For today’s news updates as they happen in Brisbane and beyond, follow us here.
For today’s news updates as they happen in Brisbane and beyond, follow us here.
Nine seats across the nation – including one in Brisbane – remain too close to call as the margins in some high-profile electoral battles narrowed to double digits.
In some seats, the progress of the count has been slowed because the two candidates receiving the most first-preference votes turned out to be different to what the Australian Electoral Commission expected before the election. These are called “two-candidate preferred exceptions”.
We’ll keep updating here in real time as each seat is called – and let you know which seats changed hands across Australia.
Liberal frontbencher Angus Taylor rejected damaging claims from factional opponent Hollie Hughes that suggested Taylor was plotting for the leadership before Peter Dutton and his party lost the last election.
Hughes made the claim on Sky News this morning without citing evidence to back her arguments.
Taylor’s spokeswoman said: “These claims are false and frankly low.”
Hughes is backing frontbencher Sussan Ley in Tuesday’s leadership contest against Taylor, who has formed a leadership ticket with Nationals defector Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price ahead of the party room vote.
Taylor is being backed by the right faction, while Ley is largely supported by party moderates. Both contenders have about 20 guaranteed votes from a party room of about 55 members.
The contest between Ley and Taylor became acrimonious last week as both sides released files of compromising information about the other candidate. As this masthead reported, Ley had been offering portfolios to secure votes.
The Brisbane City Council and LNP state government are this morning spruiking the next stage of the Brisbane Metro rollout, reopening the M1 line that was trialled last year.
After a false start late last year, the council is this morning promoting the reopening of the M1 route on June 30, with the extra-long, electric buses to travel every five minutes from Eight Miles Plains to Roma Street in the CBD.
The M1 route opened with much fanfare in November, but was halted four weeks later, with the council insisting it was only ever meant to be a trial.
The M2 route, which carries the 66 bus service from the University of Queensland to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, was rolled out in January this year.
From June 30 the council says there will also be:
- Five new bus routes that will improve connectivity to the South East Busway and Fortitude Valley, adding more than 5000 new services a year.
- Four new all-day services in streets that currently only have a peak-period buses, increasing frequency and connection to key Metro corridors.
- Twelve combined bus routes that eliminate duplicated services without decreasing the total number of trips, creating more efficient routes that can be accessed by more people.
- Three divided routes that will now finish their service in the city, reducing the likelihood of delays.
The council’s transport chair, Ryan Murphy, told ABC Radio the final price tag for the Metro was $1.55 billion, attributing the cost to the council’s decision to use electric buses.
Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said: “Through our landmark agreement with the Crisafulli government, we are delivering the biggest improvement to Brisbane’s bus network in generations.”
Deputy Premier and Infrastructure Minister Jarrod Bleijie said: “Brisbane’s new bus network – developed through a new approach with council – makes it easier and cheaper than ever to get around the region.”
National Party leadership hopeful Matt Canavan has been making the rounds of TV and radio this morning to articulate his case for the top job.
He has lent heavily on his opposition to mandatory net zero emissions targets, describing the policy as “stuffed”.
“Our renewable strategy, our energy system, our net zero policy is completely stuffed,” he told Sky News. “We need to dump it. We need to get back to concentrating on delivering cheap power prices for Australians.”
Canavan – a former minister who has turned into a rebellious senator focused on immigration and free speech – said he had had a better-than-expected response from colleagues since announcing his candidacy on Friday and that MPs were open to the unconventional idea of having a senator lead the party.
Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce, who had surgery last week, will send a proxy to Canberra to cast a vote for Canavan.
But David Littleproud remains the favourite to win the party’s leadership ballot, which is to be held at 3pm.
Outgoing Liberal senator Hollie Hughes has suggested leadership aspirant Angus Taylor was plotting to topple Peter Dutton before the opposition’s historic loss.
