Qld budget Estimates: Bleijie grilled over tense IOC rowing ‘argument', Games costs
Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie has boasted his appointment of Greg Hallam as deputy chair of the WorkCover board – replacing Jacqueline King.
Labor's Grace Grace then tabled screenshots of two Facebook posts by Mr Hallam, depicting sexual references, demanding Mr Bleijie explain how he will act on them.
FOLLOW HOW DAY THREE PLAYED OUT BELOW
Originally published as Budget Estimates: Bleijie denounces WorkCover board deputy's 'slutty nurse' post QLD News
Traffic is at gridlock on multiple major routes and rat runs in Brisbane's north, leaving commuters with a hellish trip home. QLD News
A push is under way for an investigation into funding to boost tourism on North Stradbroke Island after claims nine glamping tents were built at a cost of more than $244,000 each.
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The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
Fast approvals only add to housing construction logjam
Adding new housing projects to Australia's already swollen pipeline has been likened to turning the "tap on a bath that is already full", as analysis shows faster approvals are no silver bullet in fixing the nation's crisis. Data from property research firm Cotality shows approvals could move higher in the coming months due to rezoning reforms and incentives for new builds coinciding with falling interest rates. But rather than fix the shortage of homes, it could cause a problem for the construction industry by adding new projects to an already long list. "It's like turning up the tap on a bath that is already full," said the analysis from head of research Eliza Owen. It found delivery to be the problem, not approvals, with 219,000 homes under construction and completion times ballooning. "The real bottleneck lies in the build phase, not planning reform," the analysis said. The federal government's goal to build 1.2 million new homes in five years, adopted in August 2023, is thought of as unachievable by the industry. "With completion times already above average, and construction costs elevated, it seems an odd time to be incentivising more dwelling approvals and commencements to the backlog of work to be done," the report stated. Ahead of the Albanese government's national productivity summit later this month, the report calls for a move away from demand stimulation to sustainable delivery. "Making homes faster and cheaper to build, while still maintaining quality, resilient homes is the key challenge for policymakers to focus on right now," the report reads. Labor's massive election win has prompted union bosses to call for the government to revisit potential changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions. But proposals to scale back the tax deduction is tricky for the government, after Labor took reforms for negative gearing to the 2019 federal election and lost. Negative gearing allows investors to claim deductions on losses and the capital gains tax discount halves the tax paid by Australians who sell assets owned for 12 months or more. The analysis says if governments are serious about delivering on the housing target, they "must focus on building capacity, lifting productivity, and ensuring every approved home actually gets built". Adding new housing projects to Australia's already swollen pipeline has been likened to turning the "tap on a bath that is already full", as analysis shows faster approvals are no silver bullet in fixing the nation's crisis. Data from property research firm Cotality shows approvals could move higher in the coming months due to rezoning reforms and incentives for new builds coinciding with falling interest rates. But rather than fix the shortage of homes, it could cause a problem for the construction industry by adding new projects to an already long list. "It's like turning up the tap on a bath that is already full," said the analysis from head of research Eliza Owen. It found delivery to be the problem, not approvals, with 219,000 homes under construction and completion times ballooning. "The real bottleneck lies in the build phase, not planning reform," the analysis said. The federal government's goal to build 1.2 million new homes in five years, adopted in August 2023, is thought of as unachievable by the industry. "With completion times already above average, and construction costs elevated, it seems an odd time to be incentivising more dwelling approvals and commencements to the backlog of work to be done," the report stated. Ahead of the Albanese government's national productivity summit later this month, the report calls for a move away from demand stimulation to sustainable delivery. "Making homes faster and cheaper to build, while still maintaining quality, resilient homes is the key challenge for policymakers to focus on right now," the report reads. Labor's massive election win has prompted union bosses to call for the government to revisit potential changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions. But proposals to scale back the tax deduction is tricky for the government, after Labor took reforms for negative gearing to the 2019 federal election and lost. Negative gearing allows investors to claim deductions on losses and the capital gains tax discount halves the tax paid by Australians who sell assets owned for 12 months or more. The analysis says if governments are serious about delivering on the housing target, they "must focus on building capacity, lifting productivity, and ensuring every approved home actually gets built". Adding new housing projects to Australia's already swollen pipeline has been likened to turning the "tap on a bath that is already full", as analysis shows faster approvals are no silver bullet in fixing the nation's crisis. Data from property research firm Cotality shows approvals could move higher in the coming months due to rezoning reforms and incentives for new builds coinciding with falling interest rates. But rather than fix the shortage of homes, it could cause a problem for the construction industry by adding new projects to an already long list. "It's like turning up the tap on a bath that is already full," said the analysis from head of research Eliza Owen. It found delivery to be the problem, not approvals, with 219,000 homes under construction and completion times ballooning. "The real bottleneck lies in the build phase, not planning reform," the analysis said. The federal government's goal to build 1.2 million new homes in five years, adopted in August 2023, is thought of as unachievable by the industry. "With completion times already above average, and construction costs elevated, it seems an odd time to be incentivising more dwelling approvals and commencements to the backlog of work to be done," the report stated. Ahead of the Albanese government's national productivity summit later this month, the report calls for a move away from demand stimulation to sustainable delivery. "Making homes faster and cheaper to build, while still maintaining quality, resilient homes is the key challenge for policymakers to focus on right now," the report reads. Labor's massive election win has prompted union bosses to call for the government to revisit potential changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions. But