Toowoomba News

• Doctor fined for book of 'WTF' surgery pictures taken without consent

  An anaesthetist who worked at Toowoomba Hospital has been fined $30,000 for professional misconduct after he included confidential patient information in a self-published book.

• A mouse plague has broken out. Here's what you need to know

  Mice in their millions are eating grain crops, destroying food, and invading houses. Here's how it all started.

• Church pulls out all the stops for its pipe organ restoration

  A restoration project which saw a church organ deconstructed pipe-by-pipe is now ready to play again.

• Organic meat giant Hewitt to buy Nolan Meats for undisclosed sum

  Australia's largest organic meat company has agreed to buy the family-owned meatworks, subject to conditions and regulatory approvals. 

• There's no cure and no treatment for MND, but finally there is hope

  Natalie has seen her body and speech deteriorate; she has lost her independence and dignity — but she says new research into motor neurone disease has given her hope for those diagnosed in the future.

• Major highways left in the dark as copper theft surges in Queensland

  The practice is costing Queensland ratepayers millions of dollars in repairs, and leading to widespread outages to lighting, communications and community sporting facilities.

• 'The sword is still hanging': Farmers in limbo as Inland Rail land sits idle

  For more than a decade, Australians in the path of the proposed Inland Rail corridor have wondered if the nation-building project will force them from their homes. Although the northern section has been scrapped, the legacy of its blueprints is still fuelling anxiety.

• Southern Queensland graziers call for drought declaration

  Graziers start destocking to preserve dwindling feed with rainfall well below average across the region.

• Patchy showers and warm weather forecast across Queensland this weekend

  A trough in the west and onshore winds in the east will bring showers to parts of Queensland, however the driest parts are set to miss out.

• Life sentence for driver in deadly car chase fuelled by jealous rage

  The court in Toowoomba heard Clinton Gordon Sutcliffe was motivated by revenge after discovering his on-again off-again girlfriend had started a relationship with the 22-year-old victim.

• Jury finds accused guilty of car chase murder

  Three years ago, Dale Aaron McKenna was pursued down a dark country road at 180km/h, dying after his ute rolled. Now, the man chasing him has been convicted of his murder.

• 'Nuisance' showers for much of Queensland and 'unseasonable' rain in the west

  The weather bureau says cooler morning temperatures in Queensland have been put on pause, with scattered showers expected across the week.

• Regional sports 'stronger through diversity' as refugees thrive on field

  A hockey program in Toowoomba is helping Yazidi refugees adapt to life in Australia and build a community. 

• Farrer result turns One Nation from protest to genuine electoral threat

  The result in Farrer has made One Nation's attempts to become the natural home for conservative Australians look less like a protest and more like a genuine electoral threat. 

• Cold snap grips Queensland as temperatures drop below zero

  A chilly southern air mass has most of southern Queensland shivering through the coldest morning of the year so far.

• Review finds fire ant eradication can succeed if 'mistrust and misinformation' are fixed

  An independent review finds fire ant eradication is still achievable, but major issues, including poor communication, public mistrust and strategy confusion, must be fixed first.

• Three people die in separate incidents in Toowoomba

  A workplace death, a fatal truck collision on the Toowoomba bypass, and an elderly man killed in a fire have made for a tragic 24 hours in the regional city. 

• Don't assume El Niño warming will bring record heat

  Australia's weather pattern is in a reset, and the weather events happening this month will act like the ingredients to determine the flavour of our climate for the rest of the year. 

• How a remote farming community became Australia's first oil field

  With oil exploration back in the headlines, here's how Australia struck it lucky in the 1960s.

• Grace Grace under fire and project threats scrutinised at CFMEU inquiry

  The commission of inquiry into the CFMEU has this week heard the union had a complex relationship with the former Labor government.

• Firefighters on 'knife edge' tackle dry conditions in Qld's south

  A Queensland Rural Fire Service superintendent says fire conditions in parts of the state are on the edge after very little rain this wet season.

• End of school holidays sees sunshine in south-east Queensland, rainfall in north

  The south-east corner will see slightly warmer temperatures and sunshine until Sunday, however, localised heavy falls are on the cards for parts of the central interior and north-west. 

• Australia's largest cattle feedlot on the market as grain-fed beef surges

  Mort & Co, which fattens hundreds of thousands of cattle on grain before being slaughtered for beef, puts the majority of its assets on the market.  

• North Queensland set for more rain as ex-Cyclone Maila heads for coast

  Beautiful one day, heavy rain, dangerous surf and frosts, the next — Queensland faces a mixed bag of weather throughout the state over the coming days. 

• Great-grandfather named Qld's second-oldest newly admitted lawyer

  A 77-year-old great-grandfather from Toowoomba proves age is no barrier to launching a new career as he is admitted as a lawyer.