Committees sign off controversial developer donation and youth bail bills

Government-controlled parliamentary committees have green-lit a suite of controversial law changes ahead of MPs’ return to Brisbane for the first sitting week of the year.

Bills to give the option of electronic monitoring for youth offenders as young as 10, and reverse a state developer donation ban while quadrupling donation caps, are now set to pass without change.

Youth Justice Minister Laura Gerber has also confirmed the electronic monitoring bill will be debated – and ultimately passed – in next week’s sitting, calling on Labor for its support.

Labor or Greens MPs on the committees, without voting majorities, issued duelling statements of reservation or dissent, highlighting concerns raised by various stakeholders for both bills.

While Greens Maiwar MP Michael Berkman, on the committee considering the political donation laws, wrote that they should be rejected, Labor will only make clear its position during debate.

Introducing his justice, integrity and community safety committee’s report on the donation laws, chair Marty Hunt said the government was upholding its vow to unwind a “financial gerrymander”.

“I’m proud to be part of a Government delivering on that commitment of fairness to Queenslanders, and the companies and individuals stigmatised by the previous laws,” he said of property developers.

He also suggested other changes to reduce the number of prisoners eligible to vote would not allow “elections to be influenced by those who show disregard for the rule of law”.

The ban on state political donations by developers, called for at a council level by a related corruption watchdog report, was passed in controversial circumstances by the former government.

While the ban was challenged by the LNP, the High Court ultimately ruled the laws were valid.

The bill will unwind the state element of the ban, and essentially lift the cap on political donations to a party and its candidates by a single donor from $12,000 to $48,000 between elections.

In its submission, the Crime and Corruption Commission warned that with the looming 2032 Games, developer donations could “exacerbate real and/or perceived risks of undue or improper influence”.

The watchdog said changes to how the council-level ban would operate could create confusion, and essentially leave a range of donations for non-election political purposes “effectively sanctioned”.

It suggested all donations from developers be disclosed publicly through the electoral commission website, regardless of the value. The committee report did not acknowledge this point.

“Queenslanders want less private money, influence and corruption in politics,” Labor MPs Peter Russo and Melissa McMahon wrote in their statement of reservation.

“It’s why the Queensland Labor Opposition will continue to monitor the rollout of South Australia Labor’s nation leading donation ban.”

On the electronic monitoring bill, education, arts and communities committee report chair Nigel Hutton said it was the “first step” in the government’s “strong bail monitoring laws”.

The bill makes permanent, and statewide, a trial initially launched under the former government. A 2025 Nous Group evaluation only covered a small group of youth mostly in south-east Queensland.

Key legal, community sector, and frontline organisation submissions warned about drawing statewide conclusions from the report, and the importance of broader support services for it to work.

Labor MPs Corrine McMillan, Wendy Bourne and Di Farmer said the public were being “sold false promises” by the laws.

In a statement, Gerber said the laws would be debated in parliament next week and urged Labor to “come clean about whether they will support our new tough laws”.

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.