Category Archives: Annastacia Palaszczuk

‘Disgraceful and gutless’: Queensland deputy premier pilloried for attack on judiciary

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Steven Miles said a magistrate’s decision to release children locked in Townsville watch house was ‘a media stunt’

Queensland’s deputy premier, Steven Miles, has been accused of engaging in a “disgraceful” breach of the separation of powers for claiming the safety of residents was being “held to ransom by rogue courts and rogue justices”.

At a press conference on Friday, Miles said a decision by a Townsville magistrate to release several children being held on remand in the local watch house was a “media stunt”, prompting fierce pushback from civil liberties veteran Terry O’Gorman.

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Queensland’s new criminal penalties for young offenders will ‘turbocharge injustice’, critics say

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Measures, including a maximum of 10 years for car theft, condemned by rights and legal reform advocates

The Queensland government has come under heavy criticism after it announced new criminal penalties that mean children could face up to 10 years in prison for car theft.

The premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, unveiled the measures on Thursday after two teenagers were charged with the murder of North Lakes woman Emma Lovell, sending out a press release headed “Tough laws made even tougher”.

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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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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 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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Evacuations as more than 500 roads cut by south-east Qld flooding – as it happened

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Queensland Fire and Emergency Services says it’s had to rescue people in low-lying areas where water has risen quickly.

QFES says most people rescued haven’t had “situational awareness” of the unfolding event or made the “decision to turn around.”

If it is flooded, forget it. We have lost far too many lives on the roads this year and in previous events.

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ABC misses out on final leaders’ debate; key independents back call for robodebt inquiry – as it happened

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Channel Seven to host final debate of election campaign; crossbenchers back call for royal commission into robodebt scandal; Scott Morrison focuses on cost of living concerns; Anthony Albanese marches for May Day in Brisbane; Sally McManus would support wage increase for public sector workers; 13 Covid deaths recorded across the nation. This blog is now closed

Labor is still on the campaign sell for its first homeowner policy.

Jason Clare faced questions ranging from, “Is this too small to have an impact?” to, “Won’t it drive up house prices?”

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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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Queensland to provide $3,000 subsidy to buy electric vehicles

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Palaszczuk government to support purchases of EVs cheaper than $58,000 and invest $10m in charging stations

The Queensland government will pay a $3,000 subsidy to electric vehicle buyers and build new charging stations to incentivise take-up, under a new strategy to be announced on Wednesday.

The 10-year strategy includes measures the state says will help to drive down emissions and ultimately help Queensland meet its net zero commitment by 2050.

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‘Took no action’: Annastacia Palaszczuk and department criticised for response to ‘bitch on a witch-hunt’ slur

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The Queensland premier had told public servants Nikola Stepanov and Robert Setter to ‘get back to work and get on with it’

Queensland’s integrity commissioner says the premier’s department took no further action after a top public servant rejected her plea for mediation over his alleged behaviour towards her.

The state’s integrity commissioner, Dr Nikola Stepanov, became upset when she told a parliamentary committee on Monday that the Public Service Commission chief executive, Robert Setter, allegedly described her as a “bitch on a witch-hunt” during a 2018 phone call.

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Pressure mounts on Morrison government to include flooding in $10bn reinsurance pool

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Politicians at state and federal level back calls to expand Northern Australia cyclone scheme to other natural disasters across the country

The federal government is under increasing pressure to expand its reinsurance pool for cyclone damage to include flooding, with calls for the Coalition to pass the legislation in the final days of parliament before the looming election.

Politicians across the political divide, at state and federal level, have backed calls to expand the $10bn Northern Australia reinsurance pool for cyclone damage to cover more natural disasters, across the country. Several Coalition members – including Warren Entsch, one of the scheme’s principal advocates, and Kevin Hogan, representing the Lismore-based electorate of Page – have thrown their weight behind the changes, as well as north coast MPs Janelle Saffin and Tamara Smith.

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Coalition considering extending extra payments to flood victims in northern NSW after backlash

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Scott Morrison continues to defend flood response as Queensland premier says offer to declare a national emergency in the state’s south-east is ‘too late’

Scott Morrison is “looking at” extending eligibility for extra payments to more flood victims on the New South Wales north coast, in response to anger over the decision to leave some of the hardest-hit disaster areas out.

The prime minister made the comments in Brisbane where he was planning to declare an emergency two weeks after major floods that killed 13 people and damaged thousand of homes and businesses in the south-east.

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Flood waters surge across Brisbane and south-east Queensland as ‘rain bomb’ threatens lives

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Heavy rainfall expected to continue overnight, with northern New South Wales next in the line of fire

Flood waters continued to rise across Brisbane, south-east Queensland and other parts of the state on Sunday night as a “rain bomb” dumped significant volumes of water into the city and put more than 1,000 homes at risk.

In some parts of Brisbane, flooding and damage has already been more severe than the 2011 floods, which killed 33 people and caused widespread damage.

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