Stagnant domestic production and a slump in global raw sugar prices require serious action to combat future declines in the $2 billion sugar industry, a report finds.

Celebrity chef Maggie Beer says nothing can forgive the abysmal standard of meals given to some aged care residents as the royal commission into the sector hears people were served meals from trolleys near maggot-infested rubbish bins.

The standard of care provided to an elderly man, often found in soiled pants, at a regional Queensland aged care facility was so appalling even his own granddaughter was too distressed to visit, the royal commission into aged care hears.

Scientists are in a race against time to map "extraordinary and complex" ancient fish traps on one of Australia's most remote islands.

Witnesses say neighbours tried in vain to rescue a man from a burning vehicle after the ute exploded on a Cairns street, describing the scene as "horrific".

Cardwell residents band together to save a large tree that arborists have declared unsafe due to beach erosion during the recent heavy wet season.

Environmental groups say plans to save marine animals from harm and drowning in discarded fishing nets are not being implemented where it is needed the most.

A report by Human Rights Watch says new regulations to tighten the use of chemical restraints on dementia patients has actually normalised the treatment to the detriment of patients.

A high-speed stolen car chase that allegedly included a woman being dragged from her car and a man being threatened with a syringe reignites anger over youth crime in Townsville and prompts demands for action.

An innocuous Facebook post has spurred about 40 people to carry a north Queensland grandmother with multiple sclerosis up a steep mountain so she could fulfil a childhood wish.

Police are called after medical equipment is stripped from the walls of the Earle Haven Retirement Village, where 70 elderly people some bedridden and living with dementia reside.

The operator of a Gold Coast aged care facility is accused of taking money from the bank accounts of residents at the same time they were being evacuated because the centre was closing.

The Saints fall to the ladder-leading Cats in Geelong, the Crows humiliate the Suns by almost 100 points, the Bombers pipped the Kangaroos, while the Hawks and Blues also posted wins.

People still living at a Gold Coast nursing home that was partially evacuated last Thursday are told the facility will be referred to the aged care royal commission, a move backed by operator HelpStreet.

A federal inquiry will examine the crisis at Earle Haven on the Gold Coast, as Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk declares state-owned aged-care homes will have nurse-to-patient ratios fixed.

Arthur Miller faced a demand for almost $4 million for breach of contract the day before his Gold Coast retirement village Earle Haven was abruptly shut, prompting the evacuation of 68 elderly residents, the aged care royal commission is told.

Half of the residents of troubled Gold Coast nursing home Earle Haven were being physically restrained, and 71 per cent received medical restraint, in the weeks before it abruptly closed its doors last month, the aged care Royal Commission hears.

Hawthorn keeps its finals hopes alive by beating premiers West Coast, Geelong remains a chance of claiming the minor premiership, while the Giants, Swans and Kangaroos enjoy victories.

Gold Coast residents will hear the roar of V8 Supercars through the streets of Surfers Paradise until 9:30pm within two years, the Queensland Government announces.

One of the most expensive police cars used in Australia goes up in flames following a chase in north-eastern New South Wales.

A man is taken into police custody in relation to a car that crashed through the front of a house on the Gold Coast early on Sunday morning, leaving a teenage girl trapped inside.

An investigation is underway after two police officers fired their weapons during the dramatic arrest of a 53-year-old man suspected of lighting up to four fires in north Queensland.

After a police car is pelted with bottles, a senior officer says Gold Coast industrial estates are increasingly becoming gathering places for illegal car hoons.

Bystanders have thrown objects at a police car that appears to be attending the scene where cars at Arundel were doing burnouts.

Police say 47-year-old Cameron Martin died from a gunshot wound to the chest before he crashed a white Mercedes in a Gold Coast suburb on Friday night. His business partner and alleged bikie Shane Ross was also shot and found nearby almost three days later.

Shane van Gisbergen is desperate to make up ground on Scott McLaughlin in the race for the Supercars championship, but he forgot about that in the wake of his countryman's frightening crash on the Gold Coast.

The dramatic crash of Scott McLaughlin's Supercar in Surfers Paradise sent a shock absorber flying onto a nearby balcony, wiping out a table but missing two spectators.

Mining giant Adani is being accused of providing false information to Queensland's environment department over land clearing at the site of its proposed Carmichael mine.

A Queensland mother says she experienced a parent's worst nightmare when her car was stolen with her four-year-old son and the family puppy still inside.

The company responsible for Adani's Carmichael coal mine is deep in the red, with accounting experts and its own auditors warning it is surviving only through the promised support of its Indian parent firm.

Fewer than one in 10 pregnant women in Australia have access to what is considered to be the 'gold standard' of maternity care, but one outback Queensland town has adopted the model in a bold move to empower local women and midwives.

Sylvia Wilson and her now late husband wanted to prove a point when they decided to live off the grid and convert their property to solar power.

Intergenerational or 'ageless' playgroups are being rolled out across the country as part of a social experiment connecting young children with aged care residents.

Dog trackers, rangers, farmers and emergency services personnel band together in the search for Merlin, whose "best mate" and owner was killed in a car crash in rural Queensland last week. Searchers say the dog has been spotted a number of times in recent days.