The Brisbane airport has commissioned research into wasps, which have been infesting planes and other aircraft instruments at the airport. 

Airport wildlife manager Jackson Ring has stated that although the number of incidents caused by wasps is tiny, the wasps were being dealt with seriously due to the risks posed to aircrafts and safety probes by their nests.

The wasp species has been identified as arriving from Brazil in 2010, yet science consultant Dr Alan House says that a state or federal biosecurity response has been lacking so far.
 

Following the opening of the Queensland borders to Victoria and New South Wales, a spike in domestic tourism is expected across the state, despite other ongoing COVID-19 restrictions and impact.

Due to redundancies caused by lack of work, many hospitality venues are now understaffed and seeking new employees to prepare for an influx of interstate travelers. 

Despite data indicating that Australian businesses are continuing to conduct gender pay gap analysis, there has been little action to reduce pay inequality beyond this.

The data, which was acquired between April 2019 and March 2020, showed an increase of women in organisational leadership, yet with men still earning almost $25 000 more on average. 

Libby Lyons, director of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, expects that due to the impact of COVID-19, this pay gap will continue to not be substantially addressed, with the risk of growing wider again over time. 
 

Mark Speakman, NSW minister for the prevention of domestic violence, has expressed his support for federal government to adopt NSW’s 10 day paid domestic violence leave as a workplace right.

The leave, which was made a workplace right in NSW in 2019, provides financial stability for people experiencing domestic or family violence, allowing them the opportunity to seek alternative housing and medical assistance. 

Outgoing US President Donald Trump has pardoned former top security adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about contacts with Russia.

This is the first in a series of pardons Trump is expected to offer to key aides of his administration before Joe Biden is inaugurated in January, with debate that he will also try to pardon himself. 

Although the presidential pardon implies Flynn is guilty, he has previously tried to withdraw his guilty plea, gaining Trump’s support during the ongoing legal battle that ensued following this decision. 
 

A mass stranding of whales and dolphins on New Zealand’s Chatham Islands has left 97 pilot whales and 3 dolphins dead.  

Although strandings are not uncommon in the region, conservation officers were unable to respond quickly enough to save many of the whales, choosing to humanely euthanise many due to unsafe water conditions. 

The whales will be left to decompose on the beach, with local Moriori and Maori groups performing a ceremony to honour them. 
 

Brisbane City Council has opened public consultation on several options for the locations of two new pedestrian bridges linking West End to Toowong and St Lucia.

Two options would resume a number of private properties while the third may impact established trees and park infrastructure, according to the Brisbane City Council.

Consultation is open until the end of January.