Category Archives: Queensland

Flood evacuation orders issued for Lismore after man and dogs die in Queensland

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Severe weather warnings issued for parts of eastern Australia still recovering from recent floods, with heavy rain forecast

Towns in northern New South Wales are bracing for another bout of possibly life-threatening flash floods, with the State Emergency Service ordering parts of flood-hit Lismore to move out of harm’s way.

The NSW SES on Monday issued an evacuation order about 7.30pm for North Lismore stating “residents must evacuate by 9pm”. Residents of South Lismore were ordered to leave by 10pm.

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Daniel Andrews catches Covid as nation records three deaths – as it happened

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Lismore and NSW SES issue evacuation orders; man dies in flood waters at Kingsthorpe; Victorian premier to isolate for seven days after positive Covid test; Star casino group chief steps down; nation records three Covid deaths, all in NSW. This blog is now closed

I love this series. It’s called Sorted and it’s a subjective, entirely arbitrary and fascinating ranking of things by Guardian Australia contributors. Check this out from Charmaine Manuel:

If you’re in Victoria, there are planned Extinction Rebellion blockades today. XR says “the times and locations are secret”, but this morning they are targeting the Exxon Mobil depot in Yarraville.

We are aiming to cause sustained disruption.

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Australia live news update: man drowns at Sydney beach; Labor’s Katy Gallagher says ‘mean girls’ label ‘diminishes women’; 11 Covid deaths

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Man drowns on Sydney’s northern beaches; Labor senator Katy Gallagher says she had no ‘difficult arguments’ with Kimberley Kitching beyond what was normal in politics; Victoria records five Covid deaths and 7,466 new cases; NSW records one death and 17,450 new cases; Queensland records 7,738 new cases and one death; Western Australia records 7,197 new cases, four deaths. Follow developments live

The NSW Labor opposition has outlined a plan for the state to rebuild and recover from the devastating floods that have left about 1,500 people in emergency accommodation and damaged or destroyed about 95,000 homes, AAP reports.

The federal and New South Wales governments were too slow to act in the immediate response and have been too slow in their support, NSW Labor has said in a statement today.

The difference is, David, we’re looking for maximum community benefit and economic benefit while the government’s looking for maximum political benefit.

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‘Terrible plan’: call for Queensland to stop closing Covid testing clinics as case numbers escalate

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Covid-19 infections in the state have increased by more than 50% in the past two weeks

One of Queensland’s leading infectious diseases experts has called on the state government to rethink winding down Covid testing services given the current wave of infections.

On Saturday, Queensland recorded 9,404 new Covid cases, with eight deaths, and 295 patients in hospital, including 19 in ICU.

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Australia news live update: 26 Covid deaths as Atagi recommends fourth jab; sanctions for Belarusian president; Lambie says refugee deal ‘a line in the sand’

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Jacqui Lambie says she did not regret supporting repeal of medevac laws; PM announces $58m funding for endometriosis care and treatment, and $81m for Medicare-supported genetic testing; new sanctions on Belarusian president and Russian propagandists; Peter Dutton says Australia has ‘fantastic’ relationship with Solomon Islands; nation records 26 Covid deaths. Follow all the day’s news live

And Victoria has reported 9,244 new cases and nine deaths overnight:

NSW has reported 23, 702 new Covid cases overnight and seven deaths:

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Great Barrier Reef authority confirms unprecedented sixth mass coral bleaching event

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Aerial surveys show almost no reefs across a 1,200km stretch escaping the heat, prompting scientists to call for urgent action on climate crisis

The Great Barrier Reef has been hit with a sixth mass coral bleaching event, the marine park’s authority has confirmed, with aerial surveys showing almost no reefs across a 1,200km stretch escaping the heat.

The Guardian understands a United Nations mission currently under way to check the health and management of the reef will be briefed on the initial findings of the surveys as early as Friday in Townsville.

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Japanese encephalitis declared disease of national significance – as it happened

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Rex Patrick to reveal political intentions tomorrow after Nick Xenophon announces run for Senate; Japanese encephalitis declared disease of national significance; Liberals select candidate for Bennelong; fifth arrest this week over climate crisis protest; Morrison says having Putin at G20 ‘a step too far’; at least 35 Covid deaths recorded. This blog is now closed

Here’s the latest on that rain to come, which is already hitting Sydney.

Australia is risking its economic security in a future crisis by being too dependent on foreign-flagged commercial ships, a former navy chief, Tim Barrett, has warned.

When push comes to shove, the place where the ship is registered is king. They can tell their ships where to go, what to do and what to carry. We don’t have an ability to do that except for the handful we have left.

To be entirely dependent on others is very concerning.

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Flood-hit Queensland renters have just days left to negotiate a break in their lease

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With rental properties in short supply, many tenants are facing a difficult decision whether to stay or go

Howard Marshall and his partner, Gavin Chuah, have spent three weeks living out of suitcases and bed-hopping in and out of friends’ homes.

Flood water inundated the garage of their South Brisbane unit on 27 February, interrupting the building’s electricity and hot water supplies, and shutting off the lift and fire alarm.

