February
Insurers call for $30b flood defence fund to protect properties
After Peter Dutton said he wanted to break up insurers, the industry wants to partner with governments to strengthen infrastructure and relocate the most vulnerable buildings.
QIC’s remote power player Pacific Energy seeks growth capital
QIC is in the final stages of securing a sizeable equity injection for Perth-based Pacific Energy, which it plucked off the ASX boards in 2019 for about $420 million.
January
After 3½ years of bickering, it’s crunch time for Brisbane Olympics
Amid competing plans and multibillion-dollar price tags, the premier will now decide on the Olympic stadium – with implications for cricket, the AFL and beyond.
September 2024
Queensland government set to hand Star Entertainment a tax lifeline
Street Talk understands the state government has agreed to morph Star’s looming tax bill into a Treasury loan.
August 2024
Rio Tinto and Queensland strike huge aluminium rescue pact
Taxpayers may spend hundreds of millions of dollars keeping the Boyne aluminium smelter open until 2040 under a deal struck by Rio and the Queensland government.
July 2024
QIC coy on Thames Water stake as utility drowns in debt
The state-backed asset manager has not marked down its valuation of the embattled London investment, despite its largest shareholder writing it off entirely.
Zinc miner’s $30m deductions claim sinks in royalties stoush
Queensland Supreme Court rejects attempts to claim expenses for managing a transport vessel – before a management agreement started.
June 2024
Winners and losers in the Queensland budget
An $11.2 billion spending spree on cost-of-living relief has showered Queenslanders with discounts for public transport and electricity bills.
Gold Coast prequel to Star’s Hard Rock overture
A storm erupted last month about Hard Rock’s ties to a deal for casino operator Star. This was not the first time such perplexity had emerged, it can be revealed.
May 2024
Qld corruption watchdog overhaul ‘will not please all’
A review of Queensland corruption watchdog paves the way for some details of a report into former deputy premier Jackie Trad to be released, but not any criticism of her behaviour.
Furious Glencore slams Qld knockback of emissions project
The mining giant has blasted the state government’s decision to reject the carbon capture storage project amid growing pressure from Queensland’s ambitious targets.
Qld’s 50¢ bus fares are a desperate political gimmick
Cutting public transport fares to 50¢ is another ratcheting up of a fiscally irresponsible political culture that expects governments to endlessly buy votes.
CFMEU blockade ‘drives up costs’ on state project
An allegedly illegal CFMEU blockade has cost a Queensland infrastructure project $300,000 and will cause weeks of delays, according to the principal contractor.
March 2024
Defining legacy: Brisbane’s messy path to the Olympics
It will be a long haul to transform the QEII stadium to Olympic standard. That’s just one of the hurdles for Queensland.
February 2024
Bankers dust off ANZ options ahead of tribunal decision
Australia’s Competition Tribunal will decide the fate of the $4.9 billion deal on Tuesday,
$300m insurance claim goes boom after power station explosion
CS Energy, which maintains it could not have foreseen a power station explosion, says insurers haven’t paid up claims yet. So it’s off to court.
January 2024
Czech coal baron wins special investigation into Callide C failures
Pavel Tykac has won a legal battle to set up a special investigation into the “catastrophic failures” at the Callide C power station.
Byelection date set for former Qld premier’s seat
Premier Steven Miles says the byelection will be held on March 16 to coincide with local government elections.
Czech coal baron slams Queensland government ahead of legal showdown
Pavel Tykac wants a separate investigation into the failures at the coal-fired station which caused mass blackouts.
December 2023
Palaszczuk goes before she was pushed as polls slump
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has resigned after nearly nine years as leader, amid fears her government was headed for a defeat at next October’s election.