Queensland government scraps emissions target for Brisbane Olympics – as it happened

And with that, we’ll wrap up the blog for the day. Have a nice evening. Here were today’s top stories:

• The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, told her Israeli counterpart that Australia supports Lebanon’s sovereignty, after the Netanyahu government revealed plans to seize parts of the country’s south as a so-called “defensive buffer” against Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah.

• The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, announced Iranian nationals with valid Australian tourist visas will be blocked from entering the country for six months, citing concern some may decide to stay longer than they’re allowed.

• The shadow defence spokesperson, James Paterson, said he was still a “big believer” in the Aukus defence pact but cautioned Australia should be realistic that the US may not always come to its aid in the future.

• Pauline Hanson spoke at a Minerals Council event, where she said One Nation wants to work with the Liberals and Nationals – including on preferences deals – to defeat Labor, and would guarantee confidence and supply to a potential minority Coalition government.

• Climate activist organisation Rising Tide wrote “TAX ME ♡” in chalk on a coal ship on Wednesday morning as part of a call on the federal government to introduce a 78% tax on coal export profits.

• As the average price of diesel passed $3 a litre for the first time in every capital city besides Darwin, according to the fuel monitoring website Motormouth, the government introduced a bill to give the consumer watchdog powers to hand out bigger fines for price-gouging.

• The Queensland LNP government scrapped the state’s emissions target for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

• Tropical Cyclone Narelle was again intensifying into a severe storm off Western Australia’s Kimberley coast.

• And more than 2,000 ABC staff around the country walked off the job for a 24-hour strike, forcing ABC services across TV, radio and digital to rely on repeats and BBC News programming.

Queensland government releases illustrations of new Brisbane Olympic stadium

The Queensland government has released a first look at the new Brisbane Olympic stadium, set to be built in Victoria Park.

Queensland deputy premier, Jarrod Bleijie, revealed the location of the stadium at the Queensland Media Club earlier today.

“I can confirm the Brisbane stadium will be located at the Gilchrist Avenue end of Victoria Park, with an east-west orientation”, he said.

Bleijie said “early works” on the stadium will start on 1 June, with a final contract to be signed by the end of the year. The entire park will be fenced off from then, and won’t be accessible to the public, he said.

Re-elected SA Labor government unveils ministerial portfolios

A minister reprimanded over a campaign gaffe has been handed a “super-portfolio” in South Australian Labor’s new-look cabinet following a thumping state election win, AAP reports.

Chris Picton is no longer SA’s health minister after Labor’s cabinet was revealed by the re-elected premier, Peter Malinauskas, earlier today.

However, the premier, who arrived for the swearing-in with his family in tow, denied Picton had been demoted as he shuffled his team for his second term.

Picton was given a new “economic super-portfolio” which includes digital economy and veterans’ affairs, among others, after the premier admonished him mid-campaign when it was revealed the MP had tried to discredit a widow who claimed the health system failed her partner.

First-time MP Alice Rolls, whose win in Unley was Labor’s first in the seat in 32 years, was handed the challenging portfolios of child protection, and domestic, family and sexual violence.

Blair Boyer is the new health minister, Lucy Hood takes on the education portfolio, Joe Szakacs is the transport and infrastructure minister and Emily Bourke was handed the environment post.

Michael Brown joins cabinet as minister for police, correctional services and consumer and business affairs.

The other new face is Nadia Clancy, who was appointed as minister for small and family business and minister for multicultural affairs.

Clare Scriven retains primary industries, regional development and forest industries, despite her upper-house position being unresolved.

In latest election counting, Labor has 33 seats in the 47-seat parliament, with the Liberals on four seats, One Nation on one and three independents.

Six seats were yet to be called as of this afternoon.

Tony Burke has announced Iranian nationals with valid Australian tourist visas will be blocked from entering the country for six months, citing concern some may decide to stay longer than they’re allowed.

The home affairs minister said on Wednesday the direction was necessary as there was a risk Iranians on tourist visas visiting Australia may be unable or unlikely to leave when their visa expires.

The order only applies to people with a valid tourist visa outside the country. An order can only last for six months before the minister has to apply for it again.

The government said “sympathetic consideration” would be given to Iranian parents of Australian citizens. It said others on tourist visas needing to travel could apply for a permitted travel certificate.

Burke said:

There are many visitor visas, which were issued before the conflict in Iran which may not have been issued if they were applied for now.

Decisions about permanent stays in Australia should be deliberate decisions of the government, not a random consequence of who had booked a holiday.

The Australian government is closely monitoring global developments and will adjust settings as required to ensure Australia’s migration system remains orderly, fair and sustainable.

Read more:

Liberal senator James Paterson says he’s still a “big believer” in the Australia-US alliance but also says Australia needs to prepare for the reality that it may need to look after itself given the unpredictability of the US under Donald Trump.

