The largest wind farm in the southern hemisphere has powered up for the first time today.

The massive project a few hours west of Brisbane will produce enough energy to supply 600,000 homes.

"To see it doing what it's meant to be doing, exporting clean, renewable energy to the grid, is such an important achievement," Acciona Energia director Andrew Tshaikiwsky said.

READ MORE: Cases of new disease surge in one state

"They first came to us 12 years ago and we had the attitude of 'we'll believe it when we see it'," landowner Jono Carson said.

That vision was brought to life with 162 turbines now scattered across the hills of the state's granite belt region, each piece transported painstakingly from the port of Brisbane to the bush.

"As far as the turbines go it's good use of this country because you can't farm it but you still run sheep and you can still run goats," Jane Carson said.

The farm covers an area of more than 3600 hectares, with landowners compensated for hosting turbines on their properties.

"Well that's the best thing about it, it's a guaranteed income, we're not relying on the weather," Carson said.

READ MORE: Will the latest bloodshed tip the world into all-out war?

Each blade is 80 metres long and weighs more than 26 tonnes. 

It took the team between two and three days to complete the installation of a single turbine.

From the top tip of the blades to the ground is almost 230 metres, allowing the turbines to be exposed to winds you can't feel on the ground below.

Using those gusts the farm will produce 920 megawatts of power – enough energy to supply 600,000 homes.

It will effectively double the amount of renewable energy being generated by wind farms injected into the grid in Queensland.

The farm was developed by the Spanish company Acciona and the Queensland government's renewable energy generator CleanCo.

It's hoped the new wind farm could help push down power prices by as early as next year.

"This is an enormous milestone and we are looking forward to having more cheap and clean energy coming into the grid to put downward pressure on our power prices," Labor MP Lance McCallum said.

This track ends a seven year journey and is the final addition to his trilogy.

It is the first red warning issued for Otago since MetService started the system in 2019.

One person described their actions as “Disappointing but not at all surprising”.

A group of anti-youth-vaping lobbyists have performed their own nationwide sting.

Australia would benefit from an overhaul of its tax system, including scrapping billions in capital gains and superannuation concessions, according to one of the world's leading economic bodies.

In its yearly report on the Australian economy, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the breaks should be removed in order to ease our high level of personal income tax and company tax rates.

"Tax reforms should target system efficiency and fairness, reducing reliance on direct taxes and high capital costs that hinder growth," it wrote.

READ MORE: Mum of girl killed in buggy crash says jail term for driver a 'slap in the face'

"Tax breaks, including from capital gains tax discount and superannuation concessions, could be phased out to generate a more equitable and efficient tax system."

Those two breaks alone are worth slightly over $70 billion a year – Australians claim about $19 billion in capital gains tax and $52 billion in superannuation concessions.

Capital gains is a particularly hot topic at the moment, following reports last week that Treasury is modelling the cost of a potential overhaul to tax breaks provided to investment property owners.

Often used alongside negative gearing, the capital gains discount was introduced in 1999 and critics say it is one of the leading contributors to surging home prices.

The IMF said it supported a review of those tax breaks, provided it came as part of a wider strategy to tackle the housing prices.

READ MORE: 'I have left the building': Aussie TV star announces her own death

"A comprehensive strategy is essential, focusing on increasing construction worker supply, relaxing zoning and planning restrictions, supporting the built-to-rent sector, expanding public and affordable housing, and reevaluating property taxes (including tax concessions to property investors) and stamp duty to promote efficient land use," it said.

The wide-ranging report also supported the Reserve Bank's current interest rate settings.

READ MORE: Billionaire accused of head-scratching beach theft

It warned the federal government against injecting too much cost-of-living relief into the economy, saying it could risk inflation going in the wrong direction and causing interest rates to stay higher for longer.

But the IMF also welcomed the government's second-straight budget surplus, and said the current economic slowdown will likely be reversed in 2025 on the back of increased growth, improving real wages, and inflation coming back to target by the end of the year.

