“Adult crime, adult time” . Kids as young as 10 can theoretically face life sentences. There are few comparable democracies that have ever sought to punish children as harshly. On Thursday, the passed the Queensland parliament as a sort of anticlimax. The new LNP government, which had flagged the changes since before the election, said the laws were “a first strike back” to restore community safety. But headlines the following morning have focused on the rift in Labor, which seems unable to reckon with the fact it is in opposition, and that that sometimes means standing in opposition to bad policies. One MP says the Steven Miles-led opposition is acting too much like “a government in exile”. In government, Labor twice suspended the Human Rights Act and that record numbers of (mostly Indigenous) kids had been arrested and locked in youth prisons. None of this sat easily with MPs’ consciences or the party’s membership. But they justified veering to the centre and then the right – away from their own beliefs and values – with a simple maxim: “but the LNP would do worse!” Indeed, the LNP has moved the state’s youth justice policy further to the right – and even further from the advice of experts about how to best keep the community safe. But the record will now show that all 35 Queensland Labor MPs voted in favour of . “These laws are not about justice; they are about racism, cruelty and control,” says Debbie Kilroy, the CEO of Sisters Inside. “Right now, our children are being used as political footballs in a desperate grab by politicians to appeal to the lowest common political denominator – the tired and worn out ‘tough on crime’ rhetoric where there are no winners other than the politicians themselves and the prison system.” The laws impose adult-length sentences for 13 of the “most serious” offences including “home and business break-ins”. Not on the list: sexual assault and rape. Understanding who the victims of those respective offences are, when perpetrated by juveniles, might provide some insight into the motives of a government that won an election campaigning about victims’ rights. Many now find it hard to understand what motivated Labor to vote in favour of a policy that its MPs have as little more than “a four-word slogan” that ignores expert advice about community safety. During showdown talks on Thursday, several Labor MPs argued privately the party should vote against the laws. Their argument was that – with four years until another election – the party’s best political move was to allow the LNP to own a situation that, evidence suggests, will create an even bigger mess. Doing so would better allow them to hold Crisafulli to his if crime victim numbers didn’t go down, MPs argued. The counterpoint was that Labor needed to win back regional areas where voters swung heavily to the LNP on law and order. The unanswered question for Labor is how it sells a further betrayal of fundamental human rights principles to its own base of supporters – or people on the left flirting with the idea of voting for the Greens – when it no longer has any slim shred of policy high ground to stand on. It also hasn’t gone unnoticed that the strongest internal critic of Labor’s positions on youth crime, the Cooper MP, Jonty Bush, held off an expected challenge from the Greens at the state election. On election day her volunteers wore “Keep Jonty” shirts, not Labor-branded ones. While Labor appears to be grappling with how to be in opposition, the LNP is also struggling to adjust to life on the opposite side of the chamber. The first-term Crisafulli government appears to be acting as if Labor is still in charge and remains in attack mode. The government spent most of the week announcing a stream of what it said were cost blowouts to big projects. And it moved to head off and gag any debate in parliament about abortion, and block any motion that sought to amend the state’s abortion laws. This follows a damaging election debate, which probably cost the LNP several extra seats, about the party’s views on abortion. Crisafulli promised there would be “no changes” and now he’s codified that over the next four years. Some think the move is smart politics. He won’t let the issue, or speculation about which Christian right MPs are agitating on the issue, derail his government. He can campaign at the next election as a man of his word. Others say it will almost guarantee that abortion becomes an election issue in four years’ time. Implicit in the need for that motion is an admission that, among the cohort of government MPs, there are plenty who would wind back abortion rights if given a chance. The four-year gag on debate means that questions will eventually be asked about what happens after the 2028 election. And what of Crisafulli’s other big election statement, that nuclear power was “not part of our plan” and that there would be no changes? On Friday, Peter Dutton , including two in Queensland. There will inevitably be pressure on Crisafulli to use parliament to codify that promise, too.
