Brisbane news live: Motorists more likely to speed in school zones | West End venue to close its doors for good | Gable Tostee appeals casino ban

West End bar and live music venue The Bearded Lady will shut down permanently next Friday.

In a post on social media yesterday, the venue said it had hoped to find a solution that would allow it to stay open, but learned this week it was not to be.

“We’ve done everything in our power to keep the doors open, but unfortunately, negotiations with the landlord fell through yesterday,” the post reads.

“Key members of our local music community were ready and willing to take on the lease, but at the last minute, the landlords informed us they no longer wish to be involved with hospitality.”

The Bearded Lady will close its doors on Friday, May 23.Credit: Facebook

Beloved by musicians in the local scene, the spot on Boundary Street was struggling financially, and earlier this year set up an online appeal that reached only $27,000 of its $200,000 goal.

News of its closure was met with an outpouring of sentiment, with local councillor Trina Massey paying tribute to “a vital, beating heart of the West End music and arts scene. A space for creativity, resistance, and pure magic.”

Thanks for joining us for live coverage of today’s news. We will return on Monday morning.

If you’re just catching up, here are some of the stories that have made headlines today:

Former SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith has lost his bid to overturn a landmark decision that found he committed war crimes in Afghanistan.

A Gold Coast man who was acquitted after being charged with murdering his Tinder date in 2014 has launched a case against The Star for banning him from the Gold Coast casino.

A forensic toxicologist who examined the mushroom paste and beef taken from the leftovers found at Erin Patterson’s home after the fatal lunch said the samples tested positive for death cap mushroom toxins.

Four Australian cities, including Brisbane, have been labelled “impossibly unaffordable” to buy a home in a new study, as separate research shows more than 30 per cent of dwellings now cost $1 million or more.

Two British academics have discovered that a manuscript that was believed to be a replica of the Magna Carta, bought by Harvard University for just $43, is, in fact, an original.

And meet neuroscience professor Matthew Walker, who explains the “genius gap”, why dreaming is like a soothing balm – and a new practice to try an hour before you plan to hit the sack.

The RACQ has urged motorbike riders to remain vigilant, and called on the state to better enforce speed limits on hinterland roads, revealing Queensland’s most accident-prone roads for riders.

Joel Tucker, RACQ road safety and technical manager, said Mount Glorious Tourist Drive – including Mount Glorious Road and Northbrook Parkway – topped the list.

“What we found is that 92 per cent of the crashes on that tourist route are motorcycle riders, and … the vast majority of those – around 80 per cent – are single vehicle crashes,” Tucker said.

RACQ road safety and technical manager Joel Tucker, himself a motorbike rider, said Mount Glorious Tourist Drive topped the list for motorbike crashes.Credit: RACQ

He said the hinterland roads north-west of Brisbane were a popular spot for riders due to their “fantastic environment”, but cautioned riders the winding routes required attention to speed.

“The vast majority of those occurring on curves and in dry and clear sunny conditions, it indicates that speed is definitely a problem,” Tucker said.

“There is nothing wrong with enjoying a weekend leisure ride with your mates, but ride to the conditions, don’t get competitive, and don’t break the law because your life matters – please drop the ego, not the bike.”

The Department of Transport and Main Roads recorded about 240,000 registered motorbikes in the state, with two in three vehicles found within the south-east.

The number of Queenslanders getting vaccinated against the flu has surpassed 900,000, with Health Minister Tim Nicholls urging people across the state to make use of the free vaccine program before the temperature drops.

“We have put $25 million into providing free influenza A vaccinations, [so] no matter where you are in this great state … you can get it at your community pharmacist, and it will cost you nothing,” Nicholls said.

“We don’t want to see people with the flu turning up at our hospitals, because at that stage it’s really serious.”

Nicholls said 37 people had already died from the flu this year – which follows an early peak in cases this year.

The vaccination headcount mirrors uptake last year, with about 934,000 receiving the vaccine by May 8, 2024, for a total 1.75 million vaccines statewide by the end of the year.

However, despite the state government’s free vaccination program, Queensland Health has reported declining numbers of Queenslanders getting the jab year-on-year since about 2021.

Experts have attributed the falling numbers to “vaccine fatigue”, and lower vaccination rates, sliding hygiene practices, and tourism patterns, as some of the factors leading to infection spikes seen in recent years.

Nicolls said the program would likely continue next year despite low uptake, but that the state’s more vulnerable populations needed to get vaccinated for Queensland to reap the value of the investment.

A mother-of-five charged with murder has had her matter heard in court, more than a week after a horror Toowoomba house fire that killed three of her children.

The 36-year-old remains in hospital, and did not appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court when her matter was heard today.

She was airlifted to a Brisbane hospital in a critical condition and placed under police guard after the family home went up in flames on May 7.

Neighbours helped six people escape the fire in the early hours of the morning, before a body, believed to be the woman’s nine-year-old son, was found in the charred remains.

Two of the woman’s daughters, aged four and seven, later died from their injuries in hospital.

The burnt-out remains of the Toowoomba house.Credit: Nine News

The mother has been charged with three counts of murder and attempted murder along with one count of arson.

