As it happened: Brisbane on Friday, September 20

Police officers who spotted an allegedly stolen vehicle at a Pallara property found a second one nearby and then decided to seek a search warrant.

After a full search of the Sweets Road property on Thursday, police seized 31 allegedly stolen vehicles, including a tow truck and trailers.

A flamethrower, two firearms, a shipping container, excavator, power tools and drugs were also seized.

Queensland police seized more than 30 allegedly stolen vehicles and firearms at a Pallara property, in Brisbane’s south.Credit: Queensland Police Service

Two locals - a 41-year-old man and a 49-year-old woman - were arrested, along with a 43-year-old Gatton man.

Police said investigations were ongoing.

Thanks for joining us for Brisbane Times′ live news blog today. We’ll be back on Monday morning.

In case you missed them, here are some of today’s top stories:

Twelve devices have been seized by authorities in the case of an Australian soldier and her partner accused of accessing material on Defence computer systems to send to Russian operatives, a court has heard.

A change to rules that ban dogs from indoor areas of cafes and pubs will be put on the national agenda, amid an outcry about the eviction of a border collie named Archer from the brewery that bears his name.

Ex-Mossad and CIA agents are astounded at the sophistication of the pager attack on Lebanon. But some “think we are closer to a regional war than we have been at any time in the last 11 months”.

When Will Ashcroft last took on Geelong, what followed were the “toughest days” of his life. But his rapid comeback – a year in the making after suffering a ruptured ACL – has led to the ultimate demon-vanquishing mission.

And Gambaro’s Black Hide is embracing its riverside locale at Queen’s Wharf with a greater focus on seafood, and wines to match (with more bottles thrown in for the high rollers too).

Police officers who spotted an allegedly stolen vehicle at a Pallara property found a second one nearby and then decided to seek a search warrant.

After a full search of the Sweets Road property on Thursday, police seized 31 allegedly stolen vehicles, including a tow truck and trailers.

A flamethrower, two firearms, a shipping container, excavator, power tools and drugs were also seized.

Queensland police seized more than 30 allegedly stolen vehicles and firearms at a Pallara property, in Brisbane’s south.Credit: Queensland Police Service

Two locals - a 41-year-old man and a 49-year-old woman - were arrested, along with a 43-year-old Gatton man.

Police said investigations were ongoing.

Following the decommissioning of Telstra’s 3G mobile service, the government will begin removing roadside help phones before the end of the month.

The Department of Transport and Main Roads attributed the decision to low usage of the phones and sufficient support services in other areas, including improved monitoring services, and better mobile connectivity on motorists’ personal devices.

TMR also said the positions of some roadside help phones made it unsafe for drivers to use them.

General manager for statewide network operations Vincent Doran said works would begin on the Pacific Motorway from Springwood towards Worongary in late September.

“Works will occur at night with some temporary impacts, such as lane closures and reduced speeds in place to accommodate the works safely,” he said.

Motorists needing assistance due to a breakdown or traffic incident were advised to call their roadside assistance provider, the Queensland roadside assistance line 13 19 40, or – in an emergency – triple zero.

Education Minister Jason Clare has conceded Australia’s migrant intake remains too high as new government analysis reveals international students constitute about 7 per cent of the country’s private rental market.

Clare said a combination of international students, backpackers and people overstaying their visas were driving migration numbers beyond the government’s forecasts, after Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showed Australia’s migrant intake will exceed 400,000 for the 2023-24 financial year.

As the blowout escalates a political debate about immigration and its impact on housing, with the opposition seeking to paint Labor as weak on migration and blind to voters’ cost-of-living concerns, Clare challenged the Coalition to back the government’s foreign student caps to help bring numbers down.

The Education Department’s analysis shows about half of the 696,162 student visa holders in Australia were living in the private rental market in 2024, while another 135,000 students will enter private rentals next year under conservative estimates.

Education Department deputy secretary in charge of higher education, Ben Rimmer, this month told a Senate inquiry there was reliable data showing that overseas students were competing for rental supply, and challenged narratives that sought to understate that fact.

A man was struck by a car about 9pm on Thursday in Redbank Plains, with the incident under investigation by the police.

The pedestrian, in his 40s, was crossing Redbank Plains Road when he was struck, and was taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital with life-threatening head, arm, and leg injuries.

A police spokesman said investigations by the forensics crash unit were ongoing, and urged anyone with information or dashcam footage to contact them.

The idea of an independent Brisbane 2032 Olympics infrastructure delivery authority has taken a few turns over the years: first as part of the bid team’s future host process, then it was no longer.

In December, as part of Steven Miles’ ascension to becoming premier, it was back on – then legislated in May, and an interim chief executive appointed from July.

But the seven independent board directors of what has been dubbed the Games Venue and Legacy Delivery Authority are yet to be appointed by the nine Games partners.

As it turns out, the Brisbane 2032 Organising Committee chair Andrew Liveris and Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner had written to State Development Minister Grace Grace.

The reason? They didn’t want appointments made before the October 26 state election, Grace said in a statement. “The government has agreed to this request.”

But it’s unclear how this sits with the LNP’s pledge to have its own body to run a 100-day review, which deputy leader Jarrod Bleijie reaffirmed would not consider new stadiums. The LNP and Schrinner have been contacted for comment.

The organising committee, which includes Miles, Liveris, Schrinner, Grace, and a raft of others, is meeting in Cairns today.

A Queensland man who allegedly left the country after he was charged with rape is being extradited back to Brisbane after he was arrested in Thailand.

Helio Taiyang Richardson, a kinesiologist, was arrested in Koh Phangan in the country’s south-east, with police saying he had overstayed his visa.

Helio Taiyang Richardson, a kinesiologist, was arrested in Koh Phangan, in Thailand’s south-east.Credit: Nine News

Queensland police said he was deported to New South Wales yesterday, and was expected to reach Brisbane in coming days.

Richardson was charged with rape in Queensland in 2018, and police allege the 62-year-old failed to appear in a Brisbane court in 2021.

A new helipad is being used to spray mosquitoes from the sky across Brisbane this weekend.

The three-day blitz will cover about 1600 hectares, amid a spike in numbers of the insects in city suburbs.

Tinchi Tamba Wetlands, Bald Hills, Brighton, Boondall Wetlands, Port of Brisbane, Pinkenba, Tingalpa, Helena Island and Green Island are earmarked for sprays.

Tinchi Tamba Wetlands at Bald Hills is one of the sites to be targeted in the aerial spraying.

