Category: Queensland

May 6, 2025

Qld to push procurement for small local suppliers

The Queensland government will review its procurement policy and establish more pathways for small local firms and innovative suppliers through a $100 million small and family business push outlined on Tuesday. The procurement reforms will be led by the newly formed Department of Customer Services, Open Data and Small and Family Business and supported by…

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April 1, 2025

Queensland children as young as 10 could face life in prison for non-violent crime under new laws
LNP admits legislation contradicts international and domestic human rights and would disproportionately affect Indigenous children
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Children as young as 10 could be sentenced to life behind bars for some non-violent offences under new youth justice laws in Queensland.
The legislation, introduced into parliament by premier David Crisafulli on Tuesday, would also curtail children’s rights to protection from cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment while locked up, and contradict international and domestic human rights laws, the government has admitted.
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This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.
March 14, 2025

LNP accused of ‘outrageous betrayal’ after halting implementation of anti-discrimination law reform
Attorney general says legislation developed in response to Citipointe scandal could ‘create unnecessary burden on organisations and institutions’
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The Queensland government is facing criticism after announcing an indefinite delay to the implementation of anti-discrimination law reforms designed to protect victims of domestic violence, homeless people, women at work and others.
The state attorney general, Deb Frecklington, told parliament on Friday she would introduce legislation to delay implementation of the Respect at Work and Other Matters Amendment Act 2024.
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This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.
January 16, 2025

Australia news live: two injured after tree blown over in Sydney CBD; Jewish leader concerned attacks against community could become normalised
NSW police say two women have minor injuries after a tree fell in heavy winds at Hyde Park in Sydney’s CBD. Follow today’s news live
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Alleged attack in Dover Heights ‘disgusting and dangerous’, NSW premier says
The NSW premier Chris Minns has labelled the alleged attack at Dover Heights overnight as a “disgusting and dangerous act of violence”. In a statement issued this morning, he said:
This is a disgusting and dangerous act of violence that is the latest example of a rising level of antisemitic attacks in our community.
Civil society stands united in condemning this flagrant racism. I’ll be getting an update from police this morning.
It is important that the community and police continue to work together to make NSW a safer place for everyone.
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This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.
January 16, 2025

Human rights report lashes Australia’s ‘diabolical’ asylum seeker treatment and ‘appalling’ youth crime laws
Latest world report by Human Rights Watch describes Australia as a ‘vibrant democracy … marred by some key human rights concerns’
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Australia’s “diabolical” treatment of asylum seekers and youth crime has worsened, a global human rights advocacy body has warned, urging voters to push back on leaders politicising the issue for gain.
Human Rights Watch’s (HRW) latest world report has lashed Australia for going backwards on children in the criminal justice system in 2024, referencing the Northern Territory’s decision to reintroduce spit hoods for youth detainees and the continued use of watch houses to detain children in Queensland.
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This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.
December 3, 2024

Qld secures $200m hydrogen export tech facility

Japan’s largest oil company ENEOS will build a $200 million hydrogen export technology demonstration plant in Queensland capable of producing up to 680kg of green hydrogen per day. Queensland’s new Finance, Trade, Employment and Training minister Ros Bates announced the investment on Tuesday, with the plant expected to be up and running in 2026. The…

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November 28, 2024

Children will get sentences ‘more punitive than necessary’ under new crime law, Queensland LNP admits
Attorney general Deb Frecklington acknowledges bill likely to increase number of children in state watch houses
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Queensland’s Liberal National party government has acknowledged that its signature youth crime legislation will “directly discriminate” against children, by limiting their “protection from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment”.
The bill is also “expected to have a greater impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, who are already disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system”, according to the government’s tabled statement of compatibility with human rights.
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This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.
November 28, 2024

Queensland’s veteran human rights warrior on ‘miscarriages of justice’ past and present
Retiring criminal lawyer Terry O’Gorman, who famously took on Joh Bjelke-Petersen, is withering about David Crisafulli’s new law and order crackdown
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Framed on the wall of criminal lawyer Terry O’Gorman’s office in inner-city Brisbane is a white vest and a cartoon.
O’Gorman wore the legal observer’s vest as a law student with an Art Garfunkel-esque mop of curls during the brutal crackdown on those protesting against the now infamous tour of the apartheid-era South African rugby team in the early days of the Joh Bjelke-Petersen regime.
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This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.
November 21, 2024

