Category Archives: Queensland politics

‘Situation is urgent’: treat housing crisis like a natural disaster, Queensland government told

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Advocates call for a leaders’ meeting to coordinate support for people displaced by floods, pandemic and soaring house prices

The Queensland government should respond to the deepening housing crisis as it would a natural disaster and invest billions in new housing stock, advocates say.

It should also convene leaders from the sector to form that response and guarantee the 2032 Brisbane Olympics do not fuel homelessness and housing stress.

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Queensland casino inquiry could impact on $3.6bn project, gambling expert says

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Probe ordered into Star’s suitability to hold licence amid construction of Queen’s Wharf development

One of Australia’s leading gambling researchers says the business case for Brisbane’s $3.6bn Queen’s Wharf development could possibly collapse if Star Entertainment were to be stripped of its casino licence.

The state’s attorney general, Shannon Fentiman, has ordered a probe into the casino operator’s suitability to hold a licence in Queensland after a New South Wales inquiry heard allegations Star had potentially acted criminally.

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New $750m cancer centre announced for Queenslanders ahead of state budget

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New Queensland Cancer Centre at Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital to add 150 beds to health system

Queensland cancer patients will be able to access specialist treatments at a new $750m centre, a move which is expected to ease pressure on crowded public hospitals.

On Monday the premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, announced the new Queensland Cancer Centre at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s hospital will receive funding in next Tuesday’s budget.

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Lincoln Crowley sworn in as nation’s first Indigenous supreme court judge

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Warramunga man’s elevation to bench hailed as ‘important step in a much longer process’ in Queensland

Lincoln Crowley didn’t take any classes in legal studies at high school in Charters Towers, Queensland in the 1980s. Nor did he spend much time thinking about the state’s supreme court. In fact, he doesn’t think he even knew it existed.

“But I knew what was fair and what was not,” Crowley, the state’s newest supreme court judge, said at his swearing-in ceremony in Brisbane.

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Queensland to hold inquiry into DNA testing at forensics lab amid accusations it failed victims

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Minister acknowledges family of Shandee Blackburn, who was fatally stabbed in 2013 in a case that sparked calls for reform

The Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, has announced a commission of inquiry into DNA testing at the state’s Forensic and Scientific Services laboratory after accusations it has been failing victims of crime.

The inquiry will be conducted by Walter Sofronoff, the president of the court of appeal, and comes in addition to a previously announced review into the state-run forensics laboratory.

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Queensland Labor turning green at the prospect of losing city stronghold

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Analysis: Implications of Greens wins could be decades-long – for both Labor and the LNP

A few days before the 2019 federal election, a group of regional Queensland state MPs held crisis talks with the premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, and her then deputy, Jackie Trad.

They brought advance news of the thrashing that Labor was about to receive in the state’s regional areas. Some had copped abuse from voters at polling stations. They said delays approving the Adani Carmichael coalmine would ultimately cost them their seats.

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Lincoln Crowley appointed Australia’s first Indigenous supreme court justice

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Highly regarded Queensland barrister was told as a boy he would likely end up in jail because his family is Aboriginal

Barrister Lincoln Crowley QC will become the first Indigenous judge to preside over an Australian superior court, after he was appointed to the supreme court of Queensland.

Colleagues said Crowley, a well-regarded barrister and former crown prosecutor who was made Queen’s Counsel in 2018, had broken a significant barrier for First Nations people.

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‘I will recover loudly so others don’t die quietly’: Queensland MP recounts horrific abuse

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Labor member for Macalister Melissa McMahon tells parliament of abuse she suffered, announces leave of absence

Queensland MP Melissa McMahon has divulged a harrowing childhood of sexual abuse as she announced a leave of absence from parliament.

On Thursday, the Labor member for Macalister, south of Brisbane, told parliament she would take time out to rebalance her life and family.

Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues in Australia is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732) and the crisis support service Lifeline, 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org

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Pentecostalism and the LNP’s fight for its soul in Queensland’s Darling Downs

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The seat of Groom has been held by conservatives since federation, but Labor and independent candidates have shaken up the race this election

A bastion of conservative Christian politics, the electorate of Groom has become a frontline in the battle for the soul of the Coalition.

And while religion barely rates a mention in the official campaign for Groom, there are concerns about the rising influence of pentecostalism, which could explain why the second safest seat in the country has suddenly become seen as one to watch.

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Australian Conservation Foundation names Mount Isa the most polluted postcode in the country

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Mount Isa Mines responsible for 91% of emissions in the outback city despite having an ‘industry-leading air quality management framework’

Mount Isa has been named the most polluted postcode in Australia in a new report from the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF).

