Annastacia Palaszczuk reports on COVID-19
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk reported the state’s fourth consecutive day without community transmission of COVID-19. There are six new cases in hotel quarantine.
She has also invited the New Zealand prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, to holiday in Queensland after the recommencement of the trans-Tasman bubble in earnest on 19 April.
Protesters stopped work on Adani's Carmichael rail line
Protesters have stopped work on Adani’s Carmichael rail line this morning by blocking vehicles from entering the construction site off the Gregory Highway in central Queensland.
The protest group called “Health On The Frontlines” is made up of healthcare professionals that want to stop Adani from risking our planet and health.
In 2019 The Australian Medical Association declared climate change a health emergency
IMF predicts strong economic recovery in Australia
The International Monetary fund has released its predictions for Australia’s economic future today.
The IMF predicts a stronger economic recovery than previously predicted at the start of this year, with annual economic growth expected to reach 4.5% in 2021.
They have warned, however, that there is still much uncertainty as to how the COVID pandemic will play out; the speed of vaccine roll-outs and the emergence of new COVID strains could impact economic recovery.
A report urges against human rights abuses in Australia
Amnesty international's annual report has flagged human rights abuses in Australia including offshore detention, restriction of protests and Indigenous people’s rights.
The Report has outlined Australian lawmakers are declining to bring Australia in line with international standards despite public support for raising the minimum age of detention for children from 10 years old to 14 years old.
Almost 3 in 5 children in detention are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders.
A man arrested over an alleged theft of paintings worth €15 million
A man has been arrested in the Netherlands over an alleged theft of two paintings, both worth over 15 million Euros.
Spring Garden, by Vicent Van Gough was stolen from Singer museum in March last year.
Frans Hals's Two Laughing Boys with a Mug of Beer was stolen from Leerdam Museum in August. Neither painting has been recovered.
QLD bans tattoo inks that can cause cancer
Queensland is banning the use of tattoo ink that can cause cancer and bring the tattoo industry in line with European regulations.
A 2016 study found that one in five tattoo inks in use in Australia contained carcinogenic chemicals.
Queensland Treasurer, Cameron Dick, introduced the law to parliament that would make it illegal to sell ink or tattoo someone without a “compliant analysis certificate”.
Private school principals' pay exceeds that of minister in charge
Annual reports reveal that private school principals are earning about $200,000 more than the minister overseeing the entire state school system.
Half employed headmasters on total packages of more than $500,000 in 2020 while the annual salary for Education Minister Grace Grace is $327,705.
Five people were stung by Irukandji jellyfish over the Easter weekend
Five people have been stung by Irukandji jellyfish while holidaying in The Whitsundays over the Easter weekend.
Two children, aged 8 and 10, were stung while swimming at Dingo beach.
The father of one child said that the girls were vomiting from pain by the time they arrived at the local hospital’s emergency department.
Half of the costs for quarantine will be paid by NSW government to international fruit pickers
The New South Wales Government will pay half of the quarantine costs for international fruit pickers under a new scheme to address labour shortages.
The nation's crop losses have exceeded 52 million dollars since December and farming businesses are hoping this help will mean less crops are left to rot.
Agriculture Minister, Adam Marshall says the Agricultural sector will be the only sector to receive this subsidy.
Bushfires caused major damages on habitat of the greater gliders
New research has found a 60 percent decline in the number of greater gliders in parts of the Blue Mountains and Central Tablelands.
Ecologist, Peter Smith, says that this decline is due to the Bushfires that burnt 85 percent of the region last year.
The Greater Glider is already listed as a vulnerable species nationally.