Category Archives: Queensland

Queensland police investigate whether disappearance of elderly woman linked to recycling

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Brisbane detectives believe Lesley Trotter has died, and ‘have not ruled out’ potential neighbourhood dispute

Queensland police believe an elderly woman who has been missing for 12 days from inner-city Brisbane has died, and are investigating whether her disappearance is linked to her habit of removing recyclable waste from neighbourhood bins.

Homicide detectives have joined the search for Lesley Trotter’s remains after the 78-year-old last spoke to her family on 27 March and was not at her Toowong home when they visited the following day.

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Pilot walks away from light plane crash near train tracks in Queensland

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AirMedpatient transfer plane forced into emergency landing in Brisbane rail corridor with cause unknown

A pilot was left with only minor injuries after their light plane crash landed on to a rail corridor south of Brisbane.

The aircraft, an AirMedpatient transfer plane, was forced into an emergency landing just after 6.10am on Friday in Hillcrest, with only the pilot on board.

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Police appeal for return of platypus spotted travelling on Brisbane train

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Two people were seen boarding the train with the animal wrapped in a towel

A platypus believed to have been taken from the wild and transported on a Brisbane train urgently needs to be returned to its natural environment, officials say.

Two people were spotted boarding the train at Morayfield on Tuesday with a platypus wrapped in a towel, Queensland police said.

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‘Astonishing’: cost of Inland Rail doubles to $30bn as review savages Coalition over project

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Dr Kerry Schott warns she is not confident her assessment captures the full extent of cost blowouts and delays

The predicted price tag of the Inland Rail megaproject has almost doubled in two years to more than $30bn, as an independent review savages the former Coalition government’s handling of the plan.

In her independent review of the Inland Rail, commissioned by the Albanese government last year and released on Thursday, Dr Kerry Schott also flagged further delivery delays of at least four years.

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Queensland government concedes victims ‘may be disappointed’ by police disciplinary bungle

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Mark Ryan says many will be ‘disappointed’ by court decision that may see hundreds of sanctions overturned

The Queensland government has acknowledged victims “may be disappointed” by revelations that hundreds of disciplinary sanctions against police officers could be invalidated by a ruling of the state’s court of appeal.

The court last week found that disciplinary proceedings against two police officers – Det Sen Sgt David Cousins and Sgt William Johnson – had been brought incorrectly and were “invalid”. The court heard that a delegate for the police commissioner failed to appoint a specific officer to act as the “prescribed officer” after referring the allegations to the office of state discipline.

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Townsville pushes build-to-rent scheme in bid to address rental crisis

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Experts say there’s little evidence that a privately-owned single landlord development would increase housing affordability

Local authorities in Townsville are seeking $40m in government funding to support a 1,000 unit build-to-rent scheme that the local council says could help tackle the rental crisis in the northern Queensland city, where the number of homes available for rent for less than $400 a week has halved in the past three years.

However, critics say there is little evidence to suggest this method, which sees developers act as landlords and let directly to tenants, will increase affordability.

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Australia news live: seizure of $270m worth of heroin is Queensland’s biggest; RBA interest rates decision due

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Australians will find out at 2.30pm AEST whether the Reserve Bank will pause its interest rates hikes after 10 consecutive rises. Follow the day’s news live

Australia’s new high commissioner to the UK, Stephen Smith, says becoming a republic is “inevitable” even if Australians are proud to have the British monarch as their head of state.

In his first interview since taking up the post, Smith told the Times newspaper that most British people would be “indifferent” to Australia getting rid of the monarchy and it would not damage the countries’ relationship.

There is a lot of affection and respect for the monarchy in Australia.

That affection and respect hasn’t gone away because of Australia contemplating from time to time what it should do about its constitutional arrangements.

My personal view is it’s inevitable. But how that’s progressed is entirely a matter for the Australian government of the day.

Our public-sector workers do a great job serving their fellow Victorians and we’re proud to support them. In addition to wage increases, workers will be able to obtain a sign-on bonus while productivity improvements will bring the potential for further advancement of conditions.

The policy provides fair outcomes for employees while being responsible as we deal with the types of budget challenges faced by families, businesses and governments across the world.

