Maryborough to host First Nations mural
Maryborough is set to be home to a new mural celebrating Southern Queensland’s First Nations history.
Buthchulla woman Fiona Foley started work this week on the piece
entitled Legends of Moonie Jarl, at the entrance to the Maryborough
library.
The mural is named after a book of First Nations legends published in
1964 and written by Butchulla man Wilf Reeves, who traditional name was
Moonie Jarl.
Banana disease resurfaces
Biosecurity officers will scrutinies banana farms north of Cairns after an outbreak of a potentially devastating fungal disease.
Panama Tropical Race 4 has been detected on one plantation in Far
North Queensland, the first documented case since the fungus was
eliminated in Queensland in the 1990s.
Biosecurity Queensland said it will send officers to the area in February to ensure the disease doesn’t spread.
Adani let off the hook
The Federal Government won’t take action against Indian mining giant
Adani over its failure to declare its Australian chief executive ran a
company in Zambia that pleaded guilty to serious environmental harm.
Prior to approving the $16b Carmichael Coal mine in Queensland, the
Federal Government wrote to Adani requesting information on any company
executive who had faced sanctions for breaches of environmental law.
The Federal Environment Department decided the omission was a mistake and did not warrant further action.
Refugee children’s cry for help
Child refugees on Nauru have described maltreatment at the hands of
students and teachers at their school because they are foreigners.
A video of 35 refugee children has been released showing children addressing the camera with their claims.
The release of the video follows the announcement by Immigration
Minister Peter Dutton that 72 children held in mainland immigration
detention are to be moved to Nauru.
Israel seizes more Palestinian land
The United Nations has condemned plans by Israel to expropriate a
large tract of fertile Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank.
The land theft covers 154 hectares in the Jordan Valley near Jericho,
an area already host to illegal Israeli settlements and is the largest
seizure since August 2014.
Palestinian officials have condemned the seizure saying it is a flagrant and grave aggression which kills any chance of peace.
Indonesia to toughen anti-terror laws
Indonesia has pledged to strengthen its anti-terror laws following
the Jakarta attacks with plans to strip convicted terrorists of their
citizenship being floated.
Other options being suggested include laws criminalising Indonesians
who travel abroad to join Islamic State, an action currently permitted
under Indonesian law.
After the attacks, the head of Indonesia's National Intelligence
Agency complained the agency didn’t have the power to arrest or detain
anyone.