Category Archives: Queensland politics

Queensland real estate body tells landlords how to skirt new no-grounds eviction laws

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Renters express shock as property managers told to provide tenants with notice to leave at same time as new leases

Queensland’s peak real estate body has recommended property managers issue every tenant with a notice to leave at the same time as they are offered a new lease, as a way of circumventing the state’s new no-grounds eviction laws.

Renters who spoke to Guardian Australia criticised the recommendation, which they said has left them shocked and worried about their future.

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Spit hoods continue to be used on minors while ‘alternatives’ are explored, Queensland government says

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The controversial device has been used eight times on children aged between 10 and 17 since 2019

The Queensland government has confirmed it continues to use spit hoods on minors, with at least one child subjected to the controversial device this year.

Queensland police have told a budget estimates hearing that they have been exploring alternative measures, but the government would not confirm whether they will ban spit hoods or continue to use the restraints.

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Drink-driving Queensland mayor Karen Williams sentenced to community service

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Redland mayor Karen Williams has apologised for the incident, calling it a single lapse of judgment

A Queensland mayor who recorded a blood alcohol test of more than three times the legal limit has been ordered to do community service.

Redland’s mayor, Karen Williams, pleaded guilty to drink-driving on Monday, describing the incident as a single lapse of judgment in 18 years of public service.

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Queensland Health to review medical costs for sexual assault victims by end of year

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Organisation says fees for treatment of injuries, MRIs and STI testing for people without medicare would be reassessed

Queensland Health has committed to reviewing medical costs billed to sexual assault victims who are ineligible for Medicare by the end of the year, following reports one victim was charged $800 for pathology tests.

It comes after reports by Guardian Australia prompted Queensland Health to pledge not to charge sexual assault victims without access to Medicare for rape kits.

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Secret dealings: state-owned Queensland water company refuses to outline Adani relationship

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Sunwater says documents confidential after right-to-information request reveals dealings with mining giant

A Queensland government-owned water corporation is holding back 96 documents detailing its business dealings with Adani, refusing to answer questions or release any information about the nature of agreements it says are commercial in confidence.

The source of the billions of litres of water Adani needs every year for its Carmichael coalmine in central Queensland has been shrouded in secrecy since its bid to pipe from the Suttor River was overturned by the federal court.

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Covid hospitalisations to grow another 60% from current record, Queensland modelling shows

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State government says it is making extra hospital beds available and scaling up ambulance coordination

Covid-19 hospitalisations in Queensland are not likely to peak for another month, with the latest modelling projecting a maximum caseload of about 1,660 in late August.

The estimate represents a 60% increase of close to 600 on existing hospital numbers, which are sitting at slightly more than 1,000, the highest level of the pandemic so far.

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Plea for Queensland to resume publishing vaccination status of Covid fatalities

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Experts say data could help convince public to get booster shots as state’s Covid hospitalisations reach record levels

A leading infectious disease expert has questioned why Queensland has stopped releasing the vaccination status of Covid fatalities, as the state struggles to convince residents to get booster shots, despite record hospitalisations from the virus.

Queensland has the lowest rate of Covid booster shots in the country, with less than half the state having received a third dose.

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Albanese to restore Covid leave payment as emergency national cabinet meeting called

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Australia’s chief medical officer will give a briefing to state and territory leaders on Saturday as government backflips on pandemic support

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Anthony Albanese will propose that Canberra and the states extend the pandemic leave payment during a snap national cabinet briefing that has been expedited to Saturday.

The government has spent the past week signalling the existing $750 payment would not be extended over the winter for budgetary reasons, but that decision has been reversed after mounting pressure from backbenchers, premiers, and health experts.

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Queensland LNP pledges net zero 2050 target at next election amid ‘deeply troubling’ rise in emissions

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Leader David Crisafulli’s announcement drew immediate criticism from environmentalists saying the move is not science-based

Queensland’s opposition has announced it will bring a net zero emissions target by 2050 to the next state election at the LNP’s annual convention in Brisbane over the weekend.

LNP leader David Crisafulli said it was “deeply troubling” that emissions had increased in Queensland over the past several years.

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Queensland commits to ban charging sexual assault victims without Medicare for examination

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Announcement follows Guardian Australia report on calls to end practice, victim’s $800 bill

Queensland Health has pledged not to charge sexual assault victims without access to Medicare for rape kits and will review its policies for other medical costs, after the findings of a comprehensive review.

The announcement comes after Guardian Australia reported on Thursday that one woman who was ineligible for Medicare was billed $800 for pathology testing this year after a sexual assault.