Barrister cleared of misconduct calls on head of Bar Standards Board to resignNew e-libraries to provide edu tools to Haryana cops’ families
The 38-year-old recalled meeting the US president-elect with her former England captain husband Wayne when their family was living in the US during Sunday’s episode. Discussing her encounter, she told her fellow campmates: “When we lived in America, we got invited to the White House for Christmas and we went in to meet Donald Trump. There’s nowhere for Dean and Coleen to run as they face Absolute Carnage... 🐀 Find out how they get on when #ImACeleb continues, tonight at 9pm! pic.twitter.com/yNevokq030 — I'm A Celebrity... (@imacelebrity) November 24, 2024 “And so we walked in and we had to get the official photograph taken in front of the Christmas tree. “So Donald Trump said to his son ‘See? Told you, all the soccer players get the good-looking girls’. “And I told my mum, I was like ‘dirty bastard’.” She also revealed that Mr Trump wanted Wayne to “go over to teach his son to play football”. Afterwards, McFly star Danny Jones asked her: “Is he that orange?”, to which she confirmed: “He was very orange.” Sunday’s episode also saw Rooney compete in a Bushtucker Trial a day after her her husband Wayne encouraged viewers to vote for her to do a challenge in a social media post. The former England footballer said he was “proud” of how she was doing in the Australian jungle but said he and their boys would “love” to see her do a trial. The couple, who first met at school and began dating aged 16, share four sons, Kai Wayne, Klay Anthony, Kit Joseph and Cass Mac. Ahead of competing in the Absolute Carnage trial, she said: “I’m a bit scared of the unknown but I’m excited for my boys back home just to see me do something. “Hopefully I’m going to do well, I’m going to try my best.” The trial saw her trapped in a box in the back of a car which was filled with cockroaches, crickets, giant mealworms and rats. Her fellow campmate, BBC Radio 1 presenter Dean McCullough, had to rummage through a garage area which was filled with creepy crawlies to find tools which he would pass to Rooney so she could unlock the stars in the box. The pair worked together to win nine stars for camp, with hosts Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly branding Rooney as “very calm, very quiet, you just got on with it”. Liverpool-born Rooney replied: “That is my way of coping, silence, the silent treatment.” Maura reveals why she went on Love Island... Let’s hope all toothbrushes are safe in the Jungle 🪥 #ImACeleb pic.twitter.com/oH8qizoKTK — I'm A Celebrity... (@imacelebrity) November 24, 2024 Elsewhere, Love Island star Maura Higgins recalled to Jones and Loose Women panellist Jane Moore that she went into the ITV dating show “like a bull in a china shop” after being so angry with her ex-boyfriend before entering the villa. She explained that she had been in a relationship when she got the offer for the show and decided to check her partner’s phone and was unimpressed with what she found. “When he went to the gym the next day I got his toothbrush and I filmed myself scrubbing in the verges, he had a dentist appointment that day,” she said. Jones said you “don’t want to mess with Maura” while Moore described her as “fierce”. It was revealed at the end of the episode that McCullough will take on another challenge during Monday’s episode. I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! continues at 9pm on ITV1, STV and ITVX.New Year’s Eve with JR’s Comedy Club
TORONTO (AP) — Britta Curl-Salemme and Michaela Cava each scored twice and the Minnesota Frost beat the Toronto Sceptres 6-3 on Saturday in the Professional Women’s Hockey League. Curl-Salemme gave Minnesota a 4-3 lead at 6:29 of the third period. Cava scored the final two goals, the last into an empty net. Claire Butorac and Dominique Petrie also scored and Maddy Rooney stopped 21 shots to help Minnesota improve to 2-0-1. Daryl Watts, Victoria Bach and Jesse Compher scored for Toronto. The Sceptres are 1-2-0. Minnesota beat Toronto for the fourth straight game dating to last season’s playoffs. The Frost won the final three games of a best-of-five semifinal after dropping the first two. Frost: Defender Maggie Flaherty served the first game of a two-game suspension for a headshot on Boston’s Alina Mueller, with Mae Batherson taking her place for her PWHL debut. Batherson is the younger sister of Ottawa