Category Archives: Queensland

Queensland police integrity unit ‘unlikely’ to be established by recommended deadline

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Exclusive: timeline for creation of body to end practice of police investigating police in doubt as state government mulls options

A critical recommendation to stop police investigating police is “unlikely” to be fulfilled by the 18-month deadline set out by an inquiry that heard evidence of racism, sexism and misogyny within the Queensland police service.

The commission of inquiry into police responses to domestic violence in 2022 unearthed shocking evidence including that QPS’s “broken” internal complaints system allowed discrimination to go unchecked.

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Murray Watt says compounding weather events the ‘new reality’; girl hospitalised in K’gari dingo attack – as it happened

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Melbourne: two suspected arson attacks could be linked to crime group conflicts, investigators say

Two suspected arson attacks that destroyed a Melbourne tobacco shop destroyed by fire could be linked to ongoing violent conflict between crime groups, investigators say, AAP reports.

In Spain, improved public understanding of the dangers of heatwaves, coupled with a national heatwave plan, has helped save lives. We should consider adopting a framework for alerts and communications here that builds on Seville’s heatwave naming approach.

Heatwaves have killed more people in Australia than any other natural disaster since 1900, and without sustained and ambitious policies to improve our resilience to extreme heat the challenge will get even harder.

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Wieambilla shootings inspired ‘true threats’ against public figures by accused US man, court hears

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Donald Day Jr made serious threats to kill others after allegedly encouraging deadly Queensland shootings, prosecutors say

An American conspiracy theorist arrested in connection to religiously motivated shootings by an Australian family in Queensland later used the killings to bolster his alleged threats against public figures, United States prosecutors have said.

Donald Day Jr, 58, was arrested in December 2023 by the FBI in Arizona on two counts of “interstate threats” following the December 2022 fatal shootings in Wieambilla, Queensland.

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Queensland’s Paradise Dam to be replaced 20 years after it was constructed due to damaged wall

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Queensland government says concrete issues mean wall can’t be repaired as planned so new dam will be built to provide irrigation water for agriculture

A huge irrigation dam near Bundaberg in Queensland will have to be completely rebuilt – costing billions of dollars – after an expert report found the 20-year-old wall couldn’t be repaired.

Paradise Dam was built in 2005 using a novel concrete construction method. In 2019, it was found to be unsafe, and the wall’s height was reduced by 5.8 metres, meaning the dam held just 42% of its original design capacity.

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Queensland weather: flood-affected far north could be battered with more heavy rain as monsoon approaches

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BoM forecasts show communities hit hard by recent floods may see more wild weather and flash flooding in coming days

Residents of far north Queensland still recovering from the devastation wreaked by ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper could be hit by more heavy rain from a monsoon trough over coming days, the Bureau of Meteorology has warned.

There is a chance the monsoon trough may develop over the Gulf of Carpentaria by Thursday, bringing with it thunderstorms and potential flooding to the east coast and north Queensland, according to the BoM.

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Steven Miles says Queensland crime is not ‘worsening’ as new data shows spike in assaults and domestic violence

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Queensland premier rejects opposition’s interpretation of numbers, as the total crime rate remains below mid-2000s levels

The Queensland premier, Steven Miles, says crime is “not clearly worsening” after the release of new police data that showed significant spikes in assaults and domestic violence offending.

The state opposition and several media reports have called the crime data the worst in two decades – highlighting raw numbers that showed more total offences committed in 2023 than any other year since 2000.

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PM flags consideration of dedicated force for natural disaster responses amid climate crisis

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On recent floods in Victoria and Queensland, Albanese said Australian defence force was a vital asset but that future recovery mitigation may need a re-think

Anthony Albanese and the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, say a re-think of disaster recovery and flood mitigation may be needed due to climate change, with at least 26 homes inundated in the state’s flooding.

Across Victoria, 61 emergency warnings remained in place on Tuesday afternoon as Mooroopna and Shepparton, in the state’s north, brace for high and moderate flooding in the coming days.

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Queensland farmers call for probe into price gouging after premier writes to grocery giants

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Peak body says farmers aren’t getting ‘fair value’ as Steven Miles demands answers from supermarkets on overcharging claims

A peak body representing Queensland farmers has increased pressure for an inquiry into price gouging after the state’s premier wrote to the big supermarket chains demanding answers over a “widening gap” between the prices farmers receive and those customers pay.

The Queensland premier, Steven Miles, sent a letter to the CEOs of Coles, Woolworths, IGA and Aldi on Friday telling them about his “growing concern” about the disparity between checkout prices and the value farmers receive for their stock.

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Labor ‘not giving up’ on republic push – as it happened

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Liberal senate leader and shadow foreign minister Simon Birmingham says a reported bomb threat against a person flying the Palestinian flag in Botany “has no place in our nation”.

He wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

Australia is a democratic nation of free speech. Whether driven by disagreement, intolerance or Islamophobia this act has no place in our nation.

Whatever anyone’s views about flying the Palestinian flag at this time, this is illegal and reprehensible behaviour to be condemned.

ENOUGH! TAKE DOWN FLAG! ONE CHANCE!!!