Counsel representing the woman said they were seeking a brief of evidence, which the magistrate listed for July 21. The case will next be mentioned in Toowoomba on August 19.

She was remanded in custody.

Payne Haas has rubbished claims Michael Maguire is training his Brisbane team too hard after one of the coach’s former players criticised his methods.

The Broncos have appeared lacking in energy, particularly in the second half of matches, during their rough trot of four losses from the past five games.

Maguire has been accused of over-training the players and being too intense during the week, leaving them flat for games. It’s a subject former New Zealand international Elijah Taylor – played under Maguire at the Wests Tigers during his 186-game NRL career – addressed in a video posted to Instagram.

“A lot of people are asking me what’s wrong with Madge [Maguire] and what’s wrong with the Broncos,” Taylor said. “One, it’s his intensity. I’ve never seen a coach ride the game so hard.

“After a win the world is a better place...After a loss you’re off to a funeral and someone will be getting cooked at the video session.

“Two, training methods. Ninety-five per cent of the time on the field it’s full contact.

“You haven’t done an NRL preseason until you have done a Michael Maguire preseason.”

Haas disputed there was player unrest or that Maguire had lost the faith of the playing group.

“I think it’s bollocks. We have got his back,” Haas said.

“Everyone has got belief in this group and what he does with us. We support him 100 per cent.”

The Crisafulli government’s Homelessness Ministerial Advisory Council has met for the first time.

Housing Minister Sam O’Connor said the frontline service providers, community housing leaders, and government agency representatives on the council would meet regularly and propose solutions.

“Under Labor’s housing crisis, the social housing waitlist soared to almost 50,000 people and we have almost 5000 Queenslanders currently stuck in temporary and emergency accommodation,” he said in a statement.

“That is a shameful legacy — and we can only fix it with long-term housing supply – not stop-gap solutions.

“While Labor delivered an average of just 500 social homes per year over the past decade, the Crisafulli government is reforming our delivery model to ramp up to building over 2000 social and affordable homes per year.”

A Housing Supply Expert Panel established by Labor, but then ignored, was disbanded by the LNP.

West End bar and live music venue The Bearded Lady will shut down permanently next Friday.

In a post on social media yesterday, the venue said it had hoped to find a solution that would allow it to stay open, but learned this week it was not to be.

“We’ve done everything in our power to keep the doors open, but unfortunately, negotiations with the landlord fell through yesterday,” the post reads.

“Key members of our local music community were ready and willing to take on the lease, but at the last minute, the landlords informed us they no longer wish to be involved with hospitality.”

The Bearded Lady will close its doors on Friday, May 23.Credit: Facebook

Beloved by musicians in the local scene, the spot on Boundary Street was struggling financially, and earlier this year set up an online appeal that reached only $27,000 of its $200,000 goal.

News of its closure was met with an outpouring of sentiment, with local councillor Trina Massey paying tribute to “a vital, beating heart of the West End music and arts scene. A space for creativity, resistance, and pure magic.”

A Gold Coast man who was acquitted after being charged with murdering his Tinder date in 2014 has launched a case against The Star for banning him from the Gold Coast casino.

Eric Thomas – who changed his name from Gable Tostee in 2015 while on trial following the death of Warriena Wright – was banned from the casino over an incident with a female guest in April 2022.

Eric Thomas, then known as Gable Tostee, at a previous Supreme Court appearance.Credit: Bradley Kanaris

Staff reported finding Thomas fighting with a woman “on her back with her dress up over her hips”.

The woman later told police Thomas had strangled her, and obtained a domestic violence order against him.

Thomas told The Star that police notified him they would not pursue charges over the alleged assault.

He now claims the casino ban is discriminatory and attacks him because he is a man, and is seeking to overturn the decision and have his membership at The Star reinstated.

Hearings for the matter were scheduled for September and November this year.

Broncos CEO Dave Donaghy has dismissed pleas from animal rights group PETA to retire the club’s mascot Buck, who has been seen galloping around Suncorp Stadium since 2010.

Buck the Broncos’ mascot with his rider Natalie Siiankoski.Credit: Facebook

Reports emerged that PETA had written to the Broncos claiming “there’s no reason to subject Buck, the horse, to the stress of being a mascot”.

Donaghy, however, shut down such suggestions ahead of Sunday’s clash against the Dragons.

“Buck is an iconic, much-loved and much-cared-for member of the Broncos family and has been for a very long time,” Donaghy said.

“We have no plans to retire Buck, and our game-day staff will continue, as we always have, to work with his trainers and rider, and the stadium to ensure the highest level of safety, for both Buck and our fans.

“We look forward to seeing Buck at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday afternoon.”

A man in his 80s has been struck by a large truck outside the Wesley Hospital shortly after 6am.

Police and paramedics reported the man suffered life-threatening leg, arm and abdominal injuries after being hit on Chasely Street.

He was initially taken to the Wesley Hospital emergency department, where he was treated for cuts, but was transferred to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital for more intensive care.

Police expected to send a forensics crash unit to the scene.