As it happened: Brisbane on Wednesday, November 20

Brisbane City Council is spruiking its previously announced upgrades to Victoria Park, Oxley Creek, Kedron Brook and the Wynnum, Manly and Lota foreshores this morning, releasing an update on their transformation.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has dubbed the four park precincts “Brisbane’s parks of the future”.

An artist’s impression of the Victoria Park Adventurescape.Credit: Brisbane City Council

The plan for Victoria Park includes an all-ages, all-abilities Adventurescape playground, a two-kilometre Parkway Loop boulevard, a high ropes course, a tree house lookout and a cafe.

In Brisbane’s south, hundreds of hectares of old farming land and wetlands are being turned into the 120-hectare Oxley Creek Common. Community consultation on the Oxley Creek project will begin next year.

An artist’s impression of the new Oxley Creek Common area.Credit: Brisbane City Council

A new 20-year master plan is also being developed for Kedron Brook, to revitalise the 110 square kilometre catchment that runs through 14 suburbs from Ferny Grove to Nudgee, and boost its flood resilience.

And, the 20-year master plan for the Wynnum, Lota and Manly foreshore is being created, adding to the $1.2 million upgrade to the children’s playground near the Wynnum wading pool.

Meanwhile, Labor and the Greens councillors have accused Schrinner’s LNP council of misplacing priorities over reductions to nursery rhyme sessions at Brisbane City Council libraries.

Thanks for joining us for today’s live coverage of the news here in rainy Brisbane and further afield. We’ll be back tomorrow morning.

If you’re just catching up, here are the stories making headlines today:

The family of a young Melbourne woman on life support in Thailand after a suspected mass methanol poisoning is urging authorities to get to the bottom of what happened.

A police investigation into a child who was removed from her father and influencer mother will likely take several weeks while detectives seek further information from medical reports.

Brisbane’s historic Shafston House could be dwarfed by a huge new residential tower that, if approved, would dominate the Kangaroo Point skyline.

The tower would dominate the Kangaroo Point skyline.Credit: Kerry Hill Architects

The decision to slash public transport fares to 50¢ contradicted reform work that had been underway for months, newly released documents reveal.

One-third of the corals died on a section of the Great Barrier Reef near Cooktown during last summer’s mass bleaching event, according to scientific studies.

Former celebrity chef turned conspiracy theorist Pete Evans has teamed up with anti-vaxxer and Donald Trump’s pick for US health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, to produce a new cookbook for children.

And from harnessing the power of lightning to make fertiliser to using yeast to produce forest-friendly palm oil, here are a few Australian innovations that could help solve environmental challenges.

Opposition communications spokesman David Coleman said the Coalition would try to work with Labor to pass legislation before December that would set up a social media ban for children under 16.

Appearing on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing in the last hour, Coleman said the opposition would negotiate with the government once the bill was published tomorrow.

Opposition communications spokesman David Coleman.Credit: Paul Jeffers

“We will work constructively with the government, and we want to see this bill passed before parliament rises for the end of the year,” he said.

Should the laws pass parliament, the ban would come into effect 12 months later as age verification trials are still under way to determine how it would be enforced. Further consultation is expected next year as the government still needs to decide on key details, such as how to treat online gaming platforms that include chat features.

Appearing later on the ABC, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher was upbeat when asked if Labor would be able to win enough support in the Senate to pass its agenda before parliament breaks for summer on Thursday, November 28.

“I’m an optimist by nature, and I’m very hopeful – even if we don’t make much progress this week – that people will make those decisions in the interests of the country and get a lot done next week,” she said.

A police investigation into a child who was removed from her father and influencer mother will likely take several weeks while detectives seek further information from medical reports.

Child protection detectives are investigating the Queensland mother, who regularly shared her family’s life on social media and documented one of her children undergoing medical treatment.

It is understood the child has been removed from both parents after reports of harm.

The mother regularly shared videos about her family’s life.Credit: Nine News

“Police are aware of reports of child harm against a girl,” a spokeswoman said.

Read the full story.

Queensland is staring down more storms, although the south-east corner could be spared the worst of the deluge.

A deepening coastal trough is forming off Queensland’s central coast with rain forecast to continue through to tomorrow.

Some models are predicting a low-pressure system could also form, increasing the risk of heavy rain and flooding in already sodden areas.

Caboolture copped 98 millimetres of rain in the 24 hours to 9am this morning. Deception Bay received 77 millimetres, while Redcliffe received 66 millimetres.

More than 200 millimetres of rain is predicted to hit between Mackay and Rockhampton this week while inland towns around Roma could receive more than 100 millimetres.

