Complex web of data reveals large swathes of country controlled by small number of billionaires and large companies
Continue reading...Category Archives: Queensland
Dingo fence to be built on Fraser Island after attacks on children
The Queensland government will spend $2m on a fence around Orchid Beach to protect visitors from the native dingo population
A new fence is to be built around a township on Queensland’s Fraser Island after several dingo attacks on children.
The state government will spend $2m on the fence around Orchid Beach on the north-east of Fraser Island, which is also known as K’gari.
Continue reading...Giant wood moth: ‘very heavy’ insect rarely seen by humans spotted at Australian school
Mammoth moth which can have 25cm wingspan found by builders working on Queensland primary school
A giant moth with a wingspan measuring up to 25cm has been found at a Queensland school next to a rainforest.
Builders found the giant wood moth, the heaviest moth in the world, while constructing new classrooms at Mount Cotton state school.
Continue reading...Australia live news: Australia live news: Covid breach at Brisbane airport after traveller tests positive; Brittany Higgins and PM to meet
Former Liberal staffer will speak to Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese in Sydney, and Brisbane and Melbourne on Covid alert. Follow latest updates
- Some 16% of public servants have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace, survey finds
- India wants access to cheap copies of Covid vaccines. So why is Australia holding out?
- Coronavirus WA: Perth Covid lockdown rules and Western Australia’s coronavirus restrictions explained
Here's Justice Katzmann on the jingle being a benefit to Palmer pic.twitter.com/6fjHIDyBFX
Clive Palmer has been ordered to pay Universal Music $1.5m in damages over the “unauthorised” use of a version of the hit 1980s song We’re Not Gonna Take It by glam metal band Twisted Sister in a political ad during the 2019 election campaign.
Palmer used a cover version of the song during his multimillion-dollar advertising blitz during last year’s federal election campaign. The Palmer version of the song changed the lyrics to:
Australia ain’t gonna cop it, no Australia’s not gonna cop it, Aussies not gonna cop it any more.
Continue reading...CEO quit Queensland’s biggest power generator after energy minister complained to board
Mick de Brenn claimed he was blindsided when Stanwell chief executive Richard van Breda said company was pivoting from coal to renewables
The board of Queensland state-owned power generator Stanwell corporation spent 18 months planning a transition strategy to pivot from coal to renewables, before the unexpected resignation of its chief executive last week.
Guardian Australia understands Richard van Breda quit Stanwell after the state energy minister, Mick de Brenni, complained to board members he was blindsided by an announcement – revealed by the Guardian – that rapidly changing market conditions would probably force the scaled-down operation of its coal plants.
Continue reading...Murdered Queensland mother-of-three Kelly Wilkinson remembered as ‘strong fierce woman’
Hundreds gathered at a vigil to pay tribute to ‘beloved daughter, sister and mother’ who was killed last week
Mother-of-three Kelly Wilkinson has been remembered as a “strong, fierce woman with an enormous heart” at a vigil in the Gold Coast.
Hundreds gathered in Parkwood on Monday afternoon to pay tribute to the 27-year-old, who was killed last Wednesday. Her estranged husband has been charged with her murder.
Continue reading...Australia news live: AMA says WA hotel quarantine not ‘fit for purpose’ for containing Covid
Top doctor says leaks continue to happen because federal experts ‘deny’ virus is airborne; WA premier Mark McGowan to decide today whether Perth and Peel can reopen after three days of lockdown. Follow all the latest news and updates, live
• WA Covid hotspots: list of exposure sites
• Perth and WA Covid lockdown rules explained
• WA premier furious that Australian residents are travelling to ‘Covid-infected countries’
The social media giant Facebook has released a short statement confirming it has removed the page of independent federal MP Craig Kelly for repeated breaches of misinformation policy.
A Facebook company spokesperson said:
We don’t allow anyone, including elected officials, to share misinformation about COVID-19 that could lead to imminent physical harm or COVID-19 vaccines that have been debunked by public health experts.
We have clear policies against this type of content and have removed Mr Kelly’s Facebook Page for repeated violations of this policy.
Thanks to Matilda Boseley for another electric display of web logging.
Continue reading...Gold Coast deaths being treated as murder-suicide after woman’s body found in furniture chest
Queensland police say there is ‘early indication’ man, 53, responsible for death of 48-year-old woman at Sapphire apartment complex in Labrador
Police are investigating the sudden death of a 53-year-old man and suspicious death of a 48-year-old woman, who was found in a furniture chest inside an apartment block at a Gold Coast suburb in Queensland.
Gold Coast district detective inspector Chris Ahearn said on Saturday morning that the case was being treated as a murder-suicide.
