Among proposals for new laws to help reduce road accidents, the Australian Transport Council has called for a ban on hands-free mobile phone conversations by motorists. We asked Brisbane people what they thought of the idea.

Lord Mayor Campbell Newman has called on the Queensland Government to return control of water supplies to Brisbane City Council. “Give it back to the BCC,” he demanded at today’s Council meeting, when blasting water authorities for huge jumps in the price of water since handover of the water grid to the State Government in […]

Worsening congestion in south-east Queensland is a matter of great concern to road users, with pressure on the government to build more roads. But many believe funds are better spent on improved public transport facilities. We asked people in Brisbane their opinion. Camera and production supervision: David Douglas Stuart

Same-sex marriage has hit the headlines again, with the Federal Government backing away from a plan to give Territory governments the right to make laws in this area. We asked people in Queen Street Mall what they thought. Camera and production supervision: David Douglas Stuart

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has reversed an election campaign promise and stirred up fierce opposition with her planned carbon tax. But others have welcomed the plan. We asked people in Brisbane if the tax would change their vote. Camera and production supervision: David Douglas Stuart

Natural disasters have marked the start of 2011, with Queensland Premier Anna Bligh earning praise for her leadership of support and recovery operations. But her glamorous appearance on the cover of March’s issue of the Australian Women’s Weekly has sparked controversy, with attacks from political opponents who said it was poorly timed. We asked people […]

Canberra press gallery mainstay and Channel 9 political editor Laurie Oakes received an honorary doctorate from Brisbane’s Jschool at the college’s graduation ceremony last week. “I’m not much into gongs and awards usually, but this recognition from a journalism college that’s fast making a mark is something I do value,” he said. “I had virtually […]

A union boss has made a scathing attack on Anna Bligh, calling the Queensland premier “disingenuos, deceitful and cruel”. Secretary of the Queensland division of the National Tertiary Education Union, Margaret Lee (pictured left), was speaking at a weekend rally in Brisbane organised by the Pro-Choice Action Collective. The rally was organised in the lead-up […]

Angry Yeerongpilly residents have accused the State Government of lies and manipulation in their plan to resume 66 properties for a new rail line. More than 150 people attended a protest meeting at Yeronga Bowls Club on Saturday to hear  Transport Minister Rachel Nolan promise to release information about the Government decision to resume homes at […]

Some Brisbane City Council staff seem to have missed the point of legislation that gives citizens the right to access information it holds. During the past several months Newbytes journalists, reporting the news to inform the public, have routinely been fobbed off, denied information and subjected to intimidation. Newsbytes acknowledges the BCC media office receives hundreds […]

Amendments to the disputed Howard Smith Wharves development draft plan were adopted in council last week following a war of words between opposing councillors. The motions were passed on party lines 14 votes to 9 for the Council to rezone the Howard Smith Wharves as a sub-precinct from parkland, opening it up for development. “Thirteen […]

The State Government’s focus on land acquisition to protect koalas  ignores the major problem of disease, according to a Queensland koala research group. Koala Research Network (KRN) spokesman Professor Clive McAlpine said the State Government’s newly dedicated koala habitats at Mount Gravatt-Capalaba Road would not help save the highly endangered species “because the real damage […]

The Brisbane City Council media office has refused to let Newsbytes see documents about a 70-hectare land resumption “for environmental purposes” in Upper Kedron. The matter was before the full chamber last week but when Newsbytes asked to see the listed file for the land at Ross Rd and Mt Nebo Rds, access was denied. According to […]

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 […]

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 […]