Good news

Queensland government drops Wotton appeal

Lex Wotton said he can finally relax after the Queensland government dropped its appeal against a Federal Court ruling that found police had been racist in their response to riots on Palm Island in 2004.

Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath announced the government was withdrawing the appeal on February 28, “having received legal advice about the State’s prospects of success”.

Victoria legalises medicinal cannabis

Victoria has become the first state in Australia to legalise the use of medicinal cannabis. Children with severe epilepsy will be the first to access the drug in 2017, Victoria's Health Minister Jill Hennessy said, after the Access to Medicinal Cannabis Bill 2015 passed parliament.

Volunteers organise clean-up after racist graffiti attack

Swastikas and white power slogans were sprayed onto a number of Indian-owned and other stores and restaurants in West Footscray, Melbourne, in the early hours of March 5. However, within hours a team of volunteers appeared to scrub out Nazi symbols and slogans such as "white power" and "niggers must die" from Barkly Street shop and restaurant windows and fences. Brett Long, who organised the clean-up, said he wanted to send the message that the local community overwhelmingly supported the businesses and those who ran them.

Citizen Science survey protects greater glider forest from logging

VicForests has been forced to abandon planned logging operations in forest on the Errinundra plateau in East Gippsland after a citizen science survey recorded a large population of protected Greater Gliders. Goongerah Environment Centre conducted a late night survey in forest where logging had just commenced. The survey recorded 15 greater gliders in 800m. The Department of Environment will now create a protection zone for the species. The logging rules require a 100 hectare protected area to be zoned where more than 10 greater gliders are detected in a 1km survey transect.

France to pave 1000km of roads with solar panels

Over the next five years, France will install 1000 kilometres of solar roadway using Colas' Wattway solar pavement. The collaboration between Colas, a transport infrastructure company, and France's National Institute for Solar Energy (INES) is sanctioned by France's Agency of Environment and Energy Management. The new Wattway system does not replace the road itself, but is designed to be glued onto the top of existing pavement.

Good news (for a change): State Bank of India won’t finance Adani’s coalmine, and more…

The State Bank of India had reneged on a $1 billion financing agreement for Adani’s Galilee Basin coalmine. The loan was agreed to five months ago to help finance mining giant Adani’s plan to develop the Carmichael mega coalmine in Queensland’s Galilee Basin. This is the 12th global investment bank to publicly walk away from the proposal in recent months.

Good news (for a change)

INDIGENOUS PERUVIANS WIN PAYOUT FROM US OIL GIANT