Toowoomba News

1. Artist impression of planet TOI-3362 b's orbit

   Re-creation of the elliptical orbit of newly discovered exoplanet TOI-3362 b.

2. Boeing to manufacture military drones in Toowoomba

   It's the first time the company has set up a facility like it outside of North America. Rachel Riga reports.

3. The gate that helped launch the Lock the Gate movement can now be found on a Tasmanian farm

   Just over 10 years ago, a group of farmers and environmentalists gathered in front of Queensland's Parliament House in Brisbane to campaign against what they saw as the expansion of coal and gas development at the expense of Australian agriculture.

4. Farming family makes switch to edible flowers

   A Queensland farming family has switched from tomatoes to pansies and violets as demand for edible flowers grows.

5. Bird scarer tape in action on the Brisbane Valley Trial

   Bird scarer tape being used to deter magpies from attacking cyclists.

6. Toowoomba expecting thousands for the Carnival of Flowers

   Toowoomba expecting thousands to attend the Carnival of Flowers after the pandemic closed countless events this year. Lucy Robinson reports.

7. Queensland Premier announces quarantine facility will be built in Toowoomba.

   Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the facility would have 500 beds open by the end of the year and 1000 beds by the end of the first quarter of 2022.

8. Time traveller turns back the clock

   1940s devotee Simone Finch is taking her passion to a new level: she will live a 1940s lifestyle for the next 12 months.

9. Queensland records four new locally-acquired cases

   Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the fact the new positive cases had been linked to known clusters was "really, really good news". Kate McKenna reports.

10. Coal seam gas company drills wells under private property without notice

    A coal seam gas company has drilled under farmland without notifying landholders, potentially leaving them uninsured and their land devalued. Nathan Morris reports.

11. 'It's chalk and cheese': PM says Toowoomba proposal doesn't stack up

    Scott Morrison said the biggest difficulty with the Wellcamp Airport proposal is it was not near a major capital city, where there's a major hospital.

12. Storms sweep through Toowoomba bringing hail the size of golf balls

    The unseasonable weather has caught many off guard and caused extensive damage to crops. David Chen reports from Warra.

13. Marble sized hail fell in a 30 minute burst at Centenary Heights in Toowoomba

    Severe storms hit west of Brisbane overnight, with areas near Toowoomba hit with golf ball-sized hail.

14. 'Face of homelessness changing rapidly' as extra COVID welfare payments dry up

    Regional homelessness services say they are at capacity, and the end of JobKeeper and cuts to JobSeeker will see more people needing support — some for the first time.

15. Fears $10bn coal seam gas project could cause farmland to subside

    Concerned Queensland farmers face off against Arrow Energy, a gas company approved to drill up to 2,500 gas wells over 8,600 square kilometres.

16. 'Good for the soul': This town trucked in water for 15 months — now the dam is overflowing

    Up to 50 trucks brought water into the town of Stanthorpe, on Queensland's Granite Belt, every day for 15 months. But now their nightmare is over.

17. 'A sight for sore eyes': Residents celebrate first flows into Stanthorpe dam

    Residents of a southern Queensland town that has been forced to truck in water daily for more than a year say flows into the local dam are bringing "a little bit of hope".

18. Fair Go Dairy logo for processors draws mixed response after ACCC approval

    The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission formally authorises a milk label that aims to showcase processors and brands that pay farmers a sustainable price.

19. Family remembers 'loving' man whose body was found in bushland south of Toowoomba

    Police have charged a 36-year-old woman with interfering with a corpse found dumped in Southern Queensland bushland.

20. Rain causes flooding across southern Queensland

    Paddocks and creeks near Dalby and Mungallala have been flooded due to recent rain.

21. 'It's finally come through': Farmers rejoice as rain falls across parched Qld

    Farmers and graziers who missed out on predicted rain from this year's La Niña event are rejoicing after receiving widespread rainfall overnight.

22. 'Quite disgusting': Tradie stood down after catcalling women at Justice rally

    A tradie has been booted off a southern Queensland construction site after yelling abuse and catcalling women involved in yesterday's March for 4 Justice rally.

23. Contractor behind COVID-19 vaccine bungle gets green light to continue

    Healthcare Australia will be allowed to continue in Queensland as a vaccination provider, despite being involved in the incorrect administration of the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine.

24. 'Fly high little princess': Tributes flow for two-year-old girl found dead in dam

    Locals in a small Queensland town are rallying behind the family of a two-year-old girl whose body was found in a dam on a friend's property after an overnight search.

25. Toowoomba Regional Council 'deeply concerned' by bullying and sexual harassment claims

    More than 300 staff at Toowoomba Regional Council reported being bullied last year, but only a fraction of those complaints were formally reported.

26. Toddler found dead in dam on Queensland property

    A search in rural Queensland ends in tragedy as police find the body of two-year-old Ruby Gulliver in a dam on a property at Tara on the Western Downs.

27. 'We're able, we're empowered, we can do it': Female firefighters lead the charge for change

    Melinda Sharpe adores her job as a firefighter. But she says the road to make it a career is tougher for most women than men.

28. Highfields tourism

29. Toowoomba CBD at night

30. CSG insurance clause 'big on spin, light on detail', lawyer says, in its bid to protect farmers

    A new insurance clause is being touted by the coal seam gas industry as a solution to uncertainty about risk and liability, but landholders and lawyers say farmers are still worse off.

31. Tyreece used to sleep on the streets — now he has an aspiring career in the army

    Tyreece Hiles grew up surrounded by family violence, forcing him into homelessness. Now a Toowoomba social enterprise is inspiring the 18-year-old to turn his life around.

32. Amanda nearly gave birth on the roadside, now she's worried for other rural mums

    Queensland mothers fear there will be more roadside births in remote areas as the Rural Doctors Association predicts the end of birthing services in a Western Downs town.

33. No more farm water for the environment as Murray-Darling Water Efficiency Program canned

    No more water will be taken from farms to be returned to the environment under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan following a policy shift announced on Wednesday by the federal government.

34. Church photo

35. ash webb endo hosp photo

36. Workplaces have role to play in making Aussie men 'endo aware'

    Australian workplaces are being encouraged to educate staff about endometriosis in a bid to raise awareness about the painful disorder affecting one in 10 women.

37. Forget Schoolies and 'chilling out', these city teens spend summer saving farmers' crop

    Brisbane school leaver Rhys and his mates answer the call to harvest watermelons all summer long amid the national agriculture labour shortage.

38. Melon pickers loading melons

39. Melon pickers group shot

40. Melon pickers Murray

41. Toowoomba quarantine plans questioned due to COVID-19 vaccine rollout

    Health groups say plans to build a quarantine hub near Toowoomba might not be needed if Australia's rollout of COVID-19 vaccines is successful.

42. Queensland house prices 'through the roof' as Brisbane posts highest monthly increase in 14 years

    Brisbane house prices post the sharpest monthly increase since 2007 as values rise across Queensland. It comes as demographers report the highest increase in net interstate migration into Queensland in 20 years.

43. This family have been observing rain for 100 years, and they do not have any good news

    A Queensland family honoured for 100 years of service to the Bureau of Meteorology as rain observers say the past 10 years have been the driest on record.

44. Starting with a small outback wedding, Birdsville is gearing up for a big year ahead

    This tiny town on the edge of the Simpson Desert is hopeful tourists will make a big return in 2021, after major events were cancelled last year due to COVID-19.

45. Amanda Gorton

46. 'The whole system is disgusting': Nurse calls for aged care overhaul

    "Absolutely awful, I went home often in tears": A nurse in southern Queensland says aged care in Australia is "disgusting" and needs to be dismantled, but fears the government will find it too hard to reform.

47. Tropical low in Coral Sea off Queensland may brew into a cyclone

    A tropical low is predicted to develop in the north-west Coral Sea off north Queensland over the weekend and is likely to intensify into a cyclone, the Bureau of Meteorology says.

48. Brisbane flood victims win $440 million from class action over Wivenhoe Dam operation

    Flood victims win $440 million in compensation from the Queensland government and Sunwater in a long-running class action over the operation of Wivenhoe Dam during the 2011 floods while Seqwater is yet to settle the remaining 50 per cent.

49. What would a Brisbane Olympics look like and what events will be held outside the capital city?

    Brisbane is in the box seat to secure the 2032 Olympic Games. So what will the 2032 Brisbane Olympics look like for Queensland? Here's what we know so far.

50. 'The La Niña's failed us': Scenic Rim farmers battle 'green drought' as dam levels plummet

    Farmers west of Brisbane are pushed to the brink by a "green drought", but are doing all they can to survive as Moogerah Dam levels drop to just 13 per cent — as low as they were in the Millennium drought.