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Cairns - 4870

Teens aboard tall ship rescue capsized kayaker from crocodile-prone Queensland waters

A group of young sailors spending their school holidays on an eight-day tall ship voyage have helped pluck two stranded kayakers from dangerous waters near Hinchinbrook Island.
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A tall ship passing a mountainous island.

Mayor released on bail could return to work while contesting domestic violence charges

The Far North Queensland community leader is accused of strangling a woman, and a separate attack that left her requiring emergency surgery, but his lawyer has told a court the case against him is weak.
Councillor Wayne Butcher, mayor of the Lockhart River Aboriginal Shire Council, stands in front of a Fiona Omeenyo artwork.

Embattled mayor's first act upon return to council is to ban media from public meeting

Townsville Mayor Troy Thompson is back at the council, a month after taking leave amid concerns he misrepresented his military record in the lead-up to being elected.
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A tall man leaves a room... it says townsville council meeting

Two German women among those who died in Greyhound bus crash on notorious highway

Grey nomads, backpackers, and locals question the safety of roads in regional Australia after a devastating crash that killed three women, including two German nationals.
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First responders arrive at the scene of a Greyhound bus collision on Bruce Highway.

Queensland mayor arrested over multiple alleged domestic violence offences

Cape York mayor Wayne Butcher has been charged with multiple offences including strangulation and grievous bodily harm.
Wayne Butcher looking at camera

Woman dead after alleged domestic violence-related stabbing near Innisfail, police charge man with murder

Police said officers were called to the scene for a welfare check at around 4:15pm, where they found a woman with life-threatening stab wounds.
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Police tape outside a house.

Buying a home in Queensland now 'beyond reach' for many frontline workers, report finds

The Beyond Reach report has found affordable housing — where housing costs are 30 per cent or less of income — has "almost ceased to exist" for essential workers in south-east Queensland. 
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a queenslander, mid-rise and high-rise in a graphic

When Zoe's son died by suicide, Doodle Lady was born

The day after Zoe Strickland's son took his own life, she picked up a Sharpie pen and drew a picture. It would become the first entry in a series of grief diaries, and the birth of her stick figure character, Doodle Lady.
Woman holding up a framed drawing of a stick figure with the words, 'Longing, longing, longing'

Premier Steven Miles on the alleged shooting

Queensland's premier said police will continue investigating the Mackay South matter.
Steven Miles speaks to media.
Duration: 12 seconds

Cape York World Heritage tentative listing.

Cape York World Heritage tentative listing.
ABC News Current
Duration: 50 seconds

Police discount bikie kidnap theory in case of missing teen as hope of finding him dwindles

A coronial inquest in Far North Queensland examining the disappearance of Markiah Major in 2023 has heard from friends and police, as well as family, who have described their heartache. 
A young Indigenous man with long hair

Rock art dating back 17,000 years nominated for World Heritage tentative listing

Parts of Queensland's Cape York Peninsula are elevated to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative list, but experts warn what many regard a coup, could be a double-edged sword.
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Rock art of a person andanimals in Quinkan Country.

Sharks caught on camera taking fishers' catch raises concern about increased interaction

A professional fisherman says he is "racing" sharks almost every time he brings in his catch, and that shark numbers are making it almost impossible to fish in certain areas.
A shark comes within metres of a small fishing boat off the coast south of Perth.

Whatever happened to Golden Fleece, Australia's first oil company?

There are probably a few things that come to mind when reminiscing about long road trips across Australia between the 1950s and '70s. Things like overheating cars, AM radio and the unmistakable icon of the Golden Fleece. 
Photo of a blue and yellow golden fleece service station and restaurant.

Australian premiers are vying to host King Charles and Queen Camilla, but one expert says this state will be hard to pass up

Luxury tropical island stays, quokka experiences, wine tours and opera performances are all being proposed for the king and queen's itinerary during their expected visit to Australia towards the end of the year.  
Prince Charles and Camilla at Broadbeach

'Documents altered, records falsified, computers hacked' as small town office manager charged with alleged $2.5m fraud

Properties in Brisbane and far north Queensland have been searched following 120 charges of alleged financial misconduct spanning six years.
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Street view with houses and tropical plants

Drinking water security and efficiency in spotlight in Cairns, despite high rainfall, as supply shortfall looms

Cairns needs tens of millions of dollars to shore up its security of drinking water, but advocates say the city also needs to look at ways to reduce the amount of water being used.
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A wide elevated image of a city centre intersection in Cairns

Australia faces critical shortage of children's antibiotic as whooping cough cases soar

Families say they are having to visit up to 10 pharmacies to find a key medication used to treat chest infections, whooping cough, and other respiratory issues in children.
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Woman with dark hair holding toddler son

'Criminals will fight back': Proposed new law allowing people to kill home intruders not perfect, victim warns

More than 40,000 Queenslanders want Castle Law to use lethal force against home intruders, but the law society says existing laws allowing reasonable force have served the community well.
CCTV of two young men looking around a home

News Corp apologises for using 'disrespectful' photo in Indigenous child sexual abuse story

Sky News, The Australian and the Daily Telegraph used a photo of dancers in the Miriki Performing Arts group during a children's festival for a story on sexual abuse of Indigenous children last year.
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the outside of News Corp Australia's Holt Street headquarters in Sydney

Comedians are suddenly celebrating the people they care deeply about in their shows. This is why

Rhys Nicholson, Cameron James, Geraldine Quinn, Wil Anderson and Nath Valvo unpack why Australian comedy is making an unexpected turn towards the earnest.
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Wil Anderson, a 50-year-old man with grey hair pushed back, performs live on stage, his arms folded..

'Wasn't quite sitting right': Scientist shocked by sight of shark vomiting up echidna

Nicholas Lubitz witnessed the remarkable emetic incident during a three-year project that saw hundreds of marine creatures tagged off the Queensland coast.
A composite image showing a shark and an echidna, both swimming in the ocean.

Queensland's 43 'dehumanising, upsetting, and discriminatory' place names must be changed now, elder says

The state's map is littered with dozens of racist terms steeped in a traumatic history. While authorities have made it easier to change these names, advocates say the wheels of government must turn faster.
A woman wearing a bright blue polo shirt looks at the camera with a neutral expression

DNA of 'unknown' person found under murdered woman's fingernails, court hears

A forensic scientist says the DNA of two people — Toyah Cordingley and an unknown person — was found on the young woman's fingernail clippings.
Toyah Cordingley sits with her dogs.

A shark attack and motorcycle crash nearly claimed these men's lives, but not their MMA dreams

When Glenn Dickson and Buck Cooper each lost a leg in near-fatal accidents at the age of 25, they never imagined they would go on to make Australian sporting history.
Two fighters in action. Each has a prosthetic leg.