Scientists believe declining seal numbers on Phillip Island could be caused by chemicals used in fire fighting. 

An Environment Impact Statement released for the taxpayer-funded gas-fired power plant at the Hunter Valley has revealed the project may need to rely on diesel for the first six months of its operation due to having no gas connection.

Georgina Woods from the Lock the Gate Alliance says it is unacceptable to build a diesel-powered station in the Hunter Valley which already has elevated levels of particle pollution. 

The Sunshine Coast reported 78 cases of the rodent-borne disease leptospirosis following a mouse plague in the region.

A spokesman for Queensland Health, Professor Keith McNeil, said leptospirosis can cause flu-like symptoms but left untreated can develop into meningitis and kidney failure.

Queensland’s industrial hemp farmers have formed a hemp growers association, known as iHemp Queensland.

iHemp Queensland is the final member to join the Australian Hemp Council, a national organisation with representatives from each state and the Northern Territory that gives its members a national unified voice. 

Queensland University of Technology air quality expert, Lidia Morawska, has led a group of nearly forty researchers from 14 countries calling for the World Health Organisation to extend its indoor air quality guidelines to include airborne pathogens and the need to control airborne transmission of infections. 

Local officials on central Vancouver Island in Canada say at least 100 valuable trees have been illegally chopped down by poachers since January.

A local to the area, Larry Pynn, says the current two hundred Canadian dollar fine for removing the wood is no deterrence, considering the raw wood of each tree is worth close to a thousand Canadian dollars.

The Victorian Government is expanding its COVID-19 vaccination program to allow an extra 400,000 Victorians under 50 access to the Pfizer jab from next week.

People eligible for the vaccination include frontline workers, disability service workers, meat processing workers, and those with underlying conditions.

Queensland Parliament has passed legislation that will return Mulgumpin -- also known as Moreton Island -- to traditional owners in a sixteen million dollar four-year deal.

Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon says passing the legislation is a step in the ongoing recognition of Quandamooka people’s rightful ownership of the land.

A Palestine rally will be held in King George Square in Brisbane tonight to commemorate the 73rd anniversary of the Nakba, the mass expulsion of Palestinians from their homeland.

Yesterday, police applied to a court for the protest not to be authorised. They claimed it was unsafe to conduct a march after dark, and that they had insufficient resources to safely close it.