This archive collects solutions-journalism stories and milestones from Australia — covering advances in conservation, public health, Indigenous rights, clean energy, and more. Each entry highlights progress worth knowing about.
The law, which is expected to come into force in 2021, means that selling, supplying or distributing a “prohibited plastic product” will be illegal. The list of banned items includes plastic straws, cutlery, and drink stirrers, as well as polystyrene cups, bowls, plates, and clamshell containers.
With over 1,000 trees and 20,000 plants on its exterior, the Urban Forest will boast more trees than a nearby park in Brisbane, Australia. The project is hailed as one of the world’s most densely-forested greenery-covered buildings by designer Koichi Takada Architects.
The team from Australia’s Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research found that a certain concentration of honeybee venom could be used to induce death in 100 percent of the cancer cells, while leaving healthy cells largely unharmed
Queensland has become the first state in Australia to criminalize gay conversion therapy, after state politicians voted to make the “highly destructive and unethical” practice illegal. Practitioners found guilty will now face up to 18 months in jail.
Central Sydney, Australia is now entirely powered by renewable energy. By using locally sourced clean energy from wind and solar farms, the region will now see CO2 emissions reduced by around 20,000 tonnes each year. The move will save an estimated A$500,000 per year over the next decade.
Results from the trial were “really, really encouraging”, the project’s lead scientist Daniel Harrison from Southern Cross University said.
The court found Aboriginal people held a special status and were exempt from immigration laws, after it considered the cases of two convicted criminals whom the Government wanted to deport.
Scientists at Monash University in Australia have developed a battery with a capacity five times higher than that of lithium-ion batteries that could lead to drastically cheaper electric cars and grid energy storage.
Australia’s main grid broke through the 50% benchmark for renewable energy in one trading period this Wednesday, the first time that half of net demand had been met by renewables.
Rooftop solar installations have set a new record of 207MW in the month of October, beating the previous benchmark by 15 per cent and with new records set in four different states.