In a panel discussion this morning at the ANU’s national security college, the shadow defence spokesperson said he still supported the alliance and the Aukus deal, but added:

I’m also a realist, and I can see what you can all see about the behaviour of the Trump administration.

It is unlike any administration which has preceded it, and because it is the Trump administration mark 2, it can’t just be dismissed as an aberration of history and a moment of a single presidency – particularly when it looks like the successors to Trumpism, the inheritors of Trumpism, whether that’s JD Vance or someone else, are just as fervent believers in the Trump doctrine when it comes to foreign policy and national security as he is – maybe [they] even more authentically believe in what he has argued in recent years.

Paterson said Australia must “adjust to the reality of that world” and that:

It’s no longer adequate to just hope that the United States will come to our aid in a time of crisis. We have to both be a better ally for the United States and make a bigger contribution to that alliance by investing more in defence capability, but we also have to prepare for a world where we may have to look after ourselves and fend for ourselves, in a region where we’re clearly not the predominant power.

Paterson said it’s why he strongly believes in drastically increasing defence spending to well above 2% of GDP and that:

If the public knew just how likely conflict was in the next few years in our region – and how actually ill-prepared the ADF is to fight and survive in that conflict if it happens, let alone hopefully prevent it through deterrence – I think there’d be marching in the streets calling for higher defence spending.

Teenager accused of possessing violent extremist material granted bail

A teenage boy accused of possessing violent extremist material has been granted bail after a magistrate told him his case was “unusual” and serious, AAP reports.

The 15-year-old faced Southport children’s court on Queensland’s Gold Coast today after police laid additional charges against him after searching his electronic devices.

The teen was arrested on 8 September in relation to alleged torture and indecent treatment offences, magistrate Mark Bamberry heard.

Queensland police’s counter-terrorism investigation unit charged the boy on 28 February with one count each of possessing child exploitation material and possessing violent extremist material.

The case was now being handled by a commonwealth prosecutor and Queensland crown prosecutor, both of whom would usually deal with adult defendants, Bamberry told the boy.

Bamberry told the boy the fact his case now had state and federal prosecutors showed “how seriously this is being taken” and that:

It’s a bit unusual for them to be here.

I’ve been a children’s court judge here full-time for the past 18 months or so, and this is the first time I’ve seen someone from the commonwealth director of public prosecutions here.

The boy sat beside his solicitor in court and was supported by his mother.

He did not speak except to say “yes” to Bamberry’s questions.

Details of the nature or political affiliation of the violent extremist material allegedly possessed by the boy were not mentioned in court today.

Prosecutors agreed the boy met the exceptional circumstances required for bail on commonwealth charges and accepted that the defendant’s age was a “very significant factor” in the decision.

It would be best for the boy to remain in the community to continue schooling with the support of his family, the court was told.

The matter was adjourned until 13 May to allow prosecutors to disclose a brief of evidence to the teen’s defence solicitor.

Climate activist organisation Rising Tide wrote “TAX ME ♡” in chalk on a coal ship on Wednesday morning as part of a call on the federal government to introduce a 78% tax on coal export profits.

The group said in a statement that the ship it vandalised is called “Climate Respect” and was docked at Newcastle Port while they wrote the sign.

Lindsay Dean, a Maitland resident, said:

We are stunned at the irony in naming a coal ship ‘Climate Respect’ when the burning of coal is the number one driver of dangerous climate change.

As the current war escalation causes everyday Australians to struggle with through-the-roof petrol prices, coal and gas companies are reaping record profits.

That’s not fair to the Australian people and it’s time the Government starts making these greedy corporations pay their fair share in tax.

It comes after it was revealed last week that Anthony Albanese’s department has asked Treasury to model the effects of placing a flat 25% tax on gas exports, and to model possible changes to the petroleum resource rent tax (PRRT) and corporate income tax.

The move comes as gas profits soar amid the global energy crisis sparked by the war in Iran, and could lead to changes as soon as the May federal budget.

Rising Tide is calling for the 78% tax on coal export profits to fund a community and industrial transition. It pointed out that profits on coal is set to rise off the back of the Iran war.

25 people now charged after Sydney anti-Herzog protest

New South Wales police have charged a further two people who attended a rally protesting against a visit by the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, outside Sydney town hall in February, bringing the total number of people charged by police to 25.

Police announced earlier today they had charged two women after nine people were charged directly after the rally, and 14 more were charged after police formed Strike Force Laine to investigate protesters.

The police watchdog is investigating police conduct at the rally amid multiple allegations of police brutality, and widely shared videos showing police allegedly punching protesters and dragging Muslim men away while they undertook their sunset prayers.

The NSW premier, Chris Minns, and police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, have defended police actions. Minns said in the days after the protest that police were placed in an “impossible situation”.

Police said today that a 31-year-old woman was charged with offensive or indecent behaviour within major event area and affray. She will appear before court on 6 May.

