ABC News: Top Stories

Queensland's auditor-general says the Drinksafe program to reduce alcohol-fuelled violence appears to have been a costly failure.

The National Parks Association of Queensland (NPAQ) says new laws will harm the state's parks and reserves.

Queensland's auditor-general Andrew Greaves has released a damning assessment of the way gambling taxes are distributed to the state's community groups.

The Queensland Government says it will build 10 new schools in "growth hot spots" across the state's south-east, as nine others fight to stay open.

Environment groups have condemned changes to Queensland's land clearing laws.

A Queensland Health official has confirmed up to 400 people have been exposed to a measles virus brought to Australia from Thailand.

Queensland researchers could be on the verge of a non-invasive treatment for the most common type of skin cancer.

Police are investigating the bashing of a lifeguard on Queensland's Gold Coast.

Queensland Parliament's ethics committee has put a hold on an investigation into Redcliffe MP Scott Driscoll.

The family of a young boy who was thrown from a carnival ride in south-east Queensland say he is breathing by himself after being taken off a ventilator.

A new five-star hotel will be built on the site of Brisbane's old courts complex.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has dismissed the Federal Government's budget pledge for Brisbane's Cross River Rail plan.

Meanwhile Griffith MP Kevin Rudd says the State Government has been caught out playing politics with the federal funding offer.

Queensland Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk says a flood tax would fly in the face of the State Government's promise to reduce the cost of living.

Dave Taylor is seeking a downgrade of a dangerous contact charge, while Krisnan Inu is again on the sidelines after accepting a two-week ban.

Police may have a new lead in the search for a couple missing in central Queensland.

The country's largest beef producer Australian Agriculture Company (AACo) has sold three massive properties in central Queensland, as part of a plan to export more beef to Asia.

A program that removes old fishing nets from oceans shuts down at the end of June due to a lack of funding.

The Lions will be without Daniel Merrett for three weeks after he was banned for a sling tackle on Essendon's Michael Hurley.

Santos says it will begin assessing environmental damage from an oil leak in Queensland's far south-west.

Prison officers have returned to work at the Southern Queensland Correctional Centre but have warned of more strike action if their pay demands are not met.