As it happened: Brisbane on February 15

Thousands of construction workers have joined the family of Daniel Sa’u in a march on state parliament this morning, demanding government action on humid work policy.

Sa’u was found dead by police on December 28 hours after he left a Cross River Rail construction site showing “signs of heat stress”, according to after CFMEU state secretary Michael Ravbar.

Jeraldine Sa’u, centre, fronts a protest calling for the Queensland government to act on a heat-stress code of conduct outside state parliament.Credit: Matt Dennien

A delegation of building union leaders including Ravbar were set to meet government representatives on Thursday to reiterate long-running coroner-backed calls for a code of practice for outdoor and high-risk workers, enforced by an overhauled workplace regulator.

Sa’u’s wife, Jeraldine, their children and his mother led protesters up George Street to parliament and spoke at the rally. “There has been no acknowledgement of our loss, nor closure received from any of these organisations,” she said.

That’s where we’ll leave our live updates. Here are today’s main stories:

• Detectives are investigating whether domestic violence was a factor in a Queensland woman’s death after suffering critical injuries from being hit by a tractor slasher.

Queensland police have established a crime scene at a property south of Brisbane where a 32-year-old woman was found dead on Thursday morning.Credit: Nine News

• Labor says if it wins council, it would spend $2 million rolling out four mobile CCTV camera units to suburbs where police and Neighbourhood Watch volunteers determine there is a need for extra surveillance.
• Queensland Police have charged a man with several offences following a disturbance at Mountain Creek, that led to a vehicle being pursued to Doonan on Wednesday.
• Jodie Haydon’s decision to say “yes” to Anthony Albanese on Wednesday evening at The Lodge means that for the first time in Australian history, a prime minister could get married while in office.
• At least eight children, some as young as six, were among 22 people shot at the end of a parade to celebrate the Super Bowl win by the Kansas City Chiefs, authorities said.

Chiefs fans chasing down the suspected gunman after the shooting.Credit: X

• The barrister for former ACT top prosecutor Shane Drumgold has accused the head of an inquiry who made damning findings against him of trying to conceal text exchanges in which The Australian columnist Janet Albrechtsen asked for confidential information.
• Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has joined with his counterparts from Canada and New Zealand to implore Israel not to launch a ground invasion of the besieged Gazan city of Rafah and to call for an immediate ceasefire.

Another invasive pest has made its way to Brisbane.

The freshwater gold clam has been found at several sites on the Brisbane River - Savages Crossing, Colleges Crossing and Riverside Park - and authorities have issued an alert in a bid to contain it.

Freshwater gold clams have been found in the Brisbane River.Credit: Queensland government

It’s the first confirmed detection of the clam in Australia, and the risks of widespread dispersal are high.

The clam is a fast-growing prolific breeder, and harnesses water flows in river systems to cast its larvae over broad areas.

It can reduce water quality, displace native clams, and potentially clump and block waterways and water infrastructure including hydroelectric dams, irrigation systems and water treatment plants.

Biosecurity Queensland has urged boaties and other river users to be on alert and report any sightings of the pest, which has an inflated, round to triangular shell that’s yellowish brown to black with evenly spaced ridges.

Shells are usually less than 25mm long but it can get to 50 to 65mm.

Watercraft owners are also being urged to check, clean and dry their equipment to minimise the risk of transferring the species to new places.

Police are investigating after a woman was found dead at a rural property south of Brisbane.

Emergency services were called to a property off Undullah Road at Woodhill, near Beaudesert, about 9.15am this morning following reports of a sudden death.

Queensland police have established a crime scene at a property south of Brisbane where a 32-year-old woman was found dead on Thursday morning.Credit: Nine News

The 41-year-old woman reportedly suffered injuries from a tractor slasher.

Paramedics said the woman was declared dead at the scene.

About 3pm, police said a crime scene had been established and a 44-year-old man was assisting with their inquiries.

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Almost 25 years after the landmark Fitzgerald report recommended legalising or decriminalising of sex work in Queensland, the state government is doing the latter.

Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath has introduced laws to parliament today, which were promised last year after a Law Reform Commission review.

The bill will repeal a number of offences which specifically target sex workers and stop them from communicating with each other.

