Townsville, Australia News

THE mining and manufacturing industries may be shedding workers, but more jobs are being created than lost in North Queensland.

THE rising cost of living has forced a growing number of North Queensland families to seek help, as the "working poor" struggle to pay for basic necessities.

A WOMAN who has admitted to setting her unit complex on fire after a neighbour "annoyed" her wants to be released from custody and to move back into the same accommodation.

The Department of Defence says a training exercise underway near Townsville in north Queensland will test a new way Army brigades are structured.

THE state's top judge has called on lawyers to debate the right of accused people to remain silent when questioned by police and then not have that held against them at trial.

MINER and wannabe prime minister Clive Palmer says his party would resume without compensation any asset sold by the Queensland government if it won power in the state.

LNP representatives and candidates from across Queensland have toured Townsville's sporting and convention facilities to help push for a new super stadium and entertainment centre in the CBD, but have stopped short of pledging to make it an election issue.

RED ROCK NOTES by Liz Harvey-Foulds It was more than a decade ago that a group of Red Rock residents got together and decided to form a group to document and celebrate the history of their community.

Staff at Townsville's turtle hospital say there has been a significant drop in the number of turtle strandings in north Queensland.

TOWNSVILLE service stations are putting the brakes on car and petrol thieves, refusing to allow motorists to fill up without pre-purchasing petrol.

DAVID MARK: A failed $10 million program to reduce alcohol-fuelled violence in Queensland has prompted renewed calls for more effective action.

Health experts have warned unless there is serious intervention from State and Federal governments, the rising cost of the city's obesity epidemic could reach $118 million a year.

A leading Queensland maxillo-facial surgeon says Queensland's Drinksafe trial to reduce alcohol-fuelled violence could be successful if the nightclub curfew is brought forward.

EMILY BOURKE: Three years ago, the Queensland Government introduced specialised entertainment, or Drink Safe Precincts, to cut alcohol-related violence and improve community safety.

TOWNSVILLE could be the birthplace of a world-first exhibition celebrating tattoos and their role in shaping contemporary art, if the City Council secures $60,000 in grant funding.

HE may be better known as Baldrick, the character with "a cunning plan" on Blackadder, but Tony Robinson has a plan to share Townsville's unique history with the world.

TOWNSVILLE Hospital's new sub-acute facility is still on track for a mid-2014 delivery, despite the imminent end of federal funding for the nation's sub-acute healthcare services.

A $10 million Queensland government initiative designed to curb alcohol-fuelled violence in the state's biggest nightspots has been labelled a flop.

Cancer Council Queensland has voiced concerns over the lifestyle habits of Townsville residents, fearing locals are on a fast track to preventable diseases.

JAMES Cook University vice-chancellor Professor Sandra Harding has moved to allay fears Townsville will be overlooked in favour of Cairns for a multimillion-dollar innovation precinct.