Category: Annastacia Palaszczuk

Queensland Scraps Multi-Jurisdiction Land Tax Proposal

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has shelved a contentious proposal to introduce a nation-first multi-jurisdictional land tax after an apparent lack of support from her state counterparts. The proposal would have seen Queensland charge investors land tax based on the value of all their property holdings across the country, not just within the state, which is…


Queensland State Leader Guarantees No Job Losses Under $62 Billion Clean Energy Transition

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has moved to assuage concerns that Australians could lose jobs under her government’s ambitious clean energy plan. The Labor government’s A$62 billion (US$39.59 billion) plan includes a promise to create 100,000 new jobs by 2040. “Every worker who’s currently working at a coal-fired power station will absolutely be guaranteed a job as…


Palaszczuk Must Guarantee Prices Won’t Spike After $62 Billion Clean Energy Plan: Former Leader

Former Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has warned the state Labor government’s A$62 billion (US$39.59 billion) clean energy plan is too risky, saying the opposition should push Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to guarantee regular mums and dads will not be forced to pay more. On Sept. 28, Palaszczuk revealed the bold plan for the state’s energy future which…


Allowing Trans Identifying Individuals to Alter Birth Certificates a Danger to Women: Advocate

An impending decision by the Queensland government to make it easier for people to change the gender on their birth certificate could have wider implications that are dangerous to women, according to Sall Grover, founder of women-only app Giggle. Under proposed changes to the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriage Registration Act 2003, a person will potentially…


Queensland to Host Summit to Deal With Lockdown-Driven Migration, Homelessness

The government of Queensland has announced a Housing Summit to deal with several issues plaguing the state’s housing market following an interstate migration boom driven by lockdowns in Australia’s big southern cities. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said an initial roundtable on Sept. 16 will be held followed by the larger Summit in October. “Nothing is more…


Hundreds of Customers to Face Long Wait After Queensland Builder Collapses

Queensland’s building watchdog has stepped in to help affected customers following the collapse of a residential builder, but hundreds of homeowners in the Australian state are not likely to see their homes completed any time soon. Oracle Homes went into liquidation on Aug. 24, causing about 70 staff to lose their jobs and halting building…


Queensland’s Landmark Inquiry Calls for New Corruption Prevention Unit

An investigation into Queensland’s corruption watchdog has recommended that the agency should go through greater checks and balances before lodging charges to avoid unjustified results of its probe. The inquiry into the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) outlined 32 recommendations to the state government on Tuesday, which included calls for funding for a new corruption…


Queensland Mothballs $223 Million Quarantine Camp Just 6 Months After Opening

The Queensland state government will shutter a $223 million (US$154.6 million) COVID-19 quarantine facility in Wellcamp, west of Toowoomba, just six months after it was opened. In the same announcement, Deputy Premier Steven Miles said another multi-million dollar, federal government-funded quarantine facility in Pinkenba, Brisbane—due to be finalised in a few weeks—would not be opened. On…


Queensland Government Defends Funding Largely Unused $200 Million Quarantine Facility

The Queensland government is standing by its decision to build and maintain a multi-million dollar COVID-19 quarantine facility located around 145 kilometres west of the state’s biggest city, Brisbane, that has seen limited use since it was completed. Just 700 people have been through the 1000-bed facility since it was opened in February, built at…


‘A Huge Shock’: Ambassador Warns Queensland’s Mining Tax Hike Could Deter New Japanese Investment

The Queensland government’s massive coal royalty tax could push away Japanese investors and undermine the decades-long partnership between both countries, Japan’s ambassador to Australia has warned. The stark comments from Yamagami Shingo come after the Palaszcuk government announced it would introduce three extra tiers of taxes to the state’s mining royalty scheme. Going forward, from July 1,…