Drag queen storytime at Brisbane library disrupted by rightwing student group

Protesters from University of Queensland Liberal National Cub – disendorsed by the LNP – yell at performers, leaving children in tears

A rightwing University of Queensland student group has been caught on film attacking a drag queen storytelling event at a Brisbane library.

In videos posted online on Sunday, the small group of students can be heard yelling “Drag queens are not for kids” at the event at the Brisbane Square library on Sunday morning. The event was organised with Rainbow Families Queensland and was hosted by two drag performers, Queeny and Diamond.

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Frustrating cities: behind Australia’s urban design fails

Sydney’s pedestrian bottlenecks, Brisbane’s barren streetscapes and Perth’s freeway fiascos: cities across the country are making classic mistakes

In every city there are places where the road should be just a bit wider, where the bus stop would be better a few metres down or, perhaps, a multi-lane highway simply should not exist.

Bad urban design is a barrier to what should be the smooth flow of life in cities. It ruins commutes and can make daily life unnecessarily difficult for the disabled or elderly.

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‘Plain cruel’: Vanuatu stops newspaper chief boarding plane home after China stories

Dan McGarry of the Daily Post told at Brisbane airport the Vanuatu immigration service had barred him from flying back to the island country

The media director of a Vanuatu newspaper whose visa renewal was refused this month has been barred from flying home to Vanuatu from Brisbane with his partner.

Dan McGarry, who has lived in Vanuatu for 16 years, applied to have his work permit renewed earlier this year but it was rejected. McGarry believes his visa was refused due to articles he had published about China’s influence in Vanuatu.

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NSW and Queensland fires updates: worst of bushfires season ‘still ahead’, says fire chief – live

Catastrophic fire conditions in New South Wales ease, but dozens of Australian bushfires remain burning. In Queensland, 60 fires are burning, with strong winds and temperatures in mid-30s forecast to make for hazardous conditions on Australia’s east coast

Factcheck: are greens really stopping bushfire hazard reduction?

Open thread: tell us how you’re affected by the fires
Sydney suburb in the pink after surviving bushfire emergency
• If you are in a bushfire affected area stay tuned to your local emergency broadcaster. Full alerts can be found here for NSW and here for Queensland

Residents of Pechey (near Hampton) have been told to leave now, and head towards the New England highway.

“There is a bushfire in Pechey and Hampton and conditions are getting worse,” QFES says. “A fast moving fire is travelling from Grapetree Road towards Deeth Road, Sewell Road, Parker Road, Bush Road and Misty Mountain Road. It is currently impacting Parker Road and Sewell Road. The fire could have on the significant impact on the community.”

LEAVE NOW: Pechey (near Hampton) bushfire as at 1pm Wed 13 Nov: https://t.co/ZLMRe45vEu

Images of Walkers Point, which is also at “leave now”.

Residents at Walkers Point, south of Bundaberg, are being told to evacuate to Woodgate with firefighters battling a large bushfire @abcnews pic.twitter.com/pffLy1elsV

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To the moon and back with the eastern curlew

Ultra-endurance athlete, aerodynamic wonder … and facing extinction. Why the bird who flies 30,000km a year needs Australia’s mudflats

Vote for your favourite in the 2019 bird of the year poll

The ascent is vertical. Up, up and into the jet stream. If the conditions are not right up there it will come back down and wait. But if there is a good tailwind in the right direction it will begin an epic journey that will take it around the curvature of the Earth; from the Arctic Circle to the southern hemisphere.

Using the sun and stars as a compass, and navigating by the Earth’s magnetic field, recognising landmarks, the far eastern curlew will fly nonstop to the Yellow Sea, where it fuels up on the mudflats of north-east China.

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Brisbane man who lured girl from toy section of Kmart to be sentenced

Sterling Mervyn Free molested seven-year-old in bushland before dropping her back at North Lakes shopping centre

A 27-year-old father of two daughters faced a sentencing hearing on Tuesday for sexually assaulting a seven-year-old girl after stalking her in the toy section of Kmart at a shopping centre in Brisbane last year.

Sterling Mervyn Free lured the girl from the Westfield North Lakes shopping centre, molested her in bushland and dropped her back to the centre more than an hour later.