The ACF said the outback city is one of four Queensland locations listed among the Top 10 most polluted postcodes in the country, alongside Gladstone, Stanwell and Tarong.

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‘One chance to get this right’: Queensland domestic violence inquiry must address police culture

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Analysis: the landmark McMurdo report was first described as ‘just another woke report’ by the police union president

The Queensland government will on Wednesday announce the terms of reference for a four-month commission of inquiry into how the Queensland police service handles domestic violence.

For leading academics, women’s advocates and domestic violence victims, the inquiry has been a long time coming.

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Keeping coal-fired power plants running is a ‘dangerous game’ for Queensland Labor, expert says

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Political scientist says state’s decision to rule out closing power stations shows major parties are ‘wedged’ on climate change

Queensland’s Labor government is playing “a dangerous game” with coal that could hurt the party’s chances in inner-city Brisbane in the federal election, according a political expert.

On Wednesday, the state energy minister, Mick de Brenni, ruled out closing any of Queensland’s eight coal-fired power plants, despite plans to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

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LNP preferences could be ‘deciding factor’ for One Nation in Queensland

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Opponents say preference decision is a strategic move that could alienate moderate voters within the party

The Liberal National party’s decision to direct Queensland voters to place One Nation second on their Senate ballots could be “the deciding factor” that sees Pauline Hanson re-elected, experts say.

It is a strategic move which political opponents have seized on as one which could alienate moderate voters within the party and see a backlash against Liberals in marginal seats.

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War of words breaks out following new report into Queensland’s housing crisis

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Queensland Council of Social Services says social housing waiting list could blow out by 10,000

The Queensland and federal governments are trading blows over the state’s housing after another report on the crisis.

A new report from the Queensland Council of Social Services (Qcoss) says more than 50,000 households are currently on the waiting list for social housing.

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Clive Palmer’s proposed open-cut mine could have ‘far-reaching impact’ on Great Barrier Reef, study finds

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Study finds tidal currents could introduce pollution from coalmine into seagrass meadows and dugong sanctuary in marine park

Billionaire Clive Palmer’s proposal to build an open-cut coalmine 10km from the coast of the Great Barrier Reef would have a “far-reaching impact” on the world heritage area, say scientists, whose modelling shows concentrated pollution from the mine could reach sensitive marine ecosystems within weeks.

The Queensland government last year deemed the Central Queensland coal proposal by a subsidiary company of Palmer’s flagship entity, Mineralogy, “not suitable” and said it posed “a number of unacceptable risks” due to its location, the prospect of polluted water discharge and a lack of effective mitigation measures.

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Queensland plan to build cabins in beachside national park angers communities

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State government proposes ‘eco-tourism’ accommodation in Sunshine Coast national park

A government proposal to build luxury cabins in the Great Sandy national park poses a threat to its pristine natural beauty and Aboriginal cultural heritage, locals say.

The Queensland government plans to construct “eco-tourism” accommodation in locations along the Cooloola Great Walk, which runs from Noosa North Shore through Cooloola to Rainbow Beach.

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Queensland government to ease Covid isolation rules for close contacts

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Changes to take effect next Thursday, bringing state’s rules closer in line with NSW and Victoria

Queensland will ease Covid-19 quarantine rules for household contacts and scrap them completely for unvaccinated international arrivals next week.

The acting premier, Steven Miles, said the changes will come into effect at 6pm next Thursday, bringing Queensland’s rules closer into line with New South Wales and Victoria.

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Queensland government acknowledges subsidence caused by CSG could affect farmland

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Farmers in the Darling Downs say even minuscule changes to the flat black soil plains could disrupt soil drainage and farming methods

A Queensland government technical study has acknowledged for the first time that subsidence caused by coal seam gas drilling could have potential consequences for farmers in the fertile Darling Downs.

Relationships between some farmers and CSG companies have become strained in the past few years, amid claims that one company, Arrow Energy, drilled diagonally beneath farmland without notifying landholders.

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George Christensen changes the dynamic for an already intense Senate race in Queensland

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Analysis: Plenty of high-profile candidates are chasing rightwing votes, but only one will likely get a Senate seat

Campbell Newman’s face is hard to miss. The most conspicuous figure in Queensland politics in a generation – the Liberal National party’s only state premier in more than 25 years – is, as the billboards say, back.

The message to commuters who recognise his mug is simple: “New party, same man.”

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Advocates say people with disability are increasingly ‘forgotten’ in emergency planning

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Insufficient accomodation and government support spark calls for better resourcing and planning in disaster responses

After being evicted from her short-term accommodation to make way for tourists, flood victim Margaret was left with nowhere else to go.

“I would have been homeless, living out of my car with two dogs,” the 79-year-old said.

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