For news updates as they happen in Brisbane and beyond, follow us here.
For news updates as they happen in Brisbane and beyond, follow us here.
Police say they have complete confidence the man who allegedly scalded a Brisbane baby with hot coffee and fled the country will be arrested.
Nine-month-old Luka was at Hanlon Park in Stones Corner with his mother in August, last year, when a man snuck up behind them and dumped the scalding contents of a thermos on him.
He reportedly fled the scene and escaped to China via New Zealand before police could identify him.
“We’re engaged with the family, we’re keeping them updated,” Detective Superintendent Craig McGrath told 4BC this morning.
“We are working with both national and international partners to bring this person to justice.
“It does take time, but we will get the result.”
The mother of baby Luka – who has asked not to be identified – told Brisbane Times today the police are keeping her updated, but believe it could be a long wait for justice.
“Luka is doing really good. He’s back at daycare, and I just started back at work,” she said.
A man has been arrested in Brisbane over back-to-back arson attacks on a regional cigarette shop.
The business at Maryland Street in the town of Stanthorpe was set partially alight about 4am on Australia Day.
Two men allegedly returned 48 hours later and set it on fire again, destroying what remained.
No one was injured, but the business was significantly damaged.
A 25-year-old was arrested at a property at Chermside yesterday, about the same time another was arrested at Deception Bay.
Both have been charged with arson, endangering property and entering a premises without permission.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton have paid tribute to former Fraser and Howard government member John Moore, who passed away.
Before question time, Moore’s death on January 22 was announced by Marles, who said he would place on the record the parliament’s appreciation for his meritorious public service.
“It was not a career without setbacks but he never lost the support of his electorate. John was re-elected nine times, serving the people of Ryan for more than 25 years,” Marles said.
“He retired from politics in 2001 and was appointed an officer of the Order of Australia in 2004. John was farewelled in a state funeral in Brisbane on Tuesday.”
Dutton also paid tribute to Moore and his service to the parliament.
“In 1998, John became the minister for defence. He presided over the Australian peacekeeping mission in East Timor that ensured the country’s independence and commenced the upgrade of the Coles Collins-class submarine fleet,” Dutton said.
“He created the Defence Force’s first chief financial officer position and put in place new accountability around acquisition.
“John called time on politics in 2001 and over the next two decades he imparted his business wisdom to a new generation.
“I offer my heartfelt condolences to the Moore family who farewelled John at a state funeral on Tuesday. May he rest in peace.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced $8 million in funding for flood-impacted regions.
Speaking from Townsville after touring through the flood-impacted regions in Queensland, Albanese said the federal government would continue to provide support.
“Today, we’re announcing an $8 million co-funded community relief fund, providing up to $1 million from the local government associations, eight of them that are impacted by this flooding event,” Albanese said.
“This will provide councils with financial assurance that they need to get on with the business of cleaning up and making their communities safe.
“From 2pm today, we’ll be activating the Australian government disaster recovery payment. This provides $1000 for eligible adults and $400 for children.
“This funding is to help people who have suffered serious damage or injury as a result of … the floods to help with the recovery.”
Police say they have complete confidence the man who allegedly scalded a Brisbane baby with hot coffee and fled the country will be arrested.
Nine-month-old Luka was at Hanlon Park in Stones Corner with his mother in August, last year, when a man snuck up behind them and dumped the scalding contents of a thermos on him.
He reportedly fled the scene and escaped to China via New Zealand before police could identify him.
“We’re engaged with the family, we’re keeping them updated,” Detective Superintendent Craig McGrath told 4BC this morning.
“We are working with both national and international partners to bring this person to justice.
“It does take time, but we will get the result.”
The mother of baby Luka – who has asked not to be identified – told Brisbane Times today the police are keeping her updated, but believe it could be a long wait for justice.
“Luka is doing really good. He’s back at daycare, and I just started back at work,” she said.
The Crisafulli government will change the name of the satellite hospitals established by Labor to call them satellite health centres instead.
After criticism that the satellite hospitals did not contain all the services of actual hospitals, and people might be misled in an emergency, the LNP went to the election promising to rename them.
Health Minister Tim Nicholls told 4BC today it was prudent to rename the “so-called satellite hospitals” and there was unanimous support among stakeholders for the alternative.
“It’s a common-sense landing, it calls them what they are,” Nicholls said.
