For today’s news updates in Brisbane and beyond as they happen, follow us here.
For today’s news updates in Brisbane and beyond as they happen, follow us here.
A deadly drug in the shape of a teddy bear was detected hours before Brisbane’s only pill-testing service was shut down.
The discovery of nitazene was made by staff earlier this month at CheQpoint, Bowen Hills.
It was the fourth detection of the deadly synthetic opioid at the service between November and its closure by the state government this month.
“It is disturbing to learn,” Australian Medical Association Queensland President Dr Nick Yim said in a statement.
“This is why AMA Queensland has been a strong advocate for pill testing services as a harm minimisation strategy.
“We need to alert the public when dangerous substances like this are circulating in our community and we can only do that if we have systems to check for them.”
The government says it pulled the funding for pill testing because it believes the service does not protect people, and can be seen as a tacit endorsement of drug taking.
The remains of 36 Aboriginal ancestors will be returned to Australia following an emotional handover ceremony at London’s Natural History Museum, the latest step in a decades-long effort to repatriate the bodies of men and women taken during the colonial era.
The formal handover involved representatives from four regional Queensland communities – Woppaburra (Keppel Islands) and Warrgamay (Ingham), Wuthathi and Yadhaigana (Cape York) – and marks one of the largest culturally significant returns from a single British institution.
Six of the ancestors have been positively identified and will be returned to their communities in the coming days. The remaining 30, believed to originate from Queensland, will be held under the federal government’s stewardship until their traditional custodians can be determined.
Cirque Alice, a spectacular reimagining of Alice in Wonderland starring top international acrobats and contortionists, is now on at QPAC, which incidentally celebrates its 40th birthday on Saturday at the centre’s Melbourne Street Green from 9am.
Is it cake? Yes it is, at the International Cake Show Australia, which brings elaborate creations, celebrity chefs and bake-offs to Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Friday to Sunday.
The Tour de Brisbane takes off from Queen’s Wharf from 5.50am on Sunday with 50km, 80km and 120km bike rides. Courses span from the city to Jamboree Heights, Eight Mile Plains, Nundah, Mount Coot-tha and West End, with several road closures in place.
Famous historical portraits of Shakespeare, Dickens and others, plus relics like Jane Austen’s writing desk, are at HOTA on the Gold Coast from Saturday for Writers Revealed: Treasures from the British Library and National Portrait Gallery, London.
Saddle up for Queensland Theatre’s Calamity Jane – Naomi Price stars as the Wild West legend in a deliriously funny update of the Doris Day musical, running until April 17.
Illusionist and Australia’s Got Talent finalist Michael Boyd presents a magic and illusion show, Mystique, at the Powerhouse this weekend, promising levitation, disappearances and escapes galore.1
Anthony Albanese says he spoke to Peter Dutton this morning after news broke that a Queensland schoolboy is facing court charged with planning a terrorist attack that targeted the opposition leader.
“Can I say that I’ve reached out to Peter Dutton this morning, and it is a fact that the number of threats that have been made to parliamentarians has increased in recent times, and that has been reported on by the appropriate authorities,” Albanese said.
“I myself have been the subject of a range of issues, at least one of which is before legal processes at the moment, there was a pretty serious incident.”
Albanese said he had confidence that the Australian Federal Police and the authorities would do what was necessary to keep politicians safe.
“That is one of the reasons why you’ve seen an increased number of security measures put in place, because we do live in times that unfortunately we’ve seen around the world as well, but here as well, these threats be made.”
He concluded that any member of parliament who had requested additional support or security had received it.
Follow all the day’s political news in our dedicated election campaign live blog.
A man has died after being electrocuted west of Brisbane.
Emergency services were called to the property on Tallegalla Two Tree Hill Road, Tallegalla, west of Ipswich, just before 8pm last night.
The 43-year-old man was treated at the scene but died shortly after.
Police said they would prepare a report for the coroner.
After Alfred, tariffs and election overload, Brisbane needs a good laugh, and that’s exactly what Brisbane Comedy Festival 2025 is offering when it begins on April 23.
The festival’s full program has been unveiled and features more than 135 acts appearing over five weeks at Brisbane Powerhouse, The Tivoli, Fortitude Music Hall and The Princess Theatre.
“We have a few viral sensations making the leap from your phone screen to the stage, international icons, people you see on the telly and hear on the radio, as well as a pack of up-and-comers,” festival director Phoebe Meredith said.
Big names on the bill include Rhys Darby, Danny Bhoy, Nazeem Hussain, Adam Kay. Becky Lucas, Geraldine Hickey, Luke McGregor, Zoe Coombs Marr, Sammy J, Matt Okine, Dave Hughes and Ross Noble.
Book lover Garry Starr performs every Penguin Classic novel ever written in an hour.
Winner of Best Show at the Adelaide Fringe last year, Elf Lyons, presents an equestrian-themed show, while First Nations comedian Janty Blair will perform her first-ever solo show at the age of 60.
The festival’s official opening gala at the Fortitude Music Hall has already sold out.
Tickets to all shows are on sale now.
Police want to speak to a man who allegedly injured a woman after an argument in Peregian Beach.
Investigations suggested the woman, in her 60s, was walking along the water near Beach Access 53 on April 8 when she approached a man walking a dog for what police described as “a brief verbal interaction”.
“The man then allegedly tackled the woman,” police said.
The man ran away, while the woman was taken to hospital, reportedly with broken ribs and spinal damage.
Police said the man was described as Caucasian, with a solid build and in his early 20s.
“The man had a dog with him which is described as a male, solid build, and grey and black in colour,” police said.
A 70-year-old motorcycle rider has died in a two-vehicle crash in Kidaman Creek on the Sunshine Coast.
“Initial investigations indicate at approximately 2.58pm [on Thursday], a motorbike collided with a Holden Colorado at the intersection of Hunsley Road and Obi Obi Road,” police said.
“The rider, a 70-year-old Palmwoods man, was declared deceased at the scene.
“The driver, a 54-year-old New South Wales man, was not injured.”
Police said investigations into the crash were continuing.
Anyone in the area who might have information or dashcam footage was urged to contact police.
Police are investigating a ride-on mower incident in Hampton, west of Brisbane, that killed a 79-year-old man.
The man was mowing an area on a Collingwood Road property about 2.45pm yesterday when the mower, which police likened to a tractor, rolled on him.
While the incident was believed to have been an accident, the Forensic Crash Unit was investigating.
Opposition home affairs spokesperson James Paterson says reports that Peter Dutton was the target of an alleged terrorist plot are “very troubling”.
A 16-year-old boy is facing a court charged with allegedly targeting Dutton in a planned terrorist attack on Dutton’s Brisbane home.
First reported in The Australian, the private school student was arrested and charged in August 2024 with a commonwealth offence, after he allegedly purchased bomb-making ingredients and tested explosives intending to launch an attack.
Paterson, acting as the Coalition’s campaign spokesperson, was asked about the alleged terror plot on Sky News.
“It’s very troubling. It involves a minor, and it’s a matter before the court, so I have to be very cautious about what I say about this specific instance,” he said.
“What I can say more broadly about the issue of young people coming to the attention of counter-terrorism police and ASIO, is that it’s unfortunately a disturbingly fast-growing trend… They’re often being radicalised online, sometimes very quickly by consuming extreme content, and they can go from having no violent intent to having violent intent, sometimes very quickly.”