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Victoria weather: warnings of further rain amid evacuations and dozens of flood rescues

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Parts of Seymour and Yea subject to evacuation orders as BoM forecasts more intense rain and wild weather

Residents in north-eastern Victoria are bracing for further flooding in the coming days, after heavy rainfall inundated the state and forced two towns to evacuate.

An evacuation order was issued for parts of the Goulburn Valley town of Seymour, in central Victoria, shortly before noon on Monday, before similar orders were put in place for sections of nearby Yea.

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Government to subsidise $79 flights to Cairns from across Australia to kickstart cyclone recovery

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Qantas and Jetstar to offer special airfares, with accommodation deals to come, as Queensland premier insists region is ‘open for business’ after Cyclone Jasper

Images of Tropical Cyclone Jasper’s devastating impact on far north Queensland may have driven away tourists during peak season.

But the Queensland premier, Steven Miles, insists the region is “open for business”, making a $5m pitch to lure visitors back.

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Man with black belt argues chokehold is not strangulation under Queensland domestic violence laws

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Potential ‘loophole’ in state’s non-lethal strangulation laws could be closed by a statutory definition similar to that used in Western Australia, experts say

Domestic violence experts have raised concerns about a potential “loophole” in Queensland’s non-lethal strangulation laws, after a man argued in court he had not restricted a woman’s breathing when he executed a chokehold designed to cut off the blood flow to her brain.

The state made choking and strangulation a standalone offence in 2016, saying at the time that the act was “a pivotal moment that reveals an escalation in the seriousness of the violence committed against a person”. Research shows that domestic victims of non-lethal strangulation are seven times more likely to be subsequently killed.

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Snakes in a drain: spotted black snake found in Queensland public toilet

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Expert says if you see a snake you should leave it alone and call for a professional catcher

When Tennille Bankes walked into a toilet cubicle in Goondiwindi, Queensland, she was greeted by the scaly tail of a spotted black snake peaking out beneath a closed lid.

The wildlife carer and snake catcher was called by police to the public bathroom after a local, surprised by the reptile, summoned them for help.

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Alleged vigilantes charged with assaulting and restraining boys near Cairns

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Two men, who have been denied bail, claim three boys were trespassing in Mareeba when they allegedly assaulted and handcuffed them

A pair of alleged vigilantes have been charged with assaulting and handcuffing three boys they believed to be trespassing in an industrial area in Mareeba, near Cairns.

A 36-year-old man and a 27-year-old man, both from Biboohra, have been denied police bail over the incident, involving three boys aged 12 to 14 on 23 December.

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East coast weather: Victoria and NSW brace for heavy rain as more storms forecast for Queensland

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Dozens rescued from flood waters and thousands remain without power as BoM warns of wild weather in Melbourne, south-east NSW and Queensland

The first week of 2024 is off to a wild start, with storms continuing to lash Australia’s east coast and a heatwave baking the north of the continent.

Thunderstorms were headed for central Victoria on Wednesday and were forecast to become widespread over the eastern half of the state.

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‘Very daunting’: small NSW-Queensland border town pulls together after being cut off by flood waters

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Tyalgum residents hit by devastating flooding in 2022 have stepped up to support each other again after being isolated for nearly two days

Residents of a small town near the New South Wales-Queensland border still grappling with the fallout from major flooding in 2022 have banded together to support each other after the community was again hit by severe weather.

Tyalgum, a Tweed Shire village of about 500 people in north-eastern NSW about 70km from the Gold Coast, was cut off by flood waters for nearly two days over the New Year’s period.

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Queensland wildlife officers investigate after crocodile leaps into fisherman’s boat

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Fisherman who narrowly escaped attack north of Mackay said he had fished in the spot for decades but never seen a crocodile behave in that way

A report of a large crocodile leaping into a fisherman’s boat has triggered an investigation into possible threats to public safety and whether to relocate the animal.

A man was fishing from his tinnie at Jane Creek near St Helen’s Beach, north of Mackay, about 10am on December 31 when he saw a crocodile approaching the boat.

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Victorian woman arrested after allegedly assaulting airline staff

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Australian federal police notified after 23-year-old woman allegedly became abusive on board a plane at Gold Coast airport

A Victorian woman allegedly assaulted airline staff at Gold Coast airport on New Year’s Eve while on board a plane bound for Melbourne.

The 23-year-old was arrested after airline staff notified the Australian federal police that a passenger was allegedly being verbally abusive on the plane, the AFP said.

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Disaster relief nonprofit chosen for Queensland flood cleanup before Australian defence force

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State government says group has specialist skills and appropriate agency is chosen at federal level

The Australian defence force was not deployed after storms hit the Gold Coast because it was determined other agencies would be better suited to the clean-up task, according to the Queensland disaster coordinator.

Acting deputy commissioner, Shane Chelepy, told media on Monday afternoon that the state response to continued thunderstorms and flooding has been bolstered by 50 cleanup workers from a veteran-led not-for-profit, Disaster Relief Australia.

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New Year’s Day weather: flash-flood warnings for Queensland and NSW as Northern Territory swelters

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BoM forecasts heavy rain for south-east Queensland and northern NSW, while across the far north temperatures will remain in the 40s

Parts of south-east Queensland are being battered by heavy rain in a soggy start to the new year, with dangerous flooding predicted.

Intense falls in some areas could lead to life-threatening flash flooding, the Bureau of Meteorology warned on Monday afternoon.

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