As it happened: Brisbane on Monday, March 31

Today, Brisbane’s Hilton Hotel closes its doors after nearly 40 years of operating in the heart of the CBD.

The modernist structure on Elizabeth Street was designed by architect Harry Seidler and opened in 1987.

Here are some photographs of the hotel throughout its long history:

An image of the Hilton Hotel from Queen Street Mall on March 16, 1988.

Tai Lee Sang, manager of the acclaimed, old Victoria’s restaurant in the Hilton, in December 1993. He worked Christmas Day making sure his 85 guests had a good time.Credit: Adam Smith

In 1992, the Hilton’s ballroom hosted Queensland’s largest doll and teddy bear show. Megan Frost, 13, from Anstead attended with her collection of antique dolls and bears.Credit: Richard Waugh

Thanks for joining us for live coverage of the news today. We’ll be back tomorrow morning.

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

A father and son have life-threatening injuries and a gunman is on the run after an attack on the Gold Coast that police say began with a dispute over noise.

A Melbourne couple have almost doubled their money on a Wilston Queenslander that sold for $3.55 million on Saturday, to buyers who inspected it just minutes before bidding began.

A levee bank has been built to protect Thargomindah in outback Queensland from “unprecedented” floodwater after dozens were forced to flee to higher ground.

Speaking of Thargomindah, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton travelled there today, as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accused him of hubris for saying he wanted to live in Kirribilli House instead of The Lodge. Catch up the day’s political news in our national federal election blog.

More than half of Queensland’s principals are seriously considering quitting – the worst result in the country, according to a survey.

And a private European aerospace company has hailed its first rocket launch as a success, even though the rocket crashed into the sea off Norway 30 seconds after lift-off.

Deputy Police Commissioner Mark Kelly has vowed to work with unions on any resourcing issues after claims police graduates might have to share equipment.

After the Queensland Police Union released internal emails suggesting graduates would have to share handcuffs, Kelly said new recruits would instead be given working handcuffs used in the academy.

“We currently have more handcuffs in the QPS … than police officers, and more Glock handguns than police officers,” he said, adding that more resources were on order.

Kelly said all 54 graduates being sworn in this week would be issued with their own handguns, batons and firearms, however he was not sure when they would have their own body cams.

Union president Shane Prior maintained the level of resourcing was unacceptable, and serving officers were being put at risk, including through having to share body-worn cameras.

Kelly rejected Prior’s claim older handguns were at risk of breaking down, saying they were “low use” and tested every year.

Police Minister Dan Purdie has visited a Brisbane police station to reassure officers the Crisafulli government will get tough on young offenders who ram police vehicles.

Purdie said there had been 53 instances in the past year of police vehicles being rammed and claimed it was “crime that is unique to Queensland”.

Police Minister Dan Purdie.Credit: LNP

“When I was a cop, we used to chase these offenders and now these young offenders are chasing police,” Purdie said, blaming the former Labor government.

While the LNP has yet to detail some of the 12 offences to be added to the “adult crime, adult time” provisions, Purdie said legislative amendments would go to Cabinet today and be introduced this week.

He told young offenders “the gig is up,” foreshadowing a maximum jail term of 14 years for those convicted of the crime in future.

“I’ll be running the ball up hard on ramming police vehicles,” he said.

Brisbane City Council has been asked to approve a 12-storey residential tower, with an additional rooftop pool and entertainment area, in an area of Toowong where the height limit is eight storeys.

Pradella has submitted plans for a 53-unit development at 70 Sylvan Road, on the corner of Croydon and Jephson streets, not far from the Regatta Hotel.

The plans are for a 12-storey residential tower at 70 Sylvan Road in Toowong.

While the plans exceed the height limit opposite Toowong Memorial Park, the developers argue council has approved even taller towers in the area and Sylvan Residences would not look out of place.

In other material submitted to council, HAL Architects claim the tower epitomises Toowong.

“Inspired by the rowing history of Toowong, Sylvan Residences’ curved and sculpted forms and detailed finishes evoke opulence underpinned by the classic subtropical Queenslander vernacular,” it states.

“As the day’s light moves across the curves and undulations of the building’s facade, it evokes flowing water.”

A levee bank has been built to protect a town from “unprecedented” floodwater after dozens were forced to flee to higher ground.

