QLD Premier Anastasia Palaszczuck will be going to Tokyo this weekend to make a final pitch for Brisbane’s 2032 Olympics bid but officials are taking “nothing for granting” when it comes to the event.

The premier has previously stated that she would not leave the state, if it was in a similar condition to NSW. This comes as Queensland records two more cases and is expected to have an announcement about restrictions soon.

Sunshine Coast businesses have been hit hard by lockdown with some reporting losses of $15,000-20,000 and loss of staff members. 

Experts said the loss could have been much greater and shows how devastating these clusters can become, especially with the new COVID strains coming into existence.

Little is known about the Kappa variant beyond that it was first identified in October last year and originated in India. Health officials have declared it as a strain of concern after it plunged Melbourne into its 4th lockdown.

Julia Gillard has been confronted by a stranded Australian unable to get home as a result of the restrictions on how many citizens can enter per week, during an appearance in London.

The former Prime Minister was speaking to an exclusive audience for the Britain-Australia Society at the Royal Over-Seas League with another former prime minister Alexander Downer, about her work on gender and leadership which she completed in Kings collages.

Several Chinese cities have issued public notices threatening to ban unvaccinated people from entering public spaces.

According to these notices, unvaccinated people may be unable to enter schools, supermarkets, and hospitals unless they have an exemption letter.

This move has sparked fierce debate on Chinese social media platforms such as weibo.

Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick has announced the Brisbane council will not receive any funding for its proposed green bridge, despite never being formally asked.

This came as Lord mayor Adrian Schrinner announced the 5-10 year vision of the proposed bridge project which was meant to bridge the gap between Kangaroo point and the city’s botanic gardens.

In this plan he announced a third of the funding would come from the state government.

Redlands researchers from Griffith University have begun using facial recognition software similar to that used in airports to track koalas movements in an effort to reduce the number of koalas being hit by vehicles.

This research will be used to work out whether the road paths being used by koalas are being used by the entire population or just single members of the community.

GPS systems were already being used but this facial recognition system would allow researchers to track younger koalas or members not currently fitted with trackers.

Researchers from The University of Queensland and Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute have discovered a possible treatment for heart attack victims made from spider venom.

A team led by Dr Nathan Palpant and Professor Glenn King are studying a molecule found in the venom of the Fraser Island funnel web spider.

Senior cardiologist Professor Peter McDonald from the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute says that this could help hundreds of thousands of heart attack victims, and could also increase the number and quality of donor hearts.

Government MPs have called for greater representation in parliament and a code of conduct to create a safer and more equal workplace. 

This came after they had attended a summit run by the NU's Global Institute for Women's Leadership, an institute founded by Australia’s first female prime minister Julia Gillard to examine the underrepresentation of women in leadership roles.

Melbourne businesses were preparing for as Victoria entered a snap lockdown. 

Lockdowns could be a way of life for months to come as the Delta strain crosses borders, but businesses were still struggling to cope without financial support from the federal government.

This came as both Queensland and Melbourne recorded new local cases and clusters.