Claims of police corruption have hit the QLD police again, with up to 20 police hauled in for secret questioning and accusations of drug and organised crime activity. Is another Fitzgerald Inquiry needed? asks Madonna King.
Politics / Australia / QLD
Joe Ludwig’s dad shows the real campaign finance agenda
The Australian went back over a decade of returns from Labor Holdings Pty Ltd and concluded that this secretive Queensland investment arm has pumped $25 million into the ALP’s federal and state campaigns since 2000.
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Creating “smart school” heat-maps with My School data
Joel Pobar has done some impressively nerdy things with data from the My Schools website to create heat-maps of where Australia’s top schools are located.
Where’s the F word … err fructose … in healthy thinking debate?
Overweight children eat more and exercise less because they are fat, not the other way round, and the Queensland government’s Smart Choices initiative will do nothing to change that.
The corporates that helped Bligh, Barnett to power
The release of this morning’s Australian Electoral Commission’s “periodic disclosures” data paint a vivid picture of who bankrolled the two state elections that occurred in the 2008/09 financial year.
When big polling leads mean big election results
If we look back over the last 10 years or so of Federal and State politics, there’s been a number of examples where political parties have enjoyed large and consistent polling leads, Kevin 07 being the only exception. Possum Comitatus crunches the numbers.
Brisbane: the city that just keep getting uglier
For years, Brisbane has been growing uglier and uglier as new infrastructure is added with nothing but practicality and money in mind — so what can Brisbanites do about it? asks Robert MacDonald.
The scent of death hovers over Bligh
Is it already bye bye Bligh? Queensland premier Anna Bligh has alienated many on the Left, her chief of staff has left and polling is looking poor. It’s only a matter of time until she’s gone now.
Queensland prepares for a Dick-led government
Ailing Queensland Premier Anna Bligh will be knifed before state parliament resumes in February and replaced with Attorney-General Cameron Dick, says senior QLD ALP sources.
Pay pollies peanuts and you’ll get (even more) monkeys
Why the anger when Aussie politicians’ salaries — measly compared to the private sector — are given a slight raise? Pollies also have to deal with public and media scrutiny, so let’s pay them what they’re worth.
Moti case reveals AFP shortcomings
The public is entitled to be informed of the way their interests are being represented overseas by “DFAT Cats” and their AFP cousins, writes Sydney barrister Roger de Robillard.
Sheehan: Get ‘em in and spit ‘em out: the media churn of politics
Leadership speculation! Spill! New leader! Opinion Polls! Scandal! Rather than focusing on policies, Australian politics is an endless horse race with the media as jockey and lots of blood being spilt, writes Paul Sheehan.
150 years of Queensland
It’s been 150 years since Queensland was proclaimed a separate colony from NSW, and the state is celebrating itself, naming its most influential figures, best artists and top sports stars. Celebrations will include ’90s rock bands, historical recreation, and free lamingtons.
Economists unite against Anna Bligh
A who’s-who of Australian economists, from all across the ideological spectrum, have sent an open letter to the Bligh government, criticising its proposed asset sales as “economically unsound” and “based on spurious claims”.
Bartlett: Five years later, Palm Island is still waiting
One of the most telling aspects of the terrible injustices involved in the death in police custody of Palm Island man Mulrunji Doomagee is that, five years on, there has been no public investigation and report, writes Andrew Bartlett.
Mike Kaiser sails away with $450k as Bligh’s office implodes
Anna Bligh remains keen to recruit an outsider to replace Mike Kaiser as her chief-of-staff, in an effort to halt the destabilisation campaign that has seen nearly every member of her inner circle linked to a mutiny attempt.
Peter Garrett: Why I rejected the Traveston Dam
Environment Minister Peter Garrett outlines the environmental concerns that led him to reject the Queensland government’s proposal to build a dam at Traveston Crossing yesterday.
Antony Green on the battle for Brisbane: the Bartlett effect
Brisbane will be a key contest in the 2010 Federal election. Former Democrats senator Andrew Bartlett’s running for the Greens, former MP Teresa Gambaro will stand for the Libs, while Arch Bevis will defend his seat of 20 years. How will it play out? asks Antony Green.
Bartlett: Why I’m running as a Greens candidate
Former Australian Democrats leader Andrew Bartlett is standing as a Greens candidate in the seat of Brisbane at the next federal election. Why is he diving back into politics? Well, climate change and affordable housing, for a start.
How Bligh blew the QLD premiership
Just eight months after Anna Bligh was elected QLD premier, voter satisfaction has dropped to just 30%, thanks to privatisation of state assets, broken election promises and scrapping petrol subsides. Is her decline terminal? asks Cosima Marriner.
Grattan: Is this the end of the Coalition?
The Coalition is straining to stay together, as the Nationals — lead symbolically by Barnaby Joyce — try to forge their own identity separate to the Libs. But the Coalition would be better off staying together to fight Rudd, writes Michelle Grattan.
The growing force of Barnaby Joyce
Queensland is critical to federal politics, with a growing population and influential seats, but its parties are a mess. The Nationals criticise the Liberals, the Libs fear the power of the LNP and Barnaby Joyce is just looking after himself, writes Scott Prasser.
Democracy in Queensland goes from bad to verse
It is 7.45pm in the Queensland parliament, debate continues on the Criminal Code (Honesty and Integrity in Parliament) Amendment Bill. Democracy is hard at work …
Queensland doctors continue medical abortions bans, use of RU-486 widens
The ban on medical abortions by specialist obstetricians in Queensland Health hospitals is now in its third month, writes Caroline de Costa. And while some discussion continues between doctors and the state government, little progress has resulted.
