Craig Hill Media and Consulting
Queensland
On this day (Australia): In 1987, the National Party deposed Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen as party leader, but he refused to resign as Premier of Queensland
On 26 November 1987, the National Party deposed Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen as party leader, but he refused to resign as Premier of Queensland. He was not present at the caucus meeting. Sir Johannes Bjelke-Petersen KCMG was an Australian conservative politician. He was the longest-serving and longest-lived Premier of Queensland, holding office from 1968 to 1987, during which time … Continue reading
On this day (Australia): In 1991, the perjury trial of former Queensland Premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen ended in a hung jury
On 19 October 1991 , the perjury trial of former Queensland Premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen ended in a hung jury. Prosecutors decided against a retrial on the basis of Joh’s advancing age & divided public opinion. Sir Johannes Bjelke-Petersen KCMG was born on 13 January 1911. He was an Australian conservative politician. He was the longest-serving and … Continue reading
January 11, 1986 – The Gateway Bridge, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia is officially opened
The Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges are a side-by-side pair of road bridges on the Gateway Motorway (M1), which skirts the eastern suburbs of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The western bridge carries traffic to the north and the eastern bridge carries traffic to the south. They are the most eastern crossing of the Brisbane River, the closest to Moreton Bay, crossing at the Quarries Reach, between Eagle … Continue reading
December 10, 1859 – Today is Proclamation Day, marking Queensland’s official separation from New South Wales
When the First Fleet arrived in Australia in 1788, the entire eastern half of Australia came under the name of New South Wales. The colony of Van Diemen’s Land (later Tasmania) was established in 1825, and Victoria (Port Phillip District) separated from New South Wales in 1851. The first settlement in what is now Queensland … Continue reading
Australia investigates corruption in Great Barrier Reef protection agency
Environment Minister Greg Hunt has ordered an “immediate” inquiry into the agency charged with protecting the Great Barrier Reef, after revelations that board members held interests in companies that could benefit from expanding coal and gas production near the reef. The revelations come as the Great Barrier Reef faces growing threats to its existence. Massive … Continue reading
Australian opposition leader describes burqa as “confronting”
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has confessed to finding the burqa “confronting” while defending Liberal candidate Ray King for describing the Islamic attire as a “sign of oppression”. Asked whether he supported the statements by Mr King, who drew a link between the burqa and criminality at a fund-raiser, Mr Abbott admitted he found it “a … Continue reading
Australians more concerned over jobs than asylum seekers
Australian workers are more worried about job security and the ability to pay their bills than they are about refugee policies, according to a large poll of union members. The Australian Council of Trade Unions surveyed 120,000 members over the past 14 weeks about election issues. Of those, 102,000 were asked specific questions about policy … Continue reading
US drops bombs on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef during exercises
Authorities are yet to decide whether they will recover four unarmed bombs dropped onto the Great Barrier Reef during military exercises. Two of the bombs did not contain explosives and the other two were without their fusing mechanisms. US warplanes were forced to drop the bombs after they ran dangerously low on fuel during a … Continue reading
Australia fails on Great Barrier Reef
Australia hasn’t done enough to stop UNESCO listing the Great Barrier Reef as ‘in danger’, a new report by conservationists says. The World Heritage Committee will meet in Cambodia this week to consider a draft decision to place the reef on its ‘danger list’ in 2014 unless the Queensland and federal governments clean up their … Continue reading
Australia’s Federal Education Minister banned from schools by state government
Queensland has banned Federal Education Minister Peter Garrett from visiting two state schools as the row over the Gonski funding changes escalates. Queensland Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek has expressed his concern to Mr Garrett that “schools are being used as political stages,” adding that his Government does not “think this is good for either students … Continue reading
Australian farmers want to establish Indonesian abattoir for Asian sales
The West Australian Farmers Federation is hopeful the state’s live-cattle exporters can establish an abattoir in Indonesia to build markets throughout Asia. Such a move would reduce the need for producers to rely on Indonesian specifications, including the maximum 350kg weight rule for each imported beast. Yesterday WA farmers were underwhelmed by news that Indonesia’s … Continue reading
