The Queensland Rural Fire Service says weather conditions indicate there will be an extreme to locally catastrophic fire danger in the Darling Downs, Granite Belt, Maranoa and Warrego today, as thick smoke hangs over the Gold Coast hinterland.

A research team is deployed in response to persistent smoke from a bushfire that has been burning for nearly two months in underground peat on the NSW Mid North Coast.

More than 50 bushfires are burning in Queensland amid potentially catastrophic, hot and windy conditions. Emergency warnings are in place for fires near Stanthorpe in the state's south.

They may look clean and pristine at first glance, however one beachcomber says trash is littered along our treasured beaches as cigarette butts, dog poo, used tampons and straws clog our summer playgrounds.

The high temperatures and winds that have fanned severe bushfires in southern Queensland ease on Wednesday, but some communities need to stay alert with about 70 blazes still burning. Despite the reprieve, conditions are expected to worsen again on Friday.

For 86 years the historic Gold Coast hinterland lodge was a beacon for bushwalkers, stressed executives and school children, but its chairman is now traumatised by the charred ruin with an uncertain future.

Thunderstorms have rolled west across Queensland's southern inland, bringing more rain than expected to the Gold Coast hinterland as well as numerous lightning strikes raising concerns about the possibility of new bushfires.

Half a century since the first miniature-golf course came to the Gold Coast, putt putt is still popular with families.

Family and friends post tributes to Jeffrey and Matthew Hills, whose bodies were found in the wreckage of a plane which crashed in northern NSW on Friday.

In the past year, Abbie Williams has written hundreds of personalised messages to people around the world struggling with their mental health.

As the ban on climbing Uluru fast approaches there remains many locations attracting crowds, despite calls from local Indigenous people to stay away.

Concerned about a spike in drownings on Queensland's beaches most of which occur outside the flags lifesavers have come up with a unique way to get people where they want them.

Travel giant TripAdvisor will no longer sell tickets to Sea World on the Gold Coast as part of its worldwide ban to help end whale, dolphin and porpoise captivity, with the theme park criticising the decision saying it is based on opinion rather than fact.

It was all over quickly, but a short, sharp storm has brought hail and a little bit of rain to parts of Brisbane, Toowoomba and the Gold Coast.

A software firm develops smartphone keyboards specifically designed to write in traditional languages to help people protect their language.

The Tait twins, Sara and Kristen, had a tough start. One was born with spina bifida, the other with two large holes in her heart. But that hasn't stopped either of them from becoming high achievers.

For more than 20 years, 178 children have stared at motorists driving along the busy M1 on the Gold Coast. We dispel the urban myths of who they are and why they are there.

Two sex workers charged with working illegally on the Gold Coast tell the ABC they thought the agency had been a legal operation.

Conservationists are claiming a coup after convincing Gold Coast Council to save a freshwater lake from being turned into a carpark.

A Queensland mother says she experienced a parent's worst nightmare when her car was stolen with her four-year-old son and the family puppy still inside.

What is it like on board the 333-metre USS Ronald Reagan that's also home to about 5,000 people at any one time? Step aboard with the ABC's Megan Hendry.

A mother alleges her newborn baby needed emergency help after being given a life-threatening dose of insulin at a Queensland public hospital.

The misuse of pesticides on Australian farms is threatening overseas markets, according to industry group Pulse Australia.

Australia is the skin cancer capital of the world, so you might be surprised to find there are just 16 ultraviolet radiation sensors around the country monitoring the sun's rays.

A national survey of more than 800 tradies shows for the second consecutive year that they are more likely to take better care of their tools than their physical or mental health.

Cowboys from around the country will be unable to compete at the National Rodeo Finals this year, after the event was cancelled.

A group of vintage tractor enthusiasts and restorers like nothing better than rummaging for old parts in the hope they can bring a machine back to life.