Continue reading...Australia news live: Scott Morrison says Brittany Higgins meeting ‘in process’; Victoria to make mRNA Covid vaccine
State commits $50m to domestic manufacturing of cutting-edge vaccines; former Liberal staffer to ask Scott Morrison to fix ‘systemic coercive control’ in Parliament House. Follow live
- Victoria plans to domestically manufacture mRNA vaccines
- Aged care workers relying on spare vaccines and confusing advice
- Australia should consider giving more AstraZeneca vaccine to PNG
- Delayed vaccine rollout a life and death matter for some stranded overseas
- Fewer than 7% of disability care residents have received Covid jab
That is where we will leave the blog for Wednesday. Thanks for following along. Here’s what made the news today:
The government has closed a loophole that would have allowed Australians to use New Zealand as a stepping stone to travelling to another country following the opening of the Trans Tasman travel bubble.
On Monday, health minister Greg Hunt amended the biosecurity legislation to specify that Australians could not go to any country other than New Zealand. Unlike Australia, New Zealand does not have an outbound travel ban.
Travellers should be aware that international travel to any other country, except New Zealand, continues to pose a significant risk to public health, and for that reason outgoing travel to other countries remains restricted.
“Australians considering travel outside of Australia or New Zealand are still required to apply for an exemption from the outgoing travel restrictions through ABF, and ensure they review the information available on Smartraveller relevant to their destination.”
Continue reading...Man charged with murder after woman found dead with burn injuries in Gold Coast backyard
Officers are treating the death at Arundel as a homicide that may have been witnessed by Kelly Wilkinson’s three young children
A man has been charged with murder after the burned body of mother-of-three Kelly Wilkinson was found in a Gold Coast back yard.
Queensland police on Tuesday evening said they had charged a 34-year-old New Beith man with murder and breaching a domestic violence order.
Continue reading...Australia news live: Greg Hunt has ‘full confidence’ in NZ Covid controls after border worker contracts coronavirus
Queensland premier says people need confidence in vaccine before mass rollout; US secretary of state says countries investing in new coal ‘will hear from US’. Follow all the latest news and updates, live
• Secretary of state says countries investing in new coal ‘will hear from US’
• Australia increasingly isolated as US and others ramp up climate ambition
• Melbourne GP clinic with capacity to vaccinate 2,100 a week supplied with just 50 doses
The health department secretary, Brendan Murphy, has made opening remarks at the Covid-19 Senate inquiry. Murphy said Australia is “still in a very good place” even as comparable countries are battling fresh outbreaks and a fourth wave of the novel coronavirus.
He said:
“We are in a very fortunate place, even though we have border measures in place we are basically living a normal life – we have full football stadiums, restaurants, things are back to normal.”
Two state education ministers, Labor and Liberal, had criticised the milkshake video earlier today, via AAP.
Victoria’s Education Minister James Merlino called for the federal government to pull all content featured on The Good Society website, which launched as part of the Department of Education’s Respect Matters program last week.
Continue reading...Eyewitnesses urged to come forward after dingo mauls toddler on Fraser Island
Two-year-old boy who was attacked after he wandered away from family ‘lucky not to sustain more injuries’, paramedics say
Rangers investigating the savage mauling of a toddler by a dingo on Fraser Island have called for eyewitnesses to the attack to come forward.
The two-year-old boy has wounds all over his body but will recover after a lone dingo repeatedly bit him early on Saturday.
Continue reading...Australia dingo attack: toddler airlifted to hospital after being bitten on Fraser Island
Boy, 2, suffers bites to leg, arm, neck and shoulder and lacerations on back of head
A two-year-old has been airlifted to hospital after a dingo attacked him on Queensland’s Fraser Island.
The boy suffered deep puncture wounds and lacerations but his injuries are not life-threatening.
Continue reading...Australia news live: NSW Aboriginal deaths in custody inquiry recommends sweeping reforms; dance squad blasts ABC over navy twerking coverage
NSW MPs call for end to police investigating themselves on 30th anniversary of royal commission; Queensland eases Covid restrictions; fashion designer Carla Zampatti farewelled in Sydney. Follow updates live
- Indigenous advocates respond to inquiry into Aboriginal incarceration
- Labor pledges $90m to reduce Indigenous incarceration
- What Australia can learn from world’s best vaccine rollouts
Scott Morrison is speaking now.
Now that unemployment has hit 5.6%, the treasurer Josh Frydenberg has signalled he will revisit the budget strategy - which is that the Morrison government won’t tighten fiscal policy until unemployment is “comfortably within” 6%.
Frydenberg told reporters in Canberra that 5.6% was not “comfortably within” 6% and that now is “not the time for austerity”.
Continue reading...Australia news live: Christine Holgate says she was ‘bullied’ and Australia Post chairman fabricated evidence
Holgate says she was ‘humiliated’ by prime minister Scott Morrison; man dies of coronavirus in Queensland. Follow all the latest news and updates, live
• Australia won’t purchase Johnson & Johnson jab
• AstraZeneca blood clotting: what is this rare syndrome?
• Andrew Laming blocked from recontesting next election
• More than half of Australians think vaccine rollout is too slow
Wow, it’s been a busy few hours! With that, I’m going to hand you over to Michael McGowan to take you through the rest of the afternoon.