Australia must improve performance on indigenous education
Federal School Education Minister Peter Garrett will today demand that the states and territories dramatically lift their game on indigenous education, warning that they are not on track to meet their Closing the Gap targets. Mr Garrett will use the education ministers’ meeting in Sydney to call on states and territories to improve their performance … Continue reading
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef declared in danger by United Nations
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is set to be named as a World Heritage Site in danger by UNESCO next month. A long-awaited assessment of the reef by UNESCO and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), released on Friday evening, says decisive action must be taken to avoid a listing in June. The report … Continue reading
Dolphins are victims of Australia’s most environmentally controversial project at Gladstone
Australia’s most environmentally controversial project, the $33 billion expansion of Gladstone port in Queensland, is under investigation after being accused of breaching strict federal government audit conditions on harbour dredging and dumping of spoils in a World Heritage area. Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke confirmed a review was under way into whether the project had … Continue reading
Australian Opposition Leader Tony Abbott backs away from ‘move north’ plan
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott is backing away from a draft coalition discussion paper proposing incentives and beneficial tax rates to encourage people to move to northern Australia. However, the plan – described as “wacky” by Labor – has received support from several premiers and Nationals members as well as maverick Queensland MP Bob Katter. The … Continue reading
Australian Prime Minister urged to use Kevin Rudd in election campaign
Pressure is growing on Julia Gillard to exploit Kevin Rudd‘s popularity with the electorate and elevate his role in the election campaign, with four members of her cabinet now publicly declaring that the former prime minister is an asset for the party. Two of the Prime Minister’s key supporters, Victorian Right faction powerbrokers Stephen Conroy … Continue reading
Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd back on television
Cabinet Minister Tony Burke was unceremoniously dumped from Seven’s Sunrise program by email yesterday afternoon to make way for Kevin Rudd’s return to the show that made him a political star. Mr Rudd faced off against his old sparring partner Joe Hockey on Sunrise this morning after agreeing early last month to resume duties with … Continue reading
Julian Assange to run for Australian Senate
Julian Assange will run for a Senate seat in the 2013 federal election and his mum reckons he’ll be awesome. Christine Assange confirmed her son’s candidacy on Wednesday after WikiLeaks tweeted the news. “He will be awesome,” she said. “In the House of Representatives we get to choose between US lackey party number one and … Continue reading
Australian military responds to storm crisis in Brisbane
Brisbane will flood for the second time in three years, with Premier Campbell Newman revealing last night that nothing can stop the city’s river breaking its banks and inundating thousands of properties as a powerful storm continues to batter the east coast. More than 3600 houses and residential unit lots would be affected, though not … Continue reading
Australia: Heavy rain and destructive winds for Brisbane until Monday
The weather bureau has warned of heavy rain and destructive winds of up to 125km/h for Brisbane from tonight as central Queensland is slammed by severe weather. The bureau issued the alert this evening and warned of possible flash and riverine flooding. In the next few days about 300mm of rain is expected in Wivenhoe … Continue reading
Indigenous culture, but not at all costs, says Australian Child Protection Commissioner
The need to maintain Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture should not override a child’s ability to move into the mainstream, Queensland’s Child Protection Commissioner says. Examining the significant over-presentation of indigenous children under state care, former Crime Commissioner and Family Court judge Tim Carmody said it was important that specific indigenous and wider social … Continue reading
Australia: Hundreds to go in Queensland police shake-up
The biggest overhaul of Queensland police since the infamous Fitzgerald inquiry will remove more than 100 senior officers and scrap regional offices in some areas of the state. Police Commissioner Ian Stewart, who was installed in the job last November, today announced the restructure of the service in a bid to cut bureaucracy and boost … Continue reading
Unjust Queensland Water Restrictions (2008)
The Courier-Mail in Brisbane today reports that there will be permanent water restrictions for households in Queensland, even after the drought has broken, and the dams are full again. Why do households get the raw end of the pineapple, when they only account for about 5% of all water use anyway? The pre-drought average use … Continue reading
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