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Political leadership will be critical to overhaul Queensland’s public sector after Coaldrake review

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It remains to be seen if politicians locked in a cycle of point-scoring and conflict can summon the maturity needed for more open government

Queensland’s premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, has enthusiastically welcomed Peter Coaldrake’s review into public sector culture and accountability as “bold”, “comprehensive” and “exactly what I want”. But the hard work of achieving change has only just begun.

Certainly Prof Coaldrake has identified many impediments to good government in Australia: a loss of public sector capacity, capability and confidence; a tendency to rely on consultants and contractors; and concerns about lobbying and about the relationship between ministers, their staff and public service departments.

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Landmark report calls for affirmative consent laws in Queensland

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Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce’s final report includes call for campaign to dispel ‘rape myths’

A major review has called for Queensland to adopt affirmative consent laws among sweeping reforms to the handling of victims of sexual assault and violence in the state’s criminal justice system.

The long-awaited final report of the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce includes 188 recommendations to improve experiences with the justice system.

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Mother of crash victim launches petition to sack drink-driving Queensland mayor

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Judy Lindsay had met with mayor Karen Williams earlier that day to discuss loss of her daughter in drink-driving incident

Separate petitions calling for the sacking of a Queensland mayor who admitted crashing her vehicle into a tree east of Brisbane after drinks at a work function have been signed by more than 6,300 people.

Redlands mayor, Karen Williams – a campaigner against drink-driving – conceded she had had “several glasses of wine” prior to the crash, which came hours after she met with families who had lost loved ones in accidents caused by drink-drivers.

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Queensland integrity review a ‘wake-up call’ on government lobbying

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Peter Coaldrake calls for more accountability and transparency surrounding lobbyists in his final report

An integrity probe into the accountability and culture of the Queensland government is a “wake-up call” for greater transparency.

The report warned the only way to restore public faith in Queensland politics was to be “more accountable and transparent ... and behave with integrity”.

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‘Inadequate response’ of Queensland police to domestic violence needs to be addressed, coroner says

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Doreen Langham died after former partner Gary Hely set alight her townhouse in 2021

A coroner has called for urgent reforms to address the “inadequate response” of Queensland police to domestic violence, after investigating the deaths of a woman and her ex-partner.

Doreen Langham died after Gary Hely set alight her townhouse in Browns Plains, south of Brisbane, with the intention of killing the 49-year-old and himself on 22 February 2021.

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‘Pandora’s box’: experts say Queensland’s windfall from coal royalties could set a precedent

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Industry and analysts predict budget measure could provide billions in additional revenue

Queensland’s rewriting of royalty rules could tip billions of dollars more into its coffers this coming year, with an analyst saying it’s a missed opportunity for New South Wales that is still open to other states and the commonwealth to mimic.

The Queensland budget this week imposed three trigger points for higher mining royalties, which the Queensland Resources Council (QRC) predicts will deliver an extra $15bn in 2022-23.

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Queensland budget’s record health spending meaningless without wages boost, unions say

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Pressure grows on state government to increase public sector salaries to meet cost of living

Record health funding promised in the Queensland budget is meaningless without a wages policy that attracts essential workers and keeps pace with cost of living increases, unions say.

Michael Clifford, the general secretary of the Queensland Council of Unions, said the 2022 budget surplus should be channelled into a fair pay increase for public sector workers after years of stagnant wages.

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Queensland budget invests in national parks but ‘does nothing’ for climate crisis, critics say

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Conservationists celebrate $200m fund for expanding national park land but concerns remain over lack of spending on renewables and emissions reduction

Queensland conservationists are celebrating a state budget with unprecedented funding for new national parks, but others are outraged it “does nothing” to address the climate emergency.

On Tuesday, the Palaszczuk government committed $262.5m to protecting more land for nature. That included $200m for expanding the national park estate, a figure the World Wide Fund for Nature described as the largest single investment in national parks acquisition in the state’s history.

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Fake Twitter accounts for new senator suspended – as it happened

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Twitter suspends two fake accounts pretending to be Fatima Payman; nation records at least 59 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

Victoria is reporting a spike in Covid related deaths, after 28 people lost their lives overnight:

Rally outside NSW parliament to protest government’s wages policy

We are losing skilled teachers, nurses, cleaners – and we’re going to have more pressure in NSW for services to be provided that we can’t retain.

It’s not much to ask and the government needs to act.

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Trains, housing and royalties: what we know about the Queensland state budget

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Funding boosts in social housing, health and rail projects flagged ahead of Tuesday’s budget

The Palaszczuk government has been relatively tight-lipped ahead of the state budget being handed down on Tuesday.

Over the past few weeks, the New South Wales government has made a series of major announcements – totalling more than $30bn in commitments – in the weeks leading up to an election budget, also being handed down on Tuesday.

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