For today’s news updates as they happen, follow us here.
For today’s news updates as they happen, follow us here.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says roles in the public service focusing on cultural diversity are an example of positions that “do nothing to improve the lives of everyday Australians”.
In a speech to the Menzies Research Centre this morning, Dutton criticised the Albanese government for employing 36,000 public servants as he pledged if he forms government he will cut jobs in the sector.
“I have met people … who say that their lives are worse off because of the extra bureaucratic red tape that comes with the employment of 36,000 more public servants,” he said.
“Now positions have been advertised that include those required for cultural diversity and inclusion advisor positions, change managers and internal communication specialists, but such positions as I say, do nothing to improve the lives of everyday Australians.
“They’re certainly not … frontline service roles that can make a difference to people’s lives.”
Dutton continued by saying that the appointment of frontbencher Jacinta Price to manage government efficiency would help to co-ordinate the reduction of inefficient spending.
“My economic team’s objectives are clear. We will cut wasteful spending, stop inflationary spending and restore prudent spending. Our government will scale back the Canberra public service in a responsible way,” he said.
“I want to see more money spent on frontline services which make a difference. More on doctors, more on national security and intelligence space, but overall we will drive greater efficiency and productivity through our plan.”
The union representing casino workers is calling for the Queensland Government to consider bailing out Star Entertainment as it teeters on the edge of collapse.
About 5000 jobs would be lost across Brisbane and the Gold Coast if the business goes into administration, the United Workers Union says.
“Collapse would create a devastating ripple effect through our major cities,” director Andrew Jones said in a statement.
“Casino workers should not bear the brunt of management’s failures, nor should the thousands of adjacent businesses and workers who depend on these venues remaining operational.“
The publicly-listed company is reportedly burning through about $35 million a month, with one analyst this month estimating it has a 50 per cent chance of collapse.
In an editorial last year, the Australian Financial Review said the “disgraced casino operator” should does not deserve to be saved from “its self-inflicted” financial woes.
“Casinos operate on a wafer-thin social licence,” the masthead argued. “Any government-subsidised bailout would be an abuse of taxpayers’ money given the question marks over Star’s business model.”
The ten-day BrisAsia Festival begins today to mark the Year of the Snake. Celebrations can be experienced on Saturday night in Chinatown Mall and Fish Lane, and in restaurants all over town.
On Sunday, Botanic Gardens Mount Coot-tha hosts Lunar New Year in the Gardens 4-6pm, with music, dance and street food.
Tonight, the Brisbane Roar take on the Western Sydney Wanderers at their home ground of Suncorp Stadium for Round 17 of the A-League season. Let’s hope they can get the pitch back up to standard in time.
Magic’s top double act Penn and Teller are performing their 50th anniversary show at QPAC – only their second ever Australian tour – with shows tonight, Saturday and Sunday.
“Everything we knew of the whole world actually went down with the Titanic,” says Claes-Goran Wetterholm, curator of Titanic: The Human Story, a blockbuster historical exhibition showing at Uptown.
Jogging enthusiasts might consider popping down to Newstead Park at 7am on Saturday for a free Brisbane Running Club event. Get a Single O coffee gratis, take part in a guided run, and potentially win a Contiki European running tour.
And it sounds like HR will have their hands full with Nicole Kidman’s new movie Babygirl, which just opened in cinemas. It’s a torrid drama about a CEO who has an affair with an intern.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says roles in the public service focusing on cultural diversity are an example of positions that “do nothing to improve the lives of everyday Australians”.
In a speech to the Menzies Research Centre this morning, Dutton criticised the Albanese government for employing 36,000 public servants as he pledged if he forms government he will cut jobs in the sector.
“I have met people … who say that their lives are worse off because of the extra bureaucratic red tape that comes with the employment of 36,000 more public servants,” he said.
“Now positions have been advertised that include those required for cultural diversity and inclusion advisor positions, change managers and internal communication specialists, but such positions as I say, do nothing to improve the lives of everyday Australians.
“They’re certainly not … frontline service roles that can make a difference to people’s lives.”
Dutton continued by saying that the appointment of frontbencher Jacinta Price to manage government efficiency would help to co-ordinate the reduction of inefficient spending.
“My economic team’s objectives are clear. We will cut wasteful spending, stop inflationary spending and restore prudent spending. Our government will scale back the Canberra public service in a responsible way,” he said.
“I want to see more money spent on frontline services which make a difference. More on doctors, more on national security and intelligence space, but overall we will drive greater efficiency and productivity through our plan.”
A Brisbane sporting coach has been accused of using the role to groom and abuse a young child.
The 67-year-old Mango Hill man was arrested at home after a tip-off on January 19, 2025.
