Category Archives: David Crisafulli

Twice as effective as nets: shark-spotting drones to become ‘permanent fixture’ on Queensland beaches

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State government says expanded use of shark nets and drum lines will continue despite evidence of deadly impact on other marine life

Queensland will roll out shark-spotting drones to more beaches, after a major study found drones detected more than double the number of sharks caught in adjacent nets.

But while drones would become a “permanent fixture” of the state’s shark-control operations, the Department of Primary Industries said Queensland would continue to rely on “traditional measures like nets and drum lines”, despite evidence of their deadly impact on dolphins, whales, turtles and dugongs.

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Mother of transgender teen accuses Queensland government of privacy breach that could have ‘outed’ her child

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Revelation comes as LNP accused of ‘intimidation’ after demanding sensitive medical details from parents of transgender children

The Queensland government released private information about the mother of a transgender teenager – information she says potentially “outed” her child – to a stranger.

The revelation came as the state government was accused of “intimidation” and “an invasion of privacy” after demanding confidential medical information from parents of transgender children who are considering a further legal challenge to its controversial ban on puberty blockers.

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Queensland puberty blocker ban reinstated by health minister hours after supreme court overturned it

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Move comes after parent successfully challenged LNP’s previous ban on new patients under 18 accessing hormone treatments for gender dysphoria

The Queensland health minister has issued a new order banning the prescription of puberty blockers for transgender patients, just hours after the state’s supreme court ruled the government’s first attempt was unlawful.

On Tuesday, Justice Peter Callaghan ruled in favour of a challenge by the parent of a transgender child, judging that the January directive establishing the ban was made improperly and was unlawful.

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A year on as Queensland premier, will David Crisafulli’s small-target strategy prove his undoing?

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The LNP government has a firm stance on only one issue – youth crime – and is looking like it’s in need of an agenda

When David Crisafulli speaks to the Liberal National party faithful, his message tends to become a blunt warning to members and MPs to keep any unsavoury, unelectable tendencies out of sight.

“We don’t exist for culture wars,” the Queensland premier – who marks a year in office on Sunday – told the party’s state council just after the 2024 election.

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Crisafulli insists on more shark nets to protect human lives despite trapped mother and baby whale

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Queensland premier says he won’t protect whales ‘at the expense of one single human’

Queensland’s premier said the state is “not for turning” on its plan to expand shark netting, and won’t put protecting whales “at the expense of one single human”.

A mother and baby humpback were discovered trapped in shark netting near Rainbow Beach on Saturday, the eighth and ninth whales to become entangled in nine days.

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Human rights commissioner blasts Queensland government’s ‘hostile’ approach to First Nations people

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Scott McDougall uses speech at parliament to warn the LNP is ‘walking us backwards’ on reconciliation as he prepares to exit role

Queensland’s human rights commissioner has blasted the state government’s “hostile”, “assimilationist” approach to First Nations people in a speech at Parliament House.

Scott McDougall, Queensland’s first-ever human rights commissioner, has consistently criticised both sides of politics over a range of issues, particularly the state’s youth law and order crackdown. His seven-year term in the role comes to an end next month.

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‘Gender ideology’, quotas and anti-discrimination laws on the agenda for Queensland LNP state conference

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Despite premier David Crisafulli’s wish for his party to maintain a moderate outlook, members have presented a number of divisive social issues for debate this weekend

At this weekend’s state conference, Queensland Liberal National party members will debate banning gender-affirming care for children, repealing a ban on conversion practices and adopting a policy “whereby batteries, solar panels and wind turbines should no longer be deemed as renewables”.

Seven separate motions reference “gender ideology”, gender-affirming care or transgender people, but the word “abortion” does not appear on the agenda for the LNP’s first convention since winning last year’s state election.

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David Crisafulli found to be ‘careless’ in not declaring $200,000 in payments related to company he ran

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But Queensland premier is not in contempt of parliament over the payments, ethics committee finds

The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, was “careless” in not declaring $200,000 in payments he made after a company he had run became insolvent, the state’s parliamentary ethics committee has found.

Crisafulli became sole director and chief executive of Southern Edge Training Solutions after losing his north Queensland seat at the 2015 election.

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Queensland budget 2025: Crisafulli vows no austerity despite state facing $218bn debt

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Premier says you can ‘respect people’s money’ and still lift public services as LNP hands down first budget since 2014

The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, has promised no austerity in his first budget, despite the state facing a forecast $218bn in debt.

Tuesday’s state budget will be the Liberal National party’s first since 2014. Then led by premier Campbell Newman, the LNP lost government in 2015 after slashing tens of thousands of public service positions and proposing the sell-off of public assets to balance the books.

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Queensland to restrict good character references in sentencing of accused rapists

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Good character references from friends and families of accused rapists had previously been a consideration in a judge’s sentencing decision

The consideration of good character references for accused rapists will be restricted under major Queensland court reforms but some advocates say it does not go far enough.

The changes introduced to Queensland parliament this week are among the recommendations made by a Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council report into rape and sexual assault.