Queensland First Nations group lodges racial discrimination complaint against Adani
Adani rejects allegations that press releases and social media posts implied members of the group were not ‘legitimate’ Aboriginal people with a connection to sacred site
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A group of Wangan and Jagalingou First Nations people have lodged a racial discrimination complaint against coalminer Adani, alleging the company engaged in a decade-long “pattern of conduct” that included making offensive statements and social media posts.
The complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission alleges Adani breached the federal Racial Discrimination Act by attempting to block them in 2023 from accessing Doongmabulla Springs, a sacred site near the Carmichael coalmine in outback Queensland.
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This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.
November 1, 2024

Gig Guide: Qld gets a Customer Service minister

Queensland’s new Premier David Crisafulli has appointed a new Minister for Customer Services and Open Data after scrapping the former government’s Digital Services portfolio. Steve Minnikin was sworn in as Minister for Customer Services and Open Data and Minister for Small and Family Business on Friday as part of Mr Crisafulli’s 19-member ministerial Cabinet. He replaces former…

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October 21, 2024

Queensland sharpens focus on quantum and net zero

The Guinness World Record for the longest-running laboratory experiment is a title still held by the University of Queensland for its Pitch Drop experiment. It began in 1927 with a glass funnel containing black pitch – a tar-like substance. The unique “live stream” experiment reveals solids can unexpectedly act like fluids, a discovery with profound…

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October 3, 2024

‘Standard gauge’ for digital licences passes key road-test

Australia has edged closer to cross-border acceptance of digital driver’s licences after a prototype verification platform designed to bring common standards into effect was successfully road-tested with users. The milestone heralds a turning point in the nation’s move to verifiable digital credentials, giving states and territories a ‘standard gauge’ network for accepting national and international…

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October 3, 2024

Biomanufacturer Cauldron Ferm secures Qld govt funding

Orange-based biomanufacturer Cauldron Ferm has landed Queensland government support to develop the first precision fermentation contract manufacturing facility in the Asia-Pacific. The automated facility, which will be built in Mackay utilising Cauldron’s hyper-fermentation technology, is touted as a significant cost reduction on conventional production processes processes for food, animal feed, fibre and fuel production. Announced…

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September 30, 2024

Queensland dishes out $53m in quantum grants

The Queensland government has delivered a $53 million boost to quantum research and commercialisation in support of PsiQuantum’s endeavor to build the world’s first fault-tolerant, error-corrected quantum computer. Seven universities and national science agency CSIRO have secured funding in the state’s largest-ever quantum grants program, which will establish Australia’s first-ever photonics chip fab and industry-accessible…

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September 30, 2024

Qld turns on innovation funding tap ahead of election

More than $20 million in grants for capital works in South East Queensland are now on offer under a push to grow the innovation ecosystem in and around Brisbane. The matched funding will only flow to priority industries and growth areas like AgTech, personalised healthcare, clean energy and quantum. Announced on Sunday, ahead of a…

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September 27, 2024

$14m boost for sustainable aviation fuel project

The federal and Queensland governments have tipped in $14 million to support development of Jet Zero Australia’s sustainable aviation fuel facility, a priority sector under the Future Made in Australia agenda. Jet Zero Australia plans to use the ethanol-to-jet fuel technology developed by its American parent firm LanzaJet to convert agricultural waste into 102 million…

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September 16, 2024

Octopus Deploy on the art of sustainable scaling

Australian founders need to back themselves and focus on building sustainable, profitable small businesses rather than immediately looking for government support or outside funding, according to Octopus Deploy founder and chief executive Paul Stovell. Octopus Deploy has quietly become an Australian tech success story, now with more than 4,000 clients, more than 300 employees and…

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September 4, 2024

Rocket motor maker relaunches with Go1 co-founder backing

Australian solid rocket motor manufacturer Black Sky Industries has rebranded and launched test and manufacturing facilities in Queensland with backing from the co-founder of edtech unicorn Go1. The firm, formerly Black Sky Aerospace, is the only Australian-owned developer and supplier of solid rocket propellant and rocket motors for defence industry. It also provides assembly services…

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September 3, 2024

Australia’s first high purity alumina facility breaks ground

Construction on Australia’s first commercial-scale high purity alumina facility is underway, with first production expected in the second half of 2026. High purity alumina, which must consist of more than 99.99 per cent aluminium oxide, can be used in the production of semiconductors and lithium-ion batteries, making it a key input to the global energy…

