Category Archives: Queensland

Queensland government to ban pill testing in move criticised by health advocates

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Liberal National party expected to legislate ban this week, putting an end to testing of illicit drugs at festivals

Queensland’s state government is expected to ban pill testing, including at festivals, by attaching amendments to an unrelated bill in parliament in a move criticised by health advocates.

Under the previous Labor government, Queensland was the first state to establish a fixed pill-testing strategy on an ongoing basis, in 2024. Clinics were opened on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane.

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Human rights commissioner blasts Queensland government’s ‘hostile’ approach to First Nations people

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Scott McDougall uses speech at parliament to warn the LNP is ‘walking us backwards’ on reconciliation as he prepares to exit role

Queensland’s human rights commissioner has blasted the state government’s “hostile”, “assimilationist” approach to First Nations people in a speech at Parliament House.

Scott McDougall, Queensland’s first-ever human rights commissioner, has consistently criticised both sides of politics over a range of issues, particularly the state’s youth law and order crackdown. His seven-year term in the role comes to an end next month.

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Up to 20 deaths linked to ‘end of life’ business that sourced veterinary drug through fake whale charity, police allege

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Police allege Gold Coast business owner used charity to secure euthanasia drugs as 53-year-old charged with aiding suicide and trafficking dangerous drugs

Police have uncovered an alleged “end of life” business believed to be linked to as many as 20 deaths, with investigations across three states after a man died from a veterinary euthanasia drug.

Queensland police have charged a Gold Coast man alleged to have operated the business, Brett Daniel Taylor, with two counts of aiding suicide and several drug offences including trafficking dangerous drugs.

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Jessica has 77 half-brothers and sisters through the same sperm donor. She wonders how many more there could be

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Queensland woman says its time for clinic to destroy 30-year-old samples as state and federal health ministers meet to push for reform

Queensland woman Jessica Hamilton has 77 half-brothers and sisters. But this week she learned that number could grow even further – swelled by new births.

In 1995, the year she was born, Queensland Fertility Group told Hamilton’s mother that she could expect to have between three and five siblings to other families.

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Brisbane teen faces court on terrorism charges after violent extremist material and chemicals allegedly seized

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Max Belter, 18, had a document linked to ‘proscribed terrorist organisations’ on his electronic devices, police allege

A teenager charged with terrorism offences has wept in court after violent extremist material and chemicals for explosives were allegedly found during a police raid.

Max Belter, 18, appeared in a green prison jumper in Brisbane magistrates court on Thursday after a joint terrorism taskforce searched his property at The Gap in Brisbane’s north.

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Bob Katter distances himself from neo-Nazi group associated with megaphone at anti-immigration protest

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Separately, Greens call on Queensland MP to ‘apologise or resign’ for verbal altercation with Channel Nine reporter last week

The federal MP Bob Katter has distanced himself from a neo-Nazi group that claimed ownership of a megaphone he used at a Townsville rally against mass immigration, with the veteran politician claiming he has been the victim of “bullying” in the media.

The Greens have separately called on Katter, the member for Kennedy, to “apologise or resign” over his verbal altercation with a Channel Nine reporter last week, asking the Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission to investigate his conduct.

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‘Gender ideology’, quotas and anti-discrimination laws on the agenda for Queensland LNP state conference

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Despite premier David Crisafulli’s wish for his party to maintain a moderate outlook, members have presented a number of divisive social issues for debate this weekend

At this weekend’s state conference, Queensland Liberal National party members will debate banning gender-affirming care for children, repealing a ban on conversion practices and adopting a policy “whereby batteries, solar panels and wind turbines should no longer be deemed as renewables”.

Seven separate motions reference “gender ideology”, gender-affirming care or transgender people, but the word “abortion” does not appear on the agenda for the LNP’s first convention since winning last year’s state election.

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Rain and storms forecast for much of Australia’s east coast for every day next week

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Meteorologist says while there is disagreement over how much rain will fall, the general consensus is NSW and Queensland will have another wet week

For Australia’s east coast, the wet weeks are dragging on with no immediate reprieve in sight.

“I know people in Sydney and other parts of New South Wales will be sick of hearing this,” the Bureau of Meteorology’s Angus Hines told the ABC on Saturday. “But it will be another wet week across the eastern coastline, all the way from the Illawarra through New South Wales, through Sydney, Newcastle, through Brisbane up to the Wide Bay in Queensland”.

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Plan to extend Queensland coalmine would bulldoze ‘critical’ koala habitat

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Glencore says it is working with state and federal governments to minimise the impact of flora and fauna in the 680ha area west of Mackay

Habitat for threatened koalas that are part of a population described by one expert as nationally significant would be bulldozed under plans to extend a Queensland coalmine.

The campaign group Lock the Gate used drones with thermal imaging cameras to find 13 koalas in one night in trees earmarked for clearing by mining company Glencore.

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Byron writers festival cancelled and warnings for Sydney’s City2Surf due to east coast rain dump

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Major flood warning remains in place along Namoi River as parts of coastline receive almost double August monthly rainfall in eight days

Heavy rainfall across Australia’s eastern states has prompted the cancellation of the Byron writers festival and a warning for participants in Sunday’s City2Surf race in Sydney to take care, after parts of the east coast received nearly double the typical August monthly rainfall in eight days.

