Disaster relief and toxic waste were among issues fielded by Australian ministers at yesterday’s community cabinet meeting in Ipswich. Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the establishment of a natural disaster fund was debated at the time of the Queensland floods -“in economic terms, the most costly natural disaster we had ever seen”. At the time, […]

Teachers protested outside Parliament House today over a pay and conditions offer from the Queensland Government. Waving placards they chanted: “Teachers make our classrooms great, Langbroek must negotiate.” Queensland Teachers Union representatives said the government’s offer of a 2.7 percent pay increase was in exchange for removing conditions from the current agreement and replacing them […]

In a tribute to Captain Cook’s famous 18th century voyage to observe the Transit of Venus, the Endeavour replica sailed to Lord Howe Island in rough seas for the 2012 transit. The expedition by the national maritime museum and Sydney Observatory commemorated transit observations by the NSW government at Lord Howe in 1882 as well […]

It’s a date! On Wednesday 6 June 2012, the silhouette of Venus will transit across the sun for the last time this century. School children around Australia will be citizen scientists for a day as they repeat the same scientific experiment conducted by Captain Cook and astronomer Charles Green that led to the discovery of […]

Two out of three remaining Aboriginal languages are likely to disappear in the next 30 years. About 100 Aboriginal languages face extinction according to a senior linguist. There are now 150 languages, a drop from 250 in the pre-colonial era, Australian Human Rights Commission figures show. But only a dozen widely-spoken languages survive. University of […]

Brisbane’s inaugural urban design and film festival will be launched tonight at the State Library of Queensland. The design festival called U.R.(BNE) will focus on Brisbane’s public spaces throughout May. The Films project seeks to raise the awareness of urban design and the built environment and generate a greater interest in architecture, public spaces and […]

Six years ago Sam Cawthorn was pronounced dead on the scene of a major car accident. Now he is on stage at the Brisbane Convention Centre, talking with some of the world’s most promising minds about his experiences overcoming adversity. You could say Sam bounced back from the dead, but he prefers to call it […]

South-east Queensland’s fire-fighters are ablaze this weekend at the regional fire-fighters championships at Mount Tamborine showgrounds. Twenty-two teams are competing in 10 events to find a winning team that best displays the skills and drills of everyday fire-fighting. Events include ladder skills and working with hoses of small or large diameter. Winners of the regional […]

Young journalists should be critical but not cynical, urged Walkley award-winning journalist Tony Koch at Jschool’s annual graduation ceremony on Friday. Mr Koch, who received an honorary doctorate from Jschool in recognition of his contribution to journalism, said recruits to journalism should uphold the values of the profession and respect their role in society. They […]

A positive outlook is absolutely essential for young kids, according to child protection advocate and grieving father Bruce Morcombe. Mr Morcombe was speaking to pupils in Mackay yesterday. He and his wife Denise spoke of the need for kids not to feel weighed down by such events as the tragic abduction and murder of their […]

More than 100 Corinda residents have opposed a move by Brisbane Boys’ College to build a huge sporting complex in the suburb. After buying Corinda Golf Course the Toowong-based private school has made a second attempt to get council approval for a sporting complex on the 36-hectare site at Cliveden Ave and Oxley Rd. Long-term […]

Women who decide to breastfeed need more community support than ever, according to a Brisbane lactation consultant. Alexandra Read, who has worked as a certified consultant for 12 years, said women still faced societal pressures if they decided to breastfeed their child. “We are coming out of a period, the 1960s and ’70s, that was […]

Queensland primary schools will be taking a healthier approach to lunchtime meals with a nationwide kitchen garden program to be adopted by 25 schools next month. The successful program run by author and cook Stephanie Alexander has had positive results in 193 schools across Australia since 2001. Last year the program won the Premier’s Design […]

Four new facilities including a cafe and a village green will be developed at the Queensland University of Technology end of the Goodwill Bridge. The plans were outlined at Tuesday’s Brisbane City Council meeting. Chairman of Neighbourhood Planning Amanda Cooper said the development would be conducted in partnership with QUT. “I’d have to commend QUT […]

School children are getting healthier and roads less congested, transport chairman Julian Simmonds told Tuesday’s Brisbane City Council meeting. Cr Simmonds said the council’s Active School Transport program had resulted in a 35 percent increase in the number of students walking or cycling to school. “So that’s a 35 percent decrease in the number of […]