Category Archives: Queensland politics

Climate-sceptic IPA refuses to reveal funders in fiery Senate inquiry

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Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart has previously donated to Institute of Public Affairs but thinktank won’t say if she remains a donor

A thinktank known for its rejection of the climate crisis and a conservation group that has opposed renewable energy projects refused to identify their funders during a fiery Senate inquiry into climate and energy misinformation on Wednesday.

Chair of the committee, Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson, asked Rainforest Reserves Australia’s vice-president, Steven Nowakowski, who had funded nine full-page newspaper advertisements promoting an open letter attacking a shift to renewable energy and promoting nuclear.

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Twice as effective as nets: shark-spotting drones to become ‘permanent fixture’ on Queensland beaches

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State government says expanded use of shark nets and drum lines will continue despite evidence of deadly impact on other marine life

Queensland will roll out shark-spotting drones to more beaches, after a major study found drones detected more than double the number of sharks caught in adjacent nets.

But while drones would become a “permanent fixture” of the state’s shark-control operations, the Department of Primary Industries said Queensland would continue to rely on “traditional measures like nets and drum lines”, despite evidence of their deadly impact on dolphins, whales, turtles and dugongs.

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Mother of transgender teen accuses Queensland government of privacy breach that could have ‘outed’ her child

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Revelation comes as LNP accused of ‘intimidation’ after demanding sensitive medical details from parents of transgender children

The Queensland government released private information about the mother of a transgender teenager – information she says potentially “outed” her child – to a stranger.

The revelation came as the state government was accused of “intimidation” and “an invasion of privacy” after demanding confidential medical information from parents of transgender children who are considering a further legal challenge to its controversial ban on puberty blockers.

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Queensland to create public register of sex offenders as Daniel Morcombe’s parents ‘hope it will go national’

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Bruce and Denise Morcombe call on other states to act as LNP passes ‘Daniel’s law’, allowing public naming of some child sexual abusers

Queensland parliament has passed laws to create the state’s first public register of some child sexual abusers, with the new legislation named in memory of child murder victim Daniel Morcombe.

The move adds momentum to a campaign by Daniel’s parents, Bruce and Denise Morcombe, for a national register. The couple founded the child safety education charity the Daniel Morcombe Foundation after the murder of their 13-year-old son in 2003 by paedophile Brett Peter Cowan.

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Woman who overturned Queensland’s puberty blocker ban ‘not backing away from the fight’ after LNP reinstates it

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Exclusive: Parent who successfully challenged previous ban on children being prescribed hormones for gender dysphoria considers new lawsuit

The mother of a transgender child who successfully sued to overturn Queensland’s ban on puberty blockers and hormone treatments for children with gender dysphoria says she is “not backing away from the fight” after the government reinstated the ban hours after her supreme court victory.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is considering launching another lawsuit to overturn the health minister’s decision on Tuesday evening to issue a new order preventing patients under 18 and not already on a treatment plan from accessing the drugs in the public system.

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Queensland puberty blocker ban reinstated by health minister hours after supreme court overturned it

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Move comes after parent successfully challenged LNP’s previous ban on new patients under 18 accessing hormone treatments for gender dysphoria

The Queensland health minister has issued a new order banning the prescription of puberty blockers for transgender patients, just hours after the state’s supreme court ruled the government’s first attempt was unlawful.

On Tuesday, Justice Peter Callaghan ruled in favour of a challenge by the parent of a transgender child, judging that the January directive establishing the ban was made improperly and was unlawful.

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A year on as Queensland premier, will David Crisafulli’s small-target strategy prove his undoing?

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The LNP government has a firm stance on only one issue – youth crime – and is looking like it’s in need of an agenda

When David Crisafulli speaks to the Liberal National party faithful, his message tends to become a blunt warning to members and MPs to keep any unsavoury, unelectable tendencies out of sight.

“We don’t exist for culture wars,” the Queensland premier – who marks a year in office on Sunday – told the party’s state council just after the 2024 election.

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Queensland’s 10-cent container refund scheme referred to crime and corruption commission

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Parliamentary inquiry into Containers for Change recycling program reveals allegations of bullying and conflicts of interest

Ten allegations against Queensland’s container recycling scheme have been referred to the state’s corruption watchdog after a parliamentary inquiry on Thursday revealed allegations of bullying and conflicts of interest.

A parliamentary committee revealed claims that the board coordinating the state’s Containers for Change is “dominated” by Coca-Cola and Lion, with several submissions to the inquiry claiming that the two beverage companies have an incentive to reduce the number of containers being recycled in order to lower their costs.