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UN mission must see coral bleaching to get ‘whole picture’ of Great Barrier Reef, experts say

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Government’s reef envoy says visiting scientists ‘have to see the good and the bad’ as widespread bleaching confirmed

A UN mission under way in Queensland to see if the Great Barrier Reef should be put on an “in danger” list will not get “the whole picture” unless it visits reefs currently experiencing coral bleaching, conservationists and the government’s own reef envoy have said.

Details of the 10-day mission, which began on Monday in Brisbane, are being kept confidential and the locations to be visited have not been formally disclosed.

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Australia news live update: NSW government seeks to suspend MP facing charges; nation records 26 Covid deaths

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NSW government seeks to suspend Gareth Ward; Craig Foster lashes treatment of asylum seekers in National Press Club address; new research suggests long-lasting Covid immune response from vaccine-induced T-cells; at least 26 Covid deaths recorded; Atagi expected to green light fourth booster shots for some Australians. Follow all the day’s news live

David Koch:

Have you spoken to the “mean girls” – Kristina Keneally, Penny Wong – in the last week or so since Kimberly Kitching’s death about the allegations of bullying?

I think that term is really unfortunate.

She used it, it is not just us.

There is a lot of people speaking on other people’s behalf at the moment. I think that in politics, there are a range of people who are involved in party politics who play it pretty hard. One of those was Kimberly Kitching. She was somebody who engaged in politics and was passionate about her belief and from time to time that could produce some conflict. But it needs to be done in a way that is respectful, in a way that is understanding, and attempts to reach consensus.

It is rather bizarre ... I am always available and indeed I lobby regularly to be on the Sunrise program. I am always happy to discuss things with the media, but I won’t be taking lectures from a prime minister who visited Lismore and had strict streets shut off so victims of floods could not get near him.

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SA hospitals under ‘extraordinary strain’; Perrottet asks MP to resign after charges – as it happened

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NSW MP Gareth Ward denies historic sexual abuse allegations; South Australian hospital system ‘under extraordinary strain’ new premier says, as at least 23 Covid deaths recorded nationally; Anthony Albanese proposes award in late Victorian senator Kimberley Kitching’s honour. This blog is now closed

Peter Malinauskas has promised to keep his shirt on from now on, after a photo of his muscled torso made quite a stir in the world of Australian politics.

ABC radio host Patricia Karvelas:

During the campaign, you were photographed shirtless in swimming shorts, and it caused a bit of a stir. I have to ask you ... the Australian’s Greg Sheridan said jokingly on [ABC] Insiders that you’re “far too good looking”. Which I thought was quite a statement. What have you made of the reaction to that picture?

Do you have any idea how much grief I’ve copped around the place as a result of that?

Have they told you just to buff to be premier?

They’ve piled it on, let me tell you. I haven’t stopped copping it, and I deserve every bit of it.

We were announcing a big investment at our major aquatics centre here in South Australia and a whole bunch of us jumped in for a swim in our boardies with our kids there. And, yeah, it got a bit more attention than I anticipated, fair to say.

So you’re going to keep your shirt on from now on?

Damn straight!

I think we’re about to see a federal election where a cost of living is a front and centre issue. And I think Australians get the price of petrol, but they can’t control the price of groceries.

The way we address cost of living as a nation is to start having an incomes policy focus on how we improve working in small businesses to improve the productivity of their labour, so they can earn a higher income. And that’s why education, training and skills is so important.

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Australia news live update: mourners farewell Kimberley Kitching; Peter Malinauskas sworn in as SA premier; six Covid deaths recorded

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Labor senator Kimberley Kitching’s funeral held in Melbourne; Peter Malinauskas sworn in as new SA premier; Morrison and Palaszczuk announce infrastructure funding package; Lismore flood victims to dump debris at protest; at least six Covid deaths recorded. Follow all the day’s news

For almost four years Suzanna Sheed has started each parliamentary sitting week by moving the same motion.

The independent MP for Shepparton, a rural electorate of almost 50,000 people in northern Victoria, asks for a non-government business program to be reinstated in the state’s lower house.

They’re having a real impact on people right now, so we’ve been conscious of that. But what we do as a government is we don’t have knee-jerk reactions, we think through carefully how we can best provide the sort of support that we believe the federal government can deliver.

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New Gabba train station centrepiece of $1.8bn infrastructure spend in south-east Queensland

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Three levels of government announce ‘city deal’ plan in Brisbane to address ‘positive issue of growth’ amid population boom

Environmental and “liveability” pressures that are mounting on south-east Queensland as its population booms will be alleviated under a $1.8bn “city deal”, the prime minister, Queensland premier and Brisbane lord mayor have all promised.

The three leaders spoke on Monday morning from inside the Gabba, the stadium that will be knocked down, rebuilt, integrated into a new underground train station and will, according to the prime minister, Scott Morrison, form the heart of a deal which plans for the next two decades.

