Toowoomba News

• Regional sports 'stronger through diversity' as refugees thrive on field

  A hockey program in Toowoomba is helping Yazidi refugees adapt to life in Australia and build a community. 

• Farrer result turns One Nation from protest to genuine electoral threat

  The result in Farrer has made One Nation's attempts to become the natural home for conservative Australians look less like a protest and more like a genuine electoral threat. 

• Cold snap grips Queensland as temperatures drop below zero

  A chilly southern air mass has most of southern Queensland shivering through the coldest morning of the year so far.

• Review finds fire ant eradication can succeed if 'mistrust and misinformation' are fixed

  An independent review finds fire ant eradication is still achievable, but major issues, including poor communication, public mistrust and strategy confusion, must be fixed first.

• Three people die in separate incidents in Toowoomba

  A workplace death, a fatal truck collision on the Toowoomba bypass, and an elderly man killed in a fire have made for a tragic 24 hours in the regional city. 

• Don't assume El Niño warming will bring record heat

  Australia's weather pattern is in a reset, and the weather events happening this month will act like the ingredients to determine the flavour of our climate for the rest of the year. 

• How a remote farming community became Australia's first oil field

  With oil exploration back in the headlines, here's how Australia struck it lucky in the 1960s.

• Grace Grace under fire and project threats scrutinised at CFMEU inquiry

  The commission of inquiry into the CFMEU has this week heard the union had a complex relationship with the former Labor government.

• Firefighters on 'knife edge' tackle dry conditions in Qld's south

  A Queensland Rural Fire Service superintendent says fire conditions in parts of the state are on the edge after very little rain this wet season.

• End of school holidays sees sunshine in south-east Queensland, rainfall in north

  The south-east corner will see slightly warmer temperatures and sunshine until Sunday, however, localised heavy falls are on the cards for parts of the central interior and north-west. 

• Australia's largest cattle feedlot on the market as grain-fed beef surges

  Mort & Co, which fattens hundreds of thousands of cattle on grain before being slaughtered for beef, puts the majority of its assets on the market.  

• North Queensland set for more rain as ex-Cyclone Maila heads for coast

  Beautiful one day, heavy rain, dangerous surf and frosts, the next — Queensland faces a mixed bag of weather throughout the state over the coming days. 

• Great-grandfather named Qld's second-oldest newly admitted lawyer

  A 77-year-old great-grandfather from Toowoomba proves age is no barrier to launching a new career as he is admitted as a lawyer.

• Farmers take action as dry grips Queensland region

  Queensland farmers gripped by a dry spell are turning to drastic and inventive measures: offloading most of their livestock and laying kilometres of water pipelines.

• 'A real tease': Cyclone Maila weakens as it moves towards Queensland

  Cyclone Maila has been downgraded to a category two system, pushing back the expected time it will make landfall to Tuesday.

• Cyclone Maila moving again towards Far North Queensland coast

  Cyclone Maila has woken up and is heading west, with the category four system still likely to reach Queensland's far north on Monday.

• Tourists urged not to cancel plans as Cyclone Maila intensifies

  Severe Tropical Cyclone Maila is now a category five system and is expected to cross into Far North Queensland on Sunday.

• POLAIR vision of the arrest of 39-year-old man following a carjacking spree

  On April 6, an allegedly stolen LandCruiser was spotted by police in Toowoomba and, less than three hours later, Special Emergency Response police arrested the man outside a cafe on the city’s east side.

• Man charged over alleged carjacking spree across southern Queensland

  Police allege Beau Wallace Flegler, 39, stole multiple vehicles at gunpoint across the Easter long weekend before his arrest in East Toowoomba.

• Tropical Cyclone Maila likely to cross Far North Queensland

  The Bureau of Meteorology is increasingly confident the system will move towards the Queensland coast later in the week, potentially crossing Cape York Peninsula. 

• Toddler dies after being pulled from water on Queensland property

  An 18-month-old boy has died after being pulled from water at a private property on the Western Downs.

• Scattered rain, strong wind along Qld coast as forecasters watch TC Maila

  The majority of Queensland will enjoy mild weather this week, with scattered showers across the east coast, while further north, Cyclone Maila is set to intensify.

• After decades of success, love and loss, outback pub changes hands

  After turning "the worst pub you ever walked into" into a tourism award winner, Stephen Burns is stepping away from managing the Nindigully Pub.

• Cyclone could form on Saturday, but that's not clouding Qld long weekend

  Expect average temperatures and good weather inland, with scattered showers along the coast as Queensland heads into the Easter long weekend.

• Supermarket chicken could get cheaper due to grain breakthrough

  Australian researchers develop a high-protein sorghum variety, hoping to replace expensive livestock feed with systems that could lead to cheaper meat and eggs.