Last Week in Queensland – 20 June 2016
The State Budget dominated the news last week in Queensland, and licensed venues are facing imminent commencement of new “safe night out” regulation.
Governing
- The Queensland State Budget dominated reporting for several days this week:
- … The secrets in making a budget www.theage.com.au/comment/the-hermit/queensland-budget-2016-secret-tunes-in-the-budget-opera-20160614-gpj109.html
- … all of the details are here http://budget.qld.gov.au/
- … Treasurer says budget looks to the future and helps those in need www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/queensland-budget-2016-treasurer-curtis-pitt-says-investing-in-the-future-is-key/news-story/477e516f63492ccd192acf498d8e79fd
- … winners and losers www.afr.com/news/politics/qld-budget-2016-winners-and-losers-20160613-gpi5u7 and www.news.com.au/national/queensland/politics/first-home-buyers-and-commuters-biggest-winners-in-queensland-budget/news-story/3533891b266d02a4daa2c3a2d0f34475
- … mixed reactions from stakeholders www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-14/qld-budget-2016-key-industy-community-groups-welcome-pitts-plan/7510680 and www.9news.com.au/national/2016/06/14/16/34/reaction-to-the-queensland-budget
- … first home owners scheme details http://budget.qld.gov.au/budget-highlights/queensland-first-home-owner-grant/
- … foreign property ownership surcharge www.afr.com/news/politics/tax-on-foreign-homey-buyers-passes-in-queensland-20160617-gpl839
- … rural Queensland: support package and new Office of Rural Affairs www.southburnetttimes.com.au/news/state-government-throws-support-behind-rural-qld/3046497/ and significant Queensland Drought Mitigation Centre funding www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-16/drought-centre-queensland-budget-funding/7518032
- … core budget and debt strategy questioned by business www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/states-budget-super-raid-questioned-by-business-leaders-20160615-gpjz91.html
- … Information and Communication Technology projects in the budget www.cio.com.au/article/601776/queensland-budget-puts-ict-works-agenda/ and www.zdnet.com/article/queensland-budget-peppered-with-it-upgrades/ including Health’s $120m www.computerworld.com.au/article/601739/queensland-earmarks-119-9-million-health-tech/ though IT workload is shrinking www.itnews.com.au/news/queensland-govts-tech-workload-shrinks-420766
- … North Queensland infrastructure and jobs focus www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-15/qld-budget-invests-more-than-$600m-in-fnq-infrastructure/7512668 and www.northweststar.com.au/story/3969490/editorial/ and www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/news/100m-boost-for-regional-jobs-in-the-queensland-state-budget/news-story/dac90bc3e0a1040e08b2a514b2c43968
- … Budget reports increased size of the public sector www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queensland-government/queenslands-public-service-wage-bill-to-surpass-20-billion-for-the-first-time-in-2017/news-story/5305e812fbeb3ac8be62a08a7c2dd18a
- … $27.7m to attract small business to Queensland www.smartcompany.com.au/business-advice/politics/70401-queensland-government-to-spend-27-7-million-to-attract-small-businesses-to-the-sunshine-state/
- … major investment in innovation www.computerworld.com.au/article/601667/queensland-government-unveils-225-million-innovation-spend/
- … Treasurer predicts Queensland will have the strongest economy in several years www.news.com.au/finance/economy/australian-economy/queensland-treasurer-predicts-the-state-will-have-the-strongest-growing-economy-in-australia/news-story/82e7f8474c4f2633a521d8a6becff815
- … Financial Review is disappointed www.afr.com/news/politics/qld-budget-has-fallen-short-and-debt-soars-20160613-gpi5r9
- Does the budget do enough to address climate change? www.qt.com.au/news/analysis-budget-elephant-room-palaszczuk/3046322/
- Leak from Parliamentary Committee may lead to contempt finding www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-17/parliamentary-ethics-committee-urges-contempt-ruling-on-mp/7522024
- Will venues use lockout laws as an excuse for collapse? First bar announces closure www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/fortitude-valley-bar-blames-impending-lockout-laws-as-it-shuts-its-doors-for-good/news-story/f8306e87904d670d4bc829e3b872832a
- See below under politics
The Opposition and Crossbench
- Opposition Leader’s Budget Reply speech attacks Government “trickery” www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/queensland-budget-2016-tim-nicholls-slams-trickery/news-story/85c2208ded10e6d067d7b49649a741eb
- Government “soft on crime” says Opposition www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-18/new-youth-justice-laws-show-labors-marshmallows-approach-qld-opp/7522620
- See below under politics
Politics
- Courier Mail says both Government and Opposition lack a way forward for the Queensland budget www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/opinion-queensland-budget-presents-a-clear-and-present-danger-for-opposition/news-story/03a3253a249238588894e9f9c3a7dc54
- AgForce escalates campaign against tree-clearing restrictions www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-16/agforce-campaign-against-tree-clearing-laws/7517286
Community
- Ergon / ENERGEX merger causes job losses www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-17/geiger-electrical-job-losses-ergon-energex-merger/7519216
- Major changes to biosecurity barriers for BJD www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-16/bjd-new-approach-queensland/7516422
- Education needed as new policies bite www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/education-needed-before-queenslands-lockout-laws-tackling-alcoholfuelled-violence-can-start-to-be-effective/news-story/fa0693b6c161a83ad0cf999e1113d292
- Major changes proposed to drive education system improvement www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queensland-government/queensland-budget-2016-changes-to-education/news-story/2360124a5d22259ed5f44f8cb2380bc7
Economy and Infrastructure
- Many items are covered under the budget reports, above
- Car registration a bigger revenue raiser in Queensland than coal? http://newmatilda.com/2016/06/17/the-big-coal-con-car-registration-in-queensland-brings-in-more-revenue-than-coal/
- ENERGEX/Ergon merger creates Australia’s biggest energy company www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/palaszczuk-push-creates-giant-energy-merger/news-story/d6e3bedf6fd36c8fd69be744a25cfce2
- State budget delivers regional road improvements www.northqueenslandregister.com.au/story/3970903/knuth-welcomes-road-funding-budget-win/
- $634m to improve SEQ rail capacity www.gympietimes.com.au/news/qld-spend-634m-remove-seq-railway-bottleneck/3044799/
Parliament
- Queensland’s Parliament sat last week, principally for the State Budget, and from 19 to 22 July, and 26 to 28 July Estimates Committee hearings are shceduled to examine the State Budget
- The Queensland Parliament’s summary of what’s new, including newly-introduced and passed legislation, is here www.parliament.qld.gov.au/work-of-assembly/whats-new
- The Federal Parliament has been prorogued until after the Federal Election on 2 July – see www.aph.gov.au
Sleeper Issues?
- The first climate-change-caused mammal extinction? www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2016/06/14/island-dwelling-rat-is-first-climate-change-mammal-extinction/
* We’re not representing that this is a complete coverage of news in Queensland – it certainly isn’t, and it’s what we find interesting or important, and sometimes what’s unusual. Some of the links will require subscriptions to read content.
Posted on June 20, 2016, in Change, Democracy, Election, Government decision-making, Opposition, Opposition Leader, Parliament, Policy, Political tactics, Politics, Premier, Queensland, Queensland Government, State Government and tagged Annastacia Palaszczuk, curtis pitt, lock-out laws, Tim Nicholls. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.
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