With all this spin, deceit and bluster by the Queensland government, it is easy to forget that all of these fish and public health issues are in and around the Geat Barrier Reef Marine Park World Heritage area, writes Crikey naturalist Lionel Elmore.
Politics / Australia / QLD
Greens Senator: put the brakes on Gladstone dredging
Already 1.7 million cubic metres have been ripped up from the bottom of Gladstone Harbour in the past two months. Alarmingly, there’s still 44 million cubic metres to go, writes Larissa Waters, Greens Senator for Queensland
Gladstone bags of diseased fish banned from sale
Reopening Gladstone Harbour to fishing has clearly put public health at risk, so much so the the local fish market has banned the sale of them, writes Crikey naturalist Lionel Elmore.
Campbell Newman fires at ‘punks’ but shoots himself in the foot
Queensland LNP leader Campbell Newman did something yesterday that he should have done a long time ago, writes Brisbane blogger Kim Jameson. He released an up-to-date statement of his financial interests.
Let’s not repeat the Gladstone mistake
I worked in Gladstone, Queensland, from 1971 to 1980 on construction projects and visit children and grandchildren who still live their four or five times a year. Nothing can adequately express the horror of the true situation, writes Mike Crook.
Katter’s party to shake up Queensland poll
In the eyes of some, the emergence of Bob Katter’s Australian Party has the potential to shake up what had loomed as a predictable Queensland state election, due around March.
First, turtles die, now fish … and anglers handling fish get ill
The sick and dead animals coincided with dredging by Gladstone Port Corporation working on the massive LNG plant and pipeline being built in the harbour, writes Crikey naturalist Lionel Elmore.
Newspoll: Liberal National Party’s overwhelming lead in Queensland
Career opportunities for aspiring Queensland Labor politicians are clearly going to be thin on the ground for a few years to come. The Liberal National Party are polling 61-39 two-party preferred, writes William Bowe.
Cracks in the strange creation of Queensland’s Liberal National Party
There was always something strange about the combination of the Queensland Liberal and National parties into a single Liberal National Party. Bob Katter may have rained on Campbell Newman’s parade, writes Richard Farmer.
Galaxy: apocalyptic results for Labor in QLD
The latest Galaxy federal poll of Queenslanders sees a two-party preferred of 63-37 to the Coalition. The swing of 8% from the 2010 election would leave Kevin Rudd as Labor’s only QLD representative, writes William Bowe.
Crikey clarifier: how is CSG extraction regulated?
Paramount in understanding the farmers’ vs. miners’ debate is determining just which legal act actually covers CSG extraction. Crikey inter Clare O’Meara examines the confusing and at times contradictory legislation.
Flood victim’s heartbreak: ‘don’t be complacent about the risk’
No one had higher stakes in the findings of the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry than Grantham father Matthew Keep, who lost three family members at Grantham that terrible January day, writes Amanda Gearing.
Great fast rail packaging, but what is inside?
The government has flashed the wrappings but not the contents of the package of its high speed rail study for a Brisbane-Melbourne link. But the study will be revealed today, writes Ben Sandilands.
More answers needed in the Lockyer Valley
The finding that the Lockyer Valley Regional Council is not responsible for the deaths in the devastating Queensland floods of January has left some residents distraught, writes Amanda Gearing.
Tide of blame over QLD floods
Crikey media wrap: After 31 different meetings of public consultation across the state, the interim report of the inquiry into the 2011 Queensland floods was handed down yesterday to Premier Anna Bligh.
Export ban lifted; too soon say welfare groups
Crikey media wrap: Agriculture minister Joe Ludwig last night lifted month-long ban on live export of cattle to Indonesia, announcing a “progressive” examination of the industry.
Kids kickboxing: government inaction has it down for the count
For the Queensland government to now express outrage about kickboxing is a joke, writes former Crikey staffer Ruth Brown.
Rundle: crazy Katter’s cut-price, fried policy chain
Bob Katter stood up on Friday and spoke for those sidelined, excluded and marginalised from politics, the real Australians who work hard and pay their taxes, and don’t ask for more than a fair shake. Good luck to him.
Law: scrapping safe sex gay ads is irresponsible
The Queensland Association for Healthy Communities’ decision to cancel safe sex advertisements featuring two gay men is deeply offensive, writes Benjamin Law in this letter of complaint to QAHC management.
Wilkie slams internal QHA pokies “talking points”
Queensland publicans are being urged to aggressively counter Tasmanian MP Andrew Wilkie’s poker machine reforms through a series of media “talking points” circulated by industry lobbyist the Queensland Hotels Association.
Slutwalk: feminists take to the streets to reclaim ‘slut’ in style
Thousands of feminist-minded individuals took to the streets on Saturday to protest against slut-shaming and victim-blaming in colourful SlutWalks in Melbourne and Brisbane.
‘Draconian’ parole conditions may contravene constitution
A High Court case will challenge parole conditions for Australian prisoners, arguing that certain strict conditions place an unreasonable limit on human rights and contravene the constitution.
Galaxy: 61-39 to LNP in Queensland
The Galaxy poll from Queensland published on Saturday shows results very similar to those of last week’s Newspoll: primary votes of 30 percent for Labor and 52 percent for the Liberal National Party, reports William Bowe.
Journo arrest: recipe for clicks turns into a recipe for disaster
The Queensland Police Service’s heavy-handed approach towards a journalist trying to do his job should ring alarm bells for the media, writes Charis Palmer, editor of Technology Spectator.