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Citipointe Christian College teachers threatened with dismissal for expressing homosexuality

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Exclusive: Only last month, the school apologised to students over enrolment contracts that described homosexuality as ‘immoral’

Teachers at Brisbane religious school Citipointe Christian College are being asked to sign employment contracts that warn they could be sacked for being openly homosexual.

The school says the wording of staff employment conditions is “under review” but one former teacher, who refused to sign the document last month, says he has now effectively lost his job for taking a stand.

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Chemical from tyres linked to mass salmon deaths in US found in Australia for first time

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Scientists find 6PPD-quinone in Queensland creek and call for urgent research to see if local aquatic life was harmed

A toxic chemical released from tyres as they wear down on roads and implicated in mass deaths of salmon in the United States has been found in an Australian waterway for the first time.

Scientists detected the compound – known as 6PPD-quinone – among a cocktail of chemicals and hundreds of kilograms of tyre particles washed into a creek from a motorway during storms.

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Australia bans exports of aluminium ores to Russia over ‘illegal’ aggression towards Ukraine

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Expanded sanctions seek to limit Russia’s ability to produce aluminium which is critical to arms and munitions manufacturing

Australia has banned the sale of alumina and aluminium ores to Russia in response to what it described as “unrelenting and illegal aggression” towards Ukraine.

Also on Sunday, prime minister Scott Morrison announced Australia would donate coal and further military equipment to Ukraine to “support the brave and courageous resistance” as part of a new aid package that also includes $30m in emergency humanitarian assistance.

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Josh Frydenberg open to intervening in insurance market as climate change pushes up premiums

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Treasurer says he’s conscious premiums too high for many people in disaster-prone areas, but says more work needed on a proposal to extend reinsurance scheme

Josh Frydenberg has flagged he is “open” to further market interventions making insurance more affordable, but says more preparatory work will need to be done before the Morrison government would extend its $10bn cyclone reinsurance pool in northern Australia to cover more natural disasters.

In an interview with Guardian Australia ahead of the budget on 29 March, the treasurer said he was conscious that a changing climate rendered insurance problematic in some parts of Australia.

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Farmers welcome provision of extra flood relief funding in NSW – as it happened

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Inquest into death of Warlpiri man Kumanjayi Walker to start in September; call for inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women; advice for asthma sufferers during flood clean-up; at least 26 Covid deaths recorded. This blog is now closed

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is on the telly now (hope he’s saving some juicy bits for his speech later). He’s talking about this idea of returning to some sort of pre-Covid fiscal world. He says:

As you know, we recalibrated our budget strategy when the pandemic first hit and we needed to do that to ensure there was sufficient economic support with programs like jobkeeper, the cash flow boosts, the $750 payments to pensioners, carer, and those on income support. That helped stabilise the economy by opening up the purse strings. Now that the recovery is well underway and the unemployment rate is down to a 14-year low of 4%, it is time to move to the next phase of the budget strategy and that means stabilising debt and then reducing debt as a proportion of the overall economy, and ending those crisis-level, emergency economic support programs.

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‘Obsessed by coal’: former Queensland LNP minister hits out at Morrison government

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Bundaberg mayor Jack Dempsey says voters in his region ‘oppose coal’ and want no new mines

Bundaberg mayor and former Queensland LNP minister Jack Dempsey has described the Morrison government as being “obsessed by coal” and out of step with almost everybody on the climate crisis “except the big polluters”.

Dempsey also alleged federal resources minister and member for Hinkler, Keith Pitt, who has strongly advocated for the coal industry, was out of step with his electorate, which stretches from Hervey Bay to Bundaberg – an area he called the “heartland of Queensland”.

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Australia live news updates: call for inquiry into NSW flood response; at least 22 Covid deaths recorded

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AFLW final postponed after Covid outbreak; NSW Labor calls for inquiry into flood response; Ukraine embassy calls for Australian sanctions against two Russian oligarchs; at least 22 Covid deaths recorded. Follow all the day’s news live

From senior economics reporter Ben Butler and foreign affairs and defence correspondent Daniel Hurst:

Ukraine’s embassy in Canberra has joined calls for the Australian government to sanction two Russian oligarchs who have assets here, Oleg Deripaska and Viktor Vekselberg.

The government of Ukraine is grateful to the government of Australia for its proactive and extensive sanctions policy against Russia, which is the biggest among the Indo-Pacific countries ...

We hope that those Russian oligarchs will be included in the next round of sanctions.

Vekselberg has already been sanctioned by the British and US governments. It’s curious that the Australian government has not yet followed suit given its claims of being in lockstep with the US and UK.

Vekselberg’s interest in Falcon pre-dates Origin’s farm-in agreement agreed in 2015, so Origin was entered into the joint venture with eyes wide open.

We certainly have had very limited capability to conduct experimental fires under extreme conditions. Nobody in their right mind is going to give us the go ahead to light a fire on a Black Saturday-type day ...

This lab means we’ll be able to study particular aspects of fire behaviour under the extreme conditions that are more likely to occur under climate change.

By using the data collected by the pyrotron, our prediction tools become more accurate. And that means better decision making about where firefighters can safely go, what firefighting strategies to use, and also improved emergency warnings for communities.

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