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.

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".

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

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.

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.

Police are called after medical equipment is stripped from the walls of the Earle Haven Retirement Village, where 70 elderly people some bedridden and living with dementia reside.

Witnesses say it was "pandemonium" when a Gold Coast nursing home shut down yesterday after paramedics attended the village to help find emergency accommodation for 70 residents. The closure is believed to be over a contract dispute.

The operator of a Gold Coast aged care facility is accused of taking money from the bank accounts of residents at the same time they were being evacuated because the centre was closing.

People still living at a Gold Coast nursing home that was partially evacuated last Thursday are told the facility will be referred to the aged care royal commission, a move backed by operator HelpStreet.

Arthur Miller faced a demand for almost $4 million for breach of contract the day before his Gold Coast retirement village Earle Haven was abruptly shut, prompting the evacuation of 68 elderly residents, the aged care royal commission is told.

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.

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

Security vision reveals the moment a Gold Coast service station attendant is taken hostage by a man with a gun in what became a four-hour stand-off with police.

An 18-year-old man is charged with murder over the fatal stabbing of teenager Harrison Geppert, the younger brother of former Hells Angel bikie Ben Geppert.

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.

All fires across New South Wales and Queensland are downgraded to watch and act or advice as nightfall eases conditions somewhat. Look back at out coverage as firefighters battled blazes across two states.

Queenslanders recall the nights in the 60s spent dancing in the hall of the Binna Burra Lodge the same place where hundreds of others have married the love of their life after fire guts the heritage-listed resort.

Authorities and families are on high alert as homes are lost across the state with dozens of fires burning in places including the Gold Coast hinterland at Binna Burra, and Stanthorpe and Applethorpe on the Granite Belt.

An assistance package which includes the first two picks in the 2019 player draft will be handed to the struggling Gold Coast Suns to help the club "deliver upon their football strategy".

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

A Brisbane mother calls on the Queensland Government and Schoolies stakeholders to stop dating website Tinder from partnering with booking website Schoolies.com.

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

Queensland's central schoolies booking agency ditches its brief dalliance with the dating app Tinder after it sparked outrage from parents and the State Tourism Minister.

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.

As Stanthorpe faces running dry within months the local council discusses its options with the Queensland Government and gets set to impose heavy water restrictions.

It's largely unknown what seabirds and marine mammals do when they are out in Australia's remote waters, but an ongoing project aboard at 94-metre floating laboratory is changing that.

Underwater statues and submerged hotels are some of the latest attractions on the Great Barrier Reef, concerning an old-school dive operator.

Intergenerational or 'ageless' playgroups are being rolled out across the country as part of a social experiment connecting young children with aged care residents.

The clean-up is underway after severe thunderstorms left a trail of damage but little precious rain in parts of South-East Queensland and the Darling Downs.

Tom never gave up hope that he would be reunited with the lost fiancee of his youth, diligently attending their graduate reunion every 10 years in the hopes Judith would be there.

Dash cam vision shows a man punching a woman in the face in a suspected road rage incident on the New South Wales Central Coast, with the woman posting on social media she "smashed his window" after being hit.

A man is hit and killed by a garbage truck on the NSW Central Coast, with the driver left "significantly traumatised" as the men had become good friends over the years.