Category Archives: Queensland

Robodebt royal commission report handed down – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed.

Bill Shorten: robodebt commission report will be a ‘vindication’ for victims and their families

The NDIS minister, Bill Shorten, says today “is a vindication” for victims of the robodebt scandal with the royal commission report being handed down. He told ABC’s RN this morning:

The heart of this story today is the fact that real people unlawfully had debt notices … raised against them by the most powerful institution in Australia, the commonwealth government.

Two of these people, after receiving robodebt notices, subsequently took their own lives that I’m aware of.

Today is not the day [their mothers] want. What they really want is their sons to be alive.

One of the challenges we’re seeing across the country is great teacher shortages … COVID brought that timetable forward.

Classrooms are more complex, there is a great diversity of needs across the classroom, and as society changes a lot of teachers and education ministers are testifying about the impact of technology in classrooms.

Continue reading...

Political future of renegade senator Gerard Rennick to be determined at LNP conference

Posted on by

The Liberal senator is vying for a winnable spot on the party’s federal ticket at Friday’s preselection

The political future of the renegade Queensland Liberal senator Gerard Rennick will be determined on Friday amid a push to remove him from a winnable spot on the party’s Senate ticket.

Rennick is vying for a third spot on the ticket in Queensland, with hundreds of state councillors to determine preselections at the Liberal National party’s state conference in Brisbane.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Three men charged over alleged violent e-scooter robbery and dog killing in Brisbane

Posted on by

Men remanded in custody after allegedly demanding Forest Lake residents hand over e-scooter for sale on Facebook Marketplace

Three men allegedly involved in a violent confrontation over an e-scooter sale will remain behind bars after being charged.

Aron Nsengiyumva, 21, Alex Edward Deng, 20, and John Wal Wal, 24, have been remanded in custody on a string of charges after three men were stabbed and a dog was killed during the weekend attack in Brisbane’s south-west.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Domestic violence advocates outraged over potential for ‘watered-down’ Queensland police integrity unit

Posted on by

Expert says anything less than the ‘full implementation of an independent police integrity model’ will fail to prevent the continuation of misconduct

The daughter of a domestic violence murder victim, who a coroner found was systematically failed by Queensland police, is urging the state government to stamp out the practice of police investigating themselves.

Shayne Probert’s mother, Doreen Langham, was killed when her ex-partner set fire to her townhouse, south of Brisbane, in 2021.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org

Continue reading...

Private operators slug commuters with price hikes on Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane toll roads

Posted on by

Prices rise amid concerns from competition watchdog over Transurban’s proposed acquisition of operator of Melbourne’s EastLink

Commuters on toll roads in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne will notice price hikes on Monday due to long-term contracts with tolling giant Transurban.

The price rises come as the competition watchdog flags concerns the private operator could also become dominant in Melbourne.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Deputy PM says Russia uprising ‘a crack in the edifice’ – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed.

O’Neil defends decision to keep Nauru offshore processing open

Home affairs and cyber security minister Clare O’Neil was asked about why the offshore processing site on Nauru is being kept open if the last refugee has been removed on ABC RN this morning.

It is an unmitigated good thing for the country that we’ve transitioned the last asylum seeker off Nauru. This has been a festering sore in Australian politics for more than a decade. And I’m very pleased that our government has taken that approach of making sure that we bring that to a close.

However, it is very important that we maintain our strength on the borders. Offshore processing is a part of our overall approach and that is why Nauru will remain open and on standby.

Continue reading...

Five hundred days in solitary: Queensland teenager’s case ‘a major failure of our system’

Posted on by

Exclusive: Staff shortages at Cleveland youth detention centre led to teenager being confined to his cell for more than 20 hours a day

An Aboriginal teenager with an intellectual disability was likely locked in solitary confinement for more than 500 days at Queensland’s troubled Cleveland youth detention centre, in a situation described to a court as a “major failure in our system”.

Michael*, now 19, spent more than two years on remand at the Townsville centre while the children’s court dealt with charges related to a violent sexual attack on a 16-year-old girl.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Scandal-hit PwC announces new Australian boss – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

States will ‘do their own things’ on rent caps: Collins

Speers asks for what evidence Collins is referring to. The minister points to research by Graeme Samuel, former boss of the ACCC, which she referred to in parliament this week and again reiterates the talking point:

The overwhelming evidence suggests that it doesn’t work. States and territories will do their own things in terms of this. What we are being asked to do here is have eight different jurisdictions make these decisions at the same time and we have been told very clearly from those jurisdictions that they won’t be doing this. Some states have already ruled out both freezes and caps. What we’ve been asked to do is simply not achievable and we won’t commit to something that is not achievable, David.

When you look at the evidence that has been cited by others, the evidence shows that it reduces supply significantly by up to 15%. The other thing that it shows is the quality of the stock diminishes over time, so I will look at the data and the evidence and the data and the evidence says that it doesn’t work.

Continue reading...

Australian Anglican schools left exposed as insurers refuse to indemnify church against child abuse claims

Posted on by

State governments fear lack of insurance means churches will withdraw out-of-home care and youth homelessness services

Private insurers are refusing to cover Anglican schools in southern Queensland for child abuse claims, leaving individual schools and dioceses financially exposed for the past two years.

The increasing rate of refusal comes after reforms made it easier for survivors to bring child abuse claims.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Queensland police search for prospectors who went missing at gold fossicking area

Posted on by

Michelle Lyn Melbourne and Nikita May Bennett’s ute found at Seven Mile Diggings locked with their mobile phones inside

Police are searching for two prospectors missing in rural Queensland after their car was found locked with mobile phones inside.

