Breaching bail will be an offence for youth offenders going forward after the Queensland government introduced another batch of laws to deal with the state’s spiralling juvenile crime wave. Among the new penalties include a new option to declare certain offenders “serious repeat offenders,” which will open the door to tougher sentencing. The state government…

An Australian Indigenous academic has argued that the Queensland government’s decision to legislate an Indigenous treaty won’t benefit the livelihoods of most ordinary Indigenous Australians. The comment comes after Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she would introduce a treaty proposal with Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to parliament next week. The bill would establish…

Queensland has topped the country as the state with the highest rate of repeat offenders within 12 months, according to new data released on Jan. 24. The report, from the Productivity Commission, comes as authorities grapple with a youth crime wave that has swept up Queensland and the central Australian town of Alice Springs. According to…

Violent incidents on Brisbane’s public transport system have spurred bus drivers to boycott travelling into the lower socio-economic areas of Inala and Forest Lake—two suburbs within the electorate of state Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. The move comes as Australian authorities grapple with a youth crime wave that has gripped southeast Queensland and the central town of…

The government of the Australian state of Queensland has introduced new measures to tackle youth crimes following the death of a British mother who was killed by two teenage intruders while defending her home. On Dec. 29, the Queensland government announced 10 new measures aimed at deterring juvenile law offenders via harsher punishments and reforms…

Thousands gathered at a memorial service to honour and bid farewell to two fallen Queensland police officers killed during a deadly ambush. The memorial service at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Dec. 21 was attended by thousands of police officers, community members, and political leaders from across the spectrum. Two young constables, Matthew Arnold, 26, and…

The federal minister for climate change and energy, Chris Bowen, has indicated the Australian government will be looking to the states to lower energy prices at the meeting with energy ministers in Canberra on Thursday. This comes as the federal government seeks to address the current skyrocketing price of electricity and gas, which has been…

The Queensland government is facing mounting pushback for its attempt to remove the terms ‘maternity leave and ‘her’ and replace them with gender-neutral languages like ‘long birth-related leave’ and ‘the pregnant employee.’  The criticism comes over four months after Anastasia Palaczcuk introduced several amendments to the Labor government’s Industrial Relations Act 2016, which passed parliament…

Queensland employers will no longer be allowed to use the terms “maternity leave” or “her” and will instead be forced to adopt gender-neutral terms “long birth-related leave” and “pregnant employee.”  Criticism has been ongoing for months after the Palaszczuk government introduced several amendments to the state’s Industrial Relations Act 2016. The new provisions aim to promote…

Australian state and territory leaders—many of whom pursued a zero-COVID or tough suppression strategy—defended their policy response amid the release of a new report calling the country’s COVID-19 measures “excessive” and “harsh.” The report, ‘Fault lines: An Independent Review into Australia’s Response to COVID-19,’ was also critical of school closures, aged care response and warned…