Category Archives: Queensland

‘We’ll be strong for our girl’: mother of Queensland woman allegedly set on fire in murder attempt speaks out

Posted on by

Renata Edward Manning has been accused of attempting to kill Destiny Otton-Rakuraku and assaulting another woman

The family and friends of a woman allegedly set on fire by a man accused of trying to murder her say they have been left numb and traumatised.

Destiny Otton-Rakuraku, a 34-year-old support worker and mother-of-two, remains in hospital with serious injuries after the alleged attack on Saturday.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Reporter leaves Nine after reaching confidential settlement – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

Lambie says Labor doing ‘a fair bit of clean up’ from nine years of Coalition

Asked about polling showing Peter Dutton had drawn level to Anthony Albanese as preferred PM, and whether this could be attributed to Dutton’s stance on law and order, Jacqui Lambie responded:

It hasn’t got any worse or better, I can assure you. You didn’t get much out of him after nine years, but if people want to fall back into that and go, well, you know, Labor’s had three years and that’s all we’re going to give them, and you want to go back to the good old days – which I wouldn’t say were the good old days under the Liberal National party – then be my guest.

It’s not just about the last three years in government, it’s probably about the last 10. So have a look at who had control of that for nine years beforehand.

Because quite frankly, I think Labor’s doing a fair bit of clean up. Labor’s also put a lot of things in which you will not see coming to fruition until the next three years.

Continue reading...

Two teenagers die after Sunshine Coast waterfall accident and failed rescue attempt

Posted on by

Seventeen-year-old girl fell off waterfall at Queensland’s Wappa Falls and 17-year-old boy died after jumping in to help her

Two teenagers have died after an accident at a waterfall on the Sunshine Coast.

A 17-year-old girl fell off a waterfall at Queensland’s Wappa Falls about 2.30pm on Sunday and a 17-year-old boy jumped into the water to help her when she did not resurface, emergency services said.

Continue reading...

Man charged with attempted murder after allegedly setting woman on fire at home south of Brisbane

Posted on by

Premier says alleged Kingston domestic violence incident has ‘rocked’ Queensland as woman, 34, remains in hospital

A Queensland man has been charged with attempted murder for allegedly setting fire to a woman in a horrific act of domestic violence in a home south of Brisbane.

After being treated by paramedics at the scene in the Logan suburb of Kingston on Saturday morning, the 34-year-old woman was rushed to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s hospital in a serious condition. Police say she sustained serious burns.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Wild NSW weather expected to ease as WA’s Pilbara region braces for cyclone

Posted on by

Cleanup continues in parts of NSW as tropical low threatens heavy rain between Port Hedland and Ningaloo

The skies above New South Wales are expected to clear this week, bringing relief to thousands who have been left sitting in the dark as massive storms swept the state and knocked power offline.

The Bureau of Meteorology forecast for the NSW capital and parts of the state suggests calmer skies in the week ahead, with light winds and a chance of a thunderstorm over Sydney on Tuesday.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Australia news live: relief for Sydney morning commuters as train unions ordered to halt action; man charged over death threats to Jewish group

Posted on by

First charge by AFP’s Special Operation Avalite established in December. Follow today’s news headlines live

Richard Marles will become the first minister to visit Kiribati in almost two years, AAP reports.

The deputy prime minister and defence minister is travelling to Kiribati for high-level talks with the nation’s re-elected government, which closed its country’s borders in 2024 while national elections were held.

Continue reading...

Human rights report lashes Australia’s ‘diabolical’ asylum seeker treatment and ‘appalling’ youth crime laws

Posted on by

Latest world report by Human Rights Watch describes Australia as a ‘vibrant democracy … marred by some key human rights concerns’

Australia’s “diabolical” treatment of asylum seekers and youth crime has worsened, a global human rights advocacy body has warned, urging voters to push back on leaders politicising the issue for gain.