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Former NSW deputy Liberal leader says party has ‘moved too far to the right’ – as it happened

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Prime minister pays tribute to Yunupingu

Prime minister Anthony Albanese has paid tribute to the Yolŋu man Yunupingu, one of the most significant Indigenous figures in history and a former Australian of the year, as “an extraordinary leader”.

He was one of the greatest of Australians.

An extraordinary leader of his people, respected right across Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australia.

I said to him that I was serious, that we would do it.

Today we mourn with deep love and great sadness the passing of our dearly loved father Yunupiŋu.

The holder of our sacred fire, the leader of our clan and the path-maker to our future.

The loss to our family and community is profound. We are hurting, but we honour him and remember with love everything he has done for us.

We remember him for his fierce leadership, and total strength for Yolŋu and for Aboriginal people throughout Australia. He lived by our laws always.

Yunupiŋu lived his entire life on his land, surrounded by the sound of bilma (clapsticks), yidaki (didgeridoo) and the manikay (sacred song) and dhulang (sacred designs) of our people. He was born on our land, he lived all his life on our land and he died on our land secure in the knowledge that his life’s work was secure.

He had friendship and loyalty to so many people, at all levels, from all places.

Our father was driven by a vision for the future of this nation, his people’s place in the nation and the rightful place for Aboriginal people everywhere.

In leaving us, we know that Dad’s loss will be felt in many hearts and minds. We ask you to mourn his passing in your own way, but we as a family encourage you to rejoice in the gift of his life and leadership.

There will never be another like him.

In time we will announce the dates for bäpurru (ceremonies) that will see him returned to his land and to his fathers. These ceremonies will be held in North Eastern Arnhem Land.

We ask the media to respect our grieving space over the coming weeks as we put together ceremonial arrangements to honour Dad.

Instead of flowers, we invite those of you who were touched by Dad’s fire to share with us your personal recollections and memories of his life. This will lift our spirits.

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Wreckage of plane carrying pilot and his pregnant wife found in central Queensland

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Rhiley Kuhrt and his wife, Maree, were on their way to visit family when their Piper Cherokee crashed

A man and his pregnant wife have been found dead after their plane crashed during a heavy storm in central Queensland.

Stockman Rhiley Kuhrt and his wife, Maree, were on their way to visit family when their Piper Cherokee crashed in the Mount Hector Range south of Proserpine on Sunday.

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‘Last straw’: First Nations adviser to Queensland police quits over Mareeba shooting

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Even if deceased man Aubrey Donahue had a knife, ‘he hasn’t got a knife like Crocodile Dundee’, says Prof Gracelyn Smallwood

For Prof Gracelyn Smallwood, a late-night phone call about another Aboriginal man being shot and killed by police was the final straw.

Aubrey Donahue, 27, died after being shot four times by police, who say he advanced on officers while armed with a knife in Mareeba, west of Cairns, on Saturday.

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Nazi salute will be captured in proposed ban on hate symbols, Queensland government says

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New bill also aims to ensure those who commit crimes motivated by prejudice face tougher penalties

Queensland’s attorney general has confirmed the Nazi salute will be captured under proposed laws that ban hate symbols and strengthen the state’s response vilification.

Shannon Fentiman said she had been “shocked” by the presence of Nazis at an anti-trans protest in Melbourne earlier this month.

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Queensland house where girl, 13, was allegedly tortured burns to the ground

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Police believe the Sunshine Coast home may have been set alight early Wednesday morning

The Queensland home where a girl was allegedly held against her will and tortured has been burnt to the ground days after vigilante threats to firebomb the property.

Police believe the home on the Sunshine Coast may have been set alight in the early hours of Wednesday.

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Queensland police say there is no footage of shooting death of Indigenous man

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Family of Aubrey Donahue had requested body-worn camera vision of incident in Mareeba but police say none exists

Queensland police say no body-worn camera footage captured the moment an Aboriginal man was fatally shot, despite more than 15 officers being present.

Family members of Aubrey Donahue, 27, say he was unarmed, holding a mobile phone and attempting to surrender to police when he was shot four times by tactical officers in the north Queensland town of Mareeba.

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Australia politics live: Howard says Labor’s dominance won’t last long; emissions bill haggling down to the wire

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The government is yet to strike a deal that will get its safeguard mechanism bill through the upper house. Follow the day’s politics live

Paul Fletcher won’t answer the question of whether or not he will run again in Bradfield.

