Category Archives: Queensland

PM says prospect of Chinese naval base in Cambodia ‘concerning’ – as it happened

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Prime minister responds to reports of Chinese naval base in Cambodia; nation records 29 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

There’s no magic fix for inflation, Jason Clare says

Education minister Jason Clare appeared on the Today show this morning alongside Scott Emerson.

Inflation is through the roof. Wages are through the floor. We have got interest rates knocking at the door. The Reserve Bank ... have made it clear there will be a number of interest rate rises, which makes it harder for people with big rate rises already. Especially for people who are ahead in their mortgage, but if you have just signed up and the bank says you have to pay more, it will make it harder and harder.

There is no simple magic fix to this.

The market expects them to increase interest rates because we have an inflation problem in the economy and rising interest rates were something that the Reserve Bank governor flagged before the election and that is the trajectory we are on, but just because these interest rate rises are expected, it won’t make them any less difficult for a lot of people who are already confronting cost-of- living pressures.

That is the unfortunate reality. There is no point mincing words about that. Our job is the government is to make sure that after some of this near-term cost-of-living relief runs out that it is replaced by responsible long-term sustainable cost-of-living relief in areas like medicines and childcare, getting power bills down over time and getting real wages moving again.

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Queensland to hold inquiry into DNA testing at forensics lab amid accusations it failed victims

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Minister acknowledges family of Shandee Blackburn, who was fatally stabbed in 2013 in a case that sparked calls for reform

The Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, has announced a commission of inquiry into DNA testing at the state’s Forensic and Scientific Services laboratory after accusations it has been failing victims of crime.

The inquiry will be conducted by Walter Sofronoff, the president of the court of appeal, and comes in addition to a previously announced review into the state-run forensics laboratory.

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Albanese honours Queen amid jubilee celebrations; up to seven monkeypox cases detected; 59 Covid deaths reported – as it happened

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Prime minister renames island in Lake Burley Griffin to honour monarch’s 70 years of service to Australia. This blog is now closed

Brisbane’s new Greens MPs set their sights on the suburbs

Brisbane’s new Greens MPs talk about the moments they “flipped” voters – the driveway conversions of climate unbelievers or hostile folks who had only ever supported the major parties.

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Brisbane Catholic school asked students to seek approval for formal dresses

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Mary MacKillop college student says many were worried to show photos of outfits ‘in case they were declined’

A Brisbane student says her school asked girls to submit photos of their formal dresses for “approval” after giving them an “outdated” booklet outlining the event’s dress code.

Guardian Australia has seen an email sent by Brisbane’s Mary MacKillop college on 17 May, a week before the year 12 mid-year formal asking students to submit photos of their planned attire.

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PM says ministry has more women than any other in history – as it happened

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Guide Dogs Victoria CEO Karen Hayes resigns; at least 56 Covid deaths recorded. This blog is now closed

Quotas ‘might be’ something for Liberals to consider, Sussan Ley says

Deputy leader of the Liberal party Sussan Ley followed David Littleproud.

It doesn’t need to be legislated, however those policy discussions will happen through our party room and our shadow cabinet ... Demonstrating you’re serious about climate change doesn’t just include a conversation about targets.

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Pacific nations ‘very positive’ on re-engagement, PM says – as it happened

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Bushmaster reportedly destroyed in fighting in Ukraine; nation records 30 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

Finance minister Katy Gallagher is speaking now to ABC Insiders host David Speers. She says Labor faces “a very serious set of economic and budget challenges, and we don’t want to pretend it is anything but that”.

Q: Are you saying that the figures that were produced showing deficits totalling $224bn over the next four years – were they accurate or not?

Well, they are certainly the numbers that the finance department and the Treasury signed off on in the election campaign, but I think the point we are making is that there is a range of spending that we are having a look at in the budget and there is also clearly some huge budget pressures coming.

I guess in those areas – health, aged care, the NDIS, defence, national security – where there are all of them growing faster than GDP and going to play significant pressure on the budget going forward …

I haven’t had many moments to reflect, I’ve got to say ... it’s been a busy time. But I do understand the great responsibility that I have – I’m humbled by it. It says a lot about our great country that the son of a single mum, who was an invalid pensioner living in council housing, can rise to lead the country as prime minister and I’ll never take it for granted. I’ll honour it every day and I’ll do my best. That’s not to say I’ll be perfect, because none of us are, but I’ll try to keep it real on the way through and continue to keep my feet on the ground, because I think that is really important as well.

Australians are generous people and I think that they’ll give us a go. I get the sense out there that they want us to succeed. And I had people who didn’t vote for us as well, who said to me, we really want you to succeed for the sake of the country. So we’ll do our best.

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One child a month left on a bus across Australia over the past five years

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Lawyer acting for families says it is ‘happening more than people would believe or understand’

At least 68 children have been left on buses in Australia in the past five years – a rate of more than one a month.

Earlier this month, three-year-old Nevaeh Austin was treated in intensive care after being found unconscious on a bus outside her Queensland childcare centre. She had been left on the bus alone for six hours in temperatures over 30C .

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Australia news live update: Australian man dies in Ukraine; Coalition ‘dropped the ball’ on Pacific engagement, Albanese says as Samoa signs China agreement

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Prime minister says Labor ‘won’t drop the ball’ as Samoa signs agreement with China; the Greens’ Stephen Bates claims victory in seat of Brisbane. Follow all the day’s news

Nationals MP Darren Chester reportedly told Barnaby Joyce of his intention to challenge him for the leadership in the party’s group chat.

May we all strive to have such chaotic group chat energy.

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Queensland Labor turning green at the prospect of losing city stronghold

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Analysis: Implications of Greens wins could be decades-long – for both Labor and the LNP

A few days before the 2019 federal election, a group of regional Queensland state MPs held crisis talks with the premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, and her then deputy, Jackie Trad.

