As it happened: Brisbane on Wednesday, August 28

Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather has defended his appearance before a CFMEU rally in Brisbane yesterday, but says he does not agree with signs there depicting Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as a Nazi.

“I spoke at the rally in support of the tens of thousands of construction workers, 99.9 per cent of whom have faced no allegations of wrongdoing, and yet they have all been deprived of their basic right to a democratic, independent union and natural justice,” he said in a statement.

An “Albanazi” placard at Brisbane’s CFMEU protest.Credit: Neesha Sinnya

“Of course I don’t agree with those signs, they’re offensive. However, it’s ridiculous to expect a speaker to audit every sign that appears at a rally with thousands of people in attendance.”

Earlier this morning, Workplace Minister Murray Watt accused Chandler-Mather of endorsing a union racked with allegations of violence and misogyny, which the Greens member hit back against.

“Watt is saying that because he’s led the most anti-union attack in decades, gleefully boasting about working with the Liberals on union-busting legislation that may as well be written by Margaret Thatcher,” Chandler-Mather said.

“Senator Watt is desperate to focus on a game of gotcha to distract from the fact that his government is flagrantly disregarding the rule of law and separation of powers and to avoid genuinely engaging with the critique of his government.”

That’s where we’ll leave Wednesday’s blog. Please join us again tomorrow for more rolling news updates.

Here is what made headlines today:

The mother of a baby boy seriously burnt in a Brisbane park said she had only been there 10 minutes when a man came up behind her and poured hot coffee from a Thermos on her son.

A major Queensland union will redirect all funds earmarked for Labor Party donations towards fighting the Commonwealth’s takeover of the CFMEU.

Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather has defended his appearance at a CFMEU rally in Brisbane yesterday, but said he does not agree with signs at the protest depicting the PM as a Nazi.

Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather addresses the Brisbane rally.Credit: AAP

The Brisbane Metro bus service would be expanded into more suburbs and out to the airport in time for the 2032 Olympics under a new plan. Explore a map of the proposed expansion here.

The new Translink app, which tracks trains and buses in real time, was launched today, but if you struggled to find it, let our simple hack show you the way.

Brisbane’s newest river crossing – the Neville Bonner Bridge linking the new Queen’s Wharf precinct with South Bank – will open to the public tomorrow, but bikes and e-scooters will be banned.

The Neville Bonner Bridge will open to the public by sunrise on Thursday.Credit: Felicity Caldwell

Some bus commuters can now pay for public transport using a credit card, mobile phone or smartwatch, with the technology quietly switched on in Caboolture.

A Queensland company has been fined $400,000 over the death of a man killed when a scaffolding tower fell on him at his son’s football match in Mitchelton in 2021.

Griffith University is eyeing the now-closed Treasury Casino for a new city campus, while casino operator Star Entertainment Group has lodged plans to split the CBD site ahead of a possible sale.

Queensland police have arrested a 54-year-old man who allegedly used encrypted messaging apps to groom children in the Philippines for sexual activity.

The man, who works at a Gold Coast school, was charged with one count of possessing child exploitation material, three counts of soliciting child abuse material by using a carriage service, one count of grooming a person to make it easier to engage in sexual activity with a child outside of Australia, and one count of grooming a child to engage in sexual activity outside of Australia.

Queensland police have arrested a 54-year-old man who allegedly used encrypted messaging apps to groom children in the Philippines for sexual activity.Credit: Queensland Police Service

While investigations are continuing, police do not believe any students at the school have been victimised. Education Queensland is supporting the school community and the nature of the man’s role has not been released.

The man, who has not been named by police, was arrested on Tuesday night after police executed a search warrant on a Pimpama home.

A Queensland company has been fined $400,000 over the death of a man who was killed when a scaffold tower fell on him at Teralba Park in Mitchelton in 2021.

The 37-year-old man, whose son was playing in a match at the time, was volunteering as a ground official when the 2.4 metre structure came down in a gust of wind.

The Brisbane Magistrates Court was told the company, Mobile Scaffolds Queensland Pty Ltd, was hired by Mitchelton Sports Club to provide a filming platform at the venue, having provided a similar structure the year before.

The company was placed into liquidation in February in response to being charged with failing to comply with their primary health and safety duty and exposing an individual to risk of death or serious injury.

Magistrate Joseph Pinder found the company failed to adequately consider the risks, and had shown a cavalier approach to health and safety.

A former company employee still faces prosecution.

Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather has defended his appearance before a CFMEU rally in Brisbane yesterday, but says he does not agree with signs there depicting Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as a Nazi.

“I spoke at the rally in support of the tens of thousands of construction workers, 99.9 per cent of whom have faced no allegations of wrongdoing, and yet they have all been deprived of their basic right to a democratic, independent union and natural justice,” he said in a statement.

An “Albanazi” placard at Brisbane’s CFMEU protest.Credit: Neesha Sinnya

“Of course I don’t agree with those signs, they’re offensive. However, it’s ridiculous to expect a speaker to audit every sign that appears at a rally with thousands of people in attendance.”

Earlier this morning, Workplace Minister Murray Watt accused Chandler-Mather of endorsing a union racked with allegations of violence and misogyny, which the Greens member hit back against.

