Category Archives: Queensland

Detection of fire ants in Queensland 800km from closest infestation sparks fury over gaps in eradication funding

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Businesses and industry urged to stay alert after invasive species discovered at coalmine in Moranbah, about 150km inland from Mackay

Fire ants have been detected in central Queensland for the first time in history after a major outbreak at a BHP Broadmeadow coalmine.

The discovery has prompted fury among the Invasive Species Council, who have questioned how the invasive pest had travelled almost 800km from the closest known infestation zone.

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Queensland police charged woman with driving offences while she was fleeing domestic violence

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Magistrate throws out case against woman, saying she had been trying to escape an ‘extraordinary emergency’

A Queensland court has thrown out the police case against a woman who was charged with driving offences while fleeing domestic violence with her dog.

The Gympie magistrates court accepted the unchallenged evidence of the woman – referred to as ESC – that she drove while disqualified after her violent partner threatened to kill her dog.

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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

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Queensland zoo to reopen two days after woman loses arm to lioness

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Woman injured in Sunday incident was ‘a much-loved member of the zoo owners’ family’ and not in animal’s enclosure at the time, zoo says

A woman has lost her arm after being attacked on Sunday at a Queensland zoo by a lioness, which the zoo insists “was not hungry” or maltreated.

Queensland’s health minister, Tim Nicholls, confirmed that the woman, who is in her 50s, had “lost her arm” in the attack, which took place at about 8.32am on Sunday at the Darling Downs zoo, south of Toowoomba.

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Woman suffers ‘significant’ injury to arm after being mauled by animal at Queensland zoo

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Woman in her 50s was reportedly watching keepers at work in an enclosure at Darling Downs zoo, south of Toowoomba, when attacked

A woman has suffered significant injuries after being bitten by an animal at a Queensland zoo.

The woman, in her 50s, was attacked at Darling Downs zoo, in Pilton, about 50km south of Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, at about 8.32am on Sunday.

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Man in critical condition with lyssavirus after bat bite – as it happened

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NSW wild weather: ‘Conditions can become dangerous quickly’

Wild weather has brought down trees, damaged properties and flooded roads on the NSW coast, NSW SES says.

These incidents are a timely reminder that roads are slippery, and conditions can become dangerous quickly.

Please, never drive, walk or play in flood waters. If you do come across a flooded road, turn around and find an alternative route.

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Judge orders Queensland council to pause planned demolition of homeless camps

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Moreton Bay council agrees to supreme court injunction against evicting residents who had previously been evicted from another park

Moreton Bay city council has been ordered not to clear a homeless encampment after a hearing in the Queensland supreme court on Wednesday.

Numerous homeless residents of Eddie Hyland Park in Lawnton were evicted by council rangers in April, with their tents cleared by heavy machinery. Just two were granted public housing. Most have set up a new camp in a different park in Kallangur.

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David Crisafulli found to be ‘careless’ in not declaring $200,000 in payments related to company he ran

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But Queensland premier is not in contempt of parliament over the payments, ethics committee finds

The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, was “careless” in not declaring $200,000 in payments he made after a company he had run became insolvent, the state’s parliamentary ethics committee has found.

Crisafulli became sole director and chief executive of Southern Edge Training Solutions after losing his north Queensland seat at the 2015 election.

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Solar power: Kangaroo Point Bridge leads winners as Queensland architecture awards put spotlight on sustainability

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Bridge that spans Brisbane River and includes solar panels and shade along its length hailed as a transformative piece of urban infrastructure

The newest bridge spanning the Brisbane River – the longest cable-stayed pedestrian bridge in the country – has taken out top honours in the 2025 Australian Institute of Architects Queensland awards.

A week after Sydney’s new network of city metro stations collected architecture’s most prestigious prize in New South Wales, Brisbane’s Kangaroo Point Bridge was lauded at Friday night’s award ceremony as another example of the significant value of state governments investing in architecture to realise major infrastructure projects that raise the bar beyond the realm of mere functionality.

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Teenage boy charged with murder after allegedly stabbing man during Brisbane house party

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Boy, 15, charged with one count of murder after alleged stabbing of 58-year-old at Clayfield home on Thursday

Distressed teenagers are being spoken to by police after a man’s fatal stabbing at a Brisbane house party packed with dozens of young people.

Police have charged a 15-year-old boy with murder after the 58-year-old’s body was found inside a large home in the upmarket inner-city suburb of Clayfield on Thursday night.

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Queensland public servants forbidden from including acknowledgments of country in email signatures, Labor says

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Government denies it issued directive, but opposition MP Leeanne Enoch says whistleblower has shared document outlining the decision

Queensland’s Labor opposition claims the state’s public servants have been issued a “strict directive” not to include acknowledgments of country in email signatures.

The shadow minister for reconciliation, Leeanne Enoch, tabled a partly redacted document in question time on Thursday which reads: “Departments are no longer permitted to add additional departmental branding elements such as the First Nations acknowledgement.”

