Received

Indigenous stories of colonisation will be heard and documented to "free people up from the shame of the past" as part of Queensland's path to a treaty.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk signed a formal pledge on Tuesday to set a truth-telling inquiry within 18 months as recommended by the state's Treaty Advancement Committee.

She says the inquiry will help all Queenslanders understand their history, so they can move forward together.

"We are on the path to understand our past and acknowledge that in some parts our history is hard, but we can't let the past prevent us from building a better future," Ms Palaszczuk said in a speech at the signing ceremony at parliament.

"This is our chance to mark the end of one chapter of this story and begin another, not as an act of government, but as the will of the people."

Treaty Advancement Committee co-chair Mick Gooda said it will be difficult for those involved to share stories about children being removed, being dispossessed of land and the ongoing impacts of colonisation.

However, he believes the inquiry will help lift the burden of shame about the history from all Queenslanders.

"As a matter of fact, I'm of the view that the truth will liberate white people, non-Indigenous people, more than it will liberate us," Mr Gooda said.

"Once you put the truth out there it will free people up from the shame of the past that I just really think affects people, so it's really important to try and get it out there."

An interim body of Indigenous and non-Indigenous representatives will promote truth-telling in institutions such as public libraries, museums, archives and art galleries.

The government has also pledged to pass laws to set up a First Nations Institute to draft a legal framework for treaty negotiations.

A Path to Treaty office will be set up within government to prepare for treaty talks once that framework has been finalised.

The government is open to signing either a single treaty, or individual treaties with different Indigenous groups.

Treaty Advancement Committee co-chair Dr Jackie Huggins said the path to treaty was a moment of solidarity, and a step towards reconciliation and nation-building.

"When First Peoples heal and prosper, we all do," she said.

Queensland is among a number of states working towards Indigenous treaty negotiations.

Victoria passed laws to set up a treaty oversight committee on Tuesday, and the ACT and the Northern Territory are making progress.

South Australia had been working towards a treaty, but efforts stalled under the former Liberal state government.

NSW, Western Australia and Tasmania are not currently working towards a treaty agreement.

The federal government is also planning a referendum on a constitutionally enshrined First Nations voice to parliament in its first term.

The Greens are pushing for a truth-telling commission to support Labor's plans, but the government says its priority is to introduce the Voice.

© AAP 2022

Australia could register its 10 millionth case of COVID-19 by the end of August.

The nation is also closing in on 13,000 deaths from coronavirus since the pandemic began in early 2020.

As of Tuesday, the total number of cases racked up since early 2020 is 9.82 million, including 19,646 recorded in the previous 24 hours with data still to come for the Northern Territory.

The national death toll stands at 12,959, including 73 fatalities announced so far on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Australian Medical Association says the decision to set up a Moderna mRNA vaccination production factory in Melbourne will be an asset in years ahead.

The factory will be based at Melbourne's Monash University under a 10-year deal inked by the Victorian and federal governments.

Up to 100 million mRNA vaccine doses will be produced annually under the manufacturing partnership signed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews on Monday.

Moderna will also set up its headquarters and a regional research centre in Victoria.

The factory will be the only Moderna facility of its kind in the southern hemisphere and the first to be based at a university.

AMA president Steve Robson said Australians may have noticed shortages of critical medications and health supplies recently, due to global supply chain issues.

"The AMA is very interested in improving sovereign capacity to manufacture so many surgical supplies and medications and things right here," Professor Robson said.

"We could be a hub for the Pacific, so the idea that we're manufacturing vaccines here is fantastic and we hope it expands to lots of other critical medical things for Australians' health."

LATEST 24-HOUR COVID-19 DATA:

Victoria: 4858 cases, 20 deaths, 535 in hospital with 18 in ICU

NSW: 7145 cases, 24 deaths, 2141 in hospital with 60 in ICU

Queensland: 3232 cases, 17 deaths, 487 in hospital with 23 in ICU

ACT: 412 cases, four deaths, 138 in hospital with two in ICU

Tasmania: 518 cases, two deaths, 61 in hospital with four in ICU

WA: 2145 cases, one death, 294 in hospital with 11 in ICU

SA: 1336 cases, five deaths, 286 in hospital with 13 in ICU

NT: 209 cases, no deaths, 40 in hospital with two in ICU

© AAP 2022

The NRL will wait until later in the week to make a call on which stadium will host the grand final as talks continue with the Queensland government about a possible shift.

The ARL Commission met again on Tuesday morning to discuss the October 2 decider, with a decision deferred again by a few days.

Negotiations are continuing with both the NSW and Queensland governments, after the announcement two weeks ago that Sydney's suburban grounds would not be upgraded.

"The commission has deferred the decision but it will be made by the end of this week," ARL Commission chair Peter V'landys told AAP on Tuesday.

"We're in good discussions with both the NSW and Queensland government.

"We'll go through all the information and all the details, and then we'll make a decision.

"It's a big deal for us, and it's commercially one of our big-ticket items."

The NRL had initially hoped to make a decision early last week on the venue, before recommencing talks with the NSW government.

It was believed that NSW remained favourite to host rugby league's showpiece event given the 82,500-seat capacity of Accor Stadium.

But there is a thought a better commercial return is possible in Queensland through food and beverage deals, stadium hire and the overall push from the state government.

The league had initially struck a deal with the NSW government in 2018 to keep the grand final in Sydney until 2042.

However that was contingent on an $800 million upgrade of Accor Stadium, which was pushed back due to the pandemic.

The NRL claims a verbal agreement was then reached that the money would be decreased and redistributed to suburban grounds, with $300 million to be spent on Penrith' stadium and upgrades elsewhere.

However the league was left furious when told a fortnight ago the money for other grounds was no longer a priority, with Brookvale, Leichhardt and Cronulla's Pointsbet Stadium all going without.

V'landys has met with new sports minister Alister Henskens since Stuart Ayres' recent resignation from the position, and remains hopeful a deal can be reached on stadiums.

"I am (still hopeful of a compromise)," V'landys said.

"We have been impressed with the new sports minister Alister Henskens. Even if we get nowhere, the good thing about him is he knows the detail."

V'landys comments came as NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet insisted a resolution was close to being reached that would see the grand final stay in Sydney.

"The grand final is an institution in our state. That's where it should remain," he said.

"It shouldn't go to Queensland, it should be in NSW. It's where the majority of the clubs are.

"It's the heart-and-soul of rugby league here in our state, and it shouldn't be taken away from NSW for whatever reason."

© AAP 2022