A 19-year-old Morayfield man has been hit with more than $2,900 in fines and lost his licence for six months after allegedly being clocked at more than twice the speed limit on Queensland’s Bruce Highway.

A new study by researchers at the University of Queensland has revealed dramatic differences in life expectancy across Queensland, with some communities just kilometres apart experiencing gaps of more than two decades.

Nearly half of Australia’s 4.6 million children aged 0–14 lived within 5 km of all essential services, including childcare, schools, hospitals and GPs in 2021.

A 22-year-old man from Logan Central has been charged following a series of alleged armed robberies in the Brisbane suburbs of Sunnybank and Wishart on February 22. According to police, the man targeted three separate people between 11pm and 11:30pm, approaching victims at a Beenleigh Road park, on Mains Road, and on Mount Gravatt Capalaba Road. Authorities allege he demanded money while armed with an airsoft pistol, making off with a small sum of cash before fleeing the scenes in a white Holden Astra. No injuries were reported during the incidents.

Two early intervention programs have been launched in the Queensland cities of Logan and Ipswich, aiming to support at-risk youth and reduce crime rates in the region. The initiatives are funded through the Queensland Government's Kickstarter grants, which focus on preventing youth from entering the criminal justice system by providing mentoring, education, and skill-building opportunities.

A new mandatory child safety training plan for early childhood education and care workers is set to come into effect across Australia tomorrow (27).The nationally consistent child safety training will be mandatory under National Law for anyone working or volunteering in early childhood education and care, regardless of whether they work directly with children.

Queensland has been ranked the worst-performing state in Australia for housing delivery, missing its annual housing target by 15,782 homes, according to a national housing report card. The report, which assesses state government efforts to address the nation’s housing shortage, awarded Queensland just 1.5 out of five, placing it at the bottom of the rankings. Industry groups have attributed the shortfall to a fragmented planning system and excessive red tape, which they say is slowing the construction of new homes at a time of rising demand.

A major police operation targeting drug and illegal firearm activity in the Toowoomba region has concluded, resulting in the arrest of 103 people facing a combined 942 charges. Dubbed Operation Xray Ambrose, the six-month investigation was led by the Toowoomba Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) and began in August last year. Police combined overt and covert techniques, executing 80 search warrants with support from the Darling Downs Tactical Crime Squad, Public Safety Response Team, State Flying Squad, and Taskforce Maxima.

A rare total lunar eclipse, commonly referred to as a “blood moon”, is expected to be visible across Australia next week, offering skywatchers a striking astronomical display. The celestial event will occur as the Earth moves directly between the Sun and the Moon, casting a shadow that produces a distinctive reddish glow on the lunar surface.

A New South Wales coroner has determined that a teenager’s death was caused by anaphylaxis associated with a rare tick-induced red meat allergy, marking the first confirmed fatality of its kind in Australia. The finding follows an inquest examining the circumstances surrounding the medical incident and the underlying allergic condition.