Canberra press gallery mainstay and Channel 9 political editor Laurie Oakes received an honorary doctorate from Brisbane’s Jschool at the college’s graduation ceremony last week. “I’m not much into gongs and awards usually, but this recognition from a journalism college that’s fast making a mark is something I do value,” he said. “I had virtually […]

A community garden in Kitchener Park, Wynnum, has sparked a war of words between the local garden group and a residents’ group opposed to the garden’s location. Backing the garden, Wynnum Manly Community Gardens Group’s co-ordinator Leigh-Ellen Jacobs, said the group was breaking its silence to set the record straight about the proposed garden on […]

Every winter they put their modern lives on hold to cram tents, armour, swords and axes into trucks and station wagons for the trip to Caboolture, along the Bruce Highway and back in time. These are the Abbey Medieval Tournament’s reenactors, everyday people who don the garb of knights, maidens, scribes and artisans to celebrate […]

Independent Gladstone MP Liz Cunningham has called on the Health Minister to investigate new cancer data that has revealed higher incidence in Gladstone compared with the Queensland average. Ms Cunningham (pictured) said she wanted Deputy Premier and Health Minister Paul Lucas to look into the new data, which showed a 10 percent higher cancer rate […]

The State Government has been forced to defend its record on health in the face of a barrage of questions from Liberal National Party shadow ministers and independents. More than half of Wednesday’s question time in Parliament was spent on the topic of health, with Deputy Premier and Minister for Health Paul Lucas (pictured) fielding […]

With the federal election only days away, tensions have leaked down to a local level, with Brisbane City councillors attacking each other for using council vehicles to campaign. Councillor Adrian Schrinner used question time on Tuesday to defend fellow Liberal National Party councillor Jane Prentice against Labor accusations at committee meetings. He said Labor councillors […]

A community action group has accused Brisbane City Council of not following correct procedures before approving a community garden in Wynnum. Bridge Street Action Group spokeswoman Simone Bleaney said yesterday the council had failed to consult properly with local residents before it approved the garden at Kitchener Park, adjacent to Bridge St. “As residents, we […]

An Australian wounded in the Gaza flotilla raid has accused the Israel military of brutal conduct. Mr Ahmed Talib was speaking at an Amnesty International forum in Brisbane on Saturday. The United Nations will this week begin its investigation into the raid on the aid flotilla that left nine activists dead and dozens wounded, including […]

Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd spent more than an hour today campaigning in a Carindale shopping centre in support of the local Labor candidate. Mr Rudd (pictured) chatted and drank coffee with shoppers alongside Bonner MP Kerry Rea, who won the seat at the last election and now holds it with a less than 5 […]

Dozens of construction workers jammed into the Brisbane City Council public gallery this week to support a union representative addressing the council on their behalf. Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union state secretary Michael Ravbar (pictured) told the council construction workers were concerned about the future of the industry. “The outlook is anything but encouraging,” […]

Two international communication experts have pointed to the limitations of English as an international language and cautioned its spread could be regarded as linguistic imperialism. Queensland University of Technology intercultural communication expert Professor Caroline Hatcher (pictured) said the rise of English could cause miscommunication and inequalities between cultures. “While the uniform development of the international […]

A prominent university pain expert is working with a Brisbane-based biotechnology company to develop a new generation of pain killers. University of Queensland School of Pharmacy Head of the Pain Research Group Professor Maree Smith (pictured) said her collaboration with Alchemia Limited sought to reduce the side effects associated with opioid pain killers like morphine. […]

In the last few days the public discussion around smoking in the Mall has fired up. Brisbane City Council opposition leader Shayne Sutton is spearheading this movement. “The issue of banning smoking in the Queen Street Mall is not new and organisations such as Cancer Council Queensland have been calling for the ban for some […]

A man was sentenced to jail in the Brisbane District Court last Thursday after he pleaded guilty to seven charges related to the harassment of two women from previous relationships. The charges included making threats to his ex-girlfriend through Facebook. Kenneth Thomson, 26, pleaded guilty to charges of dangerous driving, perverting the course of justice […]

Thousands of lords and ladies turned out to re-create history and celebrate all things medieval at Caboolture last weekend. The Abbey Medieval Tournament included medieval markets, dancing, mock battles and jousting, as well as new events horse archery and falcolnry. Abbey Museum CEO Edith Cuffe said the festival was the largest of its kind in […]