Deputy Premier Steven Miles has approved Gilmour Space to launch satellites and other rockets from Abbot Point in North Queensland.  

The company plans to launch its first Eris rocket next year. Gilmour Space co-founder James Gilmour says Abbot Point is an ideal spot for rocket launches.

Miles says growing the Queensland space industry will add billions to the economy and create thousands of local jobs.

The US Secretary of State has confirmed the US does not plan to buy Greenland from Denmark after former president Donald Trump proposed buying it.

Trump and one of his economic advisors in 2019 confirmed they were discussing the possibility of purchasing Greenland. At the time, the Danish Prime Minister called the suggestion absurd.

The Secretary of State says his visit to Greenland is a signal of Washington’s desire to enhance ties with Greenland and Denmark, and that his visit was not a real estate deal.

A tiny patch of land including two ancient plant species has been discovered in New South Wales, on land that is set to be developed into a new highway. All environmental approvals have been received, and construction is already underway. 

The state government says it is developing a plan to protect the new species, but environmentalists, traditional custodians, and scientists worry it won’t be enough against extinction risk. Transport Minister Scott Lawrence says the Department cannot conserve the plants in situ.  

The federal Budget is increasing the time new residents will have to wait for welfare payments. 

The Australian Government is expected to save $671,100,000 over the next 5 years by extending the wait period for welfare payment eligibility to 4 years for new migrants. 

Currently, the Newly Arrived Resident Waiting Period for the carer payment, and carer allowance, amongst others is between 0-2 years. 

The change will only affect those who received permanent resident status after 1 January 2022.

The Queensland Government is delaying a mass vaccination hub until later in the year as it is no longer administering the Astrazeneca vaccine. 

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says the state is in no position to set up an Astrazeneca hub, but will continue with plans for a Pfizer and Moderna hub. 

The State Government is continuing to administer the Pfizer vaccine to frontline healthcare workers and vulnerable people, with 178,000 vaccine doses administered in Queensland so far.

The Queensland government has scrapped the proposed regulations on tattoo ink manufacturers. 

The regulations would have made it an offence for tattoo ink manufacturers and suppliers to provide or use ink without having a compliance analysis certificate.

While parliamentary intent was to ensure inks used in Queensland contained no harmful substances, the condition would have been practically impossible to meet, given there are no Australian ink manufacturers. 

Canadian non-for-profit migrant settlement service, Mosaic, has applied to resettle almost 150 refugees from Australian detention in Canada.

The applications have been made under Canada’s program in which citizens can sponsor refugee resettlement as long as they commit to providing emotional and financial support to the refugee for the period of sponsorship.

Mosaic says they decided to use all of their sponsorships for those in indefinite detention in Australia considering the absence of commitment from the Australian government to settle refugees.