Category Archives: Queensland politics

Queensland government clears way for controversial New Acland coalmine expansion

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Stage three of New Hope Group’s open-cut mine granted a water licence, allowing work to proceed

Work can begin on the expansion of the controversial New Acland thermal coalmine after the Queensland government granted a water licence for the project.

Stage three of New Hope Group’s open-cut mine was on Thursday granted a water licence, clearing the final hurdle for work to start.

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Proposal for motels to house homeless people to be brought to Queensland summit

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Repurposing of existing accommodation and other facilities to be suggested at government-convened housing meeting

Hotels and motels would be repurposed to house homeless people under a proposal to be tabled at Queensland’s affordable housing summit on Thursday.

The proposal is among a string of ideas to be floated for urgent relief for the tens of thousands of people who are on the state’s social housing waiting list, couch surfing or sleeping in cars or on the streets.

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Queensland considers stronger regulations after students quizzed over teacher’s living arrangements

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MP Grace Grace says schools should be ‘supportive environments’, after Livingstone Christian College principal’s investigation

Queensland’s education minister, Grace Grace, says she is considering beefing up the powers of the independent schools’ regulator, to ensure students outside the state system are “protected and supported”.

On Monday, Guardian Australia revealed the principal of a Gold Coast school, Livingstone Christian College, interviewed several students amid an investigation into whether a teacher had told them she lived with her boyfriend.

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Public ownership of power assets key to smooth shift to renewables, Queensland energy minister says

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Government also able to offset impact of higher energy prices globally following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Mick de Brenni says

Retaining control of its electricity assets has given Queensland an edge over other regions in coordinating and funding the race to decarbonise the economy, the state’s energy minister, Mick de Brenni, says.

Queensland last month unveiled a $62bn plan to rid its power grid of coal by 2036, replacing the generation with 25GW of large-scale wind and solar farms, new transmission lines and two giant pumped hydro plants for storage.

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Queensland police discipline failures in ‘clear breach’ of workplace health and safety laws, says lawyer

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Commissioner says not all officers have had a safe workplace as critics label complaints procedure a joke

The Queensland Police Service continues to employ frontline officers whose actions resulted in payouts worth millions of dollars to victims of bullying and harassment, Guardian Australia has learned.

The commission of inquiry into Queensland police responses to domestic violence has revealed dozens of instances where officers were found to have engaged in racism, sexism, misogyny and bullying. In many of these cases, officers were repeat offenders and not subject to disciplinary action.

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Queensland government moves to legislate coercive control as a form of domestic violence

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The bill would amend laws to include a ‘pattern of behaviour’ and update the definition of stalking

The Queensland government will seek to broaden the definition of domestic violence to include coercive control, as it moves towards making it a criminal offence in its own right.

The bill, introduced into parliament on Friday, would amend legislation to include a “pattern of behaviour” and update the definition of stalking to reflect modern technology.

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Proposed levy on Queensland’s vacant homes backed by advocates

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Greens bill will see investors pay 5% levy on all residential property left vacant for more than six months

The Queensland Greens say their proposal to tax investors for vacant homes could see tens of thousands of properties returned to the rental market during a nationwide housing crisis.

The bill, introduced into parliament on Thursday, proposes charging investors a 5% levy of the “capital improved value” of all residential property and land that has been vacant for six months or more in a year.

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Residents given a spray as Queensland government hoses down flood threat with free water offer

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Authorities announce plans to reduce Wivenhoe dam level to mitigate flood risk, with residents encouraged to start hosing

Residents of south-east Queensland have been encouraged to break out their gurneys and let loose with the hose as the government reduces the level of Wivenhoe dam due to an increased risk of major floods.

The state’s premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, said lowering the dam level from 90% to 80% capacity would increase its effectiveness for flood mitigation in coming months.

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Queensland police discipline system ‘failed’ officers sexually assaulted by colleagues, minister says

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Mark Ryan says he is appalled by ‘disgraceful’ evidence heard at inquiry and calls for changes to system

Queensland’s police minister has acknowledged that the force’s disciplinary system has “failed” officers subjected to sexual assaults by their police colleagues.

The commission of inquiry into police responses to domestic violence last week heard how officers who perpetrated sexual assault, sexually harassed junior female colleagues or made racist or misogynistic comments often faced little to no consequences for their behaviour.

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Star ‘unsuitable’ to hold a casino licence in Queensland, state government says

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Independent review found a ‘serious dereliction’ of anti-money laundering responsibilities

Star Entertainment has been declared unfit to hold a casino licence in Queensland and will be issued with a notice to explain why it should continue to operate in the state.

Former judge Robert Gotterson’s report into the ASX-listed casino operator was released on Thursday after a public investigation into Star’s conduct in Queensland.