Human Rights Watch’s (HRW) latest world report has lashed Australia for going backwards on children in the criminal justice system in 2024, referencing the Northern Territory’s decision to reintroduce spit hoods for youth detainees and the continued use of watch houses to detain children in Queensland.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

New weather system to strike eastern Australia with strong winds and rain

Posted on by

Eastern NSW, particularly northern rivers, and Gold Coast at high risk for severe thunderstorms and winds on Thursday, BoM forecasts

Persistent rain and strong winds will sweep across New South Wales into the weekend, the Bureau of Meteorology predicts, with parts of Victoria and south-east Queensland also likely to be affected.

Angus Hines, a senior meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology, said Sydney’s weather could shift from storms to a “dreary” mix of wind, rain and cloud. It would be “persistently windy” and “quite chilly”, he said.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Accused Queensland torturer allegedly poisoned one-year-old and posted videos seeking donations

Posted on by

Police allege woman, 34, filmed girl in ‘immense distress’ and used videos to ‘entice monetary donations and online followers’

A 34-year-old Queensland woman has been arrested and charged after allegedly poisoning a one-year-old girl and posting videos of her in what police describe as “immense distress and pain” in order to solicit donations and build an online following.

Police laid charges, including torture, against the Sunshine Coast woman on Thursday, on the back of what they said were extensive investigations after concerns were raised by medical staff from a hospital in Brisbane’s south while the child was admitted.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Queensland paedophile Ashley Paul Griffith to appeal against life sentence

Posted on by

Former childcare worker, 46, given a non-parole period of 27 years in October after pleading guilty to hundreds of sexual offences, will argue jail time is ‘manifestly excessive’

One of Australia’s worst paedophiles is appealing against his life sentence on the grounds that it is “manifestly excessive”.

Ashley Paul Griffith, a former childcare worker, was given a non-parole period of 27 years in October after pleading guilty to hundreds of sexual offences spanning almost 20 years.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. The crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. In an emergency, call 000. International helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org

Continue reading...

Coles to stop selling kitchen knives in supermarkets across Australia after Ipswich worker stabbed

Posted on by

Decision comes after alleged assault on 63-year-old Claudia Campomayor Watt on Monday

Coles will stop selling kitchen knives after the stabbing of one its employees in a south-east Queensland supermarket – an alleged assault that prompted the state’s premier to promise further crackdowns on youth crime.

Claudia Campomayor Watt, 63, was allegedly stabbed in the back on Monday while working at a Coles in Ipswich’s Yamanto Central shopping centre. The knife was taken from the supermarket’s shelves.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Australia news live: delays up to 70 minutes on Sydney trains as industrial action begins; Hume says Coalition would cut ‘bloated bureaucracy’

Posted on by

‘Passengers should expect delays, service cancellations and large service gaps’ across Sydney today, NSW TrainLink warns. Follow today’s news live

Wong ‘absolutely confident’ government can work with Trump as US president

Moving to another topic, Penny Wong was asked about her invite to Donald Trump’s inauguration in the US, and responded:

Donald Trump has been elected President of the United States, and I’m honoured, on behalf of the country, to have been invited to his inauguration.

This includes humane treatment and the right to a fair trial. So that is their obligation, [and] we will look at the facts when they have been ascertained.

But I want to be clear, all options are on the table. Those options include expelling the ambassador and recalling Australia’s ambassador in Russia … I need, as the foreign minister, to identify and ascertain the facts beforehand.

Continue reading...

Australia news live: SpaceX debris disrupts Qantas flights from Sydney to South Africa

Posted on by

Follow today’s news live

Rowland reacts to number of women preselected by Liberal party to replace retiring MPs

Michelle Rowland was also asked about the fact just one woman has been preselected to replace eight Liberal MPs who are retiring at the next election. Is she disappointed by this?