Senators forward Drake Batherson. Sceptres: Rylind MacKinnon is one of only two Canadian university players in the PWHL, with New York's Emmy Fecteau from Concordia the other. MacKinn, a former University of British Columbia defender, has two assists this season. Toronto is at New York on Wednesday night. Minnesota host Ottawa on Thursday night. ___ AP sports: https://apnews.com/sportsRight-wing wraith Laura Ingraham took some time away from attacking teachers to beg pop star Taylor Swift to perform at Donald Trump’s inauguration. “Call Trump and offer to perform at the inauguration,” Ingraham said during her Fox News show Thursday night, in “advice” directed toward Swift. “It'd be smart for Taylor Swift—and another great moment of unity for the country.” x x YouTube Video Ingraham didn’t elaborate on what she meant by “smart.” It could be read either as a threat or as a smart business move for Swift, whose Eras Tour just completed its historically successful run . Ingraham, who has mocked Swift’s political affiliations in the past , seems thirsty to have an inaugural performer more exciting than GOP mainstay and overpriced-Bible salesman Lee Greenwood or post-grunge afterthought 3 Doors Down . Trump’s anemic 2017 inaugural lineup was ... lackluster, to say the least. But maybe Ingraham has forgotten those big acts , like Utah’s The Piano Guys and ‘90s country group The Frontmen of Country . Toby Keith , who also performed at the 2017 inauguration, died earlier this year . Ingraham’s sweaty plea to Swift isn’t surprising. The pop megastar has been an obsession of Trump and the right for some time. They have weaved conspiracy theories such as Swift being a “deep-state” psychological operation meant to destroy Trump. When Swift endorsed Harris in this year’s presidential election, the right freaked out about it. For all of their culture-war BS, it seems very clear that the right wishes that any of the most popular cultural music icons of the past 60 years were willing to be paid off to like them. From Fleetwood Mac to Beyoncé , from Springsteen to Bad Bunny, megastars past and present have almost never backed Republicans. And Trump has made that distinction all the clearer . But don’t worry, Laura, you always have Kid Rock and Ted Nugent ! Daily Kos is now on Bluesky—and we want to make it easy for you to join us! Click here for the Daily Kos Bluesky Starter Pack.
If you still have holiday shopping to do, Saturday's the day to start. A federal tax "holiday" will kick in this weekend, lasting for two months. It waives the tax on some categories of essential goods, a measure the federal government says is meant to help Canadians battle the high cost of living. The GST/HST holiday begins Saturday As GST break approaches, small businesses prepare for a tax holiday headache Thought it's a federal measure, in Ontario the entire 13 per cent harmonized sales tax will disappear off categories of items including children's clothing, prepared foods, restaurant meals, toys and book and even real Christmas trees, even though the federal portion of the tax is just five per cent. "We'll start marketing first thing tomorrow morning that it's available," Richard Peddie, owner of River Bookshop in Amherstburg, told CBC's Windsor Morning . "So yes, I would hope [we see more business]. I mean 13 per cent is pretty significant." LISTEN: We're just one day away from a litany of goods becoming tax-free Windsor Morning 8:48 We're just one day away from a litany of goods becoming tax-free Nicole Sekela is one of the owners of Rock Bottom Bar and Grill in West Windsor, and Richard Peddie owns River Bookshop in Amherstburg. They speak with CBC Windsor Morning guest host Josiah Sinanan. Nicole Sekela is one of the owners of Rock Bottom Bar and Grill. She says that she's heard customers talking about the tax break, but hasn't seen anyone delay dining out in anticipation. "We've got lots of parties booked already, so I'm hoping more people come out. I hope they take advantage of it," she said. The tax holiday was announced last month. Shoppers don't need to do or claim the exemption; rather, it will not be charged at the point of sale. The break will be in place until Feb.15, 2025. Initially, Sekela says she worried about the tech side of it — having to make changes to each individual menu item to turn off the tax. But instead her software allowed her to do it by menu category — sandwiches, beers, etcetera — so it