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Controversial Queensland mayor Troy Thompson resigns after corruption inquiry

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Thompson, accused of misleading voters about his military record, says he will now nominate in the byelection caused by his departure

A controversial north Queensland mayor accused of misleading voters about his army service has resigned.

Troy Thompson was suspended on full pay in November while the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) conducted an investigation.

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Queensland deputy premier labels BHP ‘unAustralian’ as mining giant blames job cuts on coal royalties scheme

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Jarrod Bleijie defends levy as BHP Mitsubishi Alliance moves to mothball Saraji South mine and slash 750 jobs

Queensland’s deputy premier has labelled BHP “unAustralian” and defended the state’s mining royalties scheme after the mining giant blamed it for its decision to mothball a coalmine and cut hundreds of jobs while also reviewing the future of its training academy.

On Wednesday, BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) announced a decision to suspend operations at its Saraji South coalmine and slash 750 roles across the state, blaming “unsustainable” royalties and market conditions.

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Queensland government to ban pill testing in move criticised by health advocates

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Liberal National party expected to legislate ban this week, putting an end to testing of illicit drugs at festivals

Queensland’s state government is expected to ban pill testing, including at festivals, by attaching amendments to an unrelated bill in parliament in a move criticised by health advocates.

Under the previous Labor government, Queensland was the first state to establish a fixed pill-testing strategy on an ongoing basis, in 2024. Clinics were opened on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane.

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Human rights commissioner blasts Queensland government’s ‘hostile’ approach to First Nations people

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Scott McDougall uses speech at parliament to warn the LNP is ‘walking us backwards’ on reconciliation as he prepares to exit role

Queensland’s human rights commissioner has blasted the state government’s “hostile”, “assimilationist” approach to First Nations people in a speech at Parliament House.

Scott McDougall, Queensland’s first-ever human rights commissioner, has consistently criticised both sides of politics over a range of issues, particularly the state’s youth law and order crackdown. His seven-year term in the role comes to an end next month.

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‘Gender ideology’, quotas and anti-discrimination laws on the agenda for Queensland LNP state conference

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Despite premier David Crisafulli’s wish for his party to maintain a moderate outlook, members have presented a number of divisive social issues for debate this weekend

At this weekend’s state conference, Queensland Liberal National party members will debate banning gender-affirming care for children, repealing a ban on conversion practices and adopting a policy “whereby batteries, solar panels and wind turbines should no longer be deemed as renewables”.

Seven separate motions reference “gender ideology”, gender-affirming care or transgender people, but the word “abortion” does not appear on the agenda for the LNP’s first convention since winning last year’s state election.

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First Nations group launches federal appeal to block construction of main Brisbane 2032 Olympics stadium

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Application lodged for permanent legal protection of Victoria Park, where state and federal governments plan to spend billions on sports infrastructure

A First Nations group has applied to halt construction of the main stadium planned for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

The state and federal governments plan to spend $3.8bn on a 63,000-seat stadium at Victoria Park in inner-city Brisbane. It will host the opening and closing ceremonies and athletics events.

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Queensland LNP government launches inquiry into CFMEU state branch and its Labor ‘enablers’

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Deputy premier likens investigation to 1980s Fitzgerald inquiry, accusing Labor of orchestrating ‘protection racket’ for union

Queensland’s Liberal National party government has invoked the inquiry that brought down decades-long conservative rule in the state as it vowed to pursue a Labor opposition that it described as the “enabler” of violence within a union.

The premier, David Crisafulli, announced a “landmark inquiry” into the state branch of the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) on Sunday, which he described as the “most powerful tool” at the government’s disposal.

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Drew Hutton helped found the Australian Greens. So why has the troubled party booted him from its ranks?

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The former life member says his support of those voicing ‘trans-critical’ views is a matter of free speech – but others say it’s a question of what values the party supports

Drew Hutton had assumed he would live out his life a card-carrying Green. The 78-year-old retiree turned up to local branch meetings, staked party corflutes into the lawn of his home on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and handed out how-to-vote cards long after stepping down from active duty in the party.

Given Hutton had been awarded life membership and his friend – and the Green’s first national leader – Bob Brown had lauded him a “towering figure in Australian environmental and social politics” who, “more than anybody” (including Brown himself) was “responsible for the formation of the Australian Greens”, it must have seemed a safe bet.

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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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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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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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