The Byron festival organisers said they were “devastated” to announce the cancellation of the annual event due to the condition of the festival site and ongoing rain, and that it was a “deeply regrettable but necessary decision”.

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Great Barrier Reef suffers biggest annual drop in live coral since 1980s after devastating coral bleaching

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Researchers warn reef may reach tipping point where coral cannot recover fast enough between major catastrophic events

The Great Barrier Reef has suffered its biggest annual drop in live coral in two out of three areas monitored by scientists since 1986, a new report has revealed.

The Australian Institute of Marine Science (Aims) report is the first to comprehensively document the devastating impacts of the early 2024 mass coral bleaching event – the most widespread and severe on record for the Great Barrier Reef.

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First Nations group launches federal appeal to block construction of main Brisbane 2032 Olympics stadium

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Application lodged for permanent legal protection of Victoria Park, where state and federal governments plan to spend billions on sports infrastructure

A First Nations group has applied to halt construction of the main stadium planned for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

The state and federal governments plan to spend $3.8bn on a 63,000-seat stadium at Victoria Park in inner-city Brisbane. It will host the opening and closing ceremonies and athletics events.

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Confused passengers evacuated from Brisbane domestic airport and told to re-screen after metal detector fault

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Flights delayed after ‘technical fault with a single metal detector’ but airport says there is no safety or security threat

Passengers have been evacuated from Brisbane domestic airport and flights have been delayed after a fault with a single metal detector prompted both travellers and staff to be re-screened by security.

Pictures on social media showed large crowds at the airport, with one person saying the “entire place has ground to a halt”.

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Woman swept away in flood waters in Hunter region as emergency services respond to more than 1,450 calls

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Twenty-six-year-old Chinese engineer was trying to flee a vehicle in a swollen creek in Rothbury, near Cessnock

A search was under way after a woman was swept into a flooded creek in the Hunter region overnight, as heavy downpours continued to batter large parts of northern New South Wales.

Police said a Mini was being driven by a 27-year-old woman in Rothbury, near Cessnock, when it became stuck in a swollen creek on Old North Road just before 8pm on Saturday.

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What a croc: the day a reptile was reportedly seen in Noosa … or was it?

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Claimed sighting 300km south of typical crocodile territory started as a Facebook post before doing the rounds of breakfast TV

It started as a Facebook post on a community noticeboard by a man with a designer dog as his profile picture and just a few friends – but within 24 hours it was doing the rounds of breakfast TV and online news platforms.

The question was: had Ross Buckley really seen a 3.5-metre crocodile while on his “usual 6:30am stroll” down the dog beach at the mouth of the Noosa River? Was Buckley even real?

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Four dead after two-car crash in remote central Queensland

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Two others seriously injured and Capricorn Highway closed between mining towns Comet and Blackwater amid horror weekend on Queensland roads

Four people have been killed in a two-car crash on a remote highway in Queensland’s central highlands.

Police remained at the scene on the Capricorn Highway, between the historical coal mining towns of Comet and Blackwater, on Sunday afternoon. The highway was cut between the towns and was likely to be closed for some time.

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Man shot dead by police in Townsville

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Police allege the man was armed with a machete and knife on The Strand in Townsville’s North Ward on Saturday morning

The Queensland police service says officers have shot and killed a man in Townsville after they allege he moved towards them with a machete and a knife.

Police were called to reports of a man armed with multiple weapons on The Strand and intersecting McKinley Street in Townsville’s North Ward just before 10am on Saturday, the QPS said.

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Three teenagers killed in Queensland crash while attempting to overtake truck

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Two men and a woman, all aged 19, died at the scene in Mackay after a late night crash involving multiple vehicles

Three teenagers have died in Queensland after their car crashed into a dual-cab ute while attempting to overtake a truck.

Two 19-year-old men and a 19-year-old woman died at the scene in Mackay, more than 800km north of Brisbane, after a crash involving multiple vehicles late on Friday night.

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Is this Queensland beach really the best in the world? Tell us your favourite

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Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island is home to marine stingers, including jellyfish, from October to May, but that didn’t stop voters in Big 7 Travel list. Have your say in the comments section

A Queensland beach where swimmers need to wear stinger suits for eight months of the year has been voted the best in the world for 2025.

Whitehaven Beach, on Whitsunday Island, is home to marine stingers, including jellyfish, from October to May when the water temperatures are warmer, making the use of stinger suits highly advisable.

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Queensland LNP government launches inquiry into CFMEU state branch and its Labor ‘enablers’

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Deputy premier likens investigation to 1980s Fitzgerald inquiry, accusing Labor of orchestrating ‘protection racket’ for union

Queensland’s Liberal National party government has invoked the inquiry that brought down decades-long conservative rule in the state as it vowed to pursue a Labor opposition that it described as the “enabler” of violence within a union.

The premier, David Crisafulli, announced a “landmark inquiry” into the state branch of the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) on Sunday, which he described as the “most powerful tool” at the government’s disposal.

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