Latest news with #Queenslanders'
The Guardian
13-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
David Crisafulli came out of Cyclone Alfred looking like a leader. His real danger lies within the LNP
There was something different about David Crisafulli – even if it wasn't immediately clear what had changed – as the Queensland premier addressed the state about the looming threat from Tropical Cyclone Alfred. Leading through a natural disaster is a rite of passage for a Queensland leader. There's also little anyone can do to prepare. It's a brutal 'learn on the job' experience that requires difficult calls with imperfect information. Handled the right way – with calm and sincerity, the right ratios of strength and compassion – the experience can define a premier. Floundering politicians have walked out of the briefing room at the emergency services complex at Kedron as beloved leaders. Anna Bligh's popularity climbed 35 points after the 2011 Brisbane floods. Her tearful 'we are Queenslanders' address is still talked about by, as she put it then, 'the people they breed tough north of the border'. Crisafulli appears to have a natural effect in these situations that his predecessor, Steven Miles, only found too late in last year's nothing-to-lose election state campaign. Miles's first task as premier was to lead the response to Tropical Cyclone Jasper in north Queensland. There was little to fault in that response, but the lack of emotion or animation meant there was little to remember about it either. As Tropical Cyclone Alfred approached, Crisafulli had a few missteps. His comments that people should stock up on canned food and bottled water might have contributed to some of the panic buying in the early part of last week, when even Heinz and San Pellegrino were stripped from the shelves. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email And the response itself left questions about the state's disaster management. People in Hervey Bay say they were not prepared for flooding that hit the town. Residents near Brisbane's suburban creeks were sent 'emergency alerts' by police about potential flash flooding on Monday morning, several hours after the creek heights had peaked. While the premier's office has sought to portray his approach as a break from Covid-era edicts – a champion of devolved decision-making and personal responsibility – the reality is more nuanced. The government closed the schools on Thursday and then gave those able the green light to reopen on Monday. The idea this is radically different to past approaches is simply untrue. Regardless, Crisafulli is a premier with an enhanced personal brand after Alfred. He has been lauded for having a rare characteristic prized by leaders – the ability to speak with authority and authenticity at the same time. But there was also something else that contributed to the sense that Crisafulli had a strong week. Something that wasn't clear until Wednesday, when parliament resumed, and the premier's sidekick, the deputy premier, Jarrod Bleijie, returned to his hip. Bleijie is becoming increasingly influential in the LNP's first Queensland government in a decade. He is a politician with a compulsive fighting instinct and comes across as brash. In parliament this week, Bleijie stood up and made truck honking noises. The deputy premier also has close control over the LNP's parliamentary strategy, which has at times appeared to focus on gleefully battering political opponents rather than governing with anything resembling maturity. Behind the scenes, moderates say the deputy premier's instincts risk running the government into unnecessary trouble. The partnership between Crisafulli and Bleijie is central to harmony between the LNP's once-warring factions. Crisafulli's closest allies are moderates (though he stays out of much of the internal politicking). Insiders say Bleijie and his allies are instigating policy fights the government would be better advised to avoid. Crisafulli key to re-election in 2028 is to show the public – especially Brisbane voters who have been wary of the LNP since Campbell Newman – a different sort of conservative government. And it has not gone unnoticed, especially within LNP ranks, that Crisafulli has amplified his personal appeal this week with what is being viewed as mature management of the emergency response, with his attack dog mostly absent from his side.
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Push for more point to point speeding cameras as millions face new driver crackdown
Road safety experts are urgently calling for action to curb the rising death toll on roads in Australia, pushing for stronger measures including increased police patrols, mandatory roadside drug testing after crashes, and expanded use of point-to-point speed cameras in high-risk areas. The Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RAQ) said the vast majority of the 303 deaths that occurred on the state's roads last year were preventable. The last time Queensland's road toll exceeded 300 was in 2009, with 2025 already "tracking for an even worse total", the group warned. The authority argued several strategies must be implemented in response, which are of particular importance given that so far this year, almost one fatality has occurred every day on the state's roads. RACQ wants to see the installation of more point-to-point speed cameras in high-risk crash zones, which deter speeding by recoding the average speed of motorists over a stretch of road. It also wants to see the state government immediately boost police presence on the roads, in addition to mandatory roadside drug testing after all crashes. Point-to-point speed cameras, also known as average speed cameras, measure a vehicle's speed over a set distance rather than at a single location. They work by recording the time a vehicle passes two fixed points along a road and calculating its average speed between them. If the vehicle's average speed exceeds the legal limit for that stretch of road, the driver receives a fine. These cameras are particularly effective in reducing speeding over long distances, discouraging drivers from simply slowing down for traditional fixed cameras and then speeding up again. They are commonly used in high-risk crash zones, highways and tunnels to improve road safety. In NSW, their use is set to be expanded in the near future. In addition to the cameras, RACQ is also pushing for expanded hooning laws to cover a broader range of reckless speeding, drink-driving and drug-driving offences, leading to offenders' vehicles being impounded or immobilised for 30 to 90 days. General Manager of Advocacy Joshua Cooney said the reforms are desperately needed to combat Queenslanders' "worsening" attitudes toward road safety, arguing that extreme driving and deliberate rule breaking was on the rise. "Speeding, drink driving and drug driving are the main killers on our roads, and we need strong and urgent law reform to quickly curb these alarming trends and dramatically improve our road safety culture," he warned. "Increasing fines clearly has not worked, so we must rethink enforcement and deterrents for drivers breaking the rules. Motorists need to know that if they do the wrong thing, they will be caught and will face significant consequences. "There must be more focus on law and order on our roads." Before Covid-19, road fatalities were on a downward trend. Had that continued, the annual toll would be closer to 200 lives lost. However, at the current trajectory, we are on track for another alarmingly high road toll in 2025, possibly reaching around 350 deaths, Cooney said. Urgent warning over deadly trend on Aussie roads Older drivers 'exposed' on Aussie roads after major shift Major change to speed cameras as drivers told to expect 'letters' Across the country, governments are facing mounting pressure to take bold action to reduce national road fatalities, as data revealed the toll has been rising in recent years at a pace not seen since 1966. Research conducted by the the federal Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE) showed that 1,300 people died on Australian roads in 2024 — up from 1,258 in 2023. It's reflective of a four-year period of surging deaths our roads, which has not occurred since before seatbelts were made mandatory in the '60s. An alarming 359 people died in the three months to the end of December last year. This grim statistic made 2024 the deadliest year on Australian roads since 2012, which also recorded 1,300 fatalities. The data further revealed that last year's road toll was 18.5 per cent higher than in 2021, the year a 10-year plan to halve road deaths was launched. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
