Michael Berkman Comments on Walker Taylor Bridge Upgrade

The Greens member for Mawair, Michael Berkman says that duplicating the Walter Taylor Bridge in Indooroopilly is a waste of taxpayers money.

The Brisbane City Council has set aside $153,000 to assess whether the pre-feasibility of the heritage-listed bridge should be duplicated to cater for more commuters.  

Mr. Berkman says, “The planned pre-feasibility study would only tell us what we already know: building more roads does not fix congestion".

Prime Minister Scott Morrison's nephew admits to illegal building work

Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s nephew has admitted to doing illegal housing construction that left families devastated and thousands of dollars out of pocket.

Mitchel Cole pleaded guilty to the 17 charges brought by NSW Fair Trading for unlicensed and uninsured work in 2019

Fay Voyiatsis agreed to pay Cole $56 000 for home renovations, some of which are now still ongoing because of the damage he left.

Another victim, James McCall, paid Cole $33,000 and said he never finished the job, leaving the property fencing without a gate and pool tiles that peeled off.

"Symbol of Hope" Refugee Team Compete at Olympics

The 29 stateless athletes picked to compete for the Olympics' refugee team have become a 'symbol of hope' in Tokyo in 2021.

Initially expected to participate via the independent athlete category, they will be competing under the Olympic flag in Tokyo this month as part of the Games' second-ever Refugee Olympic Team. 

IOC President Thomas Bach says the creation of the Refugee Olympic Team has been significant saying, "It's a message to the entire world to make the world aware of the magnitude of this crisis, which is growing every day," he said ahead of the Games. 

Queensland Records 13th Incursion of COVID-19

Queensland has recorded its 13th 'incursion' of COVID-19 after a man tested positive upon leaving hotel quarantine. 

The resident visited two backpacker hotels along Roma Street with a list of contact tracing sites posted to Queensland Health yesterday. Brisbane has gone two months of COVID scares fortunately without widespread transmission. 

Experts say this is largely a matter of luck that could turn at any time. Authorities are beginning to worry as this is the most cases of the delta variant seen within the community in a long time.

 

Refugee Olympic Squad Becoming a Global Symbol of Hope

The 29 stateless athletes picked to compete for the Olympics' refugee team have become a 'symbol of hope' in Tokyo in 2021.

Initially expected to participate via the independent athlete category, they are competing under the Olympic flag in Tokyo this month as part of the Games' second-ever Refugee Olympic Team. 

IOC President Thomas Bach says the creation of the Refugee Olympic Team had been significant saying "It's a message to the entire world to make the world aware of the magnitude of this crisis, which is growing every day," he said ahead of the Games. 

North and South Korea in talks over Summit

North and South Korea talked about reopening the joint liaison office and holding a summit in an effort to restore relations.

The discussions signal an improvement in ties that have deteriorated in the past year after three leaders' summits in 2018 promised peace and reconciliation.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in staked his legacy on improving relations with North Korea and helped set up historic meetings between Mr. Kim and then US President Donald Trump in 2018 and 2019.

 

Brisbane Running Low on Available Homes

In less than 3 years a housing crisis is set to affect Brisbane as the state increasingly runs out of available land to build new homes.

All state government areas should have four years’ worth of approved land that is ready to go on the market. Brisbane was revealed in the budget to only have 2.9 years of approved land supply. 

Deputy Premier Steven Miles said, “Our strong health response has created a spike in interstate migration which has put pressure on land supply across the state.”

 

Griffith University Develops AI Social Distancing Surveilance

Griffith University researchers have developed an AI surveillance system to detect social distancing breaches in an airport without compromising privacy.

By keeping image processing gated to a local network of cameras, the team bypassed the traditional need to store sensitive data on a central system. 

Gympie locals call for harsher land clearing laws

Gympie locals are called for harsher land clearing laws fearing koala populations will suffer. 

Temporary Local Planning Instruments (TLPI) were withdrawn by the Gympie Regional Council in December, which allowed owners with large blocks of residentially zoned land to clear vegetation without council approval.

Around 20 hectares of land had been cleared across six properties since the TLPIs were removed, including the vegetation that provided shelter and safety for koalas.