DecrimQLD spokesperson Janelle Fawkes said most Queenslanders were unlikely to notice any changes after the bill was scrutinised by a committee, debated, and passed by MPs.

“But sex workers will no longer have to choose between working legally or safely,” Fawkes said in comments included in the government statement.

Multiple paramedics are on the scene of a reported truck and e-scooter crash in Brisbane’s CBD.

Emergency services responded to the crash about 1pm on Ann Street, with a man being treated for a leg and facial injury.

It is unknown at this stage what his condition is.

The truck driver is understood to not have any injuries.

Thousands of construction workers have joined the family of Daniel Sa’u in a march on state parliament this morning, demanding government action on humid work policy.

Sa’u was found dead by police on December 28 hours after he left a Cross River Rail construction site showing “signs of heat stress”, according to after CFMEU state secretary Michael Ravbar.

Jeraldine Sa’u, centre, fronts a protest calling for the Queensland government to act on a heat-stress code of conduct outside state parliament.Credit: Matt Dennien

A delegation of building union leaders including Ravbar were set to meet government representatives on Thursday to reiterate long-running coroner-backed calls for a code of practice for outdoor and high-risk workers, enforced by an overhauled workplace regulator.

Sa’u’s wife, Jeraldine, their children and his mother led protesters up George Street to parliament and spoke at the rally. “There has been no acknowledgement of our loss, nor closure received from any of these organisations,” she said.

A cyclone watch has been issued as flood-hit regions brace themselves for more rain and strong winds.

A tropical low in the Gulf of Carpentaria is a moderate chance of developing into a cyclone as early as Thursday night, the Bureau of Meteorology has warned.

The cyclone watch has been issued for Gulf coastal areas spanning Port Roper in the Northern Territory to Burketown in Queensland’s northwest.

Strong winds and isolated falls of up to 200 millimetres may affect the region in the coming days.

The Gulf region is already reeling from flooding caused by ex-cyclone Kirrily, which crossed the Queensland coast just weeks ago.

And Tropical Cyclone Jasper caused record flooding in the far north in mid-December after making landfall as a category two system north of Cairns.

“There is a risk of severe weather happening regardless of whether it develops into a tropical cyclone,” a bureau spokesperson said.

A Labor-run Brisbane City Council would allocate $10 million over four years to improve lighting in public areas and roll out deployable CCTV trailers in the suburbs.

Labor lord mayoral candidate Tracey Price said the CCTV trailers would help police respond to crime and act as a deterrent to anti-social behaviour.

“Every level of government has responsibility to actively work to address these concerns and make investments in infrastructure that will make the streets safer,” Price said.

But the incumbent LNP administration said Labor would come under pressure from the Greens to undermine law and order, and demanded Price state her position on various state government policy issues.

“This is gross hypocrisy for Tracey Price when she’s done a deal with the Greens who want to defund the police, legalise hard drugs and support shoplifting and break-and-enter,” said LNP campaign spokeswoman Fiona Cunningham.

“This is gross hypocrisy for Tracey Price given the soft-on-crime approach of her state Labor colleagues is the cause of our suburbs becoming less safe.”

The number of Queenslanders who are not working because they are caring for children – 53,800 – could fill Suncorp Stadium.

The figures, released in the Productivity Commission’s latest Report on Government Services, reveal 39 per cent of that 53,800 said they were not working because of childcare service reasons, such as cost or availability.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show “caring for children” is the largest barrier for 75 per cent of Australian women with children under 15 who said they wanted a job or more hours in 2022-23.

The Parenthood CEO Georgie Dent said today’s society was still set up for an era when fathers worked and mothers didn’t, but it still took two incomes for most families to cover a mortgage or rent.

Enrolments in Queensland private schools continue to rise, despite growing cost-of-living pressures.

Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows the independent school sector grew by 4.1 per cent in the past 12 months, with an extra 5802 students.

It marks the fifth year in a row that independent school enrolments had grown at a higher rate than both the state and Catholic sectors.

Enrolments in state schools dropped by 0.22 per cent last year, and Catholic enrolments increased by 1.47 per cent.

About 16 per cent of all Queensland students are enrolled in an independent school.