“Watt is saying that because he’s led the most anti-union attack in decades, gleefully boasting about working with the Liberals on union-busting legislation that may as well be written by Margaret Thatcher,” Chandler-Mather said.

“Senator Watt is desperate to focus on a game of gotcha to distract from the fact that his government is flagrantly disregarding the rule of law and separation of powers and to avoid genuinely engaging with the critique of his government.”

Greens Leader Adam Bandt has defended his colleague Max Chandler-Mather for speaking at the Brisbane CFMEU rally, arguing he was not defending any officials.

Yesterday Chandler-Mather spoke at the Brisbane CFMEU rally and accused Labor of attacking “every worker in this country”.

Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather addresses the Brisbane rally.Credit: AAP

Bandt told the National Press Club this afternoon the allegations made against the CFMEU should be investigated but cannot be conflated with what Chandler-Mather was protesting.

“If someone has done something wrong, no one gets a free pass. Doesn’t matter if you work for a union or a corporation or you’re a minister in government, no one gets a free pass,” he said.

“I’d invite you to have a look at what Max actually said, because he was making the point that during the course … he was there to speak to the members, to the people who had attended the rally, not to defend any officials, those are matters for the courts to work out.”

Supermarket giant Woolworths has seen its profits dip after being hit by falling sales in the second half, but its shareholders have been rewarded with a special dividend.

The supermarket giant posted a 0.6 per cent fall in profits before significant items to $1.7 billion. The company announced a special dividend of 40 cents per share, resulting in a total dividend of $1.44 cents per share for the 2024 financial year.

Outgoing chief executive Brad Banducci said the business lowered prices in its supermarket and Big W businesses as it grappled with lower customer satisfaction scores and lower sales in the second half, but there was improvement in the last quarter.

“We also know that our customers remain under significant mortgage and rent-related financial stress and anticipate them to remain cautious, with the trading environment expected to be challenging for the rest of the financial year,” he said.

Meanwhile, Tabcorp has recorded $1.4 billion in losses for the 2024 financial year, well below analyst expectations.

Wagering companies have been suffering from low trading in Australia, with behemoths including Tabcorp struggling to grow their digital footprint while also paying higher taxes

Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles has accused the Greens of throwing “their lot in with thuggery” after a Greens MP spoke at a rally in support of the embattled CFMEU.

Greens member Max Chandler-Mather accused Labor of attacking “every worker of this country” when he addressed the crowd in Brisbane yesterday during nationwide protests against federal Labor’s forced administration of the CFMEU’s construction and general divisions.

Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather addressed the Brisbane rally.Credit: AAP

Speaking at a press conference in Sydney this morning, Marles said while the trade union plays a powerful role in bringing fairness and equity across the workplace, there is no place for “criminality, corruption and thuggery”.

“Construction workers deserve to have a union which is free of that. We saw the Greens participating in this as well. I think we’ve seen not only on this instance but across the year the Greens throw their lot in with thuggery,” Marles said.

“That is a matter for the Greens. The government’s position is very clear. There is no place for this behaviour within the union movement and we’ll take the steps necessary to stamp it out.”

Commuters have struggled to find the new Translink app in the App Store this morning, but there is a work-around.

Apparently, new apps take some time to be found in search listings.

But Brisbane commuters can find the new app, by (surprisingly) searching for the old one.

What to do:

• Search the “Mytranslink” app listing
• Scroll down and click on Department of Transport and Main Roads
• The new app will then appear under the Latest Release heading, where it can be downloaded.

Translink’s old app reached the end of its life because Xamarin, a free open-source platform used to build it, is no longer supported.

The new version, simply called Translink, will allow people to track public transport services in real-time.

Let us know what you think of the new app in the comments section.

Back to the proposed expansion of Brisbane’s new rapid bus service ahead of the 2032 Games:

Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner popped up at a media conference with Premier Steven Miles today, in a demonstration of their renewed collaboration on this project.

A proposed 22 new stations would be examined in a fast-tracked feasibility study, should the two convince their federal counterparts to redirect money from the Woolloongabba Metro station.

Federal Transport Minister Catherine King has been “receptive” of the expansion of the Brisbane Metro project, Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner says.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Schrinner said the $450 million station, funded as part of the federal government’s South East Queensland City Deal, was no longer “necessarily the top priority at this point in time”.

“I think the stroke of a pen from the federal government can get us going on this. So, I think we’re pretty close, and the [Federal Infrastructure] Minister Catherine King has been receptive to those discussions,” Schrinner said.

“I think she understands what we’re pitching here, and has been open to that.”

Read more here.

Inflation in the 12 months to July fell to 3.5 per cent, partly due to the federal government’s energy rebates, which lowered household electricity bills.

Despite the headline figure, there were significant price rises in housing (up 4 per cent), food and non-alcoholic beverages (up 3.8 per cent), alcohol and tobacco (up 7.2 per cent) and transport (up 3.4 per cent).

Food prices increased 3.8 per cent in the 12 months to July.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

The Reserve Bank said earlier this month that an interest rate cut before the end of the year was “not aligned to the board’s thinking”.