The energy generating turbine that caught alight and caused mass blackouts across Queensland this week had only last year been given an overhaul to ensure it operated safely and reliably.

CS Energy, who owns the plant, completed works on the $60million overhaul in December 2020.

A spokesperson for CS Energy says a full investigation into the fire, with appropriate experts and authorities, will be undertaken.

A government report says more could have been done to avoid the 2020 bushfires on K'Gari, formally known as Fraser Island. 

 The Queensland Inspector-General of Emergency Management, Alistair Dawson, delivered the report to the Palaszczuk government yesterday, which revealed the K'Gari Locality Specific Fire Management group and Fire Referral Group, run by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, seem not to have held meetings for the last two years. 

Africa will need 20million doses of the Astra-Zeneca vaccine in the next six weeks,  for those with their first shot to get their second in time, according to the World Health Organisation. 

Two doses of the Astra-Zeneca vaccine are needed between eight to twelve weeks apart, to achieve an eighty one percent protection rate.

Africa’s vaccine rollout is facing delays due to an export ban imposed by India, the main supplier of the Astra-Zeneca vaccine. 

A finger pointing contest has begun between the US and China, who are each calling for the other to be investigated for manufacturing COVID-19. 

US President Joe Biden gave orders yesterday for intelligence officers to pursue the lab leak theory about the origin of the virus, which he had previously dismissed as far-fetched.

China today retaliated, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian calling for investigations into the US’s own labs.

Brisbane’s final bid documents to host the Olympics are in. 

The Olympic Committee is expected to announce Brisbane as the 2032 host at its session in Tokyo on July twentieth and twenty-first.

The Australian Olympic Committee and Commonwealth Games Australia have written to the federal government, calling for a fundamentally new investment model for sport.

Content warning: this Zedline mentions Indigenous deaths in custody. 

The Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service has co-signed a letter with almost 40 human rights groups damning the Victorian government’s bail laws for contributing to Aboriginal deaths in custody. 

The laws introduced in 2017 make the threshold for bail much higher. The accused is obliged to give a compelling reason or exceptional circumstance to justify being given bail. 

Queensland enters day one of a three-day cold snap today, with the Granite belt expected to hit below 0°C over the weekend. 

On top of the cold temperatures, a hazardous surf warning is in place for both the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast, prompting the removal of shark nets. 

Despite the cold weekend, this winter is predicted to be slightly warmer than average due to the effects of global warming and the ending of the La Nina weather system.

Kate Gould will take over as the Powerhouse’s next CEO and artistic director. 

Gould is well-known to the arts and culture scene, having previously held the positions of CEO and associate artistic director of the Adelaide Festival. 

She’s also worked alongside the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, South Australian Aboriginal Art and Cultures Centre, Monash University and Australian Dance Theatre.

Gould says she is excited to return to her native Brisbane.