Latest news with #QueenslandPolitics
Daily Mail
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Shock as popular Channel Nine reporter announces he's quitting after more than 20 years at the network
Channel Nine has lost its best and brightest Queensland reporter after 21 years. Brisbane State Political Editor Tim Arvier announced on Wednesday that he will be departing the network. 'After 21 adventurous years filing stories for Nine, I'm having a bit of a change with a new job,' Arvier wrote in a post made to Instagram. The Australian reported Arvier was eyeing a contract at rival network Seven in recent weeks, but the seasoned reporter left his colleagues stunned by his next move. Instead, he will be batting for the other team from the Queensland Premier's office. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Arvier will head up crisis communications for Premier David Crisafulli. 'I'll be moving away from the day-to-day shenanigans of Queensland politics & heading to government department land for some new responsibilities, including heading up the Queensland Crisis Communications Network to oversee events like floods, cyclones and major police/emergency incidents,' Arvier continued in his post. In 2020, Arvier was named Queensland's 'Journalist of the Year' for his work as Nine's US Correspondent during the Minneapolis riots following George Floyd's death. The Aussie journalist was detained and searched by US police in pursuit of the story. After covering the 2020 US Election and both of Donald Trump's impeachments, Arvier returned home to Brisbane to join the Nine Queensland newsroom, where he began his career as a cadet in 2004. In 2021, he was named as a finalist in the Walkley Awards for his investigation into Queensland's ambulance delays. In his new role, Arvier will be tasked with containing political scandals, the likes of which he used to report to the public. The news has 'stunned colleagues' at Channel Nine, according to The Australian. The publication reported Arvier was musing about his next career move and Seven would likely need to front a $300,000 salary to poach him. 'Although we hear Seven did make some furtive inquiries about procuring Arvier's services, unfortunately they couldn't find quite enough spare change under the sofa cushions,' they reported. Arvier is said to be mentoring the rising stars at Nine before he departs the network for good. 'I'll miss working at Nine,' he said. 'It's a great place full of great people and I've made many lifelong friends amongst the camera teams, producers & editors. A special thanks to the Qld leadership team of Brendan Hockings & Kylie Blucher for their unwavering support over the years. 'The newsroom is in great hands and I know it will continue to thrive.' In a statement provided to The Australian, news boss Hockings said he was disappointed to lose a star player like Arvier. 'We've spoken about this at length, so I know how Tim has agonised over leaving a profession and place he loves but, in the end, he feels the time is right to take on this new role. He leaves with our thanks and best wishes.' If Hockings is worried about how Arvier's impending exit will impact the local ratings against Seven, he didn't let on. 'Nine is Queensland's No.1 television news thanks to the strength of our teams across the board,' he said. 'We have a very healthy stable of newsbreakers and I'm excited to watch them take up the challenge of holding the government to account.'
ABC News
25-06-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Queensland government moves censure motion, condemns opposition absences from parliament
Queensland's opposition leader has been labelled a "Judas goat" after a string of Labor frontbenchers skipped part of state parliament, resulting in chaotic debate in the House. Shadow police minister Glenn Butcher, shadow energy minister Lance McCallum, shadow environment minister Leanne Linard, shadow tourism minister Michael Healy, and Greenslopes MP Joe Kelly all missed the morning session, including question time, claiming their time was better served in the regions. The government moved a censure motion, the first since 2011, against the opposition to note the parliament's official disapproval of the absences. In fiery scenes, Premier David Crisafulli gave a stinging assessment of the missing Labor MPs in the House. "I see a lot of vacant seats surrounding the leader of the opposition," he said. "This place here is where you want to turn up and do some work, Queenslanders expect you to turn up and do some work." Opposition leader Steven Miles defended his team in parliament, which he said was informing voters of failures in the state budget, delivered yesterday. "The LNP might think governing is all about Brisbane and all about the parliament, but on this side of the House we will continue to and in fact never apologise for travelling around the state and spending time in regional Queensland," he said. "We made a deliberate choice today to make sure that regional Queenslanders knew how this LNP government had let them down." Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie went on to attack Mr Miles in parliament, labelling the absences the "biggest farce" he'd seen in 16 years as an MP. He dubbed the opposition leader a "Judas goat" — a reference to a goat trained to lead other animals to slaughter. Speaking in his Cairns electorate, Mr Healy said he was best served talking to locals. "It doesn't matter how I vote, the government has the numbers, what I need to be doing is representing the people up here." Mr McCallum, an Ipswich-based MP, said he was in Mackay to convey Labor's concerns about the state's finances. "As part of a robust democracy, it is very important that the opposition holds the government to account, and we're going to take it to David Crisafulli and the LNP and call them out for their broken promises, which is what this budget is full of," he said. Member for Gladstone, Mr Butcher, said he was in Rockhampton to call out a "bad budget" and would be returning to parliament on Wednesday afternoon. "We will be sitting till midnight every night this week, so there's plenty of time to go through and do the discussion on the budget we need to," he said. The opposition's lone Gold Coast MP Meaghan Scanlon left parliament early to deliver a press conference in her electorate, Gaven. She said the move was to communicate budget cuts during her "lunchbreak" and that she would return to Brisbane later on Wednesday. "We've had MPs on the ground making sure communities know the damage that's been done in this budget," she said. Former Labor MP and Queensland speaker, adjunct professor John Mickel, said there was no rule requiring politicians to attend parliament. He said the opposition was prioritising political messaging over the House. "Labor in the last election did not just do poorly in the regions, they did badly in the regions, and you can't win Queensland, you can't win government back unless you do well in the regions," he said. "I have an old-fashioned view that when parliament is sitting, the executive is held to account, and they are held to account in the first instance in question time." He noted parliament provided a space to scrutinise the government and its budget. "That's where you can ask the treasurer about his budget, where you can ask ministers about their budget and why they haven't spent or misspent money in regions," he said. "It is a better look if they're all there, challenging the government." In a post on X, formerly Twitter, in 2023, now shadow health minister Mark Bailey called out Greens MP Amy MacMahon for leaving parliament early. Current shadow emergency minister Nikki Boyd and former premier Annastacia Palaszczuk also criticised the South Brisbane MP. Responding to comments defending Ms MacMahon, Mr Bailey doubled down. "Calling out an [sic] Member of Parliament for not turning up to Parliament while it is sitting is accountability & scrutiny." Wednesday's censure motion passed with the votes of the government. The last such motion occurred in 2011, when Labor premier Anna Bligh censured the opposition for being absent from the chamber for debate, allowing her government to pass three pieces of legislation without debate.
ABC News
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
While the US protests against Trump, a new documentary reflects on Queensland's 'last king'
Upon learning the results of the 2024 US election, Australian director Kriv Stenders was "pumping the air", but not for the obvious reason. What: An eerily timely look back at the chaos and carnage of Joh Bjelke-Petersen's near-20-year reign as premier of Queensland. Starring: Richard Roxburgh Directed by: Kriv Stenders. When: Streaming on Stan now Likely to make you feel: like this is all very familiar... The born-and-bred Queenslander wasn't looking forward to the promised chaos of a second Donald Trump term. But he was excited about what it meant for his latest project, Joh: Last King of Queensland. The film tracks the industrious rise and spectacular fall of Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, the controversial premier who ruled the state from 1968 to 1987 before being ousted from office following the exposure of widespread corruption within his government. Through a range of voices — from Indigenous activist and poet Lionel Fogarty, to Nationals leader David Littleproud, to Bjelke-Petersen's own children — Stenders pieces together a vision of one of Australia's most divisive political figures. And while, for some, Bjelke-Petersen is a distant memory in Australia's political history, Stenders says there's never been a better time to revisit the past. "The film is a cautionary tale really, saying, 'Just be aware that you know this has happened before and it could happen again,'" he told ABC Entertainment. Raised in a farming family in Kingaroy, north-west of Brisbane, Bjelke-Petersen entered politics as the Member for Nanango in 1947. Steadily climbing the ladder within what was then known as the Country Party, he was voted in as premier of Queensland by 1968. A child of 60s Queensland, Stenders came of age knowing nothing but the business-forward, conservative values of the Bjelke-Petersen government. "My childhood and my early adult life were kind of basically lived under Joh's shadow. As I got older, especially as I became a teenager, I realised that it was actually an oppressive regime," he told ABC Entertainment. While crowing about his fierce protection of Queenslanders from the ills of socialism, poker machines and rude movies, Bjelke-Petersen prioritised the state's economic growth above all else. He held onto power through electoral gerrymandering and wielded a corrupt police force like a weapon against dissenters. While he might have excelled at boosting business, his quest for total power came at the cost of Indigenous and democratic rights, as well as Queenslanders' civil liberties. In 1971, he declared a state of emergency to clamp down on anti-apartheid protests around the South African Springboks' rugby union tour. When his directives were ignored by demonstrators, he unleashed dozens of police officers on the public, ending in bashed heads and broken bones. By 1977, his government had rushed through an amendment to the The Traffic Act that effectively banned street protests, unless you could procure a very rare permit from then-police commissioner Terry Lewis, who was later jailed for corruption. As Bjelke-Petersen declared: "Protest marches are a thing of the past." "The oppressiveness of Joh's police state was really quite scary," Stenders says. "It was a way of threatening and controlling the populace." But for Stenders, who was already deep into the Brisbane music scene and would eventually direct the music videos for sunshine state icons The Go-Betweens, there was a silver lining: the local punk scene was thriving. The political climate inspired bands like The Saints and The Parameters. The latter's 1983 single 'Pig City' — itself a rallying cry against the police corruption within Bjelke-Petersen's government — is featured in the documentary. "[Music] was a form of activism. It was a really exciting time, there was something to rail against, there was something to fight against," Stenders says. "Brisbane was a bit of a wasteland back then; in a funny kind of way, the artistic community was closer and stronger because of it." By the late 80s, following a disastrous tilt at prime minister — which ended in a messy (and temporary) federal Coalition party split — Bjelke-Petersen's actions were catching up with him. Between December 1986 and January 1987, Brisbane's Courier-Mail published articles reporting around 20 illegal brothels were operating in the Fortitude Valley area of Brisbane, apparently unchallenged by police. On May 11, 1987 a Four Corners report revealed that police in Brisbane had been ignoring and even condoning illegal gambling, organised prostitution and drug trafficking, with some taking payments of up to $100,000. A day later, an independent judicial inquiry into the allegations that senior police were being paid to protect organised crime was announced — later known as the Fitzgerald inquiry. As the inquiry began to link the corruption back to his government, Bjelke-Petersen announced he would resign on August 8, 1988: the 20th anniversary of his swearing in as premier. But, by November 1987, the National Country Party leadership had spilled, ousting the once-powerful premier who refused to leave his office to face the press, Parliament or even his own party. To get into the mind frame of Bjelke-Petersen in his final days, Stenders reached out to Australian actor Richard Roxburgh to embody the then-disgraced politician through arresting deliveries of Bjelke-Petersen's own speeches. The director was fixated on the concept of a defeated but still fighting Bjelke-Petersen in the last days of his "power", preaching his accomplishments to an empty room. "I thought, 'Let's all sit around his last three days in office, barricading himself in like Hitler, basically reflecting on his life.' That mechanism just unlocked the film for me." Roxburgh, who recently worked with Stenders on political drama The Correspondent, dived head first into an "enormous amount of documentary footage" to capture Bjelke-Petersen's mannerisms, taking care to never fall into parody (Gerry Connolly already had that bit on lock, anyway). "Anytime you play a character, no matter what the kind of public evaluations of that person, you have to find the things that that person believed so deeply in," Roxburgh told ABC Entertainment. "With Joh, he was deeply religious. Yet there was a side of him that could go down these kinds of darker corridors that we learn about. "It's finding the checks and balances that he had with his own psychology, the way that he could justify a lot of the things he did within the frame of his religious belief and his absolute certainty." "He was a politician but he was a human being," Stenders agrees. "It is very easy to categorise him as a monster or as a clown, but that's dangerous because it gives them the remit to not act like human beings." It's been almost 40 years since Bjelke-Petersen was in power, and 20 years since he died, aged 94. But Stenders says there's never been a more pertinent time to rediscover the red flags from throughout his reign. "The big elephant in the room is obviously Trump," he says. "Trump is a populist leader that very much has drawn exactly from Joh's playbook in everything that he did in terms of his manipulation of the media, his use of force, even to the point where he refused to leave office." One of the catalysts for Stenders taking on King of Queensland was his firm belief that, in order to change power, first you must understand it. "The film was really an attempt to unlock the enigma of Joh and to say, 'Hey, listen. We actually did have a Trump here.' This is actually also within our capability, this is within our bandwidth of creating this kind of leader," he says. In regards to LGBTQIA+ rights, Indigenous rights and abortion access, Stenders says the "ghost" of Bjelke-Petersen is still alive today. "Joh may be dead and buried, but his influence is certainly still being felt on a weekly, monthly level in Australian politics." Revealed - Joh: Last King Of Queensland is streaming on Stan now.
ABC News
29-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
One Nation's Malcolm Roberts returned to the Senate for Queensland, Gerard Rennick gets the boot
One Nation's Malcolm Roberts has held onto his Senate seat from Queensland, as former LNP Senator Gerard Rennick is booted from federal parliament. The Australian Electoral Commission officially declared Queensland's Senate election results on Thursday, with Labor gaining an extra position. It means of the six Senate seats up for grabs, Labor has won two, the LNP has secured two, the Greens have taken out one, and One Nation has also won one. Senator Roberts was elected to a second consecutive term — securing the sixth Senate position in Queensland ahead of Senator Rennick. Senator Rennick was elected in 2019 as an LNP candidate but later resigned from the party after he was defeated in a pre-selection ballot. In the 2025 poll, he ran as a candidate for his own party, People First. Senator Roberts will rejoin fellow One Nation senator Pauline Hanson, whose term is not due to expire for another three years. Labor's Nita Green was also returned to the Senate, with Corine Mulholland joining her as the second Labor candidate to win a Senate spot in Queensland. LNP Senators Susan McDonald and Paul Scarr were both re-elected. Senator McDonald will sit in the Coalition's shadow cabinet with the resources and northern Australia portfolio. The Greens' Larissa Waters, who was first elected to the Senate in 2011, has reclaimed her seat. She came in fifth in the Senate count for Queensland. Senator Waters was recently made the leader of her party after Adam Bandt lost his seat of Melbourne in the House of Representatives. Australian Electoral Officer for Queensland Stephanie Attard said preferences were distributed on Thursday. "As with all aspects of the count, scrutineers appointed by the candidates were able to witness the automated distribution of preferences undertaken today," she said.
ABC News
23-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli keeps clear of Coalition chaos in Canberra
Amid the chaos and confusion of this week's federal coalition breakdown, Queensland's Premier David Crisafulli kept his Liberal National Party well clear of the commotion. He's refused to weigh in on the split this week, labelling it a matter for Canberra. But Sussan Ley and David Littleproud might be well served by some marriage counselling with the premier, who leads the sole LNP state government on the Australian mainland. The former television journalist and his team are acutely aware of the value of image and reputation — running a tight ship in his home state. He appeared to keep his distance from Peter Dutton ahead of the federal election, never once joining the former opposition on the campaign trail. Mr Crisafulli has again separated the Queensland LNP brand from the ructions in Canberra. He's managed to quell the more hardline conservative members of his party, some of whom have advocated against abortion and voluntary assisted dying, refusing to weigh in on fringe issues. His focus on regional Queensland delivered a raft of seats, recognising the divide in issues from Brisbane to Cape York. The exception to the national slide, the federal Liberal and National Parties may benefit from looking to the Queensland model for a return to relevancy. While the Liberals and Nationals quarrelled over who would get the frequent flyer points, Mr Crisafulli was expanding his flagship youth crime laws. It's a comfortable place for his government — the "adult crime, adult time" policy was a key driver in the LNP's state election win. Such is his confidence, Mr Crisafulli can thumb his nose at the United Nations and pre-election pledges of transparency. The UN and human rights experts have repeatedly criticised the state government for its tough youth justice laws, saying they breach basic child rights and disproportionately affect indigenous children. Asked about the criticism, Mr Crisafulli was all too ready to deliver a clip for his social media. The government was pressed all week on why it was refusing to release advice made by an independent expert panel that recommended the expanded youth crime offences. Mr Crisafulli has repeatedly said their work was ongoing and he wanted them to be free from political interference. In a bizarre press conference on Monday, Youth Justice Minister Laura Gerber suggested journalists were only asking about the secret advice due to influence from Labor. It was an odd position to take, given that while in opposition, Mr Crisafulli stressed the importance of being an open and accountable government. Before coming to power, Mr Crisafulli campaigned on fixing what he said were four crises in the state: youth crime, housing, health, and cost of living. While focus has been on the first this week, the latter two have been bubbling under the surface. Nurses and midwives are currently voting on whether to strike for the first time since 2002 after pay negotiations with the state government broke down. The Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union is one of the most powerful worker groups in the state, and it's just the first bargaining agreement the government has to broker this year. Let's see what he's made of. Still to come are agreements with a host of frontline workers, including police and teachers — more than 260,000 public sector employees in total. The dispute looms as a huge test for Mr Crisafulli, who this week reaffirmed that health workers deserved to be paid more. Overworked and understaffed, the scars from the pandemic remain, and nurses and midwives are outraged by the latest pay offer. As a media-savvy premier, Mr Crisafulli would know all too well the damage pictures of striking nurses and midwives would inflict on his government.