Clearly, Peter Dutton talks a big game when it comes to these issues, but the reality is borne out by the fact that they continue to overlook women for public office … For my mind, that says everything about Peter Dutton being stuck in the past, just as he’s stuck in the past around the national broadband network, his response to this announcement is to call it a joke, which is an insult to regional communities.

Continue reading...

Boy, 13, charged with attempted murder as Coles worker fights for life after alleged Queensland stabbing

Posted on by

Woman, 63, allegedly stabbed in the back while working at supermarket in Ipswich’s Yamanto Central shopping centre

A 13-year-old boy has been charged with attempted murder after an alleged stabbing of a Coles employee.

Police allege the teenager approached the 63-year-old woman while she was working at the supermarket in Ipswich’s Yamanto Shopping Centre, south-west of Brisbane, and stabbed her in the back with a knife before attempting to flee the scene.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Mystery syndrome killing rainbow lorikeets and flying foxes leaves scientists baffled

Posted on by

‘The animals that don’t die need total nursing care,’ wildlife rescuer says, ahead of a potential spike in cases in coming weeks

Thousands of rainbow lorikeets and hundreds of flying foxes have been hospitalised in Queensland in the past year with a mysterious paralysis that can affect the animals’ ability to fly, swallow and even breathe.

Lorikeet paralysis syndrome has struck birds in Queensland and New South Wales since at least 2012, and a similar syndrome was identified in flying foxes five years ago.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Stormy, hot weather forecast for most of Australia with flash flooding risk in NSW and Queensland

Posted on by

BoM says expected storms in Brisbane and severe thunderstorms and heavy rain in Sydney due to lingering north-easterly winds

A stormy and hot weekend is in store for most of Australia with tempestuous weather continuing in the north and along the east coast, while some parts of the country swelter through dry conditions and severe heatwaves.

Central and south-east Queenslanders were warned that widespread severe thunderstorms on Saturday may bring large hail, damaging winds and heavy rainfall with the threat of flash flooding, while temperatures were expected to climb into the mid-40s in the west of the state.

Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads

Continue reading...

‘We want the whole truth’: residents of Queensland city plagued by foul odours fear inquiry won’t clear the air

Posted on by

After years of enduring fetid smells from waste plants, some in Ipswich are sceptical of a freshly announced inquiry into the health impacts

Residents of a city who have endured years of noxious odours from waste plants are divided over the announcement of an inquiry into the health impacts.

For the last six years, residents of Ipswich, southwest of Brisbane, have been complaining of smells they described as raw sewage, ammonia, ethanol, rotting compost, sour milk and decaying animal bodies.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Australia weather: rainy week forecast for Sydney and Brisbane – but BoM says summer isn’t over yet

Posted on by

Bureau of Meteorology says showers and storms a regular feature of Australian summer but warm and dry periods still to come

Showers are expected to continue for Sydney and Brisbane throughout much of the coming week but summer isn’t over yet, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

In fact, the senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said showers and storm activity were a regular feature of the Australian summer, especially for northern Australia, as well as south-east Queensland and eastern New South Wales.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Man extradited to Queensland from NSW over alleged 1997 murder of former partner initially ruled as suicide

Posted on by

Keith Lees charged with murdering Meaghan Rose whose body was found at the base of cliffs at Mooloolaba

A 72-year-old man has been extradited to Queensland and charged with the alleged murder of his former partner almost 28 years ago.

Keith Lees was arrested in Dural, in Sydney’s north-west, last week after spending about 18 months on the run and was handed over to Queensland police on Thursday.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Number of children under 14 in adult watch houses in Queensland rises 50% in 12 months

Posted on by

Report to parliament states watch houses are an ‘inadequate place to keep young people overnight’ and are ‘harmful and traumatising’

The number of children aged 13 or under in Queensland’s adult watch houses has increased by 50% in 12 months, according to new statistics.

The statistics – which were included in a paper tabled by the Office of the Public Guardian in Queensland parliament on Tuesday – showed 120 children aged between 10 and 13 spent at least one night in a police watch house in 2023–24.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...