Blow the Truth

People protest against youth crime The Crisafulli Government has delivered Jack’s Law , which has been officially proclaimed. The law, which was expanded and made permanent by the Crisafulli Government, allows police to use hand-held scanners to detect deadly weapons in all public places. More than 3,200 arrests under Jack’s Law and more than 5,900 charges laid.   The Crisafulli Government is delivering on making Queensland safer, with  Jack’s Law now in place permanently across Queensland.   The law allows police to use hand-held metal detectors to identify and seize weapons from people in all public places, expanding the powerful crime-fighting tool.   Expanded and permanent Jack’s Law officially came into effect yesterday, following the  p assing of  Making Jack’s Law Permanent  legislation last month , expanding the powers and overturning Labor’s proposed expiry of the laws.   After a decade of Labor failure, crime escalated under weake...

CFMEU Queensland Photo YouTube Brisbane, QLD – July 15, 2025 – The Crisafulli Government today announced a landmark Commission of Inquiry into the Queensland branch of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU). This decisive action follows the explosive ‘Violence in the Queensland CFMEU’ report by Geoffrey Watson SC, which exposed a disturbing culture of systemic violence, intimidation, misogyny, and bullying within the union. The newly established Commission of Inquiry will be armed with significant powers, including the ability to compel documents and witnesses and deliver crucial protections for those who testify . This aims to overcome the significant hurdles faced by the initial Watson report, where many critical witnesses and victims feared retribution, leading to only 55 people being interviewed over three months. Deepening the Investigation: Beyond the Surface The Watson report, which lifted the lid on the underbelly of Queensland’s construction ...

  Photo QLD Police Dash Cam Media outlets across Australia have carried headlines about a “youth crime crisis” in recent months. While drawn from actual events, often involving serious criminality and antisocial behaviour, these often sensational reports have the same narrative subtext. The story is one of “bad kids” doing bad things in otherwise “good communities”. Our understanding, as a society, of who we are is informed in part by the media. What the youth crime crisis is and who we understand young offenders to be corresponds with media framings of these individuals and their actions. More often than not, the reports present a “good-bad” binary: where “bad” young people who do bad things should be locked up to protect “good” people. It’s a basic, albeit understandable, reaction that makes sense in terms of a logic of punishment and retribution. For the Youth Community Futures research project, we have been working with groups of young people to explore how they engage w...

Hon Annastacia P alaszczuk P remier and Minister for the Olympic and  Paralympic Games Tougher hate crime and serious vilification laws for Queensland New laws have been introduced to Parliament to increase penalties for offences that are motivated by hatred or serious contempt The reforms amend the Criminal Code to ban the display of hate symbols Criminals who commit crimes motivated by serious hate and prejudice against specified groups will face tougher penalties. New legislation has been introduced to ban the display of hate symbols, such as those representative of Nazi ideology, and increase penalties for offences that are motivated by hatred or serious contempt and the existing offence of serious vilification. The Criminal Code (Serious Vilification and Hate Crimes) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2023  gives effect to four key recommendations made by the Legal Affairs and Safety Committee in January 2022 to strengthen Queensland’s hate crime laws. A new ‘Prohibited...

  Southport Rental Apartmen t s Photo Blow the Truth Tax concessions to drive investment into affordable housing Land tax will be cut in half for Build-to-Rent developments that include affordable housing Delivers action on a Queensland Housing Summit outcome The build-to-Rent sector is growing in Queensland and with these new concessions, a larger number of projects will include affordable housing   The Palaszczuk Government will slash land tax by up to 50 per cent for Build-to-Rent developments that feature at least 10 per cent of rental homes as affordable housing, driving more investment to deliver new rental supply.   The range of investment-attracting tax concessions for Build-to-Rent developments will include:   A 50 per cent discount on land tax payable for up to 20 years A full exemption for the 2% foreign investor land tax surcharge for up to 20 years A full exemption from the Additional Foreign Acquirer Duty for the future transfer of a Build-to-Rent...

More social housing being delivered in Cairns Queensland Government will build 23 new social housing units at Earlville with $8.5 million in funding under QuickStarts Queensland Eight, one-bedroom detached houses in Parramatta Park have now been refurbished with $300,000 funding under QuickStarts Queensland Both projects delivered in partnership with a local community housing provider Seniors, especially older women, will be prioritised to move into eight beautifully-refurbished, heritage-listed social housing cottages at Parramatta Park in Cairns . The Palaszczuk Government partnered with the Access Community Housing Company (ACHC) to refurbish the cottages. ACHC received $300,000 funding under the QuickStarts Queensland program to help refurbish the cottages, which are currently vacant. A second project consisting of 16, one-bedroom and seven, two-bedroom units built to Gold or Platinum standard is also expected to start shortly in Earlville. Also delivered through a partnership ...