According to China’s foreign ministry and media outlets, the Australian government has been accused of ’sabotaging’ their Covid vaccine aid program for Pacific Island nations, such as Papua New Guinea.

The Australian Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Zed Seselja has rejected the claims and wants people to study Australia’s track record of providing high quality and timely medical support. 

Health officials from the Pacific Islands said they are not concerned over where the vaccines originate from, but want the safety of the citizens to come first.

Some Brisbane residents may face detrimental “flow on” effects for their home insurance, property values and development applications after Brisbane City Council’s updated flood maps.

Suburbs like Yeronga and Oxley that did not flood in 1974 or 2011, have been upgraded to high flood-risk areas, with Councillor for the area, Nicole Johnston said these are odd results as some properties are not located near a creek or in an overflow area.

Up North now, fruit farmers in the Bundaberg region faced a harsh reality with their water allocations being slashed from 90% in previous years to 22% this financial year.

The slash came as the Paradise Dam is unlikely to be reinstated to its full capacity forcing growers to remove crops and lay off staff.

A class action against the state government is being built by Bundaberg Lawyer Tom Marland as economic impacts are estimated to be in the billions, affecting not only farmers but the Bundaberg economy as a whole.

To kick off this week’s NAIDOC celebrations, the Sunday night weather bulletin of Channel 10 was praised by viewers for using traditional Indigenous Australian names for the nation’s major cities. 

Instead of using British colonial names, the original Aboriginal names were shown on screen with examples such as Meanjin for Brisbane, Warrang for Sydney and Boorloo for Perth. 

Weather presenter Amanda Jason also acknowledged the traditional custodians of the land during the broadcast.

The International Astronomical Union, the organisation responsible for naming and classifying celestial bodies named an asteroid after a respected Indigenous Australian elder.

Ghillar Michael Anderson, a Euahlayi elder from Goodooga in north west NSW honoured for his contribution to astronomy through sharing First Nations’ peoples understanding of the stars. The Asteroid previously known as 10040 discovered in 1984 has the new name Ghillar 10040. 

Female voters took a voting swing against PM Scott Morrison, with a 4% decrease since last election. 

The swing came as a result of the coalition’s alleged problem with women and the party’s promise to fix the culture of parliament and Government.

This swing threatened Mr Morrison’s Prime Ministership, however, he does remain the preferred leader over opposition Anthony Albanese.

Boris Johnson set out plans to end social and economic Covid restrictions in England on July 19th.

Mr. Johnson said the government is looking to move away from legal restrictions and instead allow people to make their own informed decisions about how to manage the virus.

While cases are on the rise. the vaccination programm weakened the link between infections and hospitalisations and deaths, 

Confirmation on lifting the restrictions will be announced on July 12th once the latest Covid health data has been reviewed.

Queenslanders are being called on to name Queensland’s newest mascot to front the SEAL program which aims to raise awareness of water safety and pool compliance.

The program will provide free swim lessons for children and adults, alongside free educational seminars, with Ipswich Council’s Andrew Fechner encouraging the local community to get involved by emailing their name suggestions to poolsprogram@ipswich.qld.gov.au.

Entries close on July 31st.