Queensland

Analysis and Comment (46)

F5km74q5-1368402719
Barren and isolated, Riversleigh is actually one of the most important fossil sites in the world. Riversleigh from Shutterstock.

Unknown wonders: Riversleigh

By Kylie Williams

Australia is famous for its natural beauty: the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru, Kakadu, the Kimberley. But what about the places almost no one goes? We asked ecologists, biologists and wildlife researchers…
Pj534qxj-1367885699
Will the Great Barrier Reef be declared ‘In Danger’? We’ll have to wait until next year to find out. AAP Image/Catlin Seaview Survey

UNESCO still worried about the Great Barrier Reef

By Colin Hunt

UNESCO, the body that lists world heritage areas, continues to express extreme disquiet about the state of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. But it has now postponed to February 2014 consideration…
H2wj2rsv-1367469268
This Green and Golden Bell Frog is one of the few species to be successfully protected using offsets. Flickr/eyeweed

Can we offset biodiversity losses?

By Megan Evans and Martine Maron

Clive Palmer’s China First Coal Project is entering the last stages of review for its proposed coal mine in Queensland’s Bimblebox Nature Refuge. As part of the Supplementary Environmental Impact Statement…
642ppj2h-1367454753
To figure out where we’re safe from crocodiles, we need to know more about what makes them move around. Jeff Keir

Controlling crocs means knowing who’s boss

By Hamish Campbell and Ross Dwyer

The estuarine crocodile is the top predator in waterways across Northern Australia. Large crocodiles pose a risk to humans, so local governments take measures to control crocodile abundance and distribution…
Nwqhrh7d-1367376341
Queensland Premier Campbell Newman announces his government’s plan to outsource, rather than completely privatise, many public services. AAP/Dan Peled

Why Queensland didn’t need to sell the family farm

By David Hayward, RMIT University

Back in July last year Queensland Premier Campbell Newman was in a very black mood. All was gloom and doom in the Sunshine State, as he warned Queensland was “on the way to being bankrupted” without tough…
Rw4trcpj-1367360792
Soon after revealing his plans to build a replica Titanic, Clive Palmer has set his sights on becoming Australian Prime Minister. EPA/Jason Szenes

Titanic ambitions: Palmer’s federal push shouldn’t be lightly dismissed

By Donna Weeks, University of the Sunshine Coast

Queensland has a habit of raising the eyebrows of our southern cousins when it comes to politics “our way”. Visits to friends and family down south always have required explanations about Joh Bjelke-Petersen…
Kyy5qpbj-1366686400
Heavy-handed strategies won’t reduce the risk of bat-borne diseases and will be detrimental to the environment. Flickr/mdavidford

Breaking up bat colonies doesn’t eliminate health risks

By Jon Luly, James Cook University; Gerardo Martin, James Cook University, and Lee Skerratt, James Cook University

The recent tragic death of a young boy from Australian bat lyssavirus (ABL) produced a predictable chorus of calls to disperse flying fox colonies and kill flying foxes, all in the name of public health…
Wpq9rnmp-1365645419
Dugongs rely on seagrass for food – damage to grass beds is a bigger threat to the species than Indigenous hunting. sandwichgirl/Flickr

Banning Indigenous hunting won’t help dugongs

By Jon Altman and Seán Kerins

In the 1990s some international animal rights and environment organisations instigated a concerted campaign to stop the hunting of pilot whales by Faroese people living in the northeast Atlantic. The…
Yd5fk7hv-1361926973
Indigenous Queenslanders should be able to choose their own path. AAP/Dave Hunt

Funding cuts threaten Indigenous independence in Queensland

By Theresa Petray, James Cook University

Funding cuts announced to Queensland Aboriginal communities last month will of course affect the budgets of Aboriginal Shire Councils. But their impact will be felt much more further afield than just within…
Pdpwgry5-1363147345
Science suggests poor soils, water availability and harsh climatic conditions should dull visions for a northern Australia food bowl. Wakx/Flickr