Hughes, a factional opponent of Taylor’s, again savaged the shadow treasurer’s performance during the last term of parliament, arguing it was “breathtaking” that Taylor believed he could become the new opposition leader given the party’s failures on economic policy.
“This is the guy who tried to take the Liberal Party to the election opposing tax cuts. I mean seriously,” Hughes said on Sky News.
Hughes has been a frequent critic of Taylor. The senator holds Taylor partly responsible for her dumping from the NSW Liberal Senate ticket, a claim Taylor rejects.
Taylor’s office was contacted about Hughes’ claims.
Hughes claimed, without citing clear evidence, that Taylor and others in the party were for weeks before the election planning moves against Dutton, who lost his seat of Dickson on election night.
“It’s beyond belief these people think they can now throw their hat into the ring for a leadership position,” Hughes said.
Despite long periods living abroad, Barry Humphries considered Australia his true home and enjoyed the company of some of the nation’s greatest artists, who would invariably paint him – and sometimes he, them.
“Dad once said that he was a full-time actor and a part-time artist, but that he wished it was the other way around,” son Oscar Humphries notes. “I think he was conscious of the limits of his talents in fine art. He was a Picasso of comedy and a very gifted amateur artist in two dimensions.”
Some 98 objects, mostly packed up from Humphries’ Sydney home, will be auctioned next month – among them are 47 by the late comic’s own hand.
They reveal the creator of Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson to be as wicked a wit in watercolours, crayon and pen as he was under the stage spotlight.
The master satirist died in April 2023 after complications from hip surgery, bringing to an end a celebrated career on the global stage.
Estimates for some pieces start at $250 for Humphries’ works on paper and have been priced to be accessible to fans.
A 27-year-old man has been charged over 10 break and enters across suburbs including Bulimba, Cannon Hill and Balmoral.
Police raided his Morningside address last Wednesday where they found a large amount of stolen property, including electronics, tools and five vehicles.
He has been charged with 19 offences and is due to appear in court on Wednesday.
Police are investigating an alleged assault at the prestigious Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron.
Officers were called to reports of a man hitting another man at the Royal Esplanade premises in Manly about 11pm on May 3.
Both men were known to each other, and the victim allegedly suffering minor injuries.
“Investigations are ongoing,” a Queensland Police statement said.
A club representative contacted by this masthead would not comment.
Anyone with information has been urged to contact police.
Nine seats across the nation – including one in Brisbane – remain too close to call as the margins in some high-profile electoral battles narrowed to double digits.
In some seats, the progress of the count has been slowed because the two candidates receiving the most first-preference votes turned out to be different to what the Australian Electoral Commission expected before the election. These are called “two-candidate preferred exceptions”.
We’ll keep updating here in real time as each seat is called – and let you know which seats changed hands across Australia.
It’s a forecast of cloudy days to come for the River City this week, with a chance of a shower or two most days.
The top temperature today should be a cool 25 degrees, with much the same expected for days.
Here’s the outlook:
Here’s what’s making news further afield this morning:
The Coalition spent three years trying to regain the trust of Chinese-Australian voters in crucial seats. But everything fell apart in a matter of minutes when a senator appeared on Sunrise.
Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has thrown her hat into the Liberals’ leadership ring, confirming she will run as Angus Taylor’s deputy against Sussan Ley, with a pledge to fight to rebuild the party.
And a shock contender has emerged to outright lead the party.
The number of defamation cases filed in Australia has declined sharply since a boom five years ago, in a sign that costly court losses and recent law reforms may be deterring prospective plaintiffs.
Dumped Labor minister Ed Husic has launched a sensational attack on Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, describing him as a “factional assassin” whose decision to get rid of two ministers compromised the PM’s election victory.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered to hold direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on May 15, saying he didn’t rule out reaching an agreement on a ceasefire in the war.
Elizabeth Holmes is in prison for defrauding investors through her blood-testing company, Theranos. Meanwhile, her partner is starting one of his own.