was easier than anticipated. CBC Kids News The Trudeau government's GST/HST holiday, explained for kids But, she said, there are items like cocktails that are not tax-exempt, so she's had to educate her staff in preparation for customer questions. Both Peddie and Sekela agreed the move was largely political — but Sekela says she's still planning to capitalize on it. "Historically for restaurants, you know, January and February is our slow time. So I guess we'll just take advantage." At River Bookshop, Peddie says staff were combing through titles one by one until nearly the end of the week to make sure the tax was turned off. It's been a bit of added complexity at an already-busy time of year. "I think ... the whole idea was done by a bunch of people who really didn't understand retail," he said. "The bookshop we have 40,000 titles... available and we had to go through everything. "So it was a challenge. It's still going to be worthwhile. We've got high unemployment in this area, the highest in in Canada, inflation still really high. There's going to be a lot of people that take advantage of this. "So, on balance we'll take it for sure." Here's a list of items getting a tax break: Food and groceries Prepared foods such as sandwiches, salads, platters and pre-made meals. Snacks including chips, candy, baked goods, fruit-based snacks and granola bars. Energy bars, but only if they are considered to be food by Health Canada are not enhanced by protein, caffeine, vitamins and/or minerals and meets other qualifications. Gift baskets, as long as at least 90 per cent of the contents are qualifying food or beverage items. Prepared meals and beverages, including delivery, but only when the food establishment delivers the meal. Prepared meals delivered by a third party (the delivery cost is not tax-exempt). Beverages All non-alcoholic drinks, such as coffee, tea, carbonated drinks, juices and smoothies, provided they aren't sold through a vending machine. Alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine, cider and sake, so long as the alcohol volume is 22.9 per cent or less. Spirit mixed coolers and premixed alcoholic beverages with an alcohol volume of seven per cent or less. Energy and protein shakes, provided they aren't enhanced with protein, caffeine, vitamins and/or minerals, and provided Health Canada considers them to be a food or beverage. Restaurant meals and drinks Meals purchased at pubs, bars, food trucks or other places serving food and beverages. Mixed drinks served in restaurants and bars if they are qualifying beverages — sparkling wine and orange juice qualify, but a vodka and soda does not. Tips paid on meals and drinks, but only if they are included in the bill. Catering services that provide qualifying food and beverages. Children's clothing and accessories Infant and children's clothes, including accessories such as bibs, blankets, hats, belts, suspenders, gloves and mittens. Footwear with an insole length of 24.25 cm or less. Some sports clothing, such as jerseys, ski jackets, leotards, unitards and bodysuits that can be worn outside of sports or dance activities. Diapers, both cloth and disposable, training pants or rubber pants designed to be used with diapers. Children's car seats, provided they meet Canadian safety standards and are not part of a stroller/carrier travel system. Specialized items of clothing — including wetsuits, soccer cleats, bowling shoes, skates, ski boots and tap shoes — do not qualify. Children's toys and video games Board games and card games, including playing cards and Pokémon cards. Toys that involve building, creating or assembling structures. Dolls, plush toys and soft toys and their accessories. Toys marketed for children below 14 years of age. Jigsaw puzzles for all ages. Video game consoles and video games for consoles qualify, but downloadable or online-only games do not. Collectibles — including hockey cards, dolls or other toys marketed to adults — do not qualify. Books, magazines and newspapers Most published books, including guide books and audio books. Bound or unbound printed versions of scripture associated with any religion. Magazines and periodicals bought with a subscription which have no more than five per cent of their printed space devoted to advertising. Newspapers that contain news stories, editorials, features, or other information of interest to the general public and are published daily, weekly or monthly.