared to a decade prior, Australia is not on track to close it by 2031 with other aims such as reduction in suicide rates, incarceration, and children out-of-home care are failing to progress efficiently.

The Australian 2021 census is expected to be like no other in the history of data collection. 

Demographer Liz Allen, from the Australian National University's Centre for Social Research and Methods said, "Census 2021 is among the most impactful censuses of our time, not just because of what it collects and the timing of its collection, but what it means for our future."

This is because of how it rolls out, what it will say, and how it will help inform Australia's ongoing responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to QUT Researches, social media channels such as WhatsApp and WeChat could play a larger role to help the construction industry adapt to COVID related changes like flexible work arrangements and smaller on site teams.

Dr Carol Hon from the QUT Faculty of Engineering said “The construction industry is traditionally slow to adopt new information and communication technologies, but COVID lockdowns and the need for better communication across a fragmented workforce have driven the need for social media use,”

Outside the Tokyo Olympics, COVID infections have increased to records never seen before in the Japanese capital.

Doctors are fearing a collapse of the medical system as the delta variant fuelled the Olympic cities' growing outbreak with 3000 new cases recorded yesterday.

Tokyo had already declared a fourth state of emergency this month to run until after the Olympics.

As Australian residents and businesses continue to battle a growing range of international cyber attacks, one Queensland city is planning to become the safest in the country. 

The world-class technology called Dark Fibre has already rolled out across the Gold Coast, with experts saying it's impossible to hack. 

 ICT forum committee member Lee Hames says “data security is the number one vulnerability right now in business, and the Gold Coast is offering a secure, safe haven.”

The Greens member for Mawair, Michael Berkman says that duplicating the Walter Taylor Bridge in Indooroopilly is a waste of taxpayers money.

The Brisbane City Council has set aside $153,000 to assess whether the pre-feasibility of the heritage-listed bridge should be duplicated to cater for more commuters.  

Mr. Berkman says, “The planned pre-feasibility study would only tell us what we already know: building more roads does not fix congestion".

Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s nephew has admitted to doing illegal housing construction that left families devastated and thousands of dollars out of pocket.

Mitchel Cole pleaded guilty to the 17 charges brought by NSW Fair Trading for unlicensed and uninsured work in 2019

Fay Voyiatsis agreed to pay Cole $56 000 for home renovations, some of which are now still ongoing because of the damage he left.

Another victim, James McCall, paid Cole $33,000 and said he never finished the job, leaving the property fencing without a gate and pool tiles that peeled off.