Toowoomba News

• Fire ant fears not holding up flooded farmers' hay relief, charity says

  A charity tasked with supplying hay to flood-affected graziers says fears fodder drops are being held up by biosecurity concerns over red fire ants are unfounded.

• Don't shoot, flood-zone mayor begs trigger-happy camera vandals

  A Queensland shire bracing for rising rivers has lost almost a quarter of its important flood-monitoring cameras, thanks, the mayor suspects, to shooters who wrongly believe police are recording them. 

• Treated effluent water to grow crops, saving rivers and oceans

  An irrigation scheme will divert nutrient-rich, treated effluent water to crops instead of into sensitive waterways after a $120 million project secured final approval in south-east Queensland.

• 'Bloody devastating': Graziers left speechless by outback flooding

  Ferocious floodwaters in outback Queensland have not only taken homes, but entire livelihoods.

• Brisbane land valuations up 17pc, with regional increases as high as 247pc

  Brisbane City Council's re-evaluation included almost 351,000 properties with a total value of $346.2 billion, an increase of 17 per cent.

• Choppers evacuate dozens as flooding threatens a third of Qld

  Outback Queenslanders are being flown to safety by local pilots in a growing flood emergency now threatening a third of the state.

• South-east Queenslanders told to prepare for heavy rain after cyclone

  Just weeks after ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred struck south-east Queensland, residents can expect heavy rainfall moving into the weekend. Sandbagging stations are open in the Gold Coast as the region prepares for more downpours. 

• 'Short-sighted' fire ant treatment approach ditched as pest spreads

  The state government announces extra funding to help to tackle invasive fire ants, as the pests continue to take a toll on people, livestock and farmers' bottom lines.

• Outback rain a 'cocky's dream' but a nightmare for flood-hit Queensland

  After a hot, dry summer residents in outback Queensland are celebrating the weekend's rainfall. But on the north coast, more rain could prove to be disastrous.

• 'Good times, good people': Old mates say goodbye to historic saleyards

  Greg, Barry, and Leo have farewelled their town's last livestock saleyards after working for a combined 169 years of service there.

• Queensland residents urged to prepare for more rainfall in coming days

  After being hit by flash flooding during the week, north Queensland residents are being warned to prepare for more rainfall, while the west of the state could also see a significant rain event. 

• Minister backs program to deliver 2,200 hospital beds amid $6b blowout

  Eleven hospital expansions across Queensland and four new builds in Coomera, Toowoomba, Bundaberg and Brisbane will go ahead under the LNP government, despite costs escalating significantly.

• Rainfall easing in north Queensland, but heavy falls still possible

  The weather bureau says heavy falls are still possible with storms forecast across the northern and western parts of the state.

• Emergency alert as 450mm downpour cuts off parts of north Qld

  Cardwell Gap, near Ingham, cops a massive deluge overnight and flooding has again the Bruce Highway with more wet weather to come.

• Westfield rolls out body-worn security cameras a year after Bondi stabbings

  Australia's biggest shopping centre owner says the devices are being introduced to improve the safety and security of its customers and staff.

• Two herds of cattle owned by luxury beef giant AACo die in one month

  A theory for their cause of death was that a tap from a water tank to a trough was accidentally off. The deaths have horrified people in the agriculture industry, and marks more turmoil at AACo.

• Heavy rainfall expected in north Queensland, while above-average temps hit south-east

  Areas north of Townsville are set for a drenching today, but it is unlikely a tropical low forming in the Gulf of Carpentaria will develop into a cyclone. An unseasonably hot day is predicted for the Gold and Sunshine coasts. 

• From the blue line to the red carpet, retired cop takes a bow

  Former police officer Russell Reynolds has acted in Hollywood films, but as the curtain rises on the next stage in his life, he's shining a light on how to help at-risk youth. 

• The town that keeps flooding but no-one wants to leave

  In the southern Queensland town of Laidley, floodwaters come and go but the people stay. 

• Sunny forecast for southern Queensland, with storms in the north

  The Bureau of Meterology is forecasting "settled" weather in southern Queensland, allowing floodwaters to recede and recovery efforts from ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred to continue. 

• Cricket star Georgia Voll always looks like she is having fun, and that's because she is

  The star batter wants to be a role model for the next generation of players on and off the field. 

• Farmer braves floodwaters with snake and spiders to save drowning bull

  Nick Colquhoun was acting on adrenaline when he plunged in with wire cutters to free a prized stud bull caught in barbed wire as the floodwaters rose.

• Rainfall expected in parts of Qld as clean-up continues after cyclone

  Showers are expected across coastal parts of the state today, with some regions on the tropical north coast picking up more than 100 millimetres overnight.

• 'We're sick of it, but used to it': Lockyer Valley residents assess flood damage

  Floods from Cyclone Alfred are a reminder that days of isolation and wearing the cost of floods out of your own pocket are part of life in Queensland's Lockyer Valley.    

• Supermarket shelves stripped bare far from TC Alfred impact zone

  Supermarkets across Queensland grapple with grocery shortages in the wake of the natural disaster, with flooding expected to affect the supply of fresh vegetables in the coming months.