Palaszczuk cites incident 14 years ago to justify crackdown on climate protesters

The Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, justified the state’s rushed crackdown on climate change protesters by citing an incident that occurred in the state more than 14 years ago.

Police apply acetone to the hands
of Extinction Rebellion activists
after they super-glued their hands
to the road on the William Jolly Bridge
 on 11 October.

In announcing the new suite of laws in August, Palaszczuk claimed that activists had laced so-called locking devices with traps including “even butane gas containers so that anyone trying to cut a protester free will be injured or worse”.

The claims have been repeated and described as recent events, despite there being no evidence to support them, by multiple media outlets since.

Inspector Shane Williams, a police officer considered an expert on attachment devices used by protesters, was asked at a public hearing on Friday whether he was aware of incidents involving butane or other gas canisters being added to such a device.

Read the story from The Guardian by Ben Smee - “Palaszczuk cites incident 14 years ago to justify crackdown on climate protesters.”

Damage bill for Cyclone Debbie to run into the billions

The damage bill for Cyclone Debbie is expected to run into the billions, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says.

The damage bill arising from Cyclone
Debbie could run into the billions.

Ms Palaszczuk said it would be a few weeks before the final cost was known, but it was expected to be "in the billions”.

"I mean, undoubtedly, this has had a huge impact right across this state, we've got roads down, we've got bridges down, we've got families that have lost everything," Ms Palaszczuk said.

"The farmers, the crops to our state, the produce, in relation to the coal ... the problem at the moment is the line from Blackwater.

"We've got coal ships waiting off the Port of Mackay, ready to go, the coal does need to dry out but as soon as that repair job is done to the railway network, it should be open for business, back to normal."

Police Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said there were still three people missing in Queensland, with authorities holding grave fears for them.

Read Felicity Coldwell’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “Damage bill for Cyclone Debbie to run into the billions.”

Adani's Carmichael coal rail line may not be eligible for government funding

Protesters rally in Melbourne on Monday after the
 federal government granted Indian company
Adani conditional approval of a $1bn loan
for a rail line between the Carmichael coalmine
and a port in north Queensland. 

Doubts have emerged over the eligibility of Adani’s rail link for public funding as the company pushes ahead with plans for the controversial Carmichael coal project with a promise of 600 jobs at a new operational headquarters in Townsville.

The Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, said “you can’t get the smile off my face” when commenting on the news of the potential in a television interview.

The Indian conglomerate’s announcement on Tuesday of new operational headquarters in Townsville comes days after it gained conditional approval of a $1bn federal loan for a coal rail line. It heralds new momentum for a project that has been fiercely resisted by environmental groups and traditional owners.

Read The Guardian story - “Adani's Carmichael coal rail line may not be eligible for government funding.”

Queensland trials country's first solar battery storage system

A Queensland government-owned power company has installed the country’s first solar battery storage system from Tesla as it begins a year-long trial into how it can reward consumers who cut their reliance on the electricity grid.

Energex, which has installed a Tesla Powerwall and another storage system from Californian company Sunverge at its Brisbane training facility, will collect data to work out how to integrate solar batteries into the network with financial incentives for customers.

The trial, which will extend monitoring of systems in Energex employees’ homes to those in outside consumers’ in coming months, follows lobbying by the Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, of Tesla executives in the US six months ago.

Read The Guardian story - “Queensland installs Australia's first Powerwall battery for solar trial.”