Scientists believe declining seal numbers on Phillip Island could be caused by chemicals used in fire fighting. 

A joint research project between the University of Sydney, the National Measurement Institute, and Philip Island Nature Parks, has studied the Rocks sea seal colony since 2006. They found the population numbers have dropped by 25% since 2007. 

An Environment Impact Statement released for the taxpayer-funded gas-fired power plant at the Hunter Valley has revealed the project may need to rely on diesel for the first six months of its operation due to having no gas connection.

Georgina Woods from the Lock the Gate Alliance says it is unacceptable to build a diesel-powered station in the Hunter Valley which already has elevated levels of particle pollution. 

The plant was proposed by the federal government in order to combat a shortfall in power generation when the local coal-fired power station closes in 2023.

The Sunshine Coast reported 78 cases of the rodent-borne disease leptospirosis following a mouse plague in the region.

A spokesman for Queensland Health, Professor Keith McNeil, said leptospirosis can cause flu-like symptoms but left untreated can develop into meningitis and kidney failure.

He said that agriculture workers are most at risk for catching the disease but it can also be transmitted by swimming in waters contaminated by the urine of infected animals.

Queensland’s industrial hemp farmers have formed a hemp growers association, known as iHemp Queensland.

iHemp Queensland is the final member to join the Australian Hemp Council, a national organisation with representatives from each state and the Northern Territory that gives its members a national unified voice. 

The interim president, Lauchlan Grout, says that Queensland has the most potential in industrial hemp, given it can support three growing cycles.

Queensland University of Technology air quality expert, Lidia Morawska, has led a group of nearly forty researchers from 14 countries calling for the World Health Organisation to extend its indoor air quality guidelines to include airborne pathogens and the need to control airborne transmission of infections. 

Professor Morawska says that ongoing costs to economies from not just the pandemic but regular flu seasons can be reduced by introducing updated guidelines to improve public health. 

Local officials on central Vancouver Island in Canada say at least 100 valuable trees have been illegally chopped down by poachers since January.

A local to the area, Larry Pynn, says the current two hundred Canadian dollar fine for removing the wood is no deterrence, considering the raw wood of each tree is worth close to a thousand Canadian dollars.

Poachers use a number of tricks to hide their work including placing moss over fresh stumps and covering tracks of their vehicles into the forest.

The Victorian Government is expanding its COVID-19 vaccination program to allow an extra 400,000 Victorians under 50 access to the Pfizer jab from next week.

People eligible for the vaccination include frontline workers, disability service workers, meat processing workers, and those with underlying conditions.

Public-facing transport workers including taxi drivers and rideshare drivers will be eligible for the vaccine from May twenty-fourth.

Queensland Parliament has passed legislation that will return Mulgumpin -- also known as Moreton Island -- to traditional owners in a sixteen million dollar four-year deal.

Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon says passing the legislation is a step in the ongoing recognition of Quandamooka people’s rightful ownership of the land.

She says the state government will work with the Quandamooka people to manage, preserve, and promote the cultural and natural resources of the island in accordance with indigenous traditions.

A Palestine rally will be held in King George Square in Brisbane tonight to commemorate the 73rd anniversary of the Nakba, the mass expulsion of Palestinians from their homeland.

Yesterday, police applied to a court for the protest not to be authorised. They claimed it was unsafe to conduct a march after dark, and that they had insufficient resources to safely close it.