Police alleged he abused his position as a basketball coach to abuse a child between 2013 and 2017.
Seven counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault, and one count of grooming a child under 16 have been filed.
He was refused bail and is due to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court today.
Two tropical lows are bringing a “huge” amount of rain to northern Australia with a wet weekend to come.
A cyclone threat remains for north Queensland from the weather systems lying off Cairns and the Gulf of Carpentaria, which have brought torrential rain in recent days.
Another two tropical lows are off Western Australia’s north coast, one with the potential to form a cyclone by Sunday.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s Miriam Bradbury warned it would be a very wet end to the week for the north tropical coast stretching up to Cape York and over to the Gulf country.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has become testy with journalists as he continuously gets asked on whether national cabinet or the broader public should have known about the caravan filled with explosives.
News broke on Wednesday that police had discovered a caravan in an outer Sydney suburb loaded with explosives and a piece of paper with the address of a Sydney synagogue, which authorities had kept secret for days.
Yesterday Albanese dodged questions on whether national cabinet had been briefed, when he knew and why he did not tell the public. Speaking at a press conference in Croydon this morning, Albanese grew angry as he was peppered with similar questions to Thursday.
“What I will do is continue to prioritise two things. The first and most important is keeping Australians safe. The second is making sure that I provide support to the police and intelligence agencies for them to do their job,” he said.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton criticised Albanese for handling of the incident, arguing national cabinet should have been briefed after this masthead reported they had not been told.
“This should not be the source of political debate, and … I note that the Coalition have said as well that they wouldn’t change the protocols that have been in place for a long period of time,” Albanese said with growing frustration, “The idea that you make public pronouncements about something that is an ongoing investigation is, of course, entirely inappropriate.”
Asked if he was not briefed, Albanese bristled and snapped, saying: “I have not said that. I have said that I do not comment. I can’t be clearer. I can say … it the same way. You know that I said yesterday, I’ll say the same thing tomorrow. I do not talk about operational matters for an ongoing investigation.”
Albanese then responded to a question defensively on whether there should be an increase in police resources.
“We will give police and the authorities every support that they require and every request has been met by every jurisdiction,” he said.
It’s been a long and chaotic dance, but Queensland Ballet hopes to draw the curtain on a year of uncertainty with the announcement of Spanish-born Ivan Gil-Ortega as the company’s new artistic director.
A former principal dancer with the Stuttgart Ballet and the Dutch National Ballet, Gil-Ortega, 47, will be the seventh artistic director since Queensland Ballet was founded in 1960.
He will take over in February from acting artistic director Greg Horsman, whom many expected to win the job following the abrupt departure of Leanne Benjamin last year after just five months in the role.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will address media this morning. You can watch through the video player below.
Ground staff are working around the clock to repair turf in time for tonight’s A-League clash at Suncorp Stadium, after it was ripped up during two weekend concerts.
Back-to-back concerts by country singer Luke Combs on Friday and Saturday appeared to have damaged grass around the stage area.
More than half-a-dozen workers could be seen yesterday replacing about 2500 square metres of turf at the Caxton Street end.
Brisbane Roar is scheduled to play the Western Sydney Wanderers tonight from 6.35pm.
“Suncorp Stadium … [is] assuring us that they are confident the field will be up to standard, safe and stable underfoot,” a representative for the club told Brisbane Times.
“Apart from expected aesthetic visual scarring in some areas as a result of the recent concert, there are no other concerns ahead of the match.”
A Suncorp Stadium spokesperson said ground staff had “worked around the clock” to repair the turf and “independent testing will be conducted … to ensure the field meets all safety and playability requirements” prior to the game.
Suncorp Stadium is now allowed to host more concerts, and Combs’ visit required organisers to push back a previously scheduled Roar game to a Tuesday night in April.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has conceded there is “work to be done” to support public safety following this week’s revelation that a caravan filled with explosives and an address of a Sydney synagogue had been discovered in Sydney’s north-west.
Appearing on Today with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, Marles acknowledged further work was needed to make the Jewish community feel safe.
“We are doubling down in terms of the support we are providing to our police forces,” Marles said.
“There’s an enormous amount of effort going on, and I don’t think anyone is being sanguine about the future. We are very focused on doing everything within our power to combat this and to do everything within our power to make the Jewish community feel safe.”
Dutton didn’t answer a question probing if the response to continuing antisemitic attacks had become politicised, noting instead that frustration from the Jewish community came as incidents “escalated over a period of time”.
“People predicted that there was going to be an escalation in violence … it’s predictable in the sense that people don’t know red lines, and they’ve continued to escalate,” Dutton said.
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