At least 50 people in Thargomindah in Queensland’s south-west were evacuated this morning as the flooding threat spread in the sodden state.

Rainfall has finally eased after days of downpours in central and south-west Queensland but floodwater may plague the region for weeks, inflicting widespread devastation.

A temporary levee bank was built at Thargomindah as many took shelter after the floodwater rose.

“They’re expecting seven metres of floodwaters in Thargo over the next few days,” AgForce general president Shane McCarthy said.

“There’s unprecedented levels of flooding out there.”

Read more.

Today, Brisbane’s Hilton Hotel closes its doors after nearly 40 years of operating in the heart of the CBD.

The modernist structure on Elizabeth Street was designed by architect Harry Seidler and opened in 1987.

Here are some photographs of the hotel throughout its long history:

An image of the Hilton Hotel from Queen Street Mall on March 16, 1988.

Tai Lee Sang, manager of the acclaimed, old Victoria’s restaurant in the Hilton, in December 1993. He worked Christmas Day making sure his 85 guests had a good time.Credit: Adam Smith

In 1992, the Hilton’s ballroom hosted Queensland’s largest doll and teddy bear show. Megan Frost, 13, from Anstead attended with her collection of antique dolls and bears.Credit: Richard Waugh

Two men who were attacked and left in a critical condition on the Gold Coast this morning had intervened in a dispute at a neighbouring unit which “spilled out into a common area”, police say.

One victim was stabbed multiple times in the head, neck and leg, while the other was stabbed in the back and shot in the stomach at a Peninsular Drive unit block in the centre of Surfers Paradise, before their attacker fled.

Police have urged the gunman to hand himself in, as more details emerge about the incident.

Acting Chief Superintendent Peter Miles told ABC Radio Gold Coast that the two victims intervened in a dispute in a neighbouring unit.

“Two men in a unit below the suspect’s address, they’ve intervened in a disturbance of some sort,” Miles said.

“On arrival [police] found themselves knee-deep in having to perform tactical first aid.”

Miles said police found a revolver at the scene, adding that detectives have a “fair idea of who they’re looking for”.

“The appeal is for that gentleman to give himself up,” he said. “This isn’t going away.”

The Australian Electoral Commission is asking voters to apply for a postal ballot directly through their website and avoid unsolicited application forms send out by political parties.

Political parties and candidates often send voters texts, emails and letters encouraging them to apply for a postal vote. These are legal and will be counted, but the Commission is concerned some applications may not get to them on time, and may expose voters to privacy risks.

Australian Electoral Commissioner Jeff Pope.Credit: Penny Stephens

“We’ve seen a number of major data breaches over the last few years and Australians have a right to know who’s collecting their personal information,” Commissioner Jeff Pope said.

“The AEC takes our privacy law obligations seriously, and we note that political parties are exempt from privacy legislation.”

Pope said the AEC does not send application forms encouraging voters to apply for a postal ballot, and would never provide political parties with the phone numbers of voters.

These unsolicited messages were the number one complaint from voters at almost every federal election, Pope said.

“The AEC has shared these concerns with parliamentary committees in the past and will continue to do so in the future,” he said.

The Wacol Youth Remand Centre, a project initiated by the former Palaszczuk Labor government, is expected to begin housing young offenders this week after opening on Saturday.

The centre was slated to open at the end of last year but that was pushed out to the middle of 2025 because of construction delays.

Despite this, the 76-bed centre opened earlier than expected at the weekend, with plans to begin housing young offenders awaiting trial in coming days.

The facility will relieve pressure on the state’s adult watchhouses, which have been used to detain children amid increased demand and overcrowding in youth detention centres for years.

At the centre’s opening, Youth Justice Minister Laura Gerber said the LNP would continue to build infrastructure to address youth crime and hold young offenders to account.

Read the full story here.

Also making news this morning, more than half of Queensland’s principals are seriously considering quitting – the worst result in the country.

The top two sources of stress? The sheer quantity of work, and a lack of time to focus on teaching and learning.

Angst about large volumes of emails from parents is also widespread in Queensland schools.Credit: Getty Images

In Queensland, 57.6 per cent of principals said they “often seriously consider leaving [their] current job”, while nationwide, the figure was 53.2 per cent.

Read more here.