As it happened: Brisbane on Tuesday, October 22

David Crisafulli says he’s no sure thing to win government this weekend, citing a Brisbane Times poll that shows the race has tightened during the campaign.

Speaking from the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on Tuesday, the opposition leader was asked for his take on the exclusive Resolve survey that showed Labor was gaining on the LNP.

“It shows this election is going to be close,” Crisafulli told reporters.

“This election is going to be so very close, and history shows that what we are trying to do, we are starting a long way behind the eight-ball.

“This state needs a fresh start, and we are united. We are focused. In contrast, the Labor Party is at war with themselves on the eve of an election. I’m asking Queenslanders, don’t risk a fourth term and 14 years in office.”

Thanks for joining us for our live coverage of Brisbane news this Monday. We’ll be back tomorrow morning.

In case you missed them, here are some of the biggest stories that made news today:

The mother injured when her Uber was involved in a traffic accident with a vehicle driven by Broncos star Ezra Mam has broken her silence, saying her family has been traumatised by the incident.

Labor is back from the brink as Miles narrows the LNP’s lead in the polls. Labor’s primary vote has recovered almost 10 percentage points since a previous trend poll to now stand at 32 per cent, while support for the LNP fell by four points to 40 per cent.

The LNP wants health checks for preschool kids to ‘turn their life around’ but Labor says this is already happening.

The top location for magpie swoops so far this year is Coorparoo in Brisbane’s south, followed by Carseldine and Everton Park on the northside, according to swoop-tracking website Magpie Alert.

Rugby and cricket have been axed for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow with Games organisers confirming the full list of events for the scaled-down event, which will feature just 10 sports.

And coal will power Australia for decades to come under a Coalition government, as opposition energy spokesman Ted O’Brien calls for a “coal-to-nuclear” transition and ramps up attacks on Labor’s renewables targets.

David Crisafulli says he’s no sure thing to win government this weekend, citing a Brisbane Times poll that shows the race has tightened during the campaign.

Speaking from the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on Tuesday, the opposition leader was asked for his take on the exclusive Resolve survey that showed Labor was gaining on the LNP.

“It shows this election is going to be close,” Crisafulli told reporters.

“This election is going to be so very close, and history shows that what we are trying to do, we are starting a long way behind the eight-ball.

“This state needs a fresh start, and we are united. We are focused. In contrast, the Labor Party is at war with themselves on the eve of an election. I’m asking Queenslanders, don’t risk a fourth term and 14 years in office.”

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will continue to tell their truth regardless of which political party wins the Queensland election, the mayor of an Indigenous community says.

“Our truth is everyone’s truth, our story is everyone’s story,” said Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council mayor Bruce Simpson.

Simpson made the comments ahead of Queensland’s truth-telling and healing inquiry visiting Cherbourg in November.

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli has vowed to scrap the inquiry if the LNP takes government.

“I saw what happened after the (voice) referendum, I saw the division and I don’t want to go down the same path for Queensland,” Crisafulli told reporters on Tuesday.

Crisafulli said he was focused on the “thing we can control”.

“I want to get outcomes for Indigenous Australians,” he said.

“I want to unite, not divide. I want to give hope and I want them to be able to realise some dreams where they live as well.”

However, inquiry chair Joshua Creamer said the hearings were intended to create unity, and “if you understand history, we have been divided”.

Simpson said his people were resilient and would continue to “fight the fight”.

AAP

Controversial Townsville Mayor Troy Thompson is fighting a state government move to suspend him.

Thompson was sent a show cause notice detailing the government’s intent to suspend him for 12 months after ongoing controversy at the north Queensland council.

He responded by the Monday night deadline, saying he had provided a 23-page defence including “35 documents of evidence” and a nine-page timeline of events.

“This submission is a very small part of what may be tendered to court at a future date,” Thompson said in a statement.

“The items the minister has identified in the show cause document, I refute and will be defended as required.”

The incumbent Labor government issued the show cause notice in one of its final acts before going into caretaker mode ahead of Saturday’s election.

Thompson is being investigated by the state’s corruption watchdog over matters including claims made during his 2024 mayoral campaign that he served five years in the army.

He later conceded on A Current Affair that he had misled voters about his military record, blaming “100-plus” concussions.

It sparked a unanimous no confidence council vote in Townsville, the country’s biggest garrison city boasting more than 15,000 Australian Defence Force personnel.

AAP

The LNP has spent much of the campaign in regional Queensland but Opposition Leader David Crisafulli says Brisbane hasn’t been forgotten.

“I understand the unique challenges of all parts of Queensland, and I understand the importance of a vibrant capital city,” he said.

“The priority of the Olympic and Paralympic Games has to be about generational infrastructure – road and rail – [and a] 20-year tourism plan using the Paralympic Games to improve accessibility for those with disabilities.”

While Crisafulli would not be drawn on any transport projects likely to be revisited by the LNP, he said Queenslanders were united in what they wanted from government.

“I want Queenslanders to know that I’m determined to deliver infrastructure ahead of growth, determined to deal with the crises in service delivery, health, housing, [and] youth crime, and determined to make sure that every part of Queensland feels respected and valued,” he said.

Born in Ingham, and now serving in a Gold Coast electorate, Crisafulli, if successful on Saturday, would be the first premier in 26 years to come from a seat outside the Queensland capital.

Anxious new parents and carers will be protected from irresponsible marketing by baby formula manufacturers.

Australia’s Department of Health has committed to mandating an industry code that oversees advertising standards around baby formula.

The new code would replace the voluntary and self-regulatory Marketing in Australia of Infant Formulas (MAIF) agreement, which restricts infant formula manufacturers and importers who opt-in from advertising and promoting formula for infants up to 12 months of age.

The current agreement carries no penalties for breaches, has limited ability to regulate digital marketing practices or manage complaints and does not extend beyond products advertised to children over 12 months old and toddler milk products, the department said in a submission to the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission.

“Effective regulation is essential to protecting and promoting breastfeeding, which in turn supports public health outcomes,” the department said.

The move has been welcomed by public health groups who say it will help protect children’s health and prevent parent confusion.

While infant formula remains a safe alternative for parents who are unable or choose not to breastfeed, the current code has allowed manufacturers and retailers to irresponsibly market their products, Australian Medical Association President Danielle McMullen said.

AAP

Former prime minister Tony Abbott has used a speaking gig in Sydney to declare Australia has moved beyond “peak woke”.

Abbott and Coalition senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price addressed a gathering of right-wing politicians, authors and other influencers under the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott speaks at the ARC conference in Sydney.Credit: Nick Moir

Abbott and Price cited the 60-40 vote against the Voice to parliament as evidence of the public aversion to creating special rights for certain groups of Australians. Neither commented on the similarly resounding referendum losses for less politically contentious constitutional reforms.

“That wasn’t the government protecting us from harm, but democracy protecting us from our government,” Abbott said of the referendum, which was put up by Labor.

“My sense is that the Australians are waking up to the travesty that’s been foisted upon us, and that we are finally passing peak woke.”

Price, who led the successful No campaign, said the vote did not represent a rejection of Indigenous Australians.

“It was a ‘yes’ to love and acceptance and being unified as a country,” she said.

Premier Steven Miles has responded to the latest Brisbane Times poll by forecasting a drop in support for his rival in regional Queensland.

The poll showed clear geographic differences, with urban voters preferring to have Miles as premier but regional voters wanting the LNP’s David Crisafulli.

Speaking from Mackay today, Miles said media scrutiny had highlighted Opposition Leader David Crisafulli’s inability to answer certain policy questions – and he believed voters were taking notice.

Queensland Premier Steven Miles visits C&K Beaconsfield Community Kindergarten to make a Labor campaign announcement.Credit: Catherine Strohfeldt

“The more people see of David Crisafulli, the less they like him … and I suspect that people in the south-east have seen more of that than people in the regions,” said Miles.

Miles said the LNP’s small target strategy, and Crisafulli’s questionable stance on issues including abortion access, voluntary assisted dying and nuclear power, would not appeal to informed voters.

“He spent four years tying himself into the tiniest little target he possibly could — trying to avoid Queenslanders getting to know him,” Miles said.

“Now, under the scrutiny of the media, where you can’t hide day in day out, he’s being exposed for what he is.”

A man who allegedly fired at police and was then shot by officers after an hours-long stand-off south of Brisbane on Friday night has been charged.

The 32-year-old Crestmead man was charged with offences including dangerous conduct with a weapon, serious assault, serious assault of police, evasion, trespass, and authority to possess explosives.

The incident on Friday, which involved the man allegedly stealing a car and firing at officers, prompted police to declare an emergency exclusion zone in Crestmead in Logan.

Police shot the man just after midnight, and he was taken to hospital for treatment.

He is scheduled to appear in the Beenleigh Magistrates Court later this week.

Queenslanders hit the polling booths again on the first day of week two of early voting, with about 160,000 people casting their vote on Monday.

That brings the total number of early votes to more than 900,000, while more than 35,000 postal votes have been received by the Electoral Commission of Queensland.

There are four more days of early voting before election day on Saturday, with more than 3.68 million Queenslanders enrolled.

Early voting is open from 8am to 6pm until Friday.

Find a booth at ecq.qld.gov.au/booths.