Category Archives: Queensland

Cyclone Kirrily expected to hit north Queensland on Thursday as residents urged to stock up on supplies

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Bureau of Meteorology forecasts category three storm to make landfall near Townsville, warns of damaging winds and heavy rainfall

Queenslanders are being urged to stock up on 72 hours of supplies as a “severe” cyclone begins to swing towards the state’s coast.

A cyclone watch has been issued for communities across north Queensland, with the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting that tropical Cyclone Kirrily will make landfall near Townsville as a category three storm on Thursday.

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Storms and wet weather forecast for northern Australia with Cyclone Kirrily expected to develop off Queensland

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Heavy rainfall that could lead to flash flooding forecast across Kimberley, Northern Territory and much of Cape York peninsula

Northern Australia is battening down the hatches as the Bureau of Meteorology warns intensifying activity in the Coral Sea is likely to result in the formation of Cyclone Kirrily.

While the low-pressure system won’t be officially named until it is properly formed, the bureau expects the cyclone to develop off the Queensland coast by Monday.

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Flood warnings prompt evacuations in NT as Queensland braces for incoming cyclone

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Bom says it’s still ‘too early to say’ how strong a potential cyclone may be and when it could reach land

Far north Queensland is bracing for a second natural disaster in about a month while flooding has forced people to flee their homes in the Northern Territory.

Meanwhile, a swathe of Western Australia is enduring temperatures approaching 50C.

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Fire ants detected south of Byron Bay after gardener raises alarm

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NSW authorities are working to determine how long the pest has been in the area and how they arrived

Invasive fire ants are continuing their march south, prompting a plea for vigilance, after a nest was detected at Wardell, south of Byron Bay, the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries says.

A gardener raised the alarm on Friday after disturbing the nest and being bitten, suffering what was described as blistering pain.

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BoM forecasts category three storm – as it happened

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Victoria police recover over $600,000 worth of drugs in raids

A man has had to let go of his prized Lego collection yesterday after police seized more than $600,000 worth of 1,4-Butanediol – a chemical that mirrors the drug GHB when ingested.

34kg of iodine – a precursor to methylamphetamine.

32kg of hypophosphorus acid – a precursor to methylamphetamine.

Illegal steroids.

Methylamphetamine.

A handgun.

An extendable baton.

Ammunition.

Three digital devices.

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Queensland cyclone warning: premier urges residents on parts of coast to prepare for potential ‘severe impact’

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Storm brewing in the Coral Sea could develop into a cyclone and hit the coast mid-next week, BoM weather update says

The Queensland premier, Steven Miles, has urged residents of parts of the state to be prepared for an incoming cyclone, with the Bureau of Meteorology warning of a potential “severe impact” if it hits the coast mid-next week.

On Friday morning, the BoM forecast that there was a 55% chance a storm brewing in the Coral Sea would develop into a tropical cyclone to be named Kirrily by late Sunday, rising to 75% on Monday. It could become a category three system or even stronger before hitting land.

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Queensland launches inquiry into grocery price gouging following premier’s meeting with major supermarkets

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Executives of Woolworths, Coles and Aldi have agreed to appear at hearings, Steven Miles said, amid concerns from farmers and consumers

Queensland’s state government will launch an inquiry into alleged grocery price gouging – despite the jurisdiction having few powers to combat the issue, the premier said.

The premier, Steven Miles, said terms of reference are being drafted and the committee will be formed in the first sitting week of parliament for the year, next month.

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Data shows ‘collapse’ in full-time roles – as it happened

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Pat Conroy says Ukraine-requested helicopters are not cleared for flight

The defence industry minister, Pat Conroy, is speaking to ABC RN about a request from Ukraine to receive Australia’s retired fleet of MRH-90 Taipan helicopters. The helicopters were retired earlier than planned after a crash in Queensland killed four Defence personnel during a training exercise last year:

Anyone who suggests that these aircraft have been cleared is wrong and they are making, quite frankly, really offensive suggestions at a time when people are really grieving.

I think it’s really important that those investigations keep working to establish the cause of that accident. These aircraft are [not in] flying condition, and we still do not know whether they’re safe to fly.

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Threat of another cyclone looms for Queensland as heavy rain continues across Australia’s north

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Damaging weather and heavy rain pummels Darwin as BoM forecasts another cyclone could cross Queensland’s east coast from Tuesday

Queensland residents face the threat of another cyclone reaching their shores within days as intense rain continues across Australia’s north.

A tropical low building in the Coral Sea is expected to turn towards the coast from Sunday, with the system most likely becoming a tropical cyclone by Monday.

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BMA Saraji coalmine incident: worker crushed to death at Queensland mine

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Mining safety regulator launches investigation after 27-year-old man killed at BHP-owned mine in the Bowen Basin

The mining safety regulator has begun an investigation after an employee was crushed to death at a central Queensland coalmine on Monday.

The 27-year-old man was working at southern section of the BMA Saraji coalmine located in the Bowen Basin, near Dysart, south-west of Mackay. The mine is owned by BHP.

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Psychologist treating children in Cairns watch house warns of ‘horrendous’ and ‘inhumane’ conditions

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Exclusive: Government is failing to meet basic needs of youth in Queensland lockup, putting staff at ‘risk of harm’, psychologist alleges

A senior psychologist treating children in the Cairns police watch house sent a “cry for help” letter detailing “horrendous” conditions and alleged human rights abuses in the lockup, including claims young people are not being provided adequate food, medical attention or legal support.

The letter, seen by Guardian Australia, was sent to senior Queensland officials and several others on Monday by Andrea Bates, a psychologist with the Cairns court liaison service.

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Two die in light plane crash near Brisbane

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Queensland paramedics treated the two people from the plane but they died at the scene

Two men have died in a light plane crash south-west of Brisbane.

Authorities responded to reports of an aviation incident around midday at Bruckner Hill Road, near Boonah, in the Scenic Rim.

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Seven rescued from capsized boat near Lady Elliot Island as monsoon brings flooding to north Queensland

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Boat occupants on a surfing trip found clinging to the hull as more than 110mm of rain falls over the outskirts of Cairns in 24 hours

Seven seafarers are lucky to be alive after their boat capsized in rough seas as monsoonal weather brought flooding to rivers across Queensland.

Heavy rain persisted across the state’s drenched far north on Sunday as towns near the Victorian-New South Wales border faced their own flooding concerns.

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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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