Officers on Saturday launched a public appeal to help find the missing women, 54-year-old Michelle Lyn Melbourne and 36-year-old Nikita May Bennett.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Albanese says Russia should withdraw from Ukraine; Australia sanctions three MH17 culprits – as it happened

Posted on by

Australian prime minister says ‘it is Russia and its involvement that keeps this war going’. This blog is now closed

Forced property sales on the rise in outer Sydney as interest rate hikes start to bite

My colleagues, Peter Hannam and Nick Evershed have this report on the rise in forced property sales as interest rate rises begin to bite.

Sydney’s outer suburbs are showing signs of rising numbers of distressed property sales with higher interest rates the likely cause, a trend that can be expected to spread to other capitals, according to property data group Domain.

Distressed listings as a share of the national market remain low, at about 2.8% across the capital cities, compared with a record 5.1% in late 2018.

Continue reading...

Australia news live: NSW premier refutes cover-up allegations over police Tasering of 95-year-old woman

Posted on by

Follow the day’s news live

PwC should not be banned from government work but should face ‘significant sanction’, Dutton says

Following the damning interim Senate report into PwC, Dutton says he does not believe the consultancy firm should be cut from all government work, but says a penalty needs to be incurred for the breach of trust:

I think where people have breached a contract, they’ve breached trust, there’s a penalty and the price that should be paid. I don’t know whether that’s the company or whether there’s a solution that the government can provide to it but there’s there’s a significant sanction that’s that’s required – no doubt the government will be looking into that right now.

All of the pollsters at the moment, and credible commentators, believe that it’s either going to fail in October or, best case scenario for the yes case, that gets up 51-49. And in that scenario, our nation is split down the middle.

I think there’s an opportunity to unite our country here instead of divide, and that is that we should proceed with constitutional recognition.

Continue reading...

‘Very effective use of force’: Queensland police chief defends officer filmed punching crash driver

Posted on by

Footage appears to show driver being repeatedly punched through a car window before he was Tasered

Queensland’s police commissioner has defended an officer’s actions after “confronting footage” emerged of him repeatedly punching a man involved in a head-on crash in Brisbane’s north.

The footage, first published by Nine, appears to show the officer repeatedly punching and hitting the driver through a car window before Tasering the man, on Thursday.

Continue reading...

Is that you, Migaloo? Tourist captures video of familiar-looking whale over Great Barrier Reef

Posted on by

Second sighting of white whale off Queensland’s coast within weeks has ocean watchers wondering if it could be famous humpback

The second sighting of a white whale off Queensland’s coast within weeks has ocean watchers wondering if it could be Migaloo, the elusive albino humpback who has not been seen in three years.

A tourist flying over the Great Barrier Reef filmed what appears to be a white humpback whale swimming north, as thousands of humpbacks make their annual migration from Antartica to warmer waters to breed.

Continue reading...

More than 60% of staff at Queensland detention centre quit amid record influx of young people

Posted on by

Use of solitary confinement due to chronic staffing shortages at Cleveland detention centre has detrimental effect on children, advocates say

More than 60% of the workforce at the troubled Cleveland youth detention centre in north Queensland quit during the past three years, data obtained by Guardian Australia shows.

The figures supplied by the youth justice department show total staff numbers at the detention centre have declined since mid-2020, about the same time the state enacted laws designed to lock up more children.

Continue reading...

Origin Energy surrenders 10 controversial gas tenements in Queensland’s channel country

Posted on by

Company gives up 10 of its 11 leases in the area amid concern about potential impacts of fracking

Australia’s largest energy company has surrendered 10 controversial gas tenements in Queensland’s channel country, as the state government embarks on long-delayed consultation over environmental protections for the sensitive Lake Eyre-Kati Thanda basin.

Origin Energy and the Queensland resources department confirmed the “total surrender” of 10 of the 11 production leases held by the company in the area, amid concerns about the impact of potential fracking plans on its unique waterways and floodplains.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

LNP vows to cut Queensland’s use of consultants if it wins power at 2024 state election

Posted on by

David Crisafulli promises real-time health data and housing fund changes in budget reply

A Liberal National party government would take an axe to the Queensland government’s “obsession” with consultants in a wider public service overhaul if the party wins next year’s state election.

The state’s opposition leader, David Crisafulli, also used his budget reply to promise to make real-time health data available, establish a social enterprise investment fund, changes to housing funding and appoint a victims of crime commissioner.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Police search for mother and child after newborn taken from Queensland hospital

Posted on by

Police have issued an amber alert for a missing child after two women were seen taking a baby from Ipswich hospital

The search continues for a mother who is believed to have taken her newborn baby from a Queensland hospital.

Two women were seen taking the baby from Ipswich hospital on Monday and putting her into a white Suzuki, which has since been located.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Treasurer Cameron Dick all smiles as coal fight results in billions flowing into Queensland’s budget

Posted on by

Labor’s voter-pleasing cost-of-living handouts, new housing and health funding have now been linked to increasing royalties on mining profits

A year ago, common logic suggested the Queensland government was taking a huge political risk by increasing royalties on record-high coal prices, and picking a fight with the cashed-up mining sector.

Plans to increase taxes on the miners have been historically fraught. Meanwhile, the wounds inflicted on Labor by the Adani saga still feel fresh.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Queensland promises 500 new homes under $320m social housing commitment

Posted on by

Annastacia Palaszczuk says the government is ‘pulling every lever possible’ amid a housing shortage

The Palaszczuk government will unveil more than $320m for 500 homes under a new social housing pledge when it hands down the Queensland budget on Tuesday.

As the state continues to grapple with a housing shortage the premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, said the government was “pulling every lever possible” to ensure Queenslanders had a roof over their heads.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...