2 Cheap Cars has now admitted it didn’t do the battery repairs it said it had.

The five documents are not decisive on the benefits of the products.

The mother of a six-year-old girl who was killed in a buggy rollover says the five-year jail term handed to the driver was a "slap in the face".

Olivia Stevens was one of seven children, all aged under 10, who were onboard the buggy without helmets or seatbelts when it crashed on September 11, 2021.

Damien Gibson, 36, was driving the overloaded vehicle on a farm at Rosedale in Victoria's Gippsland region when he took a sharp turn and it rolled.

READ MORE: Buggy victim's family speaks of nightmare after 2021 crash

Olivia was flung from the buggy and then crushed under it.

She sustained critical injuries and was flown to the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne where she died.

The six other passengers, including Gibson's five children, survived with minor injuries.

Gibson pleaded guilty to culpable driving causing Olivia's death after accepting a sentence indication from County Court Judge Richard Maidment.

Gibson watched on a video link from prison as he was sentenced today to five years behind bars.

He will be eligible for parole in just over two years, having already served nearly eight months in custody.

READ MORE: Australians again urged to get out of Lebanon amid fears airport could close

Judge Maidment said it was clear Gibson had been grossly negligent in taking seven unrestrained children on a vehicle designed to carry only four people.

He did not seek permission from Olivia's mother who had left her on a play date while she collected her son from a party, the judge noted.

Gibson also did not provide any of the children with helmets and he performed a sharp turn, knowing the terrain was uneven.

"The consequences of your negligence are tragic," the judge said.

Judge Maidment accepted the loss to Olivia's family was "utterly devastating" but said he needed to avoid giving a crushing sentence to Gibson.

He noted the 36-year-old had no prior convictions and had pleaded guilty, which showed his remorse.

The judge also considered the offending to be at the lower end of seriousness for culpable driving, as Gibson had not endangered other road users.

Olivia's mother Yana Stevens said Gibson's offending was devastating and there needed to be changes to the law to ensure people like him received harsher sentences.

"It's a slap in the face for taking such a precious child, our only daughter, away," she told reporters outside court.

"We literally dropped her off for 20 minutes and we'll never see her again."

Olivia was a bright and sassy girl who believed the best in everyone, Ms Stevens said.

"She knew how to break the most depressed person out of their shell and see the light and beauty in life," Stevens said.

"She used to always say that 'life's all about love, Mum. It's all about love'."

A statue of a pink flamingo, one of Olivia's favourite animals, will be displayed at her old school Gippsland Grammar to ensure the six-year-old's memory lives on.

Australian TV star Fiona MacDonald, best known for hosting It's a Knockout, has died aged 67.

MacDonald battled motor neurone disease for several years and she announced her own death in a heartbreaking social media post.

"My sister Kylie is posting this because I have left the building," MacDonald's posthumous message on Instagram read.

READ MORE: Hundreds of seats secured for Australians to leave Lebanon

https://omny.fm/shows/afternoons-with-sofie-formica/breaking-fiona-macdonald-passes-away-after-battle/embed

"Was very peaceful the boys and Kylie stayed with me to say goodbye. While I've never wanted to die, the thought of leaving my tortured body was a relief."

In her message, MacDonald said the "past few months have been tough" prior to her death.

She said she'd struggled to swallow food and her feeding tube had not worked.

"It went straight in and straight out," she continued.

READ MORE: Toddler survives horror NSW car crash unscathed thanks to car seat

READ MORE: Growers losing thousands accuse authorities of heavy-handed approach to tomato virus

"I have been slowly starving, growing weaker and weaker. I've also developed terrible back pain because my muscles aren't supporting my frame."

The former TV host also said her signature "black humour" had helped during the toughest moments.

She had decided to stop medical intervention shortly before her death and went into hospital for palliative care.

"So let's not call it goodbye as I hope to see you again on the other side," MacDonald said.

"I carry your love and laughter with me and hope you'll remember mine."

As well as hosting the '80s version of the Aussie show It's A Knockout, MacDonald was also a founding member of the children's show Wombat.