The pandemic resulted from multiple preventable failures, according to an independent panel reviewing the global response to COVID-19. 

The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response also warned another global pandemic may happen unless urgent and vital steps are taken.

Panel co-chairs Helen Clark and Ellen Johnson say the COVID-19 pandemic could have been prevented. 

Six environmental activists remain in custody after being arrested in protests outside of Parliament House, yesterday. 

Extinction Rebellion protesters attempted to block the roads of Parliament House with trucks and barrels, protesting the lack of environmental focus in Tuesday’s federal budget. 

Brisbane locals will join together to host a community repair workshop, this Saturday. 

The free repair workshop at the Repair Cafe in Woolloongabba will have locals bring broken items and team up with volunteer fixers to mend the item together. 

Experts are calling for a residential rehab program to be set up in Brisbane in order to tackle youth crime in the region. 

The Noffs Foundation spokesperson Matt Noffs says residential rehab programs reduce youth reoffending by 62 per cent, while juvenile detention reduces it by 26 per cent. 

Queensland first responders experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder will be able to workers compensation faster and more easily. 

Under new state legislation, frontline workers including police officers, firefighters, youth justice officers, prison officers, and paramedics will no longer have to prove their PTSD is work-related.

Gaza’s death toll continues to rise, with Palestinian health officials saying 35 people have now been killed in air strikes conducted by the Israeli airforce.

On Monday, Hamas demanded Israel stand down its security forces in Jerusalem, after attacks on Palestinian worshippers in the final days of the holy month of Ramadan. 

The federal government’s budget will see hundreds of thousands of Australians in casual and part-time jobs paid superannuation in a bid to make the system fairer.

Pharmaceutical company Moderna says it has struck a deal with the Australian government to provide 25 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to the nation. 

Moderna says it will provide 10 million doses this year, and 15 million doses of an updated variant booster vaccine in 2022. 

The University of Queensland citizen science program CoralWatch has held snorkeling and coral identification classes on Heron Island.

A virtual excursion of the workshops will be produced as an educational tool for remote and disadvantaged students. 

The educational videos unpack the history and formation of the island and coral biology.