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August 13, 2024

AIIA calls for renewed digital focus from next Qld govt

The next Queensland government is being urged to conduct a sweep of the legacy technologies underpinning the state’s citizen-facing platforms and services as a precursor to greater investment. In a pre-election submission released on Tuesday, the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) said the review would be a first step towards de-risking platforms and improving information…

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August 2, 2024

Queensland’s community safety bill may breach children’s human rights, parliamentary committee finds
Labor government’s bid to remove principle of detention as a last resort may ‘impinge on the rights of the child’ under state’s Human Rights Act
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The Queensland government’s proposed changes to the Youth Justice Act could breach the state’s human rights laws, a parliamentary committee has found.
If enacted, the laws would mark the third time in two years the government has passed legislation that limits children’s rights.
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This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.
July 24, 2024

Qld’s bill for PsiQuantum advice revealed

The Queensland government spent close to $2 million across just two contracts for external advice on its controversial investment in Californian startup PsiQuantum, Budget estimates has heard. The legal and consulting costs add to the almost $7 million in fees racked up by the federal government for advice and economic analysis before the two government’s…

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July 17, 2024

Screaming, freezing, struggling to breathe: confronting Queensland watch house footage exposes anguish of children locked in isolation cells
Exclusive: Cache of videos seen by Guardian Australia and SBS The Feed lays bare distressing treatment of teenagers – many of them disabled – in police custody
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A girl punches herself in the face, strips naked and urinates on the floor of an isolation cell; a boy wakes in the night and tells officers: “I can’t breathe.”
Children scream in distress at being placed in a “freezing” isolation cell, known as “the box”.
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This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.
July 16, 2024

PsiQuantum to help shape Qld uni offerings

Queensland’s biggest universities have struck a skills partnership with PsiQuantum that gives the Silicon Valley startup a say in the direction their science, technology and maths courses take. The memorandum of understanding, which comes as the company looks to secure a pipeline of talent for its attempts to build the world’s first fault tolerant quantum…

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July 14, 2024

How Queensland’s youth crime crackdown is forcing vulnerable kids into ‘brutal’ detention system
Concerns grow over police arresting children – some as young as 11 – accused of low-level crimes or bail breaches
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With an election on the horizon, the Queensland government has begun posting tallies of the children arrested and charged by its flagship “saturation” youth crime operation.
The announcement of Taskforce Guardian’s 1,000th arrest included a video with a musical backing track, a press conference with government ministers and a public statement. There was more fanfare when the number hit 1,200 in May.
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This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.
July 8, 2024

Concerns over 13-year-old in Queensland watch house ignored days before alleged sexual assault
Exclusive: Documents seen by Guardian Australia show psychologists and youth workers raised concerns and pleaded with youth justice authorities for a transfer to a safer facility
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Authorities repeatedly ignored pleas that a 13-year-old boy was at risk of harm in the days before the child was allegedly sexually assaulted in an overcrowded Queensland police watch house cell.
Documents seen by Guardian Australia show psychologists and youth workers separately raised the alarm to the youth justice department about the size and vulnerability of the boy and sought his transfer out of the Cairns police watch house for his own safety.
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This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.
July 4, 2024

Synthetic tissue BioTech completes pre-seed capital raise

Brisbane-based startup Gelomics, which technology to support the cultivation of synthetic tissue, has completed a $2.2 million pre-seed capital raise with the support of local investors, including the state-owned Queensland Investment Corporation. Gelomics’ 3D tissue culture system lets scientists grow small representations of human tissue on lab-sized equipment, from heart tissue to tumour tissue. The…

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July 2, 2024

Qld charts Australia’s battery supply chain

More than half the companies in Australia’s battery supply chain are either equipment suppliers or offer integration services and maintenance, according to a new database launched by the Queensland government. The Battery Supply Chain Database, launched on Tuesday, lists companies that have existing capabilities in one of eight supply chain segments, as well as their…

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June 26, 2024

$50m in grants to kickstart Australia’s ‘quantum state’

Queensland has quietly opened more than $50 million in grants to kickstart its local quantum computing sector following a $465 million funding package to bring US firm PsiQuantum to the state. Grants of up to $10 million are now available across five grants programs that aim to create a ‘quantum state’ by boosting the research…

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June 21, 2024

Queensland reveals detail of equity stake in PsiQuantum

The Queensland government’s $465 million investment in PsiQuantum includes a US$125 million (A$188 million) convertible note, offering the state a potentially valuable share in US firm vying to build the world’s first quantum computer. InnovationAus.com can reveal Queensland’s stake in the US firm – which was founded by two Australians – after a secretive selection…

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