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Lehrmann seeks to halt Toowoomba rape case and claims police ‘illegally obtained’ his lawyers’ phone calls

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Former Liberal staffer accused of raping a woman after meeting her at a strip club in Queensland in 2021

Bruce Lehrmann has sought to halt a rape case against him, claiming that police “illegally obtained” his lawyers’ phone calls.

Lehrmann, 30, is accused of raping a woman twice during the morning of 10 October, 2021 after they met at a strip club the previous night in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane.

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Queensland budget 2025: Crisafulli vows no austerity despite state facing $218bn debt

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Premier says you can ‘respect people’s money’ and still lift public services as LNP hands down first budget since 2014

The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, has promised no austerity in his first budget, despite the state facing a forecast $218bn in debt.

Tuesday’s state budget will be the Liberal National party’s first since 2014. Then led by premier Campbell Newman, the LNP lost government in 2015 after slashing tens of thousands of public service positions and proposing the sell-off of public assets to balance the books.

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Queensland MP calls for return of vagrancy laws to allow police to prosecute homeless people

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LNP member for Mermaid Beach says absence of legislative power to remove tents set up in his electorate is ‘unacceptable’

A Gold Coast Liberal National party MP has called for the return of vagrancy laws to allow police to prosecute homeless people amid an ongoing crackdown on tent cities in Queensland.

Ray Stevens, the member for Mermaid Beach, made the call in a speech to parliament last week.

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Pheobe Bishop: human remains found near Bundaberg confirmed as those of missing Queensland teenager

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Police, who have charged the 17-year-old’s housemates with her murder, confirmed identification of remains discovered close to Gin Gin in early June

Police say they have identified human remains found in scrub near Bundaberg as missing teenager Pheobe Bishop.

Bishop’s housemates – James Wood, 34, and Tanika Bromley, 33 – were arrested on 5 June and charged with her murder. They have not entered pleas and are on remand awaiting trial.

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Pheobe Bishop: Queensland police testing human remains found in search for missing teenager

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Police say remains found during search of area near Good Night Scrub national park on Friday afternoon

Queensland police have identified remains found in the search for missing 17-year-old Pheobe Bishop as human, and further testing is being done to formally identify them.

The discovery of remains was made at about 2.30pm on Friday after a search of an area near Good Night Scrub national park, close to Gin Gin, police said. The remains were found one day after her housemates were charged with her murder.

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Queensland’s puberty blockers review panel criticised for lacking gender experts and trans lived experience

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Health department defends panel as chosen based on specialist expertise and says public can contribute via consultation process

Transgender advocates have criticised the panel assembled to conduct the Queensland government’s review of puberty blockers for lacking experts in gender affirming care and people with lived experience of trans healthcare.

The state government opened its independent review of stage 1 and stage 2 hormone therapies in Queensland’s public paediatric gender services to public submissions last week, but kept the panel conducting the review secret.

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Natural disasters cost Australia’s economy $2.2bn in first half of 2025, new Treasury analysis shows

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Wild weather, including Cyclone Alfred and floods in NSW and Queensland, significantly slowed retail trade and household spending

Six months of natural disasters in 2025 have cost the economy $2.2bn, largely in slower retail and household spending, according to new federal Treasury analysis.

Wild weather has repeatedly battered the Australian east coast this year.

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‘Gut punch’: top shark expert quits Queensland advisory panel after LNP expands cull program

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Exclusive: Colin Simpfendorfer’s resignation from working group comes as conservationists lash expansion of lethal program they say ‘does nothing to improve beach safety’

One of Australia’s leading shark researchers has resigned from his position of almost eight years advising the Queensland shark control program, as members of that scientific working group say they were “shocked” and sidelined by the state government’s decision to expand the lethal control of sharks.

Announcing an $88m shark management plan overhaul which would see shark nets and baited drum lines designed to kill target shark species rolled out at more beaches, and existing drum lines used more intensely, the primary industries minister, Tony Perrett, claimed this week that the Liberal National party’s strategy was backed by research.

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Geelong overtakes Sunshine Coast as top tree- and sea-change destination

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Rate of people moving to Australia’s regions increases by more than 10% in March quarter

While the Geelong Cats are fifth on the AFL ladder, their home city is the reigning champion.

The Victorian region has become the most popular place for people escaping capital cities to settle, with its picturesque coastline and thriving industry making it an ideal sea-change destination.

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Police search national park for Queensland teenager Pheobe Bishop after ‘suspicious’ disappearance

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Good Night Scrub park, about an hour from where the 17-year-old was last seen, is ‘crucial’ to land, water and aerial search

The search of a national park is “crucial” to an investigation into a missing teenager in south Queensland as police continue a land, water and aerial search more than a week after her disappearance.

On Saturday, Queensland police said they were relying “heavily” on information from the public for leads, after expanding the search for Pheobe Bishop to include the Good Night Scrub national park.

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