Christine Holgate gave some evidence about executive bonuses. It is a little confusing and we’ll come back to it, because even the senators seem a little confused about what is being said. And it’s important we get it right, so I’ll head back over the transcript to see what she was saying there.
Liberal senator Sarah Henderson has the question call now. She says she has been very moved by Holgate, and what she went through. She asks whether she thinks the questioning on the 22 October estimates hearing was fair.
Holgate:
In all honesty, I didn’t consider whether it was fair or not fair. I absolutely respect and Senator Carr, forgive me but you’ve asked me many tough questions over my time with you (“that’s my job,” Carr says)...and I was about to say ‘that’s your job’.
Continue reading...How we stay together: ‘We’re the middle-aged couple walking down the street holding hands’
Angela Kitzelman and Don Jarmey joke their secret is having ‘no goals’, a philosophy that’s worked for the pair over more than three decades
Names: Angela Kitzelman and Don Jarmey
Years together: 36
Occupations: public servant and lab technician
“If you can travel together successfully, that is a sign of a strong relationship,” says Don Jarmey. “If you can sit for 41 hours on a bus from Istanbul to Budapest with about 2 metres of snow outside, where the bus stops three times in that 41 hours and you still love each other at the end, then yeah.”
Continue reading...Mining exploration surges in Cape York as scheme to return land to traditional owners stalls
No new properties have been purchased under the Queensland government program since 2017, a report finds
Cape York Indigenous groups have warned that a successful Queensland government program to return land to traditional owners is on the verge of stalling, potentially leaving large and significant swathes of the peninsula at the mercy of mining speculators.
The Cape York land tenure resolution program has returned more than 4m hectares of land to traditional owner groups since 2007, including about 2m hectares that is designated as national park.
Continue reading...Australia news live: mass Covid vaccination hub for Sydney could be operational in ‘couple of months’
Gladys Berejiklian says a NSW Covid immunisation centre will be capable of administering 30,000 doses a week; EU denies blocking further shipments of AstraZeneca earmarked for Australia. Follow the latest updates, live
- EU denies blocking 3.1m Covid vaccine doses from reaching Australia
- Trans-Tasman travel bubble to start from 19 April
- Six key things we don’t know about Australia’s vaccine rollout
- Disability services take vaccinations ‘into their own hands’ amid rollout failures
Australia needs to manage the increasingly complex relationship with China, even as the government seeks areas to diversify its export markets, according to a new report out this afternoon.
The Asia Taskforce – which includes the Business Council of Australia and Asia Society Australia – calls for a target of boosting Australia’s exports to 35% of GDP by 2030 (up from 29% in 2019).
Popular support for the open economy cannot be taken for granted. Retreating to old familiar relationships in western markets, falling behind in Asia literacy and failing to build connections with new Asian business partners should not be seen as a serious default choice when consumption in Asia will likely fuel future global growth.
The Greens are once again calling for an independent rapid review into the vaccine rollout to identify any issues and restore public confidence.
Senator Rachel Siewert, Greens spokesperson for health, said in a statement:
With targets missed, persistent problems with vaccine supply, and troubles getting the available vaccines to where they’re needed, the rollout of these vital jabs hardly inspires confidence...
We shouldn’t let this devolve into a game of finger pointing and blaming shifting between the federal and state governments. This pointless squabble doesn’t inspire confidence in the rollout, and can only serve to add further delays to the process.
Continue reading...Besieged MP Andrew Laming says his behaviour has been ‘reinvented into harassment’
Queensland Liberal defends ‘completely dignified’ photo of woman bending over but apologises for ‘feelings I’ve caused’
Under-seige Morrison government MP Andrew Laming says his online behaviour has been “re-invented into harassment” and that the “facts are on my side”, claiming he only ever asked “hard questions” but apologised “for how it’s made people feel”.
The Queensland MP, who asked for privacy as he takes a month’s paid leave as he undertakes “clinical counselling”, and courses in “empathy and appropriate communication”, has explained his side of the story in a 16-minute interview with his local radio station. Laming has said he will not stand at the next election, but said he had no plans to leave the parliament until his term was completed.
Continue reading...Queensland Covid: states slam borders shut as Brisbane enters snap three-day lockdown
Two women who travelled to Byron Bay in NSW while infectious are among the four new local cases of the UK variant of coronavirus
- Follow the Australia liveblog
- Brisbane’s lockdown: everything you need to know
- Queensland Covid hotspots; NSW Covid hotspots
A number of states have slammed their borders shut to Queenslanders as greater Brisbane enters a snap three-day snap lockdown after authorities discovered four new locally-acquired coronavirus cases.
Queensland’s chief health officer, Dr Jeannette Young, on Monday described the growing cluster of seven cases as “significant community transmission” of the UK variant. She warned people in greater Brisbane to stay home over the coming days.
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