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‘Shocked and saddened’: Queensland attorney general concerned by police failure to investigate alleged gang rape

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Shannon Fentiman says she will meet with Karen Iles after raising the matter with the police minister

Queensland’s attorney general says she was “shocked and saddened” by revelations that police failed to investigate a series of alleged sexual assaults against a 14-year-old girl, and has raised the matter with the state’s police minister.

Guardian Australia revealed on Tuesday that police failed to investigate the case, lost key documents, and later wrongly told the complainant that her 2004 statement had been destroyed.

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Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 802 9999. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html

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‘Dark ages’: Brisbane lord mayor pushes for Queensland to adopt daylight savings

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Adrian Schrinner promotes economic benefits in latest bid to change clocks, saying state is ‘letting good daylight hours go to waste’

In Hervey Bay, Paul unwittingly switched on Sunday night’s NRL grand final 60 minutes after kick-off. The game he was watching had a half to go but the result had already been decided.

Paul was among those suffering after Queensland’s reluctance to join much of the country in winding clocks forward an hour for the annual introduction of daylight savings.

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Queensland government pledges to end reliance on coal-fired power by 2035

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Annastacia Palaszczuk says state is facing a ‘climate emergency’ while unveiling $62bn energy plan

Queensland will end its reliance on coal-fired power by 2035 under a 10-year $62bn energy plan to create a clean “super-grid” of solar, wind and hydroelectric power.

In a historic announcement for a state known for its coal mining, the premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, said Queensland was facing a “climate emergency” and a bold vision was needed.

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Queensland lab at the centre of DNA testing failures allegedly beset by workplace conflicts

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Exclusive: state government was aware of problems at forensic lab, which included bullying complaints and ‘vendettas’ against managers

Alleged serious DNA testing failures at Queensland’s troubled forensic lab developed alongside a “chronic toxic culture” in the workplace, including a large number of bullying complaints, claims of “vendettas” against managers and staff requiring stress leave.

Guardian Australia can reveal the state government engaged consulting companies, psychologists, mediators and lawyers in an attempt to fix long-running cultural problems at the Queensland Health forensic and scientific services facility.

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Queensland to allow granny flats to be rented as urgent fix for housing crisis

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Premier says many cheaper rentals will now hit the market, helping thousands of people across the state

A change to planning rules to allow Queenslanders to rent out their granny flats will increase affordable housing stocks, the state government says.

Restrictions on who can live in granny flats will be removed so secondary dwellings can be rented on the open market, the premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, announced on Friday.

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Vested interests can’t be allowed to dictate Queensland’s response to the housing crisis

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Developers are being touted as saviours to the state’s housing woes but greenfield development won’t affect affordability

About six years ago, the Brisbane city council sought to forcibly remove a growing number of homeless people staying underneath the Go Between and Kurilpa bridges in South Brisbane.

A few years later, the Queensland government placed a series of large boulders under the Kurilpa Bridge to prevent rough sleepers from returning.

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Calls for 50,000 new social houses in Queensland before 2032 Olympics

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Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announces 200 new crisis accommodation units as prelude to upcoming housing summit

Social services organisations have welcomed the Queensland government’s moves to source urgent crisis accommodation for a growing number of homeless people, but warn that only long-term measures can ultimately fix the state’s housing crisis.

The state’s premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, on Friday chaired a roundtable with housing industry groups, local government and the social services sector. The meeting was a prelude to a housing summit next month.

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‘Completely laughable’: claims that a mine will create ‘more jobs per hectare’ than the Great Barrier Reef derided

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Clive Palmer’s Central Queensland Coal suggested proposed coalmine is a ‘greater economic powerhouse’

Claims that Clive Palmer’s proposed Central Queensland coalmine would help the Great Barrier Reef – and would generate “more jobs per hectare” – have been derided as “completely laughable” by an environmentalist, economist and First Nations people.

Earlier this month environment minister Tanya Plibersek said she intended to block the coalmine due to its “unacceptable impacts” on the reef world heritage area, which is 10km from the two proposed open cut mines.

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Queensland officers investigated colleagues from same police station over ‘failure of duty’ allegations

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Over five weeks of hearings, inquiry has heard allegations of police failures toward domestic violence victims

One in five allegations about Queensland police failures in responding to domestic violence complaints were investigated by officers working at the same station or work group, a commission of inquiry has heard.

The inquiry was told of 126 “failure of duty” allegations against the Queensland police service (QPS) recorded in the year to 30 May. Of those, 26 were investigated by an officer in the same station or work group, while 20 allegations were examined by someone of the same or lesser rank, the inquiry heard.

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State government ‘disappointed’ as Queensland real estate peak body urges skirting of new eviction laws

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Property managers are being advised to provide notices to leave when issuing fixed-term leases

Queensland’s housing department says “best practice” advice given by the state’s peak real estate body that would see every renter issued with notice to leave at the start of their lease is “disappointing” and “not in the spirit” of rent reforms.

But the tenants’ union is calling for the state government to go further, urging them to restrict the issuing of “Form 12s” and make it harder for renters to be removed without reason.

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