As it happened: Brisbane on Tuesday, January 23

Labor lord mayoral candidate Tracey Price has promised half-price fares on Zone 1 and Zone 2 trips if the party takes control of Brisbane City Council.

Price said the policy would save commuters around $1000 a year, and complement the party’s promised extension of free late-night bus services.

A Labor council would also focus on upgrading suburban intersections and establish a congestion taskforce to find ways to improve the road network.

“With rising cost of living challenges, residents also want to be able to save money, as well as time,” Price said.

“Public transport in Brisbane needs to be about more than one inner-city project – Brisbane Metro. There needs to be more work done, in the suburbs especially.”

The council election is in March.

That’s where we’ll leave our live updates. Thanks for joining us, we’ll be back with you on Wednesday morning. Here are the main local stories making news today:

• Labor’s plan to woo Brisbane voters with half-price bus tickets has not gone down well with south-east Queensland’s top public transport boffin, who called it a “nuts” vote grab.
• A female teacher’s message sent to herself about a 15-year-old male student in Brisbane will now likely be examined by a jury after she was committed to stand trial on child grooming charges.
• Brisbane is bracing for torrential rain, while authorities have warned of life-threatening flash flooding, with Tropical Cyclone Kirrily expected to develop off the Queensland coast.

And in national news:

• Former prime minister Scott Morrison will resign from politics to take a job in the corporate world when parliament returns in the first week of February.
• The ABC board has strongly backed its managing director following a union-led vote of no-confidence, with chair Ita Buttrose rejecting claims the organisation was bowing to external influence when it sacked broadcaster Antoinette Lattouf.

Wesley Turner (centre) says his life was turned upside down by an investment scheme run by Trent Bowden (left).Credit: Nine.

• Trent Bowden made headlines after being accused of duping his lotto syndicate out of their $1.5m jackpot. But they weren’t the only ones chasing him for money.
• Test captain Pat Cummins believes the date for Australia Day should be changed, in his most emphatic statements about the national holiday.
• A record number of mammals, frogs, plants and birds were added to the national threatened species list last year, with conservation experts warning we won’t be able to save every animal from extinction.

The pink cockatoo is among 144 animals, plants and ecological communities added to the threatened species list.Credit: DPIE

A man arrested over the death of his neighbour on the Sunshine Coast last week has been released from custody without charge.

Police initially believed a fight between the two men at Parrearra on January 18 caused the death of a 53-year-old man.

But in a statement on Tuesday afternoon, police said a post-mortem investigation had led detectives to consider “underlying medical conditions that may have contributed to the man’s death”.

Police will prepare a report for the coroner.

Brisbane City Council has been asked to allow changes to plans it approved for a residential tower at Toowong.

While other developers have opted for smaller units, and council itself suggests many Brisbane homes are too big, the company behind Arc Residences believes there is still a market for four-bedroom riverside units.

An artist’s impression of the Arc Residences tower proposed for Toowong in Brisbane.

In documents filed this week, council has been asked to allow the amalgamation of two three-bedroom units on four levels of the Coronation Drive project into larg four-bedroom units.

“As part of the normal evolution of the project, specialist architectural and buyer feedback has led to changes to the approved development,” council has been told.

Under other proposed changes, there would also be two basement parking levels instead of three, while the penthouse would be modified.

For some it’s an annual ritual. For others, it’s pretty disgusting.

But lists of things to do on January 26 often include a mention of the Story Bridge Hotel’s cockroach races.

It’s going ahead this long weekend, but will be held on Saturday, January 27, rather than the public holiday for Australia Day.

The apparent date change prompted many social media fans to question their motives.

Had the Story Bridge Hotel caved to public pressure? Should it be subject to a boycott alongside the day-night Test, Woolworths, Aldi and the Hottest 100?

The pub’s owner, Richard Deery, told 4BC this morning it was more about the extra operating expense involved with having the popular event – which requires more security and bar staff, and police to block off the road – on a public holiday.

He said costs had risen significantly in the past couple of years.

“So the opportunity to have it on a non-public holiday, to keep no cover charge on entry, to keep the cost of operating reasonable, this is the opportunity and that’s why we’ve moved it,” he said.

“Next year [Australia Day] will be on the Sunday and the holiday’s on the Monday, so we’ll be able to do it on the Sunday.”

An internal police investigation has been launched into an e-scooter accident in Townsville that resulted in the death of a local man.

According to police, the man tried to evade a police vehicle about 3.30am on January 18 only for his e-scooter to hit the gutter, causing him serious injuries.

The man, 35, died in Townsville University Hospital on January 19.

Ethical Standards Command is investigating the circumstances of the incident on behalf of the State Coroner, and with oversight from the Crime and Corruption Commission.

The Greens want Albert Street to become a pedestrian mall, from Queen Street to the Botanic Gardens, with an all-ages playground as a new drawcard.

“Lots of major shopping centres have playgrounds, and we’ve all seen how popular the playgrounds at South Bank are,” said Greens lord mayoral candidate Jonathan Sriranganathan.

“Assuming we can find enough room, adding another free-entry playground to the city centre could help activate this public space, with flow-on benefits for surrounding businesses.”

The Liberal National Party administration of Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner, which has moved to improve active transport links in the inner-city, has accused the Greens of being anti-car.

Under the policy announced today, ahead of the council election in March, the Greens would also lower speed limits in the CBD to 30km/h.

The Queensland government is seeking expressions of interest from developers in a commercial marina proposed for the Spit on the Gold Coast.

The Carter’s Basin site at Southport will continue to be home to the local fishing fleet but will be redeveloped in line with the Spit masterplan released in 2019.

“This is an opportunity for a world-class commercial marina with more berths, along with a seafood and marine tourism hub,” State Development and Infrastructure Minister Grace Grace said.

“The land neighbouring the site will also be home to an even bigger and better Peter’s Fish Market, which has been trading at the Spit for more than 30 years.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate welcomed the announcement.

Disadvantaged Queenslanders are at higher risk of dental disease because they don’t have access to fluoridated water, according to a paper published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

The researchers at UQ’s school of dentistry say about 80 per cent of Queenslanders have fluoridated water, but it is the poorer parts of the state, in rural and regional areas, where people are missing out.

They criticised the current model, introduced by the Newman government in 2012, which allows local councils to make decisions about adding fluoride to the water supply.

Professor Loc Do, one of the study’s authors, says fluoridation reduces the prevalence of decayed, missing and filled teeth in Australian children by up to 42 per cent.

“Queensland’s water fluoridation policy should be revised to help improve oral health of all Queenslanders, particularly those living in low socio-economic areas,” he said.

Speaking to reporters yesterday afternoon, Health Minister Shannon Fentiman said “we would love to see more Queenslanders have access to fluoridated water” and would work with local authorities to remove any barriers.

Queenslanders have been warned to prepare for life-threatening flash flooding as a tropical cyclone is expected to hit the coast within days.

Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said the environment was already completely saturated and urged people to drive safely.

“We expect a lot of people on the roads because it is a long weekend,” she said.

“The Bureau has been very clear about life-threatening flash flooding.”

The Bureau of Meteorology has warned the tropical low will “most likely” become a category three, but updated forecasts showed it may not reach that severity before crossing the coast.

The low, which will be called tropical cyclone Kirrily, was expected to become a cyclone overnight on Tuesday or Wednesday, and cross the coast most likely overnight Thursday between Cardwell and Airlie Beach.