Category Archives: Queensland politics

‘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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Seats to watch at the federal election in Queensland, where three-way contests and newcomers may hold the key

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Labor told it needs to ‘find a way to reconnect with Queenslanders’, where the Liberal party holds 23 of the state’s 30 seats

Scott Morrison largely had Queensland to thank for his “miracle” 2019 election, with the party now heading into the 2022 poll holding 23 of the 30 seats in the state, all but one with a margin of under 4%.

Many commentators credit the wave of blue to local objections to Bob Brown’s anti-Adani convoy, doubts over Labor’s climate change and tax policies and preference flows from minor parties, namely Pauline Hanson’s One Nation and Clive Palmer’s United Australia party.

Labor’s post-2019 election review found the party needed to “find a way to reconnect with Queenslanders” if it is to win the next election and indeed, opposition leader Anthony Albanese has spent significant time in Queensland, including visiting a coalmine.

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Almost 400 Queenslanders have waited two years for a decision on domestic violence assistance

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Figures tabled in parliament reveal demand on victims of crime fund growing 16% this year

It took Lisa* and her son just three days to receive a disaster support payment after they were forced to abandon their flooded Brisbane home in February.

But Lisa says after fleeing an allegedly physically and sexually violent relationship, she waited eight months for an initial payment from the state government through Victim Assist Queensland (VAQ).

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Abolition of advisory body criticised after Morrison government promises $5.9bn for Queensland dams

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Former judge Anthony Whealy says size of funding promises justifies keeping body to scrutinise water projects

The costs of the federal government’s commitment to fund dams in Queensland without the scrutiny of a now-abolished national advisory body should be a cause for concern for the community, a former supreme court judge says.

Deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce disbanded the National Water Grid Advisory Body this week, claiming it was “an appropriate time for it to conclude its work”.

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Coal seam gas company Arrow Energy fined $1m for breaching Queensland’s land access rules

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Investigation began after discovery of ‘deviated’ wells drilled from neighbouring properties

The Queensland government has fined coal seam gas company Arrow Energy $1m for breaches of land access rules over four years, after an investigation into allegations the company drilled diagonally beneath farmland without notifying the landholders.

The fine is among the most significant non-compliance penalties ever issued to a resources company in Queensland. Groups that have raised concerns against the rapid spread of the coal seam gas wells in Queensland’s farming communities say the penalty is a “small start”, but that landholders’ rights to object to gas drilling must now be strengthened.

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Citipointe Christian college principal blamed state government for school’s policy on transgender children

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Exclusive: extract of leaked letter reveals school withdrew student counselling on sexuality and gender issues

Brisbane religious school Citipointe Christian college restricted its school counsellors from providing any support to students on matters of sexuality or gender identity last month, amid uproar about new “discriminatory” enrolment contracts.

The school’s principal, Brian Mulheran, took extended leave in February after asking families to sign an enrolment contract that said students could only be enrolled by their “biological sex”.

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Greens and LNP in rare agreement over Qld government’s pandemic powers

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Palaszczuk government’s push to extend Covid pandemic powers meets opposition in parliament

The Palaszczuk government’s attempt to extend Covid-19 emergency powers by another six months has been met with fierce opposition from parties across the political divide.

The Greens and Liberal National Party have both called for greater transparency and oversight over the state’s pandemic legislation, in rare agreement.

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‘Terrible plan’: call for Queensland to stop closing Covid testing clinics as case numbers escalate

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Covid-19 infections in the state have increased by more than 50% in the past two weeks

One of Queensland’s leading infectious diseases experts has called on the state government to rethink winding down Covid testing services given the current wave of infections.

On Saturday, Queensland recorded 9,404 new Covid cases, with eight deaths, and 295 patients in hospital, including 19 in ICU.

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New Gabba train station centrepiece of $1.8bn infrastructure spend in south-east Queensland

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Three levels of government announce ‘city deal’ plan in Brisbane to address ‘positive issue of growth’ amid population boom

Environmental and “liveability” pressures that are mounting on south-east Queensland as its population booms will be alleviated under a $1.8bn “city deal”, the prime minister, Queensland premier and Brisbane lord mayor have all promised.

The three leaders spoke on Monday morning from inside the Gabba, the stadium that will be knocked down, rebuilt, integrated into a new underground train station and will, according to the prime minister, Scott Morrison, form the heart of a deal which plans for the next two decades.

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Citipointe Christian College teachers threatened with dismissal for expressing homosexuality

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Exclusive: Only last month, the school apologised to students over enrolment contracts that described homosexuality as ‘immoral’

Teachers at Brisbane religious school Citipointe Christian College are being asked to sign employment contracts that warn they could be sacked for being openly homosexual.

The school says the wording of staff employment conditions is “under review” but one former teacher, who refused to sign the document last month, says he has now effectively lost his job for taking a stand.

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‘Obsessed by coal’: former Queensland LNP minister hits out at Morrison government

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Bundaberg mayor Jack Dempsey says voters in his region ‘oppose coal’ and want no new mines

Bundaberg mayor and former Queensland LNP minister Jack Dempsey has described the Morrison government as being “obsessed by coal” and out of step with almost everybody on the climate crisis “except the big polluters”.

Dempsey also alleged federal resources minister and member for Hinkler, Keith Pitt, who has strongly advocated for the coal industry, was out of step with his electorate, which stretches from Hervey Bay to Bundaberg – an area he called the “heartland of Queensland”.

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