Newsbytes reporter wins media award

Newsbytes reporter John Corlett has won the most outstanding journalism student (metropolitan) award in the Queensland Clarion Awards. The Clarion Awards,  the peak prizes for journalism achievement in Queensland, are administered by the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance. Corlett, a Diploma of Journalism student at Jschool journalism college in Brisbane, won the award for stories, photos and a review published in Newsbytes as well as a radio piece for community station... Read More

Trash man dumps selling videos to make movies

West End landmark Trash Video closes its doors for the last time this weekend, but owner and fan of exploitation movies Andrew Leavold has plenty of things to do after locking up on Sunday night. For a start, he’ll be making his own movies. Leavold (pictured) says he opened Trash Video in 1995 “because I was a weird little child obsessed with the idea of opening a video store with the kinds of films I liked, from old war films to Vincent Price to Carry On films”. He... Read More

War of words over community garden

A community garden in Kitchener Park, Wynnum, has sparked a war of words between the local garden group and a residents’ group opposed to the garden’s location. Backing the garden, Wynnum Manly Community Gardens Group’s co-ordinator Leigh-Ellen Jacobs, said the group was breaking its silence to set the record straight about the proposed garden on Bridge St, that has faced strong opposition from some residents. Ms Jacobs said the council had advised her group not... Read More

Forgotten city lane gets new lease of life

With a rich and chequered history closely linked to Brisbane’s penal colony origins, Burnett Lane is the first narrow CBD road to undergo transformation as part of Brisbane City Council’s “Vibrant Laneway” program. In former days the lane played host to convict barracks, Stewart’s Ales, a post office, Queensland’s first Methodist Church and numerous businesses. For a three-month trial period, the Albert Street access road is restricted to pedestrian traffic... Read More

Once a year the day is full of knights

Every winter they put their modern lives on hold to cram tents, armour, swords and axes into trucks and station wagons for the trip to Caboolture, along the Bruce Highway and back in time. These are the Abbey Medieval Tournament’s reenactors, everyday people who don the garb of knights, maidens, scribes and artisans to celebrate history, educate the public, and hack at each other with swords. Some may think of medieval reenactment as the refuge of the tragically geekish... Read More

MP demands action on Gladstone cancer jump

Independent Gladstone MP Liz Cunningham has called on the Health Minister to investigate new cancer data that has revealed higher incidence in Gladstone compared with the Queensland average. Ms Cunningham (pictured) said she wanted Deputy Premier and Health Minister Paul Lucas to look into the new data, which showed a 10 percent higher cancer rate in Gladstone compared to all of Queensland. “I’d like him to have a look at the breakdown in the cancer report, find out... Read More

Review: Romeo & Juliet

It isn’t every ballet that uses rock music and motorbikes, but Queensland Ballet’s student production of Romeo and Juliet isn’t every ballet. The young faces on stage are the only indication they are students, for their talent and professionalism make this an outstanding production. As lines from Shakespeare’s play opened the ballet, artistic director Martyn Fleming tricked the audience into thinking this was a regular ballet. Instead, a motorbike roars on stage and... Read More

Commentary: How government media advisers muzzle the media

There’s an elephant in the room of Queensland governance. It’s the stranglehold unelected government employees have on government information. Information about policy decisions, new government programs, progress on taxpayer-funded research, business development programs, new legislation and all manner of things of public interest. Every day the Queensland Government sends dozens of media releases directly to media outlets so they can convey information to citizens. Each media... Read More

Lucas under fire in Parliament over health woes

The State Government has been forced to defend its record on health in the face of a barrage of questions from Liberal National Party shadow ministers and independents. More than half of Wednesday’s question time in Parliament was spent on the topic of health, with Deputy Premier and Minister for Health Paul Lucas (pictured) fielding questions on topics ranging from Queensland Health’s on-going payroll problems to cancer rates in rural areas. Shadow Minister for Health... Read More

Review: Valentino

Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art beat hundreds of international galleries to win the first overseas exhibit of the revered Parisian Valentino exhibit. Valentino Retrospective Past/Present/Future was unveiled in Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art last weekend in the exhibit’s first display outside Paris. It follows Valentino Garavini and the fashion powerhouse over the decades since 1959. Paris Museum Musee des Arts Decoratifs curator Pamela Golbin said this was the first... Read More

Candidates take to the buses

Three candidates in the federal seat of Ryan last week battled overcrowded buses and tight schedules to get to their campaign commitments. The were trying to show voters they understood the issues around public transport by actually using it. ACF Sustainable Transport Campaigner Gail Broadbent said the LNP’s Jane Prentice (pictured left), Labor’s Steven Miles, and Greens’ Sandra Bayley completed the Australian Conservation Foundation’s (ACF) Transport Challenge... Read More

Councillors accused of using work cars in election campaign

With the federal election only days away, tensions have leaked down to a local level, with Brisbane City councillors attacking each other for using council vehicles to campaign. Councillor Adrian Schrinner used question time on Tuesday to defend fellow Liberal National Party councillor Jane Prentice against Labor accusations at committee meetings. He said Labor councillors including Opposition Leader Cr Shayne Sutton had accused Cr Prentice of using her ratepayer-funded car in... Read More

How books saved an author’s life

“Sex won’t save you, but a good story – yes!” said a smiling Brenda Walker, award-winning author and academic. She appeared with fellow literary scholars Stuart Glover and David Carter in a panel discussion on “The Art of Reading” at Avid Reader in West End on Tuesday night. In a discussion chaired by newly published Brisbane author Krissy Kneen, the three discussed the whys and wherefores of reading – but were invariably drawn back to Dr Walker’s... Read More

Council ‘failed to consult’ on community garden

A community action group has accused Brisbane City Council of not following correct procedures before approving a community garden in Wynnum. Bridge Street Action Group spokeswoman Simone Bleaney said yesterday the council had failed to consult properly with local residents before it approved the garden at Kitchener Park, adjacent to Bridge St. “As residents, we would have assumed the consultation process would have been more open. What we have experienced is not an open process,”... Read More

Australian activists recall Gaza flotilla horror

An Australian wounded in the Gaza flotilla raid has accused the Israel military of brutal conduct. Mr Ahmed Talib was speaking at an Amnesty International forum in Brisbane on Saturday. The United Nations will this week begin its investigation into the raid on the aid flotilla that left nine activists dead and dozens wounded, including Mr Talib, who is a student in Australia. Mr Talib and his wife Jerry Campbell (pictured) were aboard the aid ship Mavi Marmara when Israeli soldiers... Read More