As it happened: Brisbane on Monday, September 16

Thank you for joining us on this Monday. We will be back with our rolling news coverage tomorrow, so do join us.

Here is what made headlines today:

Donald Trump and his golf partner were approaching the green on the fifth hole of the former president’s expansive Florida course when they heard a “pop pop, pop pop”, and Secret Service agents pounced. Within seconds, they were on top of the former president, firing at an AK-47-style rifle barrel that was peaking through shrubbery about 400 metres away.

Permanent removal of Beam e-scooters from Brisbane is under way, following allegations the company defrauded the city with hundreds of “ghost” devices.

A famous American gamer who was once accused of cheating to attain a world record Donkey Kong score has appeared in a Brisbane court for his defamation trial against a Queensland YouTuber.

The Liberal National Party has promised to deter youth offenders from a life of crime by opening dedicated deterrence schools despite the party’s “adult time for adult crime” policy.

And read our culture reporter Nick Dent’s review of Trent Dalton’s Love Stories – a stage show that he describes as a Valentine to the city’s romantics.

Commuters are warned there are delays of about 15 minutes on Brisbane’s South-East Busway this evening.

Outbound buses leaving the CBD are being diverted past the Gabba, with drivers instructed to re-enter the busway beyond Stones Corner.

There are reports buses are backed up over the Victoria Street Bridge.

There are major South East Busway delays in Brisbane, with buses backed-up on Victoria Bridge.Credit: Courtney Kruk

A Translink spokesman said outbound buses on the South East Busway are delayed at least 15 minutes due to a “broken down vehicle” at Woolloongabba.

Translink also reported earlier there will be track closures on the Beenleigh and Gold Coast lines from today until Friday.

Railbuses will run from Banoon and Boggo Road/Park Road stations.

Brisbane Lions premiership-winner Cathy Svarc has declared “there is nowhere else I’d rather be”, as the AFLW champion announced a two-year extension with the club.

The 32-year-old, who featured in the victorious sides of 2021 and 2023, will remain at the Den until the end of 2026, having established a reputation as one of the game’s most daunting one-on-one match-ups for her tackling pressure and toughness in the contest.

Cathy Svarc in action for the Lions.Credit: Getty

“We’ve built a really strong culture at this club and I’m excited to continue to grow that with the list we have now and the young kids coming through. It is an exciting time to be a Lion,” Svarc said.

“I’ve played the majority of my footy with so many of these girls and many of the relationships I’ve built will last well beyond football which is incredible.

“We as a group are really focused on trying to continue the success we’ve had over the last few seasons, and we’re driven to climbing that mountain again this year.”

The Liberal National Party has promised to deter youth offenders from a life of crime by opening dedicated deterrence schools despite the party’s “adult time for adult crime” policy.

But the Miles government said the early intervention initiative is already in place and is at risk of cuts if the opposition is elected.

Queensland’s opposition will open two “youth justice” schools if it wins the October 26 election, costing taxpayers $40 million.

LNP Opposition Leader David Crisafulli.Credit: Matt Dennien

The specialist schools would work exclusively with high-risk teen offenders on community service orders, police cautions, or bail to minimise the risk of reoffending and steer the kids away from a life of crime.

“These children need discipline, support, education, and structure, which is exactly what the LNP will provide through the youth justice schools,” Opposition Leader David Crisafulli said today.

Read more here.

Have you heard of revenge travel?

No, it’s not travel to carry out an act of vengeance far from home, but rather the phenomenon of people getting away to make up for lost time during the restricted COVID-19 years.

And according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), more of us are doing it. Data released today showed more than 11 million outbound trips were taken in the year to June, up 32 per cent on the previous year.

Japan is one of the top destinations for Australian travellers.Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald

Top destinations for Australians keen to get out of the country included Indonesia, New Zealand, the USA and Japan.

The increased appetite for travel is reinforced by research from YouGov showing almost three quarters (73 per cent) of Australians feel like they need a holiday, with 55 per cent spending more than an hour a week thinking about booking that next trip.

On the back of this, Virgin Australia has announced a massive sale on Queensland flights for seven days from today, with prices starting from $45 one way.

It’s good news for would-be travellers balancing the desire for a break with cost of living pressures, and for the state’s tourism industry, particularly regions affected by adverse weather events earlier in the year.

“More than 260,000 Queenslanders are employed by tourism, that’s why sales like this are so important in our strategy,” Tourism Minister Michael Healy said.

“At a time when we are facing challenging cost-of-living pressures, this offer presents the perfect opportunity for Aussies to take that holiday they deservedly need, without breaking the budget.”

A famous American gamer who was once accused of cheating to attain a world record Donkey Kong score has appeared in a Brisbane court for his defamation trial against a Queensland YouTuber.