Parents and carers have been warned against giving a common antihistamine to children under six after Australia’s medicines watchdog raised concerns it could lead to aggression, hallucinations and learning difficulties.

The oral antihistamine promethazine hydrochloride, commonly sold as Phenergan, is already not recommended for children under two, but the Therapeutic Goods Administration has now lifted that to six, after a review of safety data by its manufacturer, Sanofi-Aventis Healthcare.

The TGA has advised children under 6 should not consume promethazine hydrochloride, commonly sold as Phenergan.

Sanofi-Aventis has updated its labelling and consumer advice “to include the risks of psychiatric and central nervous system side effects in children under 6, including hyperactivity, aggression and hallucination”, and about 50 other brands of oral promethazine hydrochloride sold in Australia will be required to do the same.

“When high doses are given, these children may also experience difficulties in learning and understanding, such as reversible cognitive deficit and intellectual disability,” the TGA alert read.

Phenergan treats a range of conditions, including allergies, hayfever and nausea, but is commonly known as a short-term sedative that can cause drowsiness and dizziness in people of all ages.

Surging illegal vape and cigarette imports are putting strain on border security in Brisbane and across the country.

In a speech to the Australian Airports Association Conference in Queensland on Wednesday, Nicole Spencer, deputy commissioner for strategy and capability at Australian Border Force, said the problem is growing.

“Our border is under constant stress from exponential growth in trade and the myriad of shifting threats and risks means our properties are constantly changing,” Spencer told attendees.

“In the last 12 months a number of imports including vape and vape products were declared prohibited items, while the importation of illicit tobacco, particularly at our ports, is occurring at record levels.“

Cargo volumes into national ports are expected to grow about 70 per cent over the next decade while the ABF is increasingly struggling to find workers in some regions, according to Spencer.

In November Brisbane Times revealed the extent of the city’s illegal tobacco trade.

More than 5.2 million cigarettes and 1.2 tonnes of loose tobacco were seized from Queensland retailers over just 12 weeks from July.

About 8500 illegal vapes and 12,000 nicotine pouches were also found.

A body has been found in the search for a missing teenage girl.

The 17-year-old was last seen about 8.30am yesterday at Bayberry Lane in Robina on the Gold Coast.

A significant search team comprising police, SES crews and residents was based out of the AFL ground on Nielsens Road.

A body was found this afternoon. It has not been formally identified, but is believed to be the girl.

Police say there are no suspicious circumstances.

In his latest article, food and culture editor Matt Shea speaks to Vianna Joseph, the chief executive of Brisbane hospitality giant Ghanem Group about their beautifully revised restaurant Byblos.

The transformed Byblos restaurant in Brisbane.Credit: Kirsty Sycz

Last year, Joseph travelled to Lebanon for two weeks of in-depth research. The result is not just a transformed venue but a transformed menu, which explores Levantine cuisine in much higher fidelity than previously.

“We went to some amazing restaurants and eateries when in Lebanon,” Joseph says. “So we took a lot of inspiration from that. The idea was to bring more of Lebanon to Brisbane.”

Ghanem Group has used the relaunch as opportunity to reinvent the restaurant’s menu.Credit: Kirsty Sycz

Read more here.

An arrest has been made after large quantities of copper were allegedly stripped and stolen from multiple locations, including in Brisbane.

The 46-year-old man was taken into custody at a property at Pie Creek in Gympie. About 30 kilograms of wiring, damaged insulation and drug paraphernalia were found.

Large quantities of copper, allegedly stripped and stolen from multiple locations, were found at a Gympie property.Credit: Queensland Police

It came after at least 18 complaints were made to police about copper theft across Indooroopilly, the Sunshine Coast, Gympie and surrounding areas.

The man has been charged with a string of offences including wilful damage, stealing, dangerous driving, evasion of police, and possession of drug utensils.

He will next appear in Gympie Magistrates Court on December 9, 2024.

In case you missed it, a war of words has broken out over reductions to nursery rhyme sessions at Brisbane City Council libraries, with Labor and the Greens accusing the LNP administration of misplaced priorities.

The sessions – run as part of the First Five Forever program, known as babies, books and rhymes; toddler time; and children’s storytime – have been reduced from 98 a week across Brisbane to 75.

Dozens of First Five Forever children’s sessions have been cut in the December program, despite high demand.Credit: Brisbane City Council

“As a local mum, I’ve seen firsthand the amazing impact that these programs have for local families,” Labor councillor and deputy opposition leader Lucy Collier said. “It’s so incredibly disappointing.”

Read more here.