Queensland at a glance: police commissioner defends vaccine mandate in court
Queensland’s police commissioner and lawyers have had an at-times heated exchange in a supreme court challenge against vaccine mandates.
The two-and-fro with commissioner Katarina Carroll went for more than 90 minutes on Wednesday afternoon and she may have to return on Friday.
Questions centred on how Covid-19 affected QPS’s ability to function prior to the mandate, and Carroll’s statement of reasons for the direction.
The commissioner defended the service’s vaccine exemption process amid suggestions it favoured genuine religious reasons over other consciousness beliefs.
She admitted there were people within the service who held the view it was not the role of government to require vaccinations, but rejected the idea there was a deliberate decision to exclude them from the exemption process.
“They still have an avenue in the exemption process due to other exceptional circumstances,” Carroll told the court.
No applications were granted an exemption on that basis, the court was told.
- AAP
Premier defends 993 empty Wellcamp beds
Queensland’s premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, has defended the Wellcamp Covid quarantine complex amid reports seven people are staying at 1000-bed facility.
The government contracted the Wagner Corporation to build the $48.8m complex near Toowoomba, which opened earlier this year. Wellcamp is now owned by the company, but has been leased back to the state for 12 months for an undisclosed sum.
Another 800-bed facility, worth between $350m and $400m, is being built by the state and federal governments at Pinkenba, near Brisbane Airport.
Palaszczuk said Wellcamp was needed because the former federal government failed to take responsibility for quarantine.
“Scott Morrison failed to act, and we now have a dedicated quarantine facility for whatever may happen in the future,” she said on Wednesday.
The premier has refused to reveal how much taxpayers have paid to lease Wellcamp and has said information surrounding the deal is commercial-inconfidence.
Queensland Liberal National party leader, David Crisafulli, said there were no confidentiality provisions because there was no competitive tender process for Wellcamp and claimed the cost of both construction and the lease was more than $200m.
– AAP
Tuesday, 31 May:
Proposal to ban drinking in pub smoking areas
The Queensland government has proposed banning smoking from outdoor markets and school car parks, and preventing people from drinking while in smoking areas of pubs and clubs, as a way to further reduce the health effects.
Tuesday is World No Tobacco Day, and the state’s health minister, Yvette D’Ath, has called for public submissions on a raft of legal changes being proposed in a tobacco law reform discussion paper.
Retailers would need a licence to sell vapes, or e-cigarettes, retail workers under the age of 18 would be banned from selling tobacco and cigarette machines would be moved behind the bar at pubs and clubs.
The proposals would also prohibit children from entering designated outdoor smoking areas (DOSAs) at licensed venues and prevent people from drinking in DOSAs.
One in 10 Queenslanders smoke every day and about 12 per cent of deaths in the state are caused by smoking-related illnesses, according to government figures.
– AAP
Small earthquake felt in Brisbane’s north
Parts of northern Brisbane and Moreton Bay have been rattled by a small earthquake on Tuesday.
The 2.9 magnitude quake occurred about 1.25pm at Samsonvale, about 30km north of Brisbane, according to Geoscience Australia.
The quake, about 10km deep, has so far caused no visible damage, but social media users in New Farm, Chermside, Ferny Grove and Moreton Bay reported feeling rumbling.
Six earthquakes have hit Queensland this year, with the largest at 3.9 magnitude off the coast of Innisfail in the far north in February.
Monday, 30 May:
Traditional owner to give evidence against Waratah Coal project
In a legal first, the Queensland land court will travel to Cairns on Tuesday to hear cultural evidence given by a traditional owner on-country against the Clive Palmer-linked Waratah Coal project.
Gimuy Walubara man, Jiritju Fourmile, will give cultural evidence about the impacts of climate change on Gimuy, in combination with site visits, during the sixth week of Youth Verdict’s challenge against the coal project, proposed by Palmer’s Waratah Coal.
