Hannah Dowling

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has called on Queensland and the other states to drop their testing requirements and free up testing resources for symptomatic people and close contacts of confirmed COVID cases.

While the federal government, and most state governments, have committed to keeping their borders open due to vaccine milestones already having been met, a new survey suggests consumers remain unconvinced.

The New Zealand government has delayed its planned restart of quarantine-free travel for its citizens and residents until the end of February, due to the current Omicron outbreak.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce announced the new program, dubbed the Aviation Recovery Framework, on Monday, and said it noted the significant contribution of a strong regional aviation sector in supporting economic prosperity throughout the nation.

The ATSB has commenced an investigation after a light plane crashed into the sea near Redcliffe in northeast Brisbane shortly after takeoff on Sunday.

Rex’s first Sydney to Brisbane flight has taken off, completing the airline’s long-awaited goal of servicing the lucrative ‘golden triangle’ of Melbourne-Sydney-Brisbane.