Disability organisations are calling for the government to abandon a plan to introduce independent assessments of people’s disability.

The plan will force all National Disability Insurance Scheme participants to explain their support needs to a stranger in less than three hours, or risk losing their NDIS funding.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced this morning that several COVID-19 restrictions will be eased from this weekend.

The premier says gathering limits at homes will increase from 50 to 100 people with gatherings outside set to increase from 100 to 500.

Experts say new species of mushrooms could be waiting to be identified in Brisbane backyards after recent wet weather.

Queensland Mycological Society President Wayne Boatwright says the fungal kingdom is largely unseen until rain occurs and grows mushrooms.

Flood warning infrastructure will be implemented in Queensland's north and north-west regions. 

171 warning devices have been secured to combat floods and improve safety and resilience.

The eight million dollar project funded through a disaster recovery package will see signage, cameras, rain and river gauges installed.

An indigenous native title body aims to publish a scorecard to rate mining companies in Western Australia on environmental, social and governance measures. 

The livelihood of farmers in East Africa is threatened due to the worst locust outbreak in 70 years. 

Swarms of the short-horned grasshopper species have devoured crops and tea plantations, eating into farmers' food source. 

The United Nations Department of food and agriculture says the outbreak is due to unusual weather patterns.

Australian exporters to Europe are likely to face millions of dollars in new taxes.

The European Parliament voted overnight to move forward with a carbon levy on products from countries lacking serious pollution reduction programs.

The number of abortions in Queensland have not increased since they were decriminalised two years ago. 

In 2018, Queensland became the second-last state in Australia to remove the procedure from the criminal code. 

A rare albino green turtle hatchling has been seen making its way into the ocean off Lady Elliot Island in Queensland's southern Great Barrier Reef.

The Island's Ecosystem Management Officer Jim Buck says one in every 100,000 turtle hatchlings is albino and the lack of colour is caused by a melanin deficiency.