QUEENSLAND – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Adult crime laws top Qld agenda

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Original article by Bimini Plesser, Lydia Lynch
The Australian – Page: 7 : 26-Nov-24

Queensland parliament returns this week for the first time since the October elections, with new ‘adult crime, adult time’ legislation expected to be introduced as a matter of priority. It will require that juveniles who commit serious crimes such as murder and manslaughter be sentenced as adults, with the Queensland opposition unlikely to oppose the legislation. Criminal defence lawyer Bill Potts is critical of the legislation, saying that the government’s focus should be on what causes crime, rather than locking up juvenile offenders. Queensland Law Society president Rebecca Fogerty says she is concerned that the government wants to pass the legislation before Christmas, claiming that that does not provide enough time for the legislation to be properly scrutinised.

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QUEENSLAND LAW SOCIETY INCORPORATED

Axing the Olympics was never on cards

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Original article by Lydia Lynch
The Australian – Page: 7 : 20-Mar-24

The Queensland government has responded to media reports which claimed that it had sought advice on the potential costs associated with cancelling the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games. A spokeswoman from the office of Premier Steven Miles has stated that the government has not sought advice about cancelling the Games and it has never had any intention of not proceeding with the event. The media reports alleged that the government had been advised that it would have to pay $500m in compensation if the Games were cancelled, while it would also lose $3.5bn worth of infrastructure funding from the federal government.

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QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

Secret polls led Palaszczuk to quit

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Original article by Lydia Lynch, Michael McKenna
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 16-Feb-24

The Queensland government has belatedly released the first five ‘waves’ of an ongoing polling project that has been undertaken by Ipsos Public Affairs via a $390,000 public contract. Former premier Annastacia Palaszczuk had consistently refused to release the findings of the polling, which has canvassed Queenslanders’ views on issues such as the 2032 Brisbane Olympics Games, youth crime, economic management and the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ipsos sentiment testing has influenced the government’s policy decisions since Premier Steven Miles succeeded Palaszczuk in December; the polling had also contributed to Palaszczuk’s decision to resign.

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QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, IPSOS PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Secret Qld deal puts unions miles ahead

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Original article by Lydia Lynch, Sarah Elks, Michael McKenna
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 13-Dec-23

The Queensland government is set to announce changes to its cabinet team after incoming premier Stephen Miles is sworn in on Friday. Treasurer Cameron Dick will become deputy premier after his Right faction agreed to support Miles over rival Left faction candidate Shannon Fentiman. The latter withdrew from contention after union powerbrokers negotiated a factional agreement in return for an industrial deal over government-funded infrastructure projects. Miles says his priorities will include the cost of living, health, housing, infrastructure and the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games. His first initiative will be a 12-month freeze on vehicle registrations, which will take effect from mid-2024.

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QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, QUEENSLAND. TREASURY

Qld Labor faces messy brawl for Palaszczuk replacement

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Original article by Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 12-Dec-23

Queensland’s Deputy Premier Steven Miles and Health Minister Shannon Fentiman have both confirmed their intention to run for the Labor leadership. They are both members of state Labor’s Left faction, which accounts for 25 of the party’s 52 MPs. However, the Right faction – which has 18 MPs – could potentially emerge as the ‘kingmaker’ in the leadership ballot. The Right faction’s Cameron Dick could also be a leadership contender, although he is regarded as more likely to become deputy premier. Meanwhile, outgoing premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has rejected suggestions that she resigned after losing the support of Left faction powerbroker and union leader Gary Bullock.

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QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, QUEENSLAND HEALTH, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Coal boom to fund Qld’s green power shift

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 14-Jun-23

A $1.5bn cost-of-living package is the centrepiece of the Queensland government’s 2023 budget. It includes a $550 energy rebate for all households in the state, plus a rebate of up to $1,000 for vulnerable households. Treasurer Cameron Dick does not expect the package to boost inflation, although Gene Tunny of Adept Economics notes that other states are also ramping up their expenditure, which will be taken into account by the Reserve Bank when adjusting monetary policy. Dick’s fourth budget has also allocated $19bn to pumped hydro, wind, solar and battery projects that will be owned by the government. This spending will see the budget return to deficit in 2023-24, following a record surplus of $12bn for 2022-23. A $10bn increase in coal royalties is the major contributor to the surplus.

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QUEENSLAND. TREASURY

Qld virus ward worker not vaccinated

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Original article by Jamie Walker, Lydia Lynch
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 30-Jun-21

The Queensland government has announced a three-day snap lockdown of south-east Queensland, Townsville, Magnetic Island and Palm Island after a female employee at Brisbane’s Prince Charles Hospital contracted the Delta variant of COVID-19. She worked as a casual receptionist outside the hospital’s COVID-19 ward and travelled to Townsville and Magnetic Island while she was infectious. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is "furious" that the woman has not been vaccinated. The woman is one of two new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases recorded in Queensland in the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, New South Wales has recorded 19 new cases and there have been two new cases in the Northern Territory. Some 12 million people across Queensland, NSW, Western Australia and the NT are currently subject to lockdowns.

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QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, PRINCE CHARLES HOSPITAL

Mining camps for overseas travellers

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Original article by Michael McKenna
The Australian – Page: 5 : 15-Jan-21

The Queensland government has confirmed a proposal to house returning international travellers in remote mining camps due to growing concern about the high-contagious UK variant of COVID-19. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says this is a "rational option" given that the new variant is up to 70 per cent more infectious than the original strain. Palaszczuk intends to put the proposal to the upcoming meeting of the national cabinet on 22 January. Queensland has recorded four new cases of COVID-19 among people in hotel quarantine, and there are 27 active cases statewide.

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QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

Qld govt refuses to reveal whether harsh restrictions will be lifted

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Original article by Hayden Johnson
The Courier-Mail – Page: 4 & 5 : 11-Jan-21

The three-day lockdown of Greater Brisbane is slated to end at 6pm on 11 January, but Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has not yet committed to lifting the restrictions. The snap lockdown was imposed after a cleaner at a quarantine hotel tested positive for the highly contagious UK strain of COVID-19; two returned travellers in quarantine at the hotel have also been diagnosed with the mutated variant of the coronavirus. Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young says the latest COVID-19 numbers will determine the government’s next move. Queensland has recorded two consecutive days with no new cases.

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QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, QUEENSLAND HEALTH

No sense in Queensland’s Sydney bar, say experts

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Original article by Mark Ludlow, Hannah Wootton
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 3-Nov-20

Queensland will open its borders to all of regional New South Wales on 3 November, but its borders remain closed to people from Sydney. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the national cabinet are aiming to have all state borders open by Christmas, and ABC health expert Dr Norman Swan says there is no justification for state borders to remain closed while national numbers of COVID-19 cases are so low. Meanwhile, federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud accused Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk of playing on the fears of older Queenslanders in an attempt to win votes.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF AGRICULTURE, WATER AND THE ENVIRONMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET