PM

Australia's first industrial hemp company is calling for a medicinal cannabis extract to be made immediately available to sick Australians on compassionate grounds, while the new industry transitions. The Federal Government has legalised growing cannabis for medicinal purposes, but patient access is up to each state. Industrial hemp company Ecofibre was forced to relocate to the USA last year because of Australia's tight regulations. But now the company says it's taken the unprofitable decision to return in order to help patients lobby for access to medicinal cannabis.

A Hobart mother and psychologist is organising a petition asking the Tasmanian Government to enable women to have water births in the local public hospital. Access to water births around the country is determined on a hospital by hospital basis, and doctors and midwives are divided on the practice.

The Federal Health Minister is being asked to explain how she bought a property during a trip to the Gold Coast, apparently without any planning. Sussan Ley purchased the $800,000 apartment last year while she was on a taxpayer funded trip with her partner to Queensland. She says that she was there for official business, and that the property acquisition wasn't anticipated. But Labor says there's major holes in her story, and is demanding an explanation.

Mental health advocates are criticising the reaction to the reported hospitalisation of former AFL coach, James Hird. Hird was at the centre of the Essendon supplements scandal, and it's been reported he's been taken to hospital after an overdose.

Continuing our series of PM summer specials, today we're heading into what one man calls the greatest year in music - and in particular the greatest year in rock-n-roll. Before you hit the phones or Twitter, hear him out - David Hepworth is a veteran British rock journalist, and he says without doubt the best year for rock-n-roll was 1971.

One person is reported missing to police every 15 minutes in Australia. The majority are found, but the wait is agonising for the families of those that disappear without a trace. The family of one long-term case is now calling for an inquest as a way to find some closure.

Immigration officials in the Philippines have detained four women travelling to Cambodia to become commercial surrogates, including one who was intending to carry a baby for an Australian client. This comes despite Cambodia shutting down its surrogacy trade last year, after the arrest of an Australian agent. The recruiter and four potential surrogates were promised $US10,000, but were stopped on New Year's Day.

Experts say Queensland's capital city has the potential to generate vast amounts of energy using solar power. New research reveals Brisbane's CBD could save $30 million a year by installing solar panels on major commercial buildings. That could form part of the Queensland Government's 50 per cent renewable energy target by 2030. But the Federal Minister for Northern Australia is not convinced, saying coal remains the most reliable form of energy.

For generations, Stradbroke Island's unspoilt sand dunes have made it a well-loved tourist destination, the rolling dunes have also been the source of extensive sandmining operations, under a range of mining companies since the 1940s. But that era is about to come to an end, bringing with it a massive change to the local economy. Some doubt the island economy can be sustained by tourism alone.

The Indonesian President Joko Widodo has publicly reaffirmed that the relationship between Australia and Indonesia is still a good one. The President has also revealed that the severing of military ties was made not by himself but by Indonesia's military chief, General Gatot Nurmantyo.