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.

The woman, 32, and man, 24, were reported missing in the Cairns area yesterday after they both failed to show up for work.

A cold dry air mass moving through the state is causing cool mornings in Queensland, with temperatures dropping as low as -4.8 degrees Celsius, and it's forecast to continue throughout the week.

Footage shows a whale struggling to free itself from shark nets off Currumbin, hours before being untangled by rescuers, in the third incident off the Gold Coast in a month.

An endangered marsupial known for mating itself to death disappears from one of its most prominent Queensland habitats.

The President of the Australian Olympic Committee John Coates says South-East Queensland will not win the right to host the 2032 Olympics unless the Gold Coast is involved.

Fire ants are spreading into new areas across south-east Queensland according to a Biosecurity Queensland insider who says the war to eradicate the potential killers is all but lost, a claim vehemently denied by the man tasked with stopping the spread.

Criminologist and former detective Terry Goldsworthy says the move to reduce Queensland's police zones is a key factor behind a rise in the state's crime rates over the past 12 months.

As the congestion issue in south-east Queensland brings traffic to a grinding halt on major roadways and a heightened scrutiny of the public transport system, the ABC takes a look at how commuters are being impacted across the region.

South East Queensland is expected to experience summer-like weather this week due to predicted hotter-than-average temperatures, with Ipswich set to hit 36C and Brisbane 33C.

Fire crews contain a blaze west of Kalbar on Queensland's Scenic Rim, as well as battling bushfires on multiple fronts near Canungra in the Gold Coast hinterland, with the Rural Fire Service saying resources are "stretched to the limit".

One of the region's major dams is already at half capacity and with another dry spring forecast, Seqwater warns mandatory water restrictions could be in place by mid next year.

The Queensland Rural Fire Service says weather conditions indicate there will be an extreme to locally catastrophic fire danger in the Darling Downs, Granite Belt, Maranoa and Warrego today, as thick smoke hangs over the Gold Coast hinterland.

More than 50 bushfires are burning in Queensland amid potentially catastrophic, hot and windy conditions. Emergency warnings are in place for fires near Stanthorpe in the state's south.

An incredible show of community spirit brings locals together in the Gold Coast Hinterland with dozens of Canungra residents rescuing animals from the fire front at nearby Binna Burra.

All fires across New South Wales and Queensland are downgraded to watch and act or advice as nightfall eases conditions somewhat. Look back at out coverage as firefighters battled blazes across two states.

Crews are battling 57 fires across Queensland including one that is out of control on the Gold Coast hinterland, with the QFES declaring the "unprecedented" blazes are just the start of a very severe fire season.

Queenslanders recall the nights in the 60s spent dancing in the hall of the Binna Burra Lodge the same place where hundreds of others have married the love of their life after fire guts the heritage-listed resort.

Authorities and families are on high alert as homes are lost across the state with dozens of fires burning in places including the Gold Coast hinterland at Binna Burra, and Stanthorpe and Applethorpe on the Granite Belt.

Alarming footage shows high winds driving a large bushfire overnight on the Sunshine Coast, where 10 homes have been lost at Peregian Springs and Peregian Beach.

Police are speaking to a number of teenagers over a fire that damaged homes at Peregian Beach overnight, as authorities continue to battle a blaze threatening large areas of the Sunshine Coast. See how events unfolded in our live blog.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is returning early from a trip to Switzerland because of the ongoing bushfire threat, with more than 80 fires burning across the state and a blaze at Peregian on the Sunshine Coast that is still out of control.

Images from the scene of Queensland's recent bushfires capture the devastation as scores of fires sweep across the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast hinterland and the Granite Belt.

The high temperatures and winds that have fanned severe bushfires in southern Queensland ease on Wednesday, but some communities need to stay alert with about 70 blazes still burning. Despite the reprieve, conditions are expected to worsen again on Friday.

After fires tore through parts of Queensland in an earlier-than-expected bushfire season, emergency services are warning of the growing threat to suburban backyards as the weather gets hotter and drier.

Firefighters from South Australia arrive in Queensland to give local crews a rest from battling bushfires, but the break may be short-lived with conditions forecast to get worse in the state later in the week.

Thunderstorms have rolled west across Queensland's southern inland, bringing more rain than expected to the Gold Coast hinterland as well as numerous lightning strikes raising concerns about the possibility of new bushfires.

South-East Queensland's bat population is in crisis as the species faces a mass starvation event which is seeing rescue groups inundated with as many as 50 calls a day reporting deaths and injuries in public spaces and backyards.

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.

Concerned about a spike in drownings on Queensland's beaches most of which occur outside the flags lifesavers have come up with a unique way to get people where they want them.

A jockey who rode War Ends for a year and made numerous attempts to rehome him says she recognised the horse being slaughtered in an abattoir on the ABC's 7.30 program and laments she "failed" him.

A Queensland community was hit hard when seven young people took their own lives in the space of six months. It's now striving to get more support to those in need.

Australia is the skin cancer capital of the world, so you might be surprised to find there are just 16 ultraviolet radiation sensors around the country monitoring the sun's rays.

I had only been in Rockhampton for two hours when I experienced some form of Islamophobia and I'm a Palestinian-Arab-Christian, writes Ryan Al-Natour.

A Queensland miner has created a popular roadside stop with hundreds of travellers pulling over to take a photo with his now-famous family of Minions.

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.

Two men are rescued after being stranded when their six-metre yacht crashed on the shore of a remote island off the Central Queensland coast.

The story of a rare sapphire found in Queensland's Gemfields more than 80 years ago captures the hearts of enthusiasts at a nationally renowned gem festival.

With sales rising and participation in regional Queensland gel ball leagues doubling in some areas, advocates are campaigning to ensure newcomers participate safely.

He grew up behind the famously wonky Ettamogah Pub on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. Now at just 31, Samuel Dale Johnson is a principal singer with one of the world's biggest opera houses.