Katter's Australian Party MP Nick Dametto has referred to a parcel of land at Bushland Beach north of Townsville.
He has asked Housing Minister Leeanne Enoch whether it had been purchased by the government without consultation with residents.
"Can I just say this one thing, I grew up in social housing," Ms Enoch responded.
"There are a lot of good people who live in social housing.
"There are many Queenslanders right now who are under housing stress."
Ms Enoch did not directly answer Mr Dametto's question.
– Domanii Cameron
Questions Time blog: Vaccine mandate dropped for staff in Queensland private health facilities
Workers in Queensland's private health facilities will no longer have to be vaccinated in a major shake-up of the state's Covid vaccination rules. SEE HOW QUESTION TIME PLAYED OUT
Workers in private health facilities including in hospitals and GP clinics will soon no longer need to be vaccinated against Covid-19 to keep their job, with the chief health officer to drop parts of the government’s jab mandate.
But Health Minister Yvette D’Ath confirmed public hospital workers and employees across all aged care and disability care facilities will still need to abide by the Covid-19 vaccination rules.
SEE HOW OUR QUESTION TIME BLOG PLAYED OUT BELOW
Ms D’Ath said Queensland was in a “new stage of the pandemic” and even though the virus would linger as a part of life for years to come, it was time to “transition” away from managing Covid-19 through public health directions unless “truly necessary”.
She said Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard would soon drop part of the vaccine mandate that rules private health workers must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 in order to work.
The decision comes after national cabinet on Wednesday agreed to drop mandatory mask wearing in domestic flights and to shorten the isolation period for those who test positive for Covid-19 from seven days to five days unless they work with vulnerable people.
Updates
Did government purchase Townsville land for social housing?
Nicholls asks about gambling but gets punted himself
Opposition frontbencher Tim Nicholls is now asking about the Gotterson Review into the operation of Star's Queensland casinos.
"Yesterday the Attorney-General revealed the government knew about illegal and improper conduct … before setting the Terms of Reference. If the government knew why did the government set such narrow Terms of Reference?" he asks the Deputy Premier.
Dr Miles insists the Terms of Reference are broad enough, but also has a stab at Mr Nicholls, pointing out "he was the Treasurer which oversaw the probity arrangements in the tender for Queen's Wharf".
"He has personal responsibility for those considerations!" he says.
Nicolls rises on a point of order, accusing the DP of arguing.
"I have confidence in the inquiry and in the Terms of Reference," Dr Miles says.
He says "this side of the house" is happy to scrutinise business.
A bit more argy bargy and Mr Nicholls has been booted from the house for an hour – with three seconds left on the clock.
The Speaker invites Dr Miles to continue which prompts a sassy retort – "not sure even I can do much with three seconds".
– Stephanie Bennett
Will they or won't they meet with the CFMEU?
Acting Premier Steven Miles said he won’t be meeting with members of the CFMEU until the union apologises and a police investigation into last week’s protest is finalised.
He said this is “consistent” with what Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said yesterday.
But it's not.
Ms Palaszczuk on Wednesday said she wouldn’t be commenting further because the matter was under police investigation.
CFMEU QLD/NT assistant secretary Kane Lowth, at the protest on 1 William St this morning, said the union had reached out to the Department of Transport and Main Roads to express its “regrets” if anyone felt “spooked” by what occurred last week.
But the union has maintained they were simply voicing their disdain over the leadership of TMR and the direction of the department under the leadership of long-serving director-general Neil Scales.
Queensland Police, in a statement on Wednesday, confirmed the incident at Mary St was still being investigated.
Why not hire a town planner?
Opposition frontbencher Ann Leahy has said recent government data showed lot approvals had fallen by 27 per cent since 2015.
She asked the Deputy Premier how he could justify hiring a photographer instead of a town planner.
Mr Miles took aim at the Opposition, claiming it refused to have a housing strategy while listing programs that the government was rolling out including having a growth areas team.
– Domanii Cameron
The state of our health
LNP health spokeswoman Ros Bates now lobs a question to Dr Miles – a (very) thinly veiled one having a dig at his previous record as health minister.
She says rates of ambulance ramping have tripled, but since they had already doubled before Covid – "how much responsibility is with the current health minister, and how much rests with the previous health minister?"
And whoops! The Speaker calls the "health minister" not the DP, prompting a raucous roar from the LNP.
Dr Miles responds by laying out the government's health record in comparison with the Opposition's when they were in power.
"All they did was sack nurses, fight with doctors, they never planned for hospitals," he says.
"In fact at every election since then, they have not supported the hospitals."
– Stephanie Bennett
Un-wellcamp: Will the government extend the lease?
The state government's lease on the Wellcamp quarantine facility expires in April 2023, so will it seek to extend it?
Acting Premier Steven Miles doesn't say either way, but appears to signal the government will at least be good tenants and not break lease early.
He has also insinuated the federal government's Pinkenba quarantine facility won't be ready until December this year, which is a significant delay.
The federal government is being approached for comment.
The Wellcamp grilling continues
The questions about Wellcamp continue.
Mr Crisafulli has asked Mr Miles who is going to stay at the facility given it is no longer needed for quarantine.
The Deputy Premier hit back, saying the government was proud of the fact that it had acted on health advice to build the $215m facility.
He then claimed the Opposition Leader had failed to answer three simple questions over the last 50 days;
– Whether he supported Professor Peter Coaldrake's integrity recommendations
– Will he rule out cash-for-access events
– Will he ensure lobbyists don't work on the LNP's next state election campaign
– Domanii Cameron
Question Time begins with Steven Miles in the hotseat
The Premier is away at the Jobs Summit today, so it looks like the Opposition plans to grill Deputy Premier Steven Miles while he is in the hot seat.
And we're off with a question on Wellcamp! It's been a while.
Opposition Leader David Crisafulli is asking now that the total cost of the quarantine facility has been released, will the government now release the full contract details of Wellcamp or are they still commercial in confidence?
Dr Miles says the advice the Auditor-General and others provided was that the commercial in confidence of the total build existed for a period of time – and after that the total cost was able to be released.
The Deputy Premier is bringing up the Pinkenba facility – pointing out its still under construction and won't be finished until Christmas.
-Stephanie Bennett
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