Nicholls suggested it would cost up to $30,000 per site to rename the facilities, which would amount to more than $2 million he said would be absorbed by the health budget.
But Nicholls said if it prevented even one person making a life-threatening mix-up it would be “time and effort and money well-spent”.
It is the biggest renaming exercise in Queensland Health since the former Labor government changed the name of the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital, established by the LNP, to call it the Queensland Children’s Hospital instead.
Health Minister Mark Butler has rejected the Coalition’s claim that a one-year $1.7 billion boost to Medicare is a broken promise, given the government’s stated aim to sign a longer funding deal with the states and territories.
Asked about the accusation on ABC’s AM radio program, Butler said negotiations for a longer deal were proceeding and were tied to satisfactory progress on NDIS reform.
“Frankly, given what the Liberal Party and particularly Peter Dutton tried to do to the public hospital system when he was health minister, I don’t take their criticism particularly seriously,” Butler said.
“We’re working hard on this, but we did not want to nickel and dime state and territory governments in the interim. That’s why we’ve provided $1.7 billion in additional funds to tide them over next year at a time when all your listeners know public hospitals are under very serious pressure.”
Butler also noted that the requirement that all jurisdictions sign the deal at once meant it needed to be finalised before the WA government entered its caretaker period before the state’s election.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese denies backflipping on his party’s policy platform by slapping mandatory jail time on Nazis and terrorists.
Last night, Labor caved to weeks of Coalition demands to force automatic jail time on terrorists and people displaying Nazi symbols, avoiding a political fight but defying the party’s own policy platform in a major backdown.
Speaking this morning on Nine’s Today program, Albanese disagreed with questions that suggested he had backflipped.
“No, not at all, we go through all of our proper processes on these items. So caucus approved everything that we do … we believe that the strongest action is required here,” he said.
“We introduced this legislation last year to outlaw Nazi symbols and hate symbols as well. Things like those flags that praise essentially terrorist organisations. We outlawed them before that. There wasn’t any legislation before our government.
“We have been the government that has introduced this legislation, we’re the government that outlawed these hate symbols, we’re the government that continued to defend our laws.”
Brisbane’s office vacancy remains well below the national average, sitting at 10.2 per cent, with the city facing a “critical shortage” of new office space in the medium to long term.
Property Council of Australia Queensland executive director Jess Caire said 205 North Quay and 360 Queen Street would provide relief this year by adding new supply, and Waterfront would deliver in 2028.
“However, there is nothing after that,” she said.
Knight Frank partner Jennelle Wilson said private sector tenants had veered towards renewing leases recently, rather than relocating, due to a perceived lack of suitable options over the next few years.
“As a result, landlords have benefited greatly from rental reversions with gross effective prime market rents up by 14 per cent in the past year, and 25 per cent over the past two years,” she said.
To global news now, namely US President Donald Trump’s controversial proposal to “take over” Gaza, remove millions of Palestinians from the region, level the site and rebuild it in a vision of a “Riviera of the Middle East”.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has responded, telling 2GB’s Ben Fordham that he thought the proposal was part of Trump’s “desire to see peace and stability in the region”.
“Let’s be honest, what’s gone before us has failed. And people who dismiss President Trump and say that he’s not serious or whatever derogatory comments they want to make, I just think it defies the reality of the gravitas that he brings to the situation, the might of the United States.”
He continued that Trump was trying to leverage the “best possible outcome” to allow people to “raise their kids in an environment that is conducive to them for leading a good life, not being blown apart”.
Despite the huge dollar figure that the US would foot if it were to “own Gaza” and rebuild the region as Trump has suggested, Dutton noted that the US election was won because of middle Americans who felt “ripped off by the system” and questioned why the “government is out spending our money that we’ve paid in taxes on causes around the world”.
“When you look at it in that context, it’s perfectly reasonable that he would try and leverage near neighbours who don’t want to take any Palestinians,” Dutton said, alluding to the possibility that Trump’s proposal is a negotiating strategy.
“That’s the reality of the position of many of the near neighbours; he wants them to contribute to a peaceful solution, to a rebuild.”
A man has died after the sedan he was driving crashed into a tree in suburban Brisbane.
The 27-year-old driver’s Ford Falcon crashed off Manly Road in Manly West about 3.45pm on Wednesday.
The Capalaba man was declared dead at the scene by emergency services.
No one else was injured.
Investigations into the cause of the crash are ongoing. Anyone with information was urged to contact police.
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