Represented by the Environmental Defenders Office, Youth Verdict is arguing that coal from Waratah’s proposed Galilee Coal Project will impair the human rights of First Nations People by contributing to climate change.
The case by Youth Verdict is the first time in Australia a coalmine has been challenged on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural and human rights grounds.
“The changes that we are seeing to Country and Waters because of climate change are devastating and quickly becoming irreversible,” Youth Verdict member and Waribarra Mamu woman Serena Thompson said in a statement.
“For First Nations people, our ability to connect and physically be on country is becoming more and more uncertain as climate change worsens.”
Severe weather warning issued for south-east Qld
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for parts of south-east Queensland as a cold front sweeps across the south of the state.
The weather bureau has warned wind gusts more than 90km/h are possible over Main Range and Scenic Rim from Monday evening, extending across the south-east on Tuesday.
Strong and dangerous wind gusts may also reach Brisbane, Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast on Tuesday morning.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services have advised people to avoid fallen trees and powerlines and secure loose outdoor items.
Premier won’t intervene on proposed coalmine expansion
Queensland’s premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, has refused to intervene in a coalmine project after the opposition complained about the approvals process.
Stage three of New Hope Group’s New Acland open cut coalmine, near Toowoomba, has been given the green light by the state’s coordinator general.
Landholders and environmentalists have protested against the project, and unsuccessfully tried to have it blocked in the Land court last year.
The Department of Environment and Science is now assessing the application to lift coal output from 4.8m tonnes to 7.8m tonnes a year and extend the mine’s life for 12 years.
Palaszczuk said the department had the call after the opposition leader criticised the delay on Monday.
“Of course normal processes will be followed just as they are with any other application,” she said.
AAP
State buys Rockhampton railyards
The Palaszczuk government has bought the Rockhampton railyards in an attempt to bolster the state’s supply chain and create more manufacturing jobs in central Queensland.
The premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, said the railyards had been “relatively unused” for years and it was time to “get the area back in action”. She said the purchase would also support train manufacturing in Maryborough.
The transport minister, Mark Bailey, said the government was looking at “exciting possibilities for the site”, including as a centre of research into hydrogen-powered rail locos and as a major rail supply chain hub.
Rockhampton MP Barry O’Rourke said the railyards will be a supply chain source for the government’s Queensland Train Manufacturing Program.
Slater’s Maroons unknown, but no underdogs
The Billy Slater era has begun in rousing style at Suncorp Stadium, with the confident rookie coach calling on a Maroons great to stir his new-look squad that gathered in Brisbane.
The champion No 1 on Monday named four debutants in an exciting Maroons team to face NSW in the State of Origin series opener in Sydney on 8 June.
His own debut as coach will be boosted by the addition of former teammates Cameron Smith and Johnathan Thurston to his staff, reuniting a star trio who helped Queensland to eight-straight and 11 of 12 titles between 2006 and 2017.
But it was another Maroons legend who set the tone on Monday, with Wally Lewis delivering a rousing address to the squad in front of his statue outside Suncorp Stadium.
Lewis reflected on his Origin debut as a 20-year-old, when Arthur Beetson tapped him on the shoulder in a show of trust he offered the current crop.
“To be greeted by Wally after Billy has spoken to us – you can just feel that passion and that pride,” fullback Kalyn Ponga said. AAP
Brisbane loses first cricket Test of the summer to Perth
This year’s Test cricket season will be launched in Perth on 30 November against West Indies, before a pink-ball Test in Adelaide from 8 December.
It marks a shift away from the Gabba hosting the first Test of the summer. However, Brisbane will host the first Test against South Africa on 17 December.
Cricket Australia’s head of operations and scheduling, Peter Roach, highlighted a desire to beam the first two Tests into the east coast in prime-time.
“We also know the Gabba’s going to be offline for a couple of years,” he said.
‘We’ve got a very good record in Perth too. Moving away from fortress Gabba is not something that scares us.”