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The ‘hot mess’ Olympics? How Queensland’s 2032 Games planning descended into farce

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The LNP’s vision is for an Olympics held in venues rather than a city – and guarantees controversy across Brisbane and beyond

Few people in Queensland disagreed with the former state premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, when she described plans for the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane as a “hot mess”.

Tuesday’s announcement by the new LNP government was framed as an end to the sort of disarray that has plagued Olympic planning during the past four years.

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Fire ant sting hospitalisations surge post-Cyclone Alfred as reports of first pet death also emerge

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Twenty-three people hospitalised with fire ant stings amid an increase in reports of the highly invasive pest in south-east Queensland

Twenty-three people have been hospitalised with serious fire ant stings amid a surge in reports of the invasive pest in the aftermath of Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred and a new $24m package targeting suppression of the insect.

The National Fire Ant Eradication Program has received notifications of 60 serious red imported fire ant (Rifa) stings in south-east Queensland since 1 March, with 23 serious enough to warrant hospital care. Separately, a puppy stung to death 15 months ago was reportedly the first pet killed in Queensland by the ants.

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Tropical Cyclone Alfred live updates: wind and rain intensify as category 2 storm nears south-east Queensland and northern NSW

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BoM path track map predicts TC Alfred will cross coast on Saturday near Brisbane, the first storm of its size to do so in decades. Follow the latest updates today

Welfare recipients told to perform mutual obligations as cyclone bears down

We have a news story this morning about the impact the cyclone is already having on life in Queensland.

Fallen trees and giant stands of bamboo blocked the single road to our farm until the army and council brought heavy machinery to clear a path some time after.

We were without running water or power for days, maybe weeks, the packing shed a makeshift kitchen where we ate meals cooked off a gas barbecue and drank instant coffee made with rainwater and UHT milk to the hum of a generator.

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Cyclone Alfred live updates: BoM tracking map forecast shows category 2 storm hitting Brisbane and south-east Qld; landfall in Queensland and NSW delayed as storm slows – latest news

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BoM path track map predicts TC Alfred will cross coast on Friday near Brisbane, the first storm of its size to do so in decades. Follow the latest updates today

Speaking of preparations, adjunct senior lecturer at the Centre for Disaster Studies at James Cook University Yetta Gurtner gives advice here:

Chalmers confident insurance companies ‘know their responsibilities’

I’m confident they know their responsibilities and obligations to people.

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Towns cut off by Queensland floods warned against panic-buying as premier vows ‘resilient’ rebuild

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David Crisafulli says infrastructure to be replaced after floods needs ‘greater ability’ to withstand natural disasters

Queensland’s premier has vowed to rebuild “more resilient” infrastructure after devastating floods in the state’s north, as Queenslanders were warned not to panic-buy while they are cut off.

David Crisafulli said his government was here “for the long haul” of recovery, in an update on the state’s flooding on Sunday.

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North Queensland floods: hundreds evacuated, dozens rescued as 1.2m of rain dumped in some areas

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BoM says weather system weakening, but flood waters continue to rise and Ingham is cut off after bridge at Ollera Creek collapses

Authorities say there is “more significant rain to come” in north Queensland, amid warnings to residents not to return to flooded homes.

Dams and river catchments from Mackay to Cairns remain swollen from a week of heavy rain, which has dumped more than 1.2 metres on some locations.

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Ghost of Campbell Newman haunts early days of Crisafulli government

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Dumped commitments, lack of transparency and an absence of accountability are the hallmarks of the Queensland LNP government so far

One hundred days on from the Queensland election, the new Liberal National party has a problem of its own making.

Two strategies won David Crisafulli’s party power in October. The first was to convince the state there was a youth crime crisis, then promise hardline responses.

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One dead in Ingham flood waters as Townsville ‘black zone’ suburbs urged to evacuate

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Herbert River predicted to reach record levels as north Queensland seaside town of Rollingstone records 999mm of rain in 48 hours

Hundreds of north Queensland residents have fled their homes as suburbs and towns are inundated by rising flood waters, with authorities warning a near-record deluge could become more severe than “once in a lifetime” storms five years ago.

A woman was killed on Sunday morning during an attempted rescue from flood waters at Ingham north of Townsville.

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Number of children under 14 in adult watch houses in Queensland rises 50% in 12 months

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Report to parliament states watch houses are an ‘inadequate place to keep young people overnight’ and are ‘harmful and traumatising’

The number of children aged 13 or under in Queensland’s adult watch houses has increased by 50% in 12 months, according to new statistics.

The statistics – which were included in a paper tabled by the Office of the Public Guardian in Queensland parliament on Tuesday – showed 120 children aged between 10 and 13 spent at least one night in a police watch house in 2023–24.

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Children will get sentences ‘more punitive than necessary’ under new crime law, Queensland LNP admits

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Attorney general Deb Frecklington acknowledges bill will likely increase number of children in state watch houses

Queensland’s Liberal National party government has acknowledged their signature youth crime legislation will “directly discriminate” against children, by limiting their “protection from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment”.

The bill is also “expected to have a greater impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, who are already disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system,” according to the government’s tabled statement of compatibility with human rights.

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