Plans for a new green bridge brought to the Brisbane City Council this week have derailed plans for a superyacht mooring site under Kangaroo Point Cliffs.

The state government announced a 12-month trial allowing superyachts to dock opposite the City Botanic Gardens In March last year.

The new bridge is set to be suspended 12.7 metres, blocking 37 metre high super yachts from mooring along the cliffs.

The Palaszczuk Government is offering 15,000 Queenslanders vouchers up to $200 in value for tourism experiences in Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef region in an effort to boost the industry.

Applications to enter the draw are open from 8 to 11 March and vouchers will need to be used between March and June 2021.

Beaches from Rainbow Bay to Tallebudgera were patrolled by all-female teams on Sunday, 7 March, in Surf Lifesaving Queensland’s effort to raise awareness on International Women’s Day. 

Each member of the team, from First Aid Officers to Inflatable Rescue Boat Drivers to Operation Support Roles, were women. 

The initiative was led by Claudia Fien, an entrant in Surf Life Saving Queensland’s 2021 Surf Woman of the Year program.

International Women’s Day has seen the Australian Council of Trade Unions release a report detailing increasing job insecurity and pay gaps for women, today.

The report finds women in Australia face a gender pay gap of 13.4 per cent and shows that 21 per cent of the female workforce lost work or are experiencing pressure on their capacity to retain paid work due to the pandemic, amongst other key findings.

Australia currently has the 44th highest gender pay disparity of any country.

Australia will suspend its limited bilateral Defence Cooperation Program with Myanmar's military, due to  its exercising violence against protesters. 

Australia is one of a small number of nations that maintained cooperation with Myanmar's armed forces in the wake of a brutal 2017 campaign of ethnic cleansing waged against the Rohingya minority.

In Switzerland today, voters have approved a proposal to ban face coverings, both the niqabs and burqas worn by Muslim women in the country and ski masks worn by protesters. 

The proposal foresees exceptions at religious sites and for security or health reasons, such as face masks, as well as for traditional carnival celebrations.

In the end, 51.2 per cent of voters supported the plan.

Standardised wheelie-bin waste collection systems will be implemented from April.

The system will aim to reduce confusion for people on what can and can’t be placed in the kerbside bin, according to Queensland Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon.

Negotiations are still underway on the proposed $191 million federal/state recycling modernisation scheme to update Queensland recycling facilities.

Disaster assistance has been made available to cyclone-affected communities in North Queensland after Tropical Cyclone Niran caused significant damage last week.

David Littleproud, Federal Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management, and Mark Ryan, Queensland Minister for Fire and Emergency Services, made the announcement on Friday of last week.