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The Veronicas hit back after being kicked off Qantas plane over bag dispute

Sisters Jessica and Lisa Origliasso say reporting of incident ‘in conflict with video’ evidence, and they will take legal action over ‘intimidating and confusing’ removal from flight

Pop duo the Veronicas have disputed the account of their removal from a Sydney plane over an “incredibly intimidating and confusing” cabin baggage dispute, and are taking legal action.

Sisters Jessica and Lisa Origliasso were asked to leave Qantas QF516, which was bound for Brisbane on Sunday morning, amid an argument with cabin crew.

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Australian bushwalker rescued after crawling for two days with leg ‘clean snapped in half’

Neil Parker said he had to ‘carry his leg’ after breaking it in a six-metre fall down a waterfall at Mount Nebo, north-west of Brisbane in Queensland

A Queensland bushwalker has said he had to “carry his leg” as he crawled for two days to safety after it “clean snapped in half” in a six-metre fall down a waterfall.

Neil Parker, 54, fractured his leg and wrist in the fall on Sunday while walking by himself in Cabbage Tree Creek on Mount Nebo, north-west of Brisbane.

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Intellectually disabled man held in solitary confinement for six years in ‘outrageous’ case

Adrian was held in seclusion 99% of the time between 24 September 2012 and 18 June 2018

Disability advocates have expressed outrage at revelations an intellectually disabled man judged unfit to face criminal charges was effectively detained in permanent solitary confinement for six years.

The case of Adrian, whose real name has been suppressed to protect his identity, is contained in a scathing report by the Queensland ombudsman into the state’s forensic disability services system.

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‘Tear the system to the ground’: Brisbane climate protesters chant, block street – video

Extinction Rebellion protesters blocked the corner of Margaret and William streets in Brisbane on Tuesday. Police have arrested and charged 56 people at climate protests which caused traffic disruptions in Brisbane's CBD. It's the latest in a series of protests by environmental group Extinction Rebellion to hit Brisbane. "Tear the system to the ground," the crowd chants

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Airports across Australia hit with delays due to security outage

Sydney and other airports have experienced delays caused by problems with the electronic smart-gate passport processing

A nationwide security outage believed to be linked to Australian Border Force terminals is causing delays at airports across Australia.

The outage caused delays of between 15 and 30 minutes at airports including Sydney and Brisbane on Monday morning.

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Death in custody: police failed to see Indigenous man no longer needed restraining, coroner says

Shaun Coolwell died in hospital after being handcuffed and injected with the sedative midazolam

Queensland police and paramedics dealing with an Indigenous man during a violent, drug-induced episode failed to recognise the sudden deterioration of his health, a coroner has said.

Shaun Charles Coolwell died in hospital after being sedated and restrained in his sister’s Logan home, south of Brisbane, in October 2015.

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Firefighters haul ass after pet donkey found trapped in septic tank

‘Other than being a bit cold and a bit smelly he still had a full appetite,’ rescuer says

A miniature donkey has caused a stink after falling into a large septic tank, sparking a challenging rescue north of Brisbane.

Firefighters were called to a Morayfield property on Thursday night after its panicked owners called to say their donkey had tumbled into the concrete tank and was wedged firmly inside.

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Queensland girls subjected to female genital mutilation in Somalia, court told

Mother is on trial in Brisbane after girls were allegedly taken from grandmother’s house and subjected to procedure

Two Queensland girls were playing outside their grandmother’s house in Somalia when they were allegedly taken away to have their genitals mutilated, a court has heard.

Their mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is on trial in Brisbane district court.

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Huge crowds attend Invasion Day marches across Australia’s capital cities

Scott Morrison talks of his ancestor’s arrival on the continent, and defends celebration of Australia Day

• Hundreds attend first dawn service to be held on Australia Day

Scott Morrison has said 26 January 1788 was “pretty miserable” for his ancestor, in a speech defending the celebration of Australia Day, while tens of thousands of people joined Invasion Day marches around the country calling for the public holiday to be abolished.

Morrison told a citizenship ceremony in Canberra that his fifth great grandfather, William Roberts, arrived with the first fleet in a group that was “wretched, naked, filthy, dirty, lousy, and many of them utterly unable to stand, or even to stir hand or foot”.

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