Australia Day celebrations are dividing the Australian population and excluding Indigenous people, according to one of the Prime Minister’s key Indigenous advisors.

Professor Chris Sarra said the division, animosity and hate created over the day lead to a lack of integrity.

This comes after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull labelled calls to change the date as a denial of history.

Nearly 120,000 electronic signatures have been recorded in an online petition to ban an app with the potential to be used for cyberbullying.

The petition, started by Queensland mother Katrina who does not want to disclose her last name, follows in the wake of the suicide of Northern Territory teen Amy “Dolly” Everett earlier this year.

The petition aims to ban social networking app Sarahah, which allows users to give anonymous ‘feedback’ to users.

Queensland’s ageing population is struggling to afford rent, according to data released by a tenancy advocacy service.

Tenants Queensland released the Rental Vulnerability Index (RVI), which examines the vulnerability of tenants based on socio-economic factors including disability, education, age and employment status.

CEO of Tenants Queensland, Penny Carr, said the findings show that regional areas of the state are the most vulnerable, particularly elderly people in areas around Gympie, Bundaberg, Moreton Bay and the Fraser Coast.

Three in four Australian homes connected to the national broadband network via neighbourhood node are unable to access it’s top speeds.

NBN Co has estimated only 24 percent of homes connected to NBN at the end of the scheme’s rollout will actually be able to access 100 Megabits per second or more.

Homes that are connected via fibre or through existing pay TV cables will be able to access high speed internet.

An unfinished bridge has collapsed in Columbia, with at least nine construction workers killed and five injured.

The cause of the collapse is under investigation according to the head of disaster response for Meta province Reinaldo Romero.

The uncompleted suspension bridge located in Chirajara was set to be a part of the highway that would connect the capital city of Bogota and the city of Villavicencio.

A Japanese broadcaster issued a false alarm about a North Korean missile launch just days after a similar mistake caused panic in Hawaii.

The public broadcaster NHK managed to correct the error within minutes.

There was no immediate reports of panic and other disruption following the alert.

Approximately ten thousand university places will be unfunded as a result of budget cuts by the Federal Government, according to the peak body representing Australian universities.

The Federal Government suggested that funding would continue to increase despite placing a freeze on funding during December’s mid-year budget update

Universities Australia CEO Belinda Robinson says universities haven’t been allowed adequate time to deal with the shortfall of funding meaning that they will be forced into finding quick-fix solutions for this year.

Researchers will begin breathalysing people near popular swimming spots in a bid to learn more about Australia’s high river drowning rate.

Of all the drowning deaths in Australia, a quarter occur in creeks and rivers, and alcohol is a factor in 37% of those cases.

National manager for Royal Surf Life Saving, Amy Peden, says previous research into drowning prevention has only focused on children in backyard pools and at the beach, despite the high incidence of river drowning

Animal rights groups are endorsing a review into the treatment of animals in Australia’s livestock export industry, saying it is long overdue.

The Australian Livestock Exporters’ Council and RSPCA have welcomed the review, which will propose changes including mandatory stunning of animals and more room on ships carrying livestock.

RSPCA Australia CEO, Heather Neill, says she hopes the review will lead to meaningful improvements in welfare standards for animals being exported.