Another 26-year-old woman was charged with assault police officer, resist arrest, and possession of cannabis. She will appear before court on 5 May.

No rise in Melbourne Myki taps despite petrol prices

Melbourne public transport patronage has not picked up even as petrol prices rise, new data shows.

Preliminary government data shows there were 8.2m Myki taps on weekdays in the last week of February, before the US went to war on Iran. That bounced up to 8.8m in the first week of March, then 8.1m, then 8.8m last week.

The same period last year saw a similar pattern, plus an extra 600,000 taps a week: 8.5m, 9m, 8.3m, 9m.

In Sydney, meanwhile, new data suggests a slight decline in traffic on some key roads. The third week of March 2025 saw traffic pick up on Military, Parramatta, Pennant Hills and Victoria roads.

The same week this year saw only small week-on-week rises on Military and Parramatta roads, while the number of vehicles on Military and Pennant Hills roads slid to their lowest points in a month.

As we reported yesterday, though, the declines are fairly small and Australians appear to have not yet swapped to public transport amid soaring petrol prices.

You can read that story here:

The 2032 Brisbane Olympics will be the first since Athens in 2004 to not have any emissions target, with the Queensland deputy premier, Jarrod Bleijie, saying “that’s just not our priority”.

When announced in 2021, Brisbane was spruiked as the first “climate positive” Games, but the commitment has since vanished from its International Olympic Committee contract.

At a Queensland Media Club lunch on Wednesday, Bleijie said he opposed having any target at all and that:

Carbon neutral, positive gains, all sorts of things, and the athletes not eating certain foods – that’s not our priority.

Our priority is concrete, building stuff, getting it done and opening it up before 2032.

The Paris Olympics aimed to reduce carbon emissions by over 50% compared to Tokyo, while Los Angeles is aiming for an additional 10% reduction on top of that.

LA is also aiming to deliver a “no car games”, with all spectators to travel to competition venues by public transport.

Beijing, London, Rio de Janeiro, and Paris all had some form of emissions target when they hosted the Olympics.

Bleijie continued:

The minute you put those targets on, you add big percentage to the cost to deliver this stuff.

And our priority – and incidentally, signed by the federal government I might add – was, let’s prioritise getting the infrastructure built, and not necessarily how much carbon is coming out.

‘Audiences will be impacted when there is not enough money to do the work that we’re doing’: ABC staff

Catherine Zengerer, a radio producer for Late Night Live, was one of many senior ABC staff today who were striking on behalf of their colleagues dealing with precarity.

Zengener has been with the public broadcaster for a decade, predominantly on permanent contracts. But she said she was an exception and that:

A lot of us who are actually out on strike are striking on behalf of colleagues who are on a short-term contracts, who are casuals, who are afraid to join the union, who are afraid to go on strike because they’re afraid that if they make a fuss, if they cause trouble, if they speak up, that they will not get employed again on other contracts.

Zengerer said if the ABC continued on its current trajectory, the quality would go down and dedicated staff would leave. She said she had already watched colleagues exit the ABC “utterly disillusioned” and “burned”.

She continued:

There’s so much knowledge involved in every aspect of the different roles that we do, whether that be in local radio or in radio national or in emergency broadcasting or in news or in digital or in any of the tech, admin and supportive jobs.

It takes time to make quality news. It takes time to make quality radio. You would not believe the intense number of hours that it takes to do the jobs that we do.

None of us get paid overtime in radio. We don’t get time off in lieu. Lots of us are working 10-hour days … The audiences will be impacted when there is not enough money to do the work that we’re doing.

Jack James, a breakfast newsreader at Triple J, was among hundreds of ABC staff who walked off the job this morning.

He said said it was a “tough” decision to strike, but for a long time his colleagues had felt like “we’ve all been treading water and trying to stay afloat” and that:

The ABC on the best of days is on skeleton staff. So it feels good to be able to show management that we have power in our numbers and we’re going to keep using it until we get a fair deal.

James said since starting at the ABC eight years ago, his “whole group of friends” had left the organisation, and journalism entirely, because they couldn’t afford to stay.

He said:

It’s tough to see a future here, to be honest. As young people, we’re staring down a really daunting future.

We’ve got AI becoming more prominent and young journalists have to deal with those issues, and to not even have a secure job to be able to confront those issues head on and to be able to communicate them to Australians, it’s really disheartening.

Standing alongside his colleagues, armed with banners and placards, James said it felt like a “powerful moment” and that:

Today feels like a day when we can all finally exhale.

Everyone here works so hard and the only reason why the ABC keeps functioning is because we all work so hard … so having a moment where we can stop that and actually speak up for ourselves without fearing consequences is a big deal for us.

Hi, I hope you’ve had a great day so far. I’ll take you through the rest of the day’s news.

That’s it from me today, thanks for following along on the blog!

I’ll leave you with the wonderful Catie McLeod for the afternoon and see you back here bright and early tomorrow.