Latest news with #CrisafulliGovernment
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Lives will be saved': Family of murdered teen speaks out
Laws giving police the power to scan anyone in public with a metal detector have been expanded and made permanent in Queensland. The expanded legislation came into effect on Friday, and the laws are named after 17-year-old Jack Beasley who was fatally stabbed in 2019. 'Jack's Law is now permanent, and police can use these scanners across the State, not just in Safe Night Precincts and other previously prescribed places,' Police Minister Dan Purdie said. 'This is about giving police the tools they need to detect and deter knife crime, and prevent more families from living through the heartbreak the Beasleys have endured.' Jack was killed on a night out at Surfers Paradise. Since then, his parents Belinda and Brett have pushed for reform. 'We made a promise to Jack that we'd make sure something good came from this tragedy, and now, thanks to this law, lives will be saved,' Mr Beasley said. 'We'll never know whose life is saved because someone was caught with a knife before they could use it, but that's the power of this law. It works.' Belinda Beasley said the expansion meant Jack's legacy lived on. 'Jack's Law is for every young person and every family who deserves to feel safe,' she said. 'We're incredibly grateful to the police, and to the Crisafulli Government that has listened and acted.' Trials of Jack's Law began in April 2023 under the previous Labor government. Government figures show since then, 1190 weapons have been seized, 3248 people have been arrested, almost 6000 charges have been laid and more than 122,000 people have been scanned. During the election campaign, then-opposition leader David Crisufalli promised to make the trial of Jack's Law permanent. The expanded, and now enshrined laws, allow police to randomly detain any person to search them with a metal detector, without the requirement that they are reasonably suspected of committing a crime. A state-funded report into the laws cautioned Queenslanders could be subjected to 'stereotypes and discrimination', 'surveillance and harassment' and a 'small number of officers' were wanding people because of 'non-offending behaviours', such as being in groups. Following Jack's death, five teenage boys aged between 15 and 18 at the time were charged; three were acquitted of manslaughter at a judge-only trial. A 17-year-old male pleaded guilty to murder, and he was sentenced to 10 years in prison but will only serve seven. A 20-year-old man pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to seven years in prison.
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
Queensland law expanded allowing police to scan anyone in public with metal detectors
Laws giving police the power to scan anyone in public with a metal detector have been expanded and made permanent in Queensland. The expanded legislation came into effect on Friday, and the laws are named after 17-year-old Jack Beasley who was fatally stabbed in 2019. 'Jack's Law is now permanent, and police can use these scanners across the State, not just in Safe Night Precincts and other previously prescribed places,' Police Minister Dan Purdie said. 'This is about giving police the tools they need to detect and deter knife crime, and prevent more families from living through the heartbreak the Beasleys have endured.' Jack was killed on a night out at Surfers Paradise. Since then, his parents Belinda and Brett have pushed for reform. 'We made a promise to Jack that we'd make sure something good came from this tragedy, and now, thanks to this law, lives will be saved,' Mr Beasley said. 'We'll never know whose life is saved because someone was caught with a knife before they could use it, but that's the power of this law. It works.' Belinda Beasley said the expansion meant Jack's legacy lived on. 'Jack's Law is for every young person and every family who deserves to feel safe,' she said. 'We're incredibly grateful to the police, and to the Crisafulli Government that has listened and acted.' Trials of Jack's Law began in April 2023 under the previous Labor government. Government figures show since then, 1190 weapons have been seized, 3248 people have been arrested, almost 6000 charges have been laid and more than 122,000 people have been scanned. During the election campaign, then-opposition leader David Crisufalli promised to make the trial of Jack's Law permanent. The expanded, and now enshrined laws, allow police to randomly detain any person to search them with a metal detector, without the requirement that they are reasonably suspected of committing a crime. A state-funded report into the laws cautioned Queenslanders could be subjected to 'stereotypes and discrimination', 'surveillance and harassment' and a 'small number of officers' were wanding people because of 'non-offending behaviours', such as being in groups. Following Jack's death, five teenage boys aged between 15 and 18 at the time were charged; three were acquitted of manslaughter at a judge-only trial. A 17-year-old male pleaded guilty to murder, and he was sentenced to 10 years in prison but will only serve seven. A 20-year-old man pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to seven years in prison.