proposals to scale back the tax deduction is tricky for the government, after Labor took reforms for negative gearing to the 2019 federal election and lost. Negative gearing allows investors to claim deductions on losses and the capital gains tax discount halves the tax paid by Australians who sell assets owned for 12 months or more. The analysis says if governments are serious about delivering on the housing target, they "must focus on building capacity, lifting productivity, and ensuring every approved home actually gets built". Adding new housing projects to Australia's already swollen pipeline has been likened to turning the "tap on a bath that is already full", as analysis shows faster approvals are no silver bullet in fixing the nation's crisis. Data from property research firm Cotality shows approvals could move higher in the coming months due to rezoning reforms and incentives for new builds coinciding with falling interest rates. But rather than fix the shortage of homes, it could cause a problem for the construction industry by adding new projects to an already long list. "It's like turning up the tap on a bath that is already full," said the analysis from head of research Eliza Owen. It found delivery to be the problem, not approvals, with 219,000 homes under construction and completion times ballooning. "The real bottleneck lies in the build phase, not planning reform," the analysis said. The federal government's goal to build 1.2 million new homes in five years, adopted in August 2023, is thought of as unachievable by the industry. "With completion times already above average, and construction costs elevated, it seems an odd time to be incentivising more dwelling approvals and commencements to the backlog of work to be done," the report stated. Ahead of the Albanese government's national productivity summit later this month, the report calls for a move away from demand stimulation to sustainable delivery. "Making homes faster and cheaper to build, while still maintaining quality, resilient homes is the key challenge for policymakers to focus on right now," the report reads. Labor's massive election win has prompted union bosses to call for the government to revisit potential changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions. But proposals to scale back the tax deduction is tricky for the government, after Labor took reforms for negative gearing to the 2019 federal election and lost. Negative gearing allows investors to claim deductions on losses and the capital gains tax discount halves the tax paid by Australians who sell assets owned for 12 months or more. The analysis says if governments are serious about delivering on the housing target, they "must focus on building capacity, lifting productivity, and ensuring every approved home actually gets built".
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Fast approvals only add to housing construction logjam
Adding new housing projects to Australia's already swollen pipeline has been likened to turning the "tap on a bath that is already full", as analysis shows faster approvals are no silver bullet in fixing the nation's crisis. Data from property research firm Cotality shows approvals could move higher in the coming months due to rezoning reforms and incentives for new builds coinciding with falling interest rates. But rather than fix the shortage of homes, it could cause a problem for the construction industry by adding new projects to an already long list. "It's like turning up the tap on a bath that is already full," said the analysis from head of research Eliza Owen. It found delivery to be the problem, not approvals, with 219,000 homes under construction and completion times ballooning. "The real bottleneck lies in the build phase, not planning reform," the analysis said. The federal government's goal to build 1.2 million new homes in five years, adopted in August 2023, is thought of as unachievable by the industry. "With completion times already above average, and construction costs elevated, it seems an odd time to be incentivising more dwelling approvals and commencements to the backlog of work to be done," the report stated. Ahead of the Albanese government's national productivity summit later this month, the report calls for a move away from demand stimulation to sustainable delivery. "Making homes faster and cheaper to build, while still maintaining quality, resilient homes is the key challenge for policymakers to focus on right now," the report reads. Labor's massive election win has prompted union bosses to call for the government to revisit potential changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions. But proposals to scale back the tax deduction is tricky for the government, after Labor took reforms for negative gearing to the 2019 federal election and lost. Negative gearing allows investors to claim deductions on losses and the capital gains tax discount halves the tax paid by Australians who sell assets owned for 12 months or more. The analysis says if governments are serious about delivering on the housing target, they "must focus on building capacity, lifting productivity, and ensuring every approved home actually gets built".
The Age
an hour ago
- The Age
Labor had a work-from-home plan for the election. Dutton announced his first
Labor considered a policy to protect working-from-home rights before the May federal election but abandoned the push to avoid taking attention from then-opposition leader Peter Dutton's unpopular plan to call public servants back to the office. Two federal sources confirmed to this masthead that the idea of protecting people who work remotely from career penalties was floated within Labor before the election, building on the government's 2023 changes that gave employees a legal right to ask to work from home. The revelation that federal Labor saw the policy as a potential vote-winner comes after Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan pledged to give workers in her state the right to work from home at least two days a week in an attempt to reach frustrated voters before the state election this year. Allan's plan has divided opinion, with business groups saying the proposal is a top-down intervention into workplaces that will frustrate career development and hamper productivity, while tech bosses and unions said working from home was useful. Federal Labor's plan never became written party policy, but would have differed from Allan's because it was intended to focus on protecting against discrimination for people who choose not to be based in an office. The Coalition, under Dutton, announced in early March that it would force public servants, many of whom work from home at least some of the time, to return to the office five days a week. The Liberal leader was forced to backflip on his policy a month later because of its unpopularity. 'The new proposal was no longer needed because of Dutton,' a government source said on the condition of anonymity. Australian Council of Trade Unions president Michele O'Neil backed Allan's proposal but stopped short of suggesting there was a federal need for new work-from-home laws. 'We do think that given we've got the flexible work rights in the Fair Work Act, it's important to see how those are operating and that they're operating in an effective and fair way,' she said.