The only way is up? The northern Australian food bowl fantasy

By Rob Law, University of Melbourne

With the recently leaked discussion paper by the Coalition reigniting old passions for a northern irrigated food bowl, Australia must again contemplate its vision for the north. Is this our chance to learn…
Zj49zzkz-1362713432
The burden of pain and discomfort, disfigurement and disability from dental decay is very large in Australia. Pete Simon

Stopping fluoridation imperils Queenslanders' dental health

By John Spencer

Mandatory water fluoridation introduced by the former Queensland government is being rolled back by some local councils, which have been given the power to decide whether to continue with the public health…
6vm9gyjx-1362373409
Hotel Cunnamulla – where Terry Lewis' rise began. AAP/James Shrimpton

The man who would be commissioner: Bjelke-Petersen’s crooked pick

By Matthew Condon, Queensland University of Technology

For his new book Three Crooked Kings, author and journalist Matthew Condon had unprecedented access to the jailed Queensland Police Commissioner Terry Lewis who speaks for the first time about the events…
Y64h635w-1361491993
Homophobic bullying is a problem that needs urgent attention in Queensland schools. Bullying image from www.shutterstock.com

Why Queensland schools are failing gay students

By Tiffany Jones

There has been a series of disturbing homophobic bullying incidents in Queensland schools in recent months. Some of the cases reported in the media included a Brisbane student being allegedly told by…
J48c3bhc-1360212897
South East Queensland’s grid of water treatment plants are meant to drought proof the region, but could help in floods too. AAP Image/Dave Hunt

How ‘drought infrastructure’ can help us get through floods

By Jurg Keller

Over the last six years, there have been major investments made in “climate independent” water supplies and other measures to help “drought-proof” most of Australia’s capital cities. These have included…
8t6rgkxt-1358827914
There are opportunities for compromise between development and conservation in Cape York, but they’re en route to being missed. hindesite/Flickr

Cape York for World Heritage listing: is it ready?

By Nick Skilton

World Heritage sites in Australia have often been born out of battles between conservationists and development-oriented state governments. Little regard has been paid to land owners: until now. February…
57q88bwv-1358381938
Queensland MP Andrew Laming’s inflammatory comments about violence in Logan were insensitive and misdirected. AAP/Lukas Coch

Unemployment not the cause of Pacific Islander violence in Logan

By Elisabeth Betz, La Trobe University

Mobs tearing up Logan. Did any of them do a day’s work today, or was it business as usual and welfare on tap? That’s how MP Andrew Laming responded to recent violence in Logan between Aboriginal and…
285s3d9w-1353906397
Queensland Campbell Newman with new housing minister Tim Mander, who replaced Dr Bruce Flegg, who resigned over accusations of impropriety. AAP/Dan Peled

The swinging state: how Queensland is set to shape the federal election

By Rae Wear

After a tumultuous first year in power for Campbell Newman’s Liberal National Party, Queensland now offers more hope for Julia Gillard at next year’s federal election. Which way the Sunshine State will…
Srnk9k4t-1353294121
A coal seam gas production well between Tara and Chinchilla, Queensland. Jeremy Buckingham

Air pollution from coal seam gas may put public health at risk

By Marion Carey, Monash University

Concerns about the unconventional gas industry’s environmental impacts have been around for some time. The major issues are its effect on surface and groundwater, and growing evidence of greater-than-anticipated…
G6h7gqcq-1351576992
Are the perceived risks of uranium mining real or outdated? RaeAllen

Modern-day mining: Queensland’s uranium re-launch

By Barry Noller

The Queensland State Government recently announced it would take up uranium mining again. The topic of uranium mining often raises concern about environmental risk. While past uranium mining in Queensland…
Rq8cmb9k-1346640547
Queensland unveils tenders for two new boot camp programs for young offenders. flickr.com