ABC News
24-06-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Hydro-electric billions earmarked for projects but Queensland not showing 'whole picture'
Queensland's renewable energy plans have become a little clearer, but advocates say they still cannot see how the state will meet its goals of reaching net zero by 2050. Billions of dollars have been earmarked for hydro-electric power projects across the state in the Crisafulli government's first budget. "We're seeing pieces of the investment that will be necessary, but not the whole picture," said Queensland Conservation Council director David Copeman. Projects include the Borumba Pumped Hydro Project, west of the Sunshine Coast, Mount Rawdon at Mount Perry, west of Bundaberg, and Big T north of Toowoomba. Meanwhile, the giant Pioneer-Burdekin Pumped Hydro Project, west of Mackay, has been scrapped entirely as part of an election promise. Renewable energy advocates, like Mr Copeman, welcomed the investment but said they did not provide enough clarity on the state's energy transition. "We still can't say we are going to see the type of investment in the places we need to make sure Queenslanders keep the light on [with renewable energy]," Mr Copeman said. Mr Copeman said it was not clear whether the hydro-electric projects would help the energy transition as coal-fired power stations reach the end of their lives. Mr Copeman said taxpayers could pay up to $400 million in additional annual costs to keep the Callide Power Station, west of Gladstone, operating from 2038 to 2041. "That's a crazy expense. What we'd like to see is more investment in [renewable energy] storage," he said. Worldwide Fund for Nature Australia's climate and energy spokesperson Ariane Wilkinson said the government should detail when it will move away from coal power. Ms Wilkinson said it would help the industry transition away from fossil fuels. "The economic evidence shows it's important to have certainty of a coal closure date," she said. Ms Wilkinson urged the government to stick to its plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 75 per cent of 2005 levels by 2035. "We consistently need to see regional communities having new opportunities and building new clean industries. "The world is shifting to renewable energy, and Queensland needs to be in that game and taking advantage of our amazing renewable resources." The budget details come as the state government is expected to release a five-year energy road map at the end of the year. Queensland Renewable Energy Council CEO Katie Moulder said the loss of potential power from the Pioneer-Burdekin project was significant and more investment was needed to balance the energy grid. "We're hoping to work with the government on that," she said. Treasurer and Minister for Energy David Janetzki said the government's "Energy Roadmap" to 2030 would provide certainty for investors, communities and consumers when it is released later this year. The government also committed $2.4 billion to the CopperString project by 2028–29. Meanwhile, the $1,000 for electricity bills rebates introduced as a short-term measure by the Labor government last year will not continue. Mr Janetzki said a targeted electricity rebate scheme for vulnerable households, including seniors, pensioners and concession card holders, will increase by $14 to $386 with the government restoring annual indexation. He said underinvestment in power plant maintenance had also resulted in higher power bills, with the budget papers showing $1.6 billion would be invested in Queensland's state-owned generation assets over five years. That included major overhauls at Callide C, Tarong, and Wivenhoe Power Stations, and a minor overhaul of Callide Unit C4.
ABC News
24-06-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Queensland public drunkenness law reversal will bring racial profiling, elders warn
A proposal to make public drunkenness illegal in Queensland would lead to police racially profiling Indigenous people, elders warn. It comes after Queensland Police Minister Dan Purdie flagged the state government was considering making public drunkenness illegal again, less than a year after decriminalising it. Mr Purdie said the former Labor government's decision to remove public drunkenness as an offence made it hard for police to do their jobs properly. "The Crisafulli government is listening to communities who are alarmed that Labor's watering down of the laws has led to more anti-social behaviour and crime on our streets," Mr Purdie said. "Our government is working with the Queensland Police Service to ensure they have the laws and resources they need to keep people safe." At a snap community meeting in Musgrave Park, Brisbane, elders warned the reversal would create "open season" for police to target Aboriginal communities. Brisbane Murri Action Group organiser Adrian Burragubba said such laws had historically given police the discretion to arrest people they deemed were behaving drunkenly. He claimed these discretionary powers had disproportionately been used on homeless and Aboriginal communities. Mr Burragubba said these laws had previously not been applied equally in party destinations such as Fortitude Valley and Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast. "These laws will criminalise our people again and our human rights will be denied, as the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody found over 30 years ago." In 1991, the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody recommended decriminalising public drunkenness, but Queensland was the last state to do so in late 2024. Queensland Council for Civil Liberties president Michael Cope said this reversal would take civil rights back 34 years. Mr Cope said Queensland police could already detain drunk people if they were violent, threatening, or a risk to their safety or the safety of someone else. "Alcoholism and alcohol abuse should be dealt with via health and social support systems, rather than in the criminal justice system," Mr Cope said. Marjorie Nuggins told the meeting she feared the proposed laws would be used to target homeless people in public spaces. Ms Nuggins said this would address the symptoms, but not the cause of alcoholism in Aboriginal communities. "I believe the Indigenous custodial people of this land need to make a stand now," she said. "There're so many injustices going on around this place. "It needs to stop and we need to come together in unity and love."
7NEWS
24-06-2025
- Business
- 7NEWS
Inside the 2025-26 Budget lock-up in Queensland's Parliament
A budget that's big on debt and low on the sugar hits has been revealed by Queensland's new Liberal National Party Government, which says it is facing the biggest redistribution of GST revenue in Australian history. Treasurer David Janetzki handed down the 2025-26 Budget in Queensland's Parliament on Tuesday afternoon, his first since the LNP won the election in October. Earlier that morning, 7NEWS headed into the lock-up to dig through the budget papers. It was busier-than-normal at parliament, even for a sitting week, with dozens of journalists converging on the house. 7News State Political Editor Marlina Whop leads the way and we take our seats on one of four long tables inside the room, before bundles of plastic-wrapped budget documents and brochures are handed out. The media have 30 minutes to get started before the Treasurer enters to give a presentation. We then keep pouring over the papers until a midday press conference. The budget shows that cost of living relief has been scaled back and Queenslanders will receive a modest number of sweeteners. For families, there's a $100 Back to School voucher to cover the cost of primary school essentials each year and previously announced $200 Play On! sports vouchers. For years, Queenslanders have received an electricity rebate in the state budget, which ended under the new government. However, the Electricity Rebate Scheme for vulnerable households will continue and increase by 3.8 per cent from $372 to $386 in 2025-26. 'This modest cost of living relief, frozen by the former government in 2022, will be indexed every year under the Crisafulli Government,' Janetzki tells parliament in his budget speech. Homeownership is a key focus of the 25-26 budget and, from July 1, first home buyers will be able to register their interest in a new government shared equity scheme. The government says it will help reduce the deposit gap, meaning a first home buyer with a deposit of just $15,000 could buy a home valued at $750,000. There are only 1000 spots up for grabs over two years, but the government says the program could be expanded if there is strong interest. Asked whether the program could make housing more expensive and encourage people to spend more than they would otherwise be able to afford, the treasurer refused to accept that the initiative won't get people into homes. Janetzki argued people would still have to go through normal lending processes. 'There are the normal lending criteria, the normal credit practices that must be adopted, and so they will be assessed in the usual way,' he said. The Crisafulli Government has its own debt to shoulder, too. Total debt will skyrocket over the next four years to a record $205.7 billion by 2028-29. It's more than $30 billion dollars higher than last year's budget forecast under the former Labor government, but lower than the $218 billion dollar figure the LNP predicted in the Mid-Year Fiscal Economic Review. An $8.6 billion deficit is predicted in 2025-26 before falling in the forward estimates to $1.1 billion by 2028-29. The treasurer blamed a hit to revenues from coal royalties and a GST reduction, arguing the government is stepping in to save projects and deliver jobs. 'We are front loading the investments into jobs and services now in this budget so Queenslanders can reap the benefits sooner,' Janetzki told media in the budget lock-up. 'We made a range of commitments at the election. We've seen a range of services that were left unfunded by the former government that we have stepped in to fund.' 'None of the promised cost of living relief' The Labor Opposition has defended their record in government. 'When we left office we had a stable rating from ratings agencies, that's a fact,' Shadow Treasurer Shannon Fentiman said. 'We had a (debt) figure of $172 billion, that's a fact. 'We have now had an outlook downgrade since the LNP have been in office, since they handed down MYFER, and we now have a debt figure that's higher despite them promising it would be lower. 'There is none of the promised cost of living relief.' In the LNP budget, $18 million will be saved with a hiring freeze on bosses in the public service. Government fees and charges are increasing by 3.4 per cent and a 20 per cent discount on car registration is ending in September, which means most drivers will pay an extra $10-20. The health operating budget has also increased by 10 per cent to $29.4 billion dollars. $18.5 billion will go to the Hospital Rescue Plan and more than $3 billion will go to tackle ambulance ramping in the 2025-26 budget. There's also a new Surgery Connect program that will aim to slash the elective surgery waiting list by 30,000 patients. The Australian Medical Association praised the Government's commitment to 4,500 health workers in 2025-26, while the Queensland Teachers Union slammed budgeted pay rises for frontline workers, as tense talks with unions on enterprise bargaining agreements continue. On Tuesday afternoon, more than 100 teachers rallied outside the gates of parliament, calling for a better pay offer from the government. 'What's currently on the table gets us third lowest paid teachers in the country and that does not recruit and does attract people to this profession in Queensland,' QTU spokesperson Cresta Richardson said. The Opposition will deliver its budget reply on Thursday.
