Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au
Archive for January, 2019
Qld big wet causes flooding, landslips
Residents in Townsville have been evacuated after a landslip threatened homes while further south four communities have been told to head to higher ground. January 31, 2019 Queensland’s big wet continues to dump torrential rain in the state’s north, as flash flooding and landslips force more people from their homes. A disaster situation has been […]
I was just taking selfies with her: Qld MP
A Queensland MP facing expulsion from his party says harassment claims against him are “utter crap” and he’s done nothing wrong. January 31, 2019 An embattled Queensland MP facing expulsion from the LNP insists he just took a few selfies with a teenager, but his party leader says reports of his behaviour made her skin […]
Harassment claim sickening: Frecklington
Allegations against a Queensland MP facing expulsion from his party made his leader’s skin crawl when she heard them, she says. January 31, 2019 Queensland LNP leader Deb Frecklington says Whitsunday MP Jason Costigan doesn’t have the morals to be in the party and allegations that could see him expelled made her skin crawl. Ms […]
North Qld begins assessing flood damage
The flooded community of Bluewater may be in for another drenching, after the Bureau of Meteorology says another 200mm of rain could fall in the area. January 31, 2019 Residents in far north Queensland are assessing the damage after flash floods submerged homes and swept away cars. Properties were inundated by more than a metre […]
Teens remain critical after Qld car crash
Three teenage boys injured after a high-speed car crash on Tamborine Mountain in the Gold Coast hinterland remain in a critical condition. January 31, 2019 The lives of three teenage boys hang in the balance after their car flipped at high-speed and crashed through a fence in the Gold Coast hinterland. The 16-year-old driver lost control […]
Homes go under in Queensland floods
Flooding in far north Queensland has forced people from their homes as a creek burst its banks following torrential rain. January 30, 2019 Residents have been forced to flee to higher ground in far north Queensland after floodwaters submerged homes and swept away sheds. Houses were inundated by more than a metre of water after […]
Rescues under way as homes go under in Qld
Flooding in far north Queensland has trapped several people in their homes, with residents reporting a tractor is floating. January 30, 2019 Residents are being forced from their homes and rescues are underway amid rising floodwaters in far north Queensland. Two people and a dog are among those trapped in houses at Bluewater, near Townsville, […]
Five teens injured in Queensland car crash
Five teenage boys have been injured after a high-speed car crash on Tamborine Mountain in the Gold Coast hinterland. January 30, 2019 Two teenage boys have critical injuries and another is in an induced coma after their car flipped and crashed at high-speed in the Gold Coast hinterland. The 16-year-old driver lost control of the car […]
Roads remain cut by north Qld floods
Travellers can expect lengthy delays on the Bruce Highway after heavy rain in north Queensland cut the vital artery while four campers had to be rescued. January 30, 2019 Queensland’s Bruce Highway remains cut in multiple places after the heavy rain that caused the Daintree River’s record-breaking flood pushed south dumping more heavy rain and […]
New weapon in fight against drought, fires
Australian scientists have developed a powerful new tool to predict drought and bushfire risk. January 29, 2019 Drought and bushfire risk may soon be predictable months in advance, giving Australian forecasters a powerful new tool in the battle against our warming climate. Using data from multiple satellites orbiting the earth, scientists at The Australian National […]
Flooding cuts north Queensland roads
Road and rail links north of Cairns have been restored after heavy rain, but the weather system is now causing traffic issues further south. January 29, 2019 Travellers can expect lengthy delays on Queensland’s Bruce Highway after the heavy rain that caused the Daintree River’s record-breaking flood pushed south and cut the vital traffic artery. The […]
Two deaths at Rockhampton home suspicious
Forensic experts are scouring a Rockhampton home after the discovery of two bodies with significant injuries in the central Queensland city. January 29, 2019 Queensland police are treating the deaths of a man and woman found with significant injuries in a bedroom at Rockhampton as suspicious. A crime scene was declared after the bodies were […]
Tributes flow for killed Qld paramedic
A paramedic killed in north Queensland when his ambulance crashed on the way to an emergency was a dad with two young children. January 29, 2019 A Queensland paramedic and father of two killed when his ambulance crashed on route to an emergency had touched many hearts in his life and work. Craig McCulloch, 32, […]
North Qld flooding eases, more rain on way
Residents cut off when the Daintree River reached a record flood peak have had road and rail links restored but heavy rains look set to return to the region. January 29, 2019 The threat of flooding has eased in far north Queensland but the weather system that caused the Daintree River’s record-breaking flood looks set […]
Qld paramedic dies responding to emergency
A paramedic has been killed after he lost control of his ambulance on his way to help with an emergency in north Queensland. January 28, 2019 Queensland Ambulance Service has had its “most tragic day” when paramedics attended one their own after an ambulance racing to an emergency crashed killing the driver. The 32-year-old paramedic […]
Links to far north Qld reopen after flood
Residents cut off when the Daintree River reached a record flood peak have had road and rail links restored. January 28, 2019 Road and rail links to far north Queensland have reopened after hundreds of people were cut off by record-breaking flooding along the Daintree River. The river peaked at close to 12.6 metres on […]
Cyclone developing in far north Queensland
A strengthening tropical low is expected to bring heavy rain and gales to Queensland’s far north, and could develop into a cyclone, forecasters say. January 25, 2019 A tropical low over far north Queensland is expected to intensify into a cyclone and head south. The strengthening weather system is sitting over Cape York Peninsula and […]
Girl savagely bitten by goanna in Qld
It took two people to wrestle a goanna off an eight-year-old girl after it attacked her at a beach south of Brisbane. January 24, 2019 A young girl is in hospital with a “nasty” wound after a goanna savagely attacked her at a Queensland beach and refused to let go of her foot. It took […]
Driver uses stolen car to ram Qld cop
A Queensland police officer has significant injuries after three people in a stolen car deliberately drove into him in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane. January 24, 2019 A police officer is lucky to be alive after three people in a stolen car ran him down west of Brisbane. The officer spotted the vehicle running a red […]
Possible cyclone for far north Queensland
A low-pressure system is expected to bring heavy rain to Queensland’s far north and could develop into a cyclone, forecasters say. January 24, 2019 An erratic low-pressure system sitting over far north Queensland could develop into a cyclone from Friday. The weather system is sitting over Cape York Peninsula and is expected to develop further […]
Driver uses stolen car to ram Qld cop
A Queensland police officer has significant injuries after three people in a stolen car deliberately drove into him in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane. January 24, 2019 A police officer is lucky to be alive after three people in a stolen car ran him down west of Brisbane. The officer spotted the vehicle running a red […]
Violence prompts Qld hospital review
A nurses’ lobby group has called on a Brisbane hospital to improve security after staff reported being exposed to violent patients. January 23, 2019 Poorly trained security staff at one of Queensland’s biggest hospitals aren’t able to cope with violent patients and could be dumped amid concerns they are putting nurses in danger. The state’s […]
Bats likely culprits of Qld power mystery
Queensland cane growers plagued by a summer of mysterious power outages may have found the culprits – a colony of fruit bats. January 22, 2019 A colony of fruit bats is believed to be behind a spate of mysterious power outages plaguing Queensland sugar cane growers. The disruptions have played havoc with pumped irrigation systems […]
Police probing suspicious Qld bushfire
A suspicious bushfire has ravaged a Queensland island community and left police hunting an arsonist. January 22, 2019 Police are hunting for an arsonist after a suspicious blaze scorched a Queensland island community and left wildlife dead. Senior Sergeant Peter Thompson said on Monday the four-day blaze had been deemed suspicious. The bushfire began on […]