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- Gayle on IR changes opposed I am so sick and tired of politicians and unions doing their level best to convince us that they all know what each party is ... more
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- Richard on IR changes opposed Same should apply to ALL political advertising and campaigns.Still months away from an election and we are already being ... more
- Richard on New flood tax planned LOL Mick, ARTG's response.DESAL plants, now that was a good investment(NOT).Anna Bligh sacked the water minister because the ... more
- Jeff on IR changes opposed break all the unions! more
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- mick on New flood tax planned "So she spent spent our grandchildren's money (cough) by spending on huge infrastruture projects and placing Queensland into ... more
- David on Waiting for 'little mate' to wake This isn't a good story and my thoughts are with the family. Much more I could say but this isn't the time. more
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- west coast france holidays on Swan's sixth budget Hi This is my earliest blog, it's really a school work for the institution. more
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- Lorraine Bennett on John Miller Passes Away I was keenly watching the documentary this afternoon on the restoration of Brisbane City Hall and saw in the trailer that it ... more
- mick on New flood tax planned This is about continual bad planning and is not our problem greedy councils and developers and useless labor governments, ... more
- Gayle on Swan's sixth budget Bob Lord can you lie straight in bed? your comment, I see France is now in recession- they went austerity measures, just ... more
- ArtG on Swan's sixth budget I await the Opposition's plans to cut the deficit. Having convinced a large proportion of the public that a deficit is a bad ... more
- ArtG on New flood tax planned This is a much better plan than Bligh's. She wanted to drought proof Queensland as she governed during Australia's worst ... more
NQ in the dark
4BC Breakfast: Day turned into night for part of Queensland this morning, because of the solar eclipse.
Brisbane was treated to a partial eclipse, while it was a total eclipse in the far north.
4BC Breakfast Roving Reporter Katherine Hornbuckle joined the crowds watching at Lota.
And Peter and Mary hear from Garry Youngberry of Nine News in Cairns.
News Update
North Qld plunged into darkness
North Queensland was plunged into total darkness when it experienced a total eclipse early on Wednesday.
For two minutes, shortly before 6am, north Queensland went from day to night as the moon crossed between earth and the sun.
It was the first full solar eclipse visible from Australia since 2002 - and that was only in the nation's south.
About 60,000 people travelled to Cairns and parts north to watch the solar spectacle.
Hot air balloons full of astronomy lovers dotted north Queensland's skies.
Thousands of spectators screamed in awe as they witnessed the eclipse.
Dr Stuart Ryder, from the Australian Astronomical Observatory, said it took the moon about an hour to pass from first contact, when it begins to cross the sun's path, to totality, when the sun is completely obscured.
During those few minutes of totality, it looks like a moonlit night.
Indigenous astronomy expert Duane Hamacher was up on a hilltop near the Cairns Airport to watch the celestial spectacle.
"This is spectacular," Mr Hamacher told AAP.
Many indigenous groups, including in Arnhem Land were watching the event which has deep spiritual meaning for them.
"Most Aboriginal cultures believe the sun is female and the moon is male," Mr Hamacher said.
"Some believe the sun is in love with the man but he does not reciprocate these feelings so the sun chases him around the sky.
"On rare occasions, she manages to grab him and in a jealous rage tries to kill him but he convinces the spirits that hold up the sky to save him, which they do."
The next solar eclipse to be visible from Australia is expected in May next year, but it will only be an annular eclipse (where the sun is still visible around the edges of the moon).
Spectator Ben Woodward said the temperature dropped, the sky went darker and birds went quiet when the eclipse reached totality.
"It was an eerie feeling and the temperature dropped but the sky didn't go completely dark. It looked like dusk," Mr Woodward, from Cairns Wildlife Dome.
"The view was obstructed by a large cloud but there were moments where you could see the eclipse occurring."
He said a lot of cameras had been positioned in the wildlife park to record how the animals reacted.
"Several wildlife keepers have said a lot of the birds fell asleep."
