Flammable material removed from Brisbane Square

The brightly-coloured external cladding on Brisbane Square was removed from the building as it contains a combustible central core that poses a fire risk. Hundreds of buildings in Queensland are clad by the panels. They are built of the same material that accelerated the fire in Grenfell Tower in 2017, which resulted in 72 deaths.

Shaye Griffiths-Rudd, property manager of the investment firm that owns Brisbane Square, said replacement of the cladding with solid aluminum panels will be complete in 2022, and confirmed that the colour scheme of the building will not change.

Struggle continues to find over 200 cows displaced by floods.

Almost 200 cows are roaming free in New South Wales’ mid-north coast after floodwaters swept them away from their Mondrook property.

Owner of the cows, Peter Bowie, has begun the process of retrieving the animals. Some of them have been found fifteen kilometres downstream from the property.

Bowie says many of the cows can’t be reached due to floodwaters.

One cow ended up in Taree resident Harmony Burton’s backyard. Burton says the cow, nicknamed Bruiser, has become a welcome guest at the household.

 

Vaccines deferred for patients with blood clot history

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) has made a recommendation that the COVID-19 vaccine be deferred for people with a history of specific rare blood clotting disorders. The recommendation applied to both Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines after 18 cases of clotting were recorded in 20 million vaccinations.

The rare conditions include cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) and heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT).

Suez canal may remain blocked for weeks

A container ship could continue to block the Suez canal for weeks, as the company behind the excavation process says the situation remains unpredictable.

The 400 meter long ship became stuck on Tuesday, with efforts to excavate the ship free so far proving futile, with hundreds of boats remaining unable to pass through.  

Egypt’s Suez canal is the fastest trade route between Asia and Europe, with every port in Western Europe expected to feel the impact from the blockage.

 

World Science Festival takes off in Brisbane

Yesterday marked the first day of this year’s World Science Festival in Brisbane.

Hosted by Queensland Museum, this year’s festival is focused on the theme ‘Extremes and Adaptations’. It will tackle climate change, sustainability, and distrust in science.

Chief Executive of Queensland Museum Network, Dr Jim Thompson, said the festival has been providing 'world class' events since 2016. 

From fires to floods: Farmers loose crops due to rainfall

Recent flooding has destroyed some farmers' first decent crop in years along the Dumaresq river across both the New South Wales and Queensland border. 

After years of drought, expected increased rainfall meant farmers in the region planted crops for the first time in years, with the flooding causing millions in lost revenue.  

Farmers are blaming the Bureau of Meteorology for not giving adequate flood warning for the region. 

 

Queensland families call for more epilepsy awareness

Families of children with a rare and severe form of epilepsy known as Dravet Syndrome have called for raised awareness as Queensland's epilepsy awareness month draws to a close. 

Dravet Syndrome affects one in every five hundred children with epilepsy and starts in childhood. Parents of children with the syndrome said stigmas towards those with epilepsy mean few people know how to react to a seizure when they see one or provide the appropriate support for children with epilepsy.

Study finds Australian wild dogs actually dingo's

A study by University of New South Wales Sydney shows the majority of wild dog populations in Australia are actually Dingoes.

The study published in Australian Mammalogy collected DNA results from over 5000 wild canines across the country. It found ninety nine percent of those tested were either pure dingoes or Dingo dominant hybrids.

The research calls into question lethal measures to control wild dog populations, which could be potentially harming native dingo populations.