Queensland jobs and bank branches to be protected for at least three years under terms of the takeover
ANZ has agreed to buy Suncorp’s banking business for $4.9bn in a deal the big-four lender described as a vote of confidence in Queensland.
Under the deal, ANZ will continue operating under the Suncorp Bank brand for five years as it takes on an additional $47bn in home loans and $45bn in deposits.
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Labor adopting ‘take it or leave it’ approach, says Bandt
Bandt warns the government is adopting a “take it or leave it” approach to negotiating climate legislation, when there are real issues to address, such as the extent of climate ambition and how to phase out fossil fuels.
We’re saying that’s not our position. We’re saying we’d be willing to have discussions with the government but these are the things that have to be on the table. We’re not going into it with ultimatums.
I’m not talking about bottom lines and ultimatums but you can’t even have this discussion if the government is saying it’s my way or the highway, which is with where, with respect to the target, where they’re at at the moment.
If we’re negotiating climate legislation, then this government, now they’re in power, has to grapple with the question of are they going to open up more coal and gas projects that could potentially blow 43% out of the water? Just one of those projects could do that.
Continue reading...Australia’s chief medical officer will give a briefing to state and territory leaders on Saturday and the pandemic leave payment is expected to be extended. Follow live
There were 11,082 new cases in the last reporting period, and 66 people are in intensive care.
First home buyers blowing their budgets
Underquoting is where a property is listed at a price lower than what it’s worth to bait buyers.
It’s illegal but it does happen, particularly in the case of auctions, where underquoted prices can attract more buyers and lead to a bidding war.
Continue reading...Ongoing focus on disaster management needed to avoid kneejerk reactions from one event to the next
Australia’s response to flood emergencies will only improve when governments can maintain focus in the times between crises, a researcher specialising in the topic has warned.
Speaking before the release of reports into this year’s floods in Queensland and NSW, Dr Alastair Stark, an associate professor of public policy at the University of Queensland, said disaster inquiries often produced effective lessons only for their implementation by governments and agencies to stall.
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Continue reading...Experts warn of worse to come, with most states likely several weeks away from peak hospitalisation rates
Hospitals across the country are “bursting at the seams” as the number of people being admitted with Covid-19 reaches record levels in several states.
Western Australia recorded its highest number of Covid hospitalisations to date on Thursday, with Queensland also expected to surpass its January peak in coming days.
Continue reading...Guardian Australia brings together all the latest on daily new Covid-19 cases, as well as stats, charts and live state by state data from NSW, Victoria, Queensland, SA, WA, Tasmania, ACT and NT. We bring together the latest numbers on the vaccine rollout and fourth dose booster vaccination rates.
Due to the difference in reporting times between states, territories and the federal government, it can be difficult to get a current picture of the pandemic in Australia. Here we have brought together data on cases, deaths, hospitalisations and vaccinations.
Continue reading...Inquiry told threat to decapitate a dog and ‘clear photographic evidence’ of assault on woman downplayed
A domestic violence victim was “failed” by a Queensland police officer who minimised her assault, despite clear evidence of a “punch-sized” bruise on her ribcage and allegations her partner threatened to decapitate a dog, a commission of inquiry has heard.
The inquiry into police responses to domestic and family violence also heard of instances of officers failing to switch on body-worn cameras and victims being turned away from front counters when attempting to report domestic violence.
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Continue reading...Australian Council of Social Services says end of supports amid new wave of virus leaves insecure workers more exposed
Lilly Hallett has become accustomed to regular lentil meals amid recent spiralling costs of living as a way to curb everyday expenses.
But the Melbourne-based casual call centre employee is also now trying to stash away part of her income in case she becomes reinfected with Covid, amid a surge in cases driven by the highly infectious Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants.
Continue reading...Officer gives evidence of colleagues describing rapes in intimate relationships as ‘surprise sex’, and saying they ‘deserved to be raped’
A Queensland police officer broke into tears as he told a commission of inquiry that he witnessed domestic violence victims being turned away and colleagues claiming some victims “deserved to be raped”.
The officer, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, gave evidence that he had heard colleagues make offensive remarks about victims who were raped in intimate relationships, claiming it was “surprise sex” or they “deserved to be raped”.
Continue reading...Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum in Winton first discovered 12 sauropod teeth in 2019, with a further five uncovered
Scientists have unearthed 17 teeth from a giant herbivorous dinosaur that roamed Queensland millions of years ago in an “exceptionally rare” Australian find.
The teeth were discovered near the western Queensland town of Winton, which palaeontologists believe was at the edge of an inland ocean around 96 million years ago.
Continue reading...Rebecca Louise Burden pleads guilty to attempted murder but tells court she believes ‘I am a good person who made a grave mistake’
The first time Rebecca Louise Burden was allowed to visit her father after Covid restrictions lifted at his aged care home, she tried to smother him with a cushion.
Burden has told a court her “lapse of judgment” came after her 68-year-old father – who had a brain injury and severe dementia – asked her to “please just kill me”.
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Continue reading...Payments extended to eight more local government areas and sped up to prioritise victims over auditing; free Covid rapid tests for concession card holders to end this month. This blog is now closed
A new campaign has launched today to tackle racism by the Australian Human Rights Commission.
Chin Tan, the race discrimination commissioner, was on ABC Radio this morning discussing the campaign he says calls on all Australians to reflect on the causes and impacts of racism, not only on its victims but Australia’s collective wellbeing as a society.
Continue reading...Auditor general’s report says waiting list has grown 78% since 2018 and amount of housing stock has not kept pace
Thousands of Queenslanders are missing out on social housing because the state government is failing to build enough homes, keep an accurate waiting list or manage its existing stock, a report says.
There are 30,922 households approved for social housing on the state’s housing register, which has grown by 78% since 2018.
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Continue reading...Inquiry hears police lodged 50,704 applications for contraventions of orders, with 9,347 charges laid
Criminal charges have been laid in fewer than 20% of cases where Queensland police lodged an application for a contravention of a domestic violence order over the past year, a commission of inquiry has heard.
A public hearing on Monday heard police lodged 50,704 applications for contraventions of domestic violence protection orders in 2021-22, while 9,347 charges were laid for a range of domestic and family violence related criminal offences.
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Continue reading...On pandemic leave payments – which are coming to an end – Speers asks Butler about the decision by the government not to extend them. Butler responds that ending these payments was necessary because of the budget.
This emergency payment was designed by the former government and the state governments. It’s a co-owned scheme that came to end an on 30 June. We are one trillion in debt and at some point emergency payments of this type have to be wound up as we move to a new phase. That’s the decision that former governments took and it’s a decision we have decided to follow as well.
There’s state rules to isolate. These emergency payments have to be wound up at some point.
I accept whenever you end an emergency payment of this type it’s going to impact people. I deeply regret that. But at some point these emergency payments simply have to be wound up. We don’t have the financial capacity to keep making them forever. They were intended to wind up on 30 June, that was the decision taken by the former government, and all state governments who are co-signatories to that scheme and it’s a decision we had to continue.
Butler: In this phase of the pandemic mask mandates and things like that are best done in a targeted way. There’s mask mandates in aged care, in health facilities, on public transport, in airplanes. And if you’re in a crowded indoor space with no ability to socially distance you should give strong consideration to wearing a mask.
Speers: Again... You only need to go to the movies or a shopping centre or the footy to see how ineffectual a recommendation is. So many people not wearing masks. Wasn’t one of the lessons of this pandemic, mask mandates for a fixed period, work?
Continue reading...Leader David Crisafulli’s announcement drew immediate criticism from environmentalists saying the move is not science-based
Queensland’s opposition has announced it will bring a net zero emissions target by 2050 to the next state election at the LNP’s annual convention in Brisbane over the weekend.
LNP leader David Crisafulli said it was “deeply troubling” that emissions had increased in Queensland over the past several years.
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Continue reading...Foreign minister Penny Wong meets her Chinese counterpart in Bali, breaking three years of diplomatic hostility. This blog is now closed
Collaery case: ‘only stress if you’re being shot at’
One of the biggest stories of the week was the announcement from the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, that the government would drop its long-running case against lawyer Bernard Collaery.
Biosecurity Queensland euthanised the horse in Mackay on Friday after it contracted the virus, which can be fatal in humans
Queensland has recorded its first case of Hendra virus since 2017 after a horse tested positive in Mackay.
Biosecurity Queensland said the result was confirmed on Friday and the horse was euthanised after its condition deteriorated rapidly.
Continue reading...Announcement follows Guardian Australia report on calls to end practice, victim’s $800 bill
Queensland Health has pledged not to charge sexual assault victims without access to Medicare for rape kits and will review its policies for other medical costs, after the findings of a comprehensive review.
The announcement comes after Guardian Australia reported on Thursday that one woman who was ineligible for Medicare was billed $800 for pathology testing this year after a sexual assault.
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Continue reading...Jacinda Ardern meets with Daniel Andrews; Dominic Perrottet warns heavy rain forecast in NSW; federal disaster payments available to 23 flood-affected areas; RBA interest rate decision due; Victoria records 16 Covid deaths, NSW records 14, Queensland records 11. Follow the day’s news live
The federal government is making disaster relief payments available to 23 flood-affected areas in NSW, with emergency management minister Murray Watt saying the assistance would be “uncapped”.
Watt announced early on Tuesday that the federal and NSW governments were making assistance available through the commonwealth-state disaster recovery funding arrangements.
These are uncapped payments, they are demand-driven and they will be available for anyone who qualifies.
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