He is dancing around this question like he is auditioning for the new Fred Astaire biopic. (Tom Holland has the role, and anyone who has seen his Umbrella dance will know why.)

I continue to consider serving the people of Bradfield to be an enormous privilege and … any rational politician always considers what they’re going to do as you come to the end of each term.

I’ve done that before the end of each past term, but what I can tell you is it’s an honour to serve the people of Bradfield. I continue to be committed to it, energetic in doing, so I spent most of Saturday across a whole range of polling booths engaging with my constituents. I enjoyed it. I found it energising, and I believe that the Liberal party has a very important role in serving the people of Australia and certainly in serving the people of Bradfield and that’s something I’m committed to.

I think the first point is that after three terms and 12 years, inevitably, it becomes harder to win a fourth term.

It’s the nature of our democracy of Australian democracy that the electorate starts to look for alternatives.

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‘Unprecedented’: domestic violence shelters reach capacity amid Queensland housing crisis

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Women escaping violence are staying in refuges for years due to a lack of alternative social housing, providers say

Domestic violence shelters in Queensland say they are struggling to make space for new arrivals, with the housing crisis seeing women staying in some refuges for years .

The added strain on the sector has created a bottleneck , with shelters having to place some women in hotels or refuges far from their support networks.

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Twitter loses bid to throw out complaint by Australian Muslim group over ‘hateful’ content

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Queensland Human Rights Commission disagrees with assertion complaint is ‘lacking in substance’ and refers matter to tribunal over jurisdiction

Twitter has lost a bid to have a complaint by an advocacy group for Australian Muslims thrown out after they accused the platform of failing to take action against accounts that incite hatred.

The Australian Muslim Advocacy Network (Aman) lodged a complaint to the Queensland Human Rights Commission (QHRC) last June. They argued that, as a publisher, Twitter Australia and Twitter Inc are responsible for content posted by a far-right account that has been referred to in the manifesto of a white supremacist and mass murderer.

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Australia’s aquaculture industry looks beyond fishmeal to improve sustainability

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Bottom trawling associated with the feed product depletes oceans more than wild-catch fishing, expert says

Australia’s growing aquaculture industry is trying to end its reliance on fishmeal in order to become more sustainable.

Fish farms have traditionally been reliant on fishmeal, a feed made from small fish such as anchovies which is often fished unsustainably in developing countries. The practice has jeopardised the industry’s environmental credentials, says Ian Urbania, a pulitzer prize-winning journalist and founder of the non-profit journalism organisation The Outlaw Ocean Project.

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Queensland tenants and social groups welcome proposal to limit rent increases to once a year

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But expert says limiting frequency of rent hikes without a cap is unlikely to make a difference amid rising rate of homelessness

A proposal by the Queensland government to limit rent increases to once a year has been applauded by the tenants’ union and social organisations who say the measure would ease cost-of-living pressures.

In Queensland, landlords can currently increase rents every six months. Limiting rent increases to once a year would bring the state in line with other Australian jurisdictions like Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and New South Wales.

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Five NSW men charged after methamphetamine worth $15m allegedly found on ‘black flight’ from PNG

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Plane intercepted at airstrip in rural Queensland after police allege aircraft was flown under the radar with 52kg of meth on board

A “black flight” allegedly carrying more than $15m worth of methamphetamine from Papua New Guinea has been halted by Australian federal police in rural Queensland allegedly on its way to New South Wales.

The light aircraft landed at an airstrip in the central Queensland town of Monto to refuel on Tuesday when officers swooped and made five arrests.

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Neo-Nazis and trans rights protesters clash in Melbourne; bushfire alert for parts of Great Ocean Road – as it happened

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Melbourne forecast to reach 37C while northern regions of the state could exceed 40C. This blog is now closed

Federal government welcomes decision to hear MH17 case

The federal government has welcomed the International Civil Aviation Organization Council’s decision to hear Australia and the Netherlands’ case against Russia for the downing of flight MH17.

We have maintained since May 2018 that the Russian Federation is responsible under international law for the downing of Flight MH17.

We now look forward to presenting our legal arguments and evidence to the ICAO Council as we continue to seek to hold Russia to account.

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