The remote Torres Strait islands, have been largely untouched until now, but a new venture launched on Saturday during Reconciliation Week is the first step in opening the region for cashed-up post-pandemic travellers.

Australian’s should brace themselves for more cost-of-living hikes, with Jim Chalmers warning inflation is now running at a “significantly higher” rate than the 5.1 per cent announced in April.

Obstetricians claim they are being treated like the enemy by parents in birthing suites and have linked labour ward tension to a startling rate of doctor suicides and even some preventable baby deaths.

Hollywood legend Tom Hanks has lauded the “joy and zest for life” of Queenslanders in his triumphant return to the Gold Coast for the biggest film event to hit the state in four years.