William ‘Billy’ Mitchell, 59, took the stand in Brisbane District Court on Monday to give evidence during the first day of the week-long trial wearing a black suit and black shirt with his signature beard and long black hair.

The American gamer is suing Karl Jobst, 38, for defamation over a video the Brisbane-based YouTuber created in May 2021.

American professional arcade gamer William ‘Billy’ Mitchell.

In the video, Jobst discussed the American gamer’s prior legal cases against other YouTube creators who questioned his gaming records.

Before Judge Ken Barlow, Mitchell described Jobst’s video as “heinous” and claimed it contained false and defamatory statements that he could not ignore.

Read more here.

Channel Ten has announced the return of one of Australia’s most polarising and iconic reality TV shows: Big Brother.

During the network’s 2025 programming upfronts, Ten confirmed that filming would commence next year but teased “a new location”.

Since its inception, Big Brother has been filmed on location at a purpose-built house at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast.

In 2004, Big Brother contestant Merlin Luck staged a silent protest for asylum seeker rights following his eviction.Credit: Channel 10

It first began in 2001 and soon became a cultural phenomenon, introducing audiences to contestants who went on to become household names, including Sara-Marie Fedele, Chrissie Swan, Ryan ‘Fitzy’ Fitzgerald, and Blair McDonough.

The show last aired on Channel Seven in 2023 but was rested this year following less-than-impressive ratings.

The return of Big Brother to Australian screens (and to Ten) also brings with it a new host. Mel Tracina, the resident cultural correspondent on Ten series The Cheap Seats, will be steering the ship in what Ten is branding a return to the original format.

“Expect live nominations, live evictions, a brand-new home, engaging housemates and non-stop hijinks,” read the announcement.

According to Ten’s announcement, the Big Brother revival will launch across all Network 10 platforms in quarter four of 2025.

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has defended the Albanese government’s economic management, claiming the Coalition wants a recession and has opposed measures to ease the rising cost of living.

Simon Birmingham, the leader of the opposition in the Senate, opened question time moments ago by asking Senator Gallagher, the minister representing Treasurer Jim Chalmers: “For how many quarters has Australia been in a per capita recession?”

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher.Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald

Gallagher responded: “As reflected in the national accounts, we have seen slower growth – soft growth.

“In fact, it has been the decisions of this government to not cut spending – like those opposite want to do, $315 billion worth of cuts that they’ve said that they will implement in government – that has ensured that our economy keeps growing.”

Gallagher claimed the Coalition were “the only people in the country that would be sitting there waiting for the economic data to come out and wishing it would be worse than it actually is”.

She said inflation was continuing to moderate and attacked the opposition for opposing some of Labor’s cost-of-living measures.

Greens leader Adam Bandt has argued Labor’s housing plans will make affordability worse, calling on the federal government to negotiate with the minor party instead of “putting on a stunt in the Senate”.

Speaking at a press conference at Parliament House a short time ago, Bandt called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to work with the Greens to “tackle the causes of this housing and rental crisis”.

Greens leader Adam Bandt.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Bandt said the Greens wanted rent freezes, rent caps, more public housing and reform to “massive tax handouts to wealthy property investors that are denying renters the chance to buy their first home”.

“Labor’s got two bills before the parliament at the moment that make the situation worse. One bill pushes up rents and the other pushes up house prices,” Bandt said.

“Instead of being prepared to meaningfully negotiate with the Greens and pass bills in the way that we’ve passed bills through this parliament before, the prime minister is instead putting on a stunt in the Senate, pushing a bill to a vote instead of being prepared to negotiate to fix the housing and rental crisis.”

Turning to Canberra again for a moment: Members of the Senate crossbench have gathered to urge Labor to fully fund public schools across Australia.

Green Senator Penny Allman-Payne is leading the call, receiving the backing of independent senators David Pocock, Fatima Payman and Jacqui Lambie.

A statement published by Allman-Payne says the proposed school agreement would “lock in another decade of underfunding for public schools”, and called on the government to raise the offered funding from 22.5 per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard to a minimum of 25 per cent.

“Let me make this clear: public schools, students and teachers cannot be left to scrape by on less than the bare minimum. Labor’s deal is not a deal for full funding,” Allman-Payne said.

Pocock added that he couldn’t back Labor’s bill in good conscience because it would “bake in underfunding for a decade to come”.

Former labor senator Fatima Payman, who moved to the crossbench in July, said the “Labor Government’s glaring failure to fully fund our public schools is not just a matter of budgetary allocation; it’s a question of values and priorities.”

Lambie contributed that she was “blown away” that Education Minister Jason Clare hadn’t committed to fully funding public schools given “Gonski was a Labor reform”.

“While our richest private schools are getting taxpayer money to build libraries that look like castles and sports centres with Olympic swimming pools – my old high school is still using demountables from the late 1980’s.”