They brought advance news of the thrashing that Labor was about to receive in the state’s regional areas. Some had copped abuse from voters at polling stations. They said delays approving the Adani Carmichael coalmine would ultimately cost them their seats.

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Lincoln Crowley appointed Australia’s first Indigenous supreme court justice

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Highly regarded Queensland barrister was told as a boy he would likely end up in jail because his family is Aboriginal

Barrister Lincoln Crowley QC will become the first Indigenous judge to preside over an Australian superior court, after he was appointed to the supreme court of Queensland.

Colleagues said Crowley, a well-regarded barrister and former crown prosecutor who was made Queen’s Counsel in 2018, had broken a significant barrier for First Nations people.

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‘Highly implausible’ that new Galilee Basin coalmines would be profitable, study finds

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Report says Adani’s Carmichael mine in central Queensland seems ‘rather a political decision, not an economically driven one’

Any new coalmines in Australia’s Galilee Basin, including Adani’s Carmichael mine, will not be economically viable in the long run under even the most generous assumptions about the future of the fossil fuel, according to an analysis by German academics.

The study, developed in conjunction with Australian experts, found it was “highly implausible” that mines in the central Queensland basin could run profitably and there was a high chance they would end up as stranded assets.

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‘I will recover loudly so others don’t die quietly’: Queensland MP recounts horrific abuse

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Labor member for Macalister Melissa McMahon tells parliament of abuse she suffered, announces leave of absence

Queensland MP Melissa McMahon has divulged a harrowing childhood of sexual abuse as she announced a leave of absence from parliament.

On Thursday, the Labor member for Macalister, south of Brisbane, told parliament she would take time out to rebalance her life and family.

Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues in Australia is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732) and the crisis support service Lifeline, 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org

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Scenes of chaos witnessed at Queensland hospital in the hours before boy’s death

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Five-year-old Hiyaan Kapil died early on Monday after being sent home from the Logan hospital

A patient has described chaotic scenes at an emergency department in the lead-up to the death of a five-year-old boy, who was discharged from a hospital south of Brisbane while still visibly sick.

Hiyaan Kapil died in the early hours of Monday morning, after being sent home from the Logan hospital at about 10pm on Sunday night.

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Election 2022 live: Dai Le dismisses eligibility concerns; doctors welcome Covid booster expansion as 41 deaths recorded

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Eligibility for fourth dose of Covid vaccine extended; ‘don’t think we’ve got a better choice’ for Liberal leader, Dave Sharma says of Peter Dutton; at least 41 coronavirus deaths recorded. Follow all the day’s developments

The SMH has some interesting lines from the Liberal candidate in Gilmore, Andrew Constance, who says his party were punished for being “too focused on themselves”.

While Gilmore remains on a knife-edge, the former state government minister said he was not surprised by the outcome of the election, warning the Liberal party that it needed to refocus on community concerns:

The party has been too introverted and too focused on itself.

It has to recognise its broad-based appeal is not sectional interest. The party exists for the community … there’s no such thing as a “heartland” in Australian politics.

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Infamous Captain Cook statue in controversial pose removed from Queensland street

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Eight-metre-tall statue in pose some liken to a Nazi salute will be moved from Cairns to the Atherton Tablelands

A statue of a Captain James Cook with an arm raised in a position that some liken to a Nazi salute has been removed from a main street in Cairns.

Demolition contractor Martin Anton hopes to be the unlikely saviour of the controversial statue, which had been used to advertise a topless bar, after reportedly buying the statue for a token $1.

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Lismore braces for more flooding amid storm warnings for south-west Western Australia

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Northern NSW continues to be hammered by rain and Queensland’s south-east back on flood watch

Lismore residents are being warned they could be hit with more floods as rain continues in northern New South Wales.

The region has already endured repeated severe flooding in recent months and the Bureau of Meteorology said more could be on the way after rain over the weekend.

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Labor victory means Murugappan family set to return home to Biloela

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After four years in immigration detention, the election would produce an all-or-nothing result for the Tamil asylum seekers

About 11pm on election night in the central Queensland town of Biloela, Angela Fredericks phoned her absent friend.

“Priya, you are coming home,” she said.

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Clive Palmer’s massive advertising spend fails to translate into election success for United Australia party

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UAP vote increases slightly to around 4.7% but was exceeded by the One Nation vote

Clive Palmer’s mammoth campaign spend of close to $100m has failed to deliver his party results, with its primary vote failing to reach 5% across the country.

In both regional and metropolitan areas, the United Australia vote increased slightly to about 4.7%, and was strongest in Queensland where it polled close to 6%.

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Australian federal election 2022 live: Plibersek says Albanese has a ‘tough job’ as polls tighten

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AEC concedes some Covid-positive Australians ‘may not be able to vote’: prime minister responds after Labor announces policy costings; Covid and illness lead to drop in working hours; nation records at least 52 Covid deaths. Follow all the day’s developments live

Scott and Jenny Morrison are visiting Whitemore in the Labor-held electorate of Lyons in Tasmania this morning.

Brian Mitchell holds Lyons on a margin of 5.2%, although his buffer was inflated by the disendorsement of his Liberal opponent mid-campaign in 2019 for anti-Islamic social media posts. Morrison is still on the offence, seeking gains to offset expected losses elsewhere.

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Some polling stations may not open on election day due to staff shortages, AEC says

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Electoral commission urges people in potentially affected regions to access alternative voting options, and volunteer to work

The Australian Electoral Commission has said staff shortages may mean some polling stations will be unable to open for the election on Saturday.

The electoral commissioner, Tom Rogers, said the impact would be “limited” with the vast majority of Australia’s 7,000 polling stations to remain open.

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