Mass grave of Canadian Indigenous children provokes Canadian government response

A content warning on this next story, which mentions deaths of Indigenous Canadians.

An update on the discovery of a mass grave of Indigenous children in British Columbia. 

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the Catholic Church should take responsibility and release records on Indigenous residential schools under its direction. 

The government assured it is set to take legal action, to obtain the documents demanded by victims, if the church failed to comply.

More land has been purchased for conservation on the Sunshine Coast

The Sunshine Coast Council has purchased 94 hectares of land to add to its conservation estate.

 

Sunshine Coast Council Mayor Mark Jamieson says the purchase secures a valuable biodiversity corridor. 

 

The funds were acquired from the Environment Levy, which is paid by all ratepayers.

 

Rainbow on the Reef pride event planned in Gladstone

Independent not-for-profit LGBTQ+ organisation, Rainbow on the Reef, will bring a new event to Gladstone to celebrate diversity and pride in the region.  

 

Organisers are distributing a survey via social media to help them understand what needs to be considered when designing the event. 

 

The survey is open to everyone interested and closes on the 18th of July.

 

You can find it on Rainbow on the Reef’s Facebook page.

 

Police gave protest band orders to move on from Southbank bars

Demonstrators responded with laughter after their protest band Riff Raff were given move on orders Wednesday.

 

The orders came during a musical protest against the land forces expo at local Southbank bars on Wednesday night.

 

One musician told 4ZZZ the experience was “exciting”, with the band enjoying the protest.

 

A final protest of the land forces arms expo is set for 5:30pm on Friday June 4 at the Brisbane convention centre.

 

Four new exposure sites in Victoria

Victorian authorities added four new COVID hotspots to the growing list.

 

All four exposure sites were on the Mernda metro train line late last week. 

 

The Victorian government urged anyone who may have been exposed to get tested urgently and isolate until receiving a result..

 

https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/exposure-sites

Australians with additional needs are being missed by vaccine rollout

Chief Executive Officer of Inclusion Australia Catherine McAlpine has called upon the Australian Government to urgently review the rollout of vaccines for Australians with additional needs. 

 

The Senate estimated less than 2 percent of Australians living with a disability and living in a group home have been fully vaccinated, leaving those without the vaccination in facilities and homes, at risk.

 

SPACE NEWS UPDATE: NASA sending probes to Venus to check for life

In SPACE NEWS, NASA announced they will be launching two probes to Venus, totalling six-hundred-and-forty-five million dollars, in 2028 and 2030.

These probes, DAVINCI+ and VERITAS will explore Venus’s atmosphere and analyse the planet’s geological composition. 

NASA’s return to Venus after over thirty years has been spurred by the discovery of phosphine gas in its atmosphere.

Phosphine gas is associated with evidence of life on earth, which implies possible microbial life on Venus.

 

Laughing Clowns: Golden Days: When Giants Walked the Earth / Ed Kuepper: Singles '86-'96 / The Aints!: Live At Marrickville Bowlo

<p><span><span>- 2021 marks forty-five years since Australian music legend Ed Kuepper recorded his first music with a then unknown band called <strong>The Saints</strong>, and to mark the occasion Kuepper is releasing not one, not two, but three albums of past material covering three very different periods.</span></span></p>

Lucy Francesca Dron: Leftovers

<p><span><span>- I was lucky enough to be at 4ZZZ during Lucy Francesca Dron’s solo live set for <em>No Apologies</em> last week. I was on my way out the door when Lucy’s voice and guitar convinced me to stick around just a little bit longer. The free-flowing way she integrates both instruments reminded me immediately of <strong>Nai Palm </strong>of <strong>Hiatus Kaiyote</strong> fame, and I don’t make that comparison lightly. </span></span></p>

2-year-old Australian child faces deportation

An Australian-born two-year-old child faces deportation, after the Department of Child Safety told the child’s foster mother she can’t apply to care for him.

The child’s biological mother was on a student visa at the time and despite being born in Australia, the child has no right to Australian residency.

Federal Immigration Minister Alex Hawke says the child can be sponsored by the Queensland government in these cases, and that he as a minister would, quote, “give it my full and compassionate consideration."