Boot camps a poor fit for juvenile justice

By Robyn Lincoln

The Queensland Attorney-General, Jarrod Bleijie, has authorised a tender process for the operation of two youth boot camps. The camps, aimed at 13 to 17 year olds, are to be trialled in Cairns and on the…
265nktbz-1349746295
The mother (centre) of the four young girls at the centre of a custody dispute arrives at court hearing in Brisbane. AAP/Dan Peled

Child custody: a family law perspective

By Renata Alexander, Monash University

Last week’s Media Watch programme on the ABC discussed the role of the Australian media in the custody case of four Queensland children that has created headlines across the country over the past few months…
Dgtp4jym-1349752880
A sign outside an Aboriginal community near Darwin, noting the ban on consuming alcohol in the area. AAP/Xavier La Canna

New singers, old songs: alcohol bans in Aboriginal communities

By Peter d'Abbs, Menzies School of Health Research

The newly elected conservative governments in Queensland and the Northern Territory have opened the way to relaxing laws restricting access to alcohol in Aboriginal communities. In Queensland, a number…
9rbxtdcg-1348466686
Brigalow trees are vital for soil health and erosion control. They’re only just recovering from 19th century clearing. Why does the Queensland Government have it in for them? Arthur Chapman

Queensland land-clearing changes threaten trees farmers need

By Kat Grigg and Jason Halford

The Queensland State Government has recently proposed changes to the Vegetation Management Act 1999. Under the planned reforms, landowners will be able to clear and thin out vegetation using self-assessable…
Rcm7ctdq-1346742024
The Queensland government is keen to remove as many barriers to development as possible. But at what cost to the state’s environment? AAP/Dave Hunt

Queensland’s big step back from environmental assessment

By Ian Lowe, Griffith University

The defining characteristic of the Newman government’s environmental policy seems to be a Great Leap Backwards: an old-fashioned determination not to let environmental concerns get in the way of expanding…
Dpvhvw52-1347361233
Queensland Premier Campbell Newman congratulates Treaurer Tim Nicholls after handing down the first LNP budget in 14 years. AAP/Dave Hunt

Politically sharp Queensland budget might cut both ways for Newman

By Paul Williams, Griffith University

As budgets go we’ve seen tougher, but not often. The first appropriation bill of the Queensland’s new Liberal-National government – the first non-Labor budget in 14 years – was always going to be austere…
Tqpz9whh-1345790796
The Federal Government has given the go-ahead to the Alpha coal development (this picture shows the existing trial mine), but will it ever be built? Greenpeace/Andrew Quilty

On Alpha coal approval, Burke clearly right in battle with Newman

By Chris McGrath

Picking who is right in political disputes is often hard but this one is different. Queensland Premier Campbell Newman was clearly wrong in stating that the Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke is…
Xx69cfhd-1343350096
Campbell Newman’s linking of Queensland’s dire financial situation with that of Spain saw quite a backlash, but is there an underlying element of truth? AAP

Perfect one day, bankrupt the next? Queensland’s missing fortune

By Mark McGovern, Queensland University of Technology

Comments by Campbell Newman that Queensland was on the way to bankruptcy are, unfortunately, true. His comment that “Queensland does not have the money…” is globally true – but clearly specifically arguable…
Vqfrtdkh-1338951818
Does the Queensland Premier understand his own State’s mine approval process? AAP

Federal ‘green-tape’ myth for Alpha mine

By Chris McGrath

The dispute between the Queensland and Commonwealth Governments over the approval of Gina Rinehart’s Alpha Coal Mine continues to escalate with the Prime Minister now backing her Environment Minister…
Gpn5cs7q-1338937550
Minister Tony Burke is slowing down coal development in Queensland, but there’s more to it than saving turtles. Landfeldt/Flickr

Commonwealth and Queensland face off over coal and Great Barrier Reef

By Colin Hunt

The halt in the Alpha Coal Project approval process shows the Commonwealth is taking very seriously UNESCO’s recent report threatening downgrading the status of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area…
G46qrcs6-1338794594
Can a booming coal industry and a Heritage-Listed reef co-exist? AAP/Dave Hunt

The Great Barrier Reef at a crossroads

By Tim Stephens

Last Friday the World Heritage Centre and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) released a report on the state of the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest World Heritage Property…
66bzhmhr-1338357921
Newman’s campaign promises were key to endorsements from some Indigenous organisations, but there has since been little action. AAP

Whatever happened to Queensland’s Wild Rivers controversy?

By Timothy Neale, University of Melbourne

As I wrote in March, whether the Wild Rivers Act was repealed or prolonged in the wake of the Queensland election, underlying issues concerning the future and politics of Cape York Peninsula would persist…
W68cwzyp-1338442034
Anti-CSG campaigners – including Lock the Gate’s Drew Hutton – believe bubbles in the Condamine River have been caused by mining. AAP

Bubbling to the surface: CSG impacts and the Condamine

By Gavin Mudd, Monash University

The extraction of coal seam gas (CSG) appears to be a simple exercise – drill bores, pump the water out and gas flows away. While this is technically true, many of the environmental risks are nowhere near…
Y5wj7kd3-1333586281
Queensland Premier Campbell Newman congratulates Health and Community Services Minister Tracy Davis as she is sworn in. AAP Image/John Pryke

Campbell’s cabinet and the curious case of the career politicians

By Anne Tiernan, Griffith University

During the much-anticipated announcement of his new cabinet line-up in Brisbane last Friday, incoming Queensland Premier Campbell Newman emphasised his new team’s diversity, both geographically and in…
V5jtfgp6-1332983093
Campbell Newman says Queensland’s carbon-reduction policies aren’t needed under a carbon price, but what does he mean? AAP

State climate schemes still worthwhile under a carbon price

By Martin C. Jones

In justifying their recent abandonment of state-based climate schemes, the governments of Queensland and Victoria have both claimed that the schemes will be redundant under the federal emissions trading…
Hyqk7kxk-1332808918
State governments are walking away from emissions reduction, but it’s thanks to poor policy from the ALP. Takver/Flickr

A flawed carbon pricing scheme lets states dump climate action

By Alan Pears AM, RMIT University

In the past few days we have seen two states, Victoria and Queensland, announce cut-backs on action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They have been able to justify this by pointing out, correctly, that…
3xxzhk5k-1332807189
Former ALP Minister Barry Jones says the party needs significant reform. AAP

The decay of the political process

By Barry Jones, University of Melbourne

Queensland has developed a tradition of political swings that are far greater than the national average. Labor held only one Queensland House of Representatives seat in 1975 and in 1996 only two. The…
S58szwv2-1332728858
Campbell Newman and close confidants Jeff Seeney (right) and Tim Nicholls at the first meeting on the LNP government. AAP/Dan Peled

Queensland election: Labor on the wrong side of the boom

By Jason Wilson, University of Canberra

A lot of the coverage of the Queensland election has so far focused on the headline numbers. Admittedly, these are startling. The LNP will control 78 of 89 seats in the unicameral Parliament. Labor’s…
53t85n7z-1332454667
Labor leader Anna Bligh is likely to lose the Queensland election, but what are the federal implications? AAP Image/Jack Tran

Queensland election: which seats matter for Labor?

By Glynn Evans

The likely defeat of the Bligh Labor government in this weekend’s Queensland elections may not have the negative implications for the Gillard government that many commentators might expect. The presence…
4wpd7spv-1331097978
Campbell Newman addresses workers during a campaign stop. AAP/Dan Peled

Is Campbell Newman’s Queensland election strategy in trouble?

By Clive Bean, Queensland University of Technology

The Liberal National Party chose an unconventional strategy when it decided make former Lord Mayor of Brisbane Campbell Newman its leader. Newman needs to win a seat in the Queensland parliament if he…

Research Briefs (2)

Participants (180)