Queensland Veterans Council to maintain ANZAC Square
The Queensland government will take over from Brisbane City Council in overseeing ANZAC Square from July next year.
The Queensland Veterans Council will be responsible for the square’s maintenance.
The Veterans Council will also advise the government on veterans issues, and take on responsibility for administering payments to organisations supporting veterans through the ANZAC day trust.
EU confirms it will not block shipment of AstraZeneca vaccines to Papua New Guinea
The European Union has assured the Australian Government it will not block an AstraZeneca vaccine shipment to Papua New Guinea.
It comes after the EU blocked a shipment of 250,000 vaccines to Australia in March.
The federal government has requested the European Commission to divert 1 million of Australia’s AstraZeneca doses to PNG while the nation struggles to contain a new strain of the virus.
Victoria considering road usage fees for electric and hybrid vehicles
25 organisations including Uber, Volkswagen, and Environment Victoria have called on Victorian MPs to oppose a proposal that would introduce road usage fees for electric and hybrid vehicles.
The proposal would have electric car users paying 2.5c per kilometre while hybrid vehicles would pay 2c per kilometre.
Innovation Minister Jaala Pulford says the reform is about ensuring electric cars contribute to the cost of maintaining roads.
Calls for inquiry into child protection system
The ACT Barnardos Foster Mother of the Year, Maria Worner, has called for an ACT Legislative Assembly inquiry into the child protection system.
Worner says inexperienced caseworkers are overloaded with cases.
Families and Community Services Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith says she supports the introduction of an external review process.
Fire departments in Gold Coast hinterland to trial Indigenous fire-control practices
Gold Coast hinterland fire departments are considering indigenous fire management techniques as an alternative to standard hazard-reduction burns.
The initiative follows a recent incident in which a hazard-reduction burn spiralled out of control.
Lee Leeton, a Thunghutti, Bundjalung and Mualgal man who volunteers with Tamborine Mountain Rural Fire Brigade, describes the Indigenous technique as being lower temperature and gentler.
UQ develops new aluminium-ion battery
Researchers from the University of Queensland have developed an aluminium ion battery highly competitive with the lithium ion battery, which is the current leader in commercial use.
UQ’s battery can charge up to 70 times faster, can run for triple the length of time on one charge, and is more sustainable to develop and recycle.
The breakthrough aluminium ion battery will be manufactured through a partnership between Graphene Manufacturing Group and UQ’s Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology.
Queensland Council audit finds spending blowout
A Queensland audit of local councils has revealed 70% of councils spent more than they earned in the 2020 financial year.
Auditor-General Brendan Worrall says although the proportions are higher than previous years, COVID restrictions meant councils earned lower revenue.
Councils that are more reliant on yearly Government grants fared worse off; with the Audit Office recommending the Government review its funding model to transition one year grants to a 3-5 year model.
Hello Satellites; There's A Field
<p><span><span>- The last couple of years has provided an uncomfortable context for all the music of the time. Whether quietly suffering or defiantly optimistic, every record is like a letter from the inside, a missive from an invisible prison. Some of us, however, have been captive for longer than this. Unseen chains reach back into the past, a cage that other people are only just discovering.
Kuzu: The Glass Delusion
<p><span><span>- Kuzu is a Chicago-based free jazz trio consisting of saxophonist <strong>Dave Rempis</strong>, Bhutan-born guitarist <strong>Tashi Dorji</strong>, and percussionist <strong>Tyler Damon</strong>. The trio was formed after Rempis worked with each of Dorji and Damon individually across a 2017 tour, although Dorji and Damon have released three crushing, noisy improv albums, as well as a couple of live albums, collaborating as a duo since 2015.