Some of the poorest communities in Australia paying double prices for basic items like nappies and bananas, a parliamentary inquiry has heard.

A proposed $4 million waste-to-energy incinerator, which would turn non-recyclable items into electricity, has residents at Ipswich, west of Brisbane, up in arms over concerns it will encourage people to create more waste, rather than recycle it.

The loss of forest, especially pine plantations, means a cloud of economic uncertainty hangs over Tumbarumba in southern NSW.

A surge of arrivals to Queensland face waits at the border, a day after the state lifted coronavirus travel bans on most interstate visitors.

Ockert Le Roux is one of the Limestone Coast's most in-demand photographers, but he's never had a formal lesson, works in forestry full-time and takes 20 per cent of photos on his phone.