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Dec 18, 2024 | 
abc.net.au | Nikki Sorbello |Grace Ann Whiteside
Queensland's failed Paradise Dam will cost at least $4.4 billion to rebuild, the state government has revealed for the first time. Water Minister Anne Leahy said dam operator Sunwater had provided the estimate, despite the full design for the rebuild not being complete. Sunwater chief executive Glen Stockton said further cost increases could not be ruled out. "As we work through the design we will refine our way through that [cost] and provide advice to the state," Mr Stockton said.
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Dec 17, 2024 | 
abc.net.au | Nikki Sorbello
When adventurer Liz Wardley decided she needed a new challenge, she didn't imagine it would turn into a nearly nine-month-long journey across 13,000 kilometres of ocean. The passionate Queensland sailor traded the wheel of her beloved ocean racer for a seven-metre rowboat, fondly named Tic Tac because it looked like a half-eaten sweet, and set off to tackle one of the world's hardest rowing events, aptly named the World's Toughest Row.
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Dec 11, 2024 | 
abc.net.au | Lucy Loram |Nikki Sorbello |James Taylor
The federal government has opened a new urgent care clinic in Queensland's Hervey Bay, but some local healthcare staff say the money would be better spent on the existing local workforce. The bulk-billing clinics are designed to divert non-life-threatening cases from emergency departments, taking the pressure off hospitals. But another urgent care clinic in the neighbouring city of Bundaberg closed its doors in October after operating for less than a year.
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Nov 28, 2024 | 
abc.net.au | Nikki Sorbello
An 84-year-old woman who had to move out of her retirement unit for more than three months after the roof collapsed has called for better transparency and explanation to older unit owners about their obligations and rights. Barbara Dalton has owned her unit in Keyton's The Lakes retirement community in Bundaberg, four hours north of Brisbane, for the past 20 years.
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Nov 26, 2024 | 
abc.net.au | Nikki Sorbello |Russell Varley |Johanna Marie
Two small halls and a pocket coastal parkland will be removed from a council land sale after community protests. Bundaberg Regional Council had listed the properties among 26 unused or under-utilised spaces for potential sale. While the properties have been saved for now, a councillor says their future is not guaranteed under successive councils.
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Nov 24, 2024 | 
abc.net.au | Nikki Sorbello
LGBTQIA+ Facebook groups are being removed and pages are being flagged as "at risk" for cybersecurity breaches. Flagged posts include links to mental health organisations such as Beyond Blue and Headspace. Researchers say Automated moderation disproportionately affects LGBTQIA+ content and fails to identify implicit hate in anti-queer content. Online LGBTQIA+ community groups fear they are being "targeted" by social media giant Facebook as accounts are shut down or labelled "at risk".
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Nov 17, 2024 | 
abc.net.au | Nikki Sorbello
Police are investigating the relationship between a man charged over a hit-and-run on the Bruce Highway and a motorcyclist who died at the scene on Sunday. Ronald Joseph Madden, 69, has been charged with dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death and leaving the scene without obtaining help. Mr Madden is expected to appear in Bundaberg Magistrates Court today. A man charged over a fatal hit-and-run on the Bruce Highway allegedly knew the victim, police say.
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Nov 11, 2024 | 
abc.net.au | Nikki Sorbello |David Dowsett
Ash Barky stole our hearts as a puppy on Muster Dogs, and now Queensland's famous working dog is tackling a new job. The adorable border collie, who appeared with North Burnett grazier Cilla Pershouse in season two of the hit TV series, has become a mum, welcoming two male puppies last week. Ash — named after fellow Queensland icon, tennis champion Ash Barty — and Cilla appeared on Muster Dogs earlier this year, a program that follows puppies as they learn what it takes to become working dogs.
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Oct 31, 2024 | 
abc.net.au | Johanna Marie |Nikki Sorbello
It is spring selling season in the real estate market, and one Queensland council is cashing in on dozens of properties from beloved community halls to "prime" seaside properties. The Bundaberg region, 350 kilometres north of Brisbane, is where the beach meets the reef and plates are filled with farm fresh produce. But the local council is struggling to make ends meet.
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Oct 29, 2024 | 
abc.net.au | Grace Ann Whiteside |Nikki Sorbello
An urgent care clinic set up by the federal government to relieve pressure on emergency departments has suddenly closed less than a year after it opened in regional Queensland. The Medicare bulk-billed clinic in Bundaberg, 400 kilometres north of Brisbane, was one of 75 opened across Australia by the federal government since June 2023. The purpose was to divert non-life-threatening cases from emergency departments, leaving hospitals to take on the most severe cases.
