Toowoomba News

• Family cuts weekly mortgage payment to $330 with rural move

  The Ballini family made the move to regional Queensland where they are are paying half the mortgage they were in the south-east, but that's rapidly changing.

• Noosa hit with flash flooding after 180mm of rain falls overnight

  Storms and heavy rain are forecast to again hit large parts of Queensland today, with temperatures dropping across much of the sunshine state. 

• Rent rise pushes pensioner to make caravan her permanent home

  A cut-throat rental market and skyrocketing house values in regional Queensland are driving elderly people, along with families, into alternate forms of accommodation.

• Woman 'gobsmacked' by regulator's response to pap smear complaint

  Two women have told the ABC they believe the health regulator is failing to acknowledge the power imbalance between doctors and patients.

• Farmers feel 'forgotten' as environment, land clearing laws tightened

  Queensland producers say a blanket approach to environmental laws will restrict their ability to manage land sustainably and responsibly.

• Review calls for race track to shut, state government to make it 'Racing HQ' instead

  The Next Lap plan will establish a $200 million infrastructure fund, streamline governance, and maintain taxation levels, and comes about two months after an independent review into the sector.

• Company pauses plan to release controversial genetically modified mosquitoes

  An organisation that planned to sell "friendly" mosquitoes to reduce the spread of diseases like dengue withdraws its licence application after backlash from scientists and health experts.

• Was your car one of 40,000 damaged in hailstorms? Here's what to do next

  Insurers are urging those with damaged cars to make their claims as soon as possible in the aftermath of hailstorms across Queensland and parts of New South Wales. 

• Three deaths related to asbestos exposure at former ABC site

  Staff at the former ABC studios in Elsternwick were exposed to asbestos over an extended period.

• Another music festival canned as 'numbers no longer stack up'

  Park Waves festival, set for February 2026, has been cancelled amid economic challenges, joining a growing list of scrapped Australian music events.

• Right to repair reforms to be expanded to farm machinery

  After years of depending on dealership networks for essential repairs, farmers will have the right to fix their own equipment.

• Queensland to enjoy cooler, drier first days of summer — but not for long

  After a soaking November, this week could deliver a very brief reprieve from the storms and scorching heat. 

• 'Pretty much nowhere in Queensland' without chance of thunderstorms

  A wet weekend is forecast for Australia's sunshine state, with meteorologists warning that "pretty much nowhere in Queensland" is without a chance of thunderstorms.

• Illicit tobacco stores shut down in raids across Queensland

  Dozens of stores across every corner of the state have been closed for three months as officers exercise new powers passed in Queensland's parliament last week.

• First permanent psychiatrist appointed in south-west Queensland

  Farzin Rezaei has made the move from the Tehran University of Medical Sciences to the vast plains of south-west Queensland. 

• Her 8yo son was killed in an e-motorbike crash. Now Kloe Weedon wants new rules to protect kids

  Kloe Weedon's son Zeke William Hondow, a schoolboy with a sharp wit and even sharper haircuts, was farewelled at a funeral last week.

• ATO targets Queensland businesses suspected of failing to pay staff, taxes

  An investigation into farms and labour hire businesses in Queensland's agricultural heartland have uncovered $25 million in unpaid taxes, according to federal authorities.

• 'Unusually active': Ten giant hail warnings for SEQ this storm season

  The region has been hit by another round of storms which brought large and even giant hailstones. Is this the new normal?

• Bondi stabber's psychiatrist criticised for 'combative nature' at inquest

  The counsel assisting the coroner says Joel Cauchi's former psychiatrist showed an "exceptional level of belligerence and confrontation" at the inquest.

• More storms predicted amid 'very unsettled' Queensland weather

  Storm-battered south-east Queensland is on alert again today while other regions endure a blistering heatwave as instability grips the state.

• 'Thank the premier': Teachers strike across Qld for second time this year

  Parents and guardians have been asked to "make alternative plans" for their children as Queensland teachers walk off the job after rejecting pay offer.

• 'Decade overdue' salt conversion plan could rewrite coal seam gas future

  Five million tonnes of salt could be dumped in ponds over the life of the coal seam gas industry. Now, there could finally be a better solution. 

• Hail smashes south-east Queensland, with more storms forecast today

  Parts of Queensland will reach 45 degrees Celsius today, while the state's south east braces for severe storms. 

• Meet the pink-haired, motorbike-riding priest calling churchgoers to action

  Pauline Harley did not grow up with religion, far from it. She was homeless for six months as a teenager, which has informed her passion now for social justice in Toowoomba.

• Grieving town will not be 'defined' by Wieambilla shooting tragedy

  For the people of Tara, it is hard to escape the memory of murders that shocked the nation three years ago. But as the inquest's findings put the tragedy back in the spotlight, they are determined it will not become their identity.