Polystyrene balls were strewn across three bays on a pristine north Queensland island after coming in with the tide from an unknown source, forcing locals into action with vacuums and dustpans.

After pleading guilty to drug possession and admitting he uses steroids, Afghanistan veteran and former Invictus Games competitor Tyrone Gawthorne is handed a suspended sentence for steroid and cocaine possession.

Two men are critically injured after a crane overturns near Mareeba in Far North Queensland this morning. The crash follows the death of a man in a separate crane incident on Sunday.

New laws are before Queensland Parliament to protect the Great Barrier Reef from harmful nutrient and sediment run-off, with a voluntary scheme not working fast enough according to the Environment Minister.

Health authorities urge more than 500 patients of a dental clinic in Far North Queensland to be tested for HIV and hepatitis as the clinic is investigated over its infection control practices.

State and territory leaders have agreed to establish a timetable to work towards a waste export ban.

A luxury superyacht has crashed while attempting to moor at a Cairns marina, narrowly avoiding a potential disaster on the busy tourist strip.

An ominous drone photo of sharks circling a whale beached near Albany in WA snaps top prize at this year's Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year awards, with the photographer saying the scene was "unreal".

An island of floating rock known as a pumice raft is gradually heading for Australian shores across the Coral Sea and is so expansive it can be tracked via satellite.

Cardwell residents band together to save a large tree that arborists have declared unsafe due to beach erosion during the recent heavy wet season.

Drought has collided with high demand for soybeans, lifting prices by around $500 a tonne, prompting warnings of a price hike for soymilk, tofu and tempeh.

Hundreds of farmers have rallied in Queensland to protest against proposed new laws to protect the Great Barrier Reef, saying they are being treated as "guilty until proven innocent".

A potential vaccine for streptococcal infections is being tipped as a game changer in remote communities after a recent outbreak was detected in Cape York.

Queensland's Royal Flying Doctor Service trades training for loyalty in a new program to bring in more pilots.

Stakeholders call for an overhaul of the government's $5 billion fund that promised to turn northern Australia into an economic powerhouse.

Two teenagers who have recently sought help to stop chroming are speaking out about their addictions, which have led to the loss of friends and family members, in the hope of deterring others from heading down the same path.

Health professionals who say they have seen an increase in the number of "very young children" under the influence of solvents and inhalants warn the consequences of their actions are irreversible.

Scientists say after running an eradication program for the past eight years, Far North Queensland can be declared free of dengue fever for the first time in more than 100 years.

As Queensland Opposition leader Deb Frecklington weighs in on the state's chroming crisis, BP recalls how it went about combatting misuse of its own product almost two decades ago.

This self-employed labourer was doing casual work earning a couple of hundred dollars a week. Then he received a letter from his super fund saying his retirement savings had shrunk.

It's estimated that African swine fever has killed 25 per cent of the world's pig population. The deadly disease has now reached Timor-Leste, about 650 kilometres from Darwin.

Stuart Morris initially kept walking when he first laid eyes on a massive snake skin in Cairns, but when he saw it a second time he decided to take it home and straighten it out all 7 metres of it.

A report by Human Rights Watch says new regulations to tighten the use of chemical restraints on dementia patients has actually normalised the treatment to the detriment of patients.

The family of the man who died while zip-lining in Far North Queensland has described him as a "loving husband, father, son, brother and friend to all".

Robyn Hausler continued paying her mortgage and rates for six years, not realising the house she'd lived in for 20 years wasn't hers anymore. Now a court has ruled she can have her property back.

A father who threatened to kill a Federal Circuit Court Judge in a late night, expletive-laden phone call walks free from a Far North Queensland court.

The Saints fall to the ladder-leading Cats in Geelong, the Crows humiliate the Suns by almost 100 points, the Bombers pipped the Kangaroos, while the Hawks and Blues also posted wins.

The Cats rebound to beat the Swans in Sydney, while the Bombers edge out the Suns in a pulsating finish on the Gold Coast and the Bulldogs trump the Dockers.

A club linked to a long-term business partner of the Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate may escape paying a $137,000 debt owed to the council.

The President of the Australian Olympic Committee John Coates says South-East Queensland will not win the right to host the 2032 Olympics unless the Gold Coast is involved.

Half of the residents of troubled Gold Coast nursing home Earle Haven were being physically restrained, and 71 per cent received medical restraint, in the weeks before it abruptly closed its doors last month, the aged care Royal Commission hears.

Police say the 18-year-old man lost control of the vehicle at Southport after an alleged crime spree, causing it to roll several times.

The pair continued south on the M1 before again confronting a driver of a vehicle near the Palm Beach exit.

Gold Coast police are searching for a man and woman after they stopped their car in the middle of the Pacific Motorway before attempting to hijack two vehicles.

Criminologist and former detective Terry Goldsworthy says the move to reduce Queensland's police zones is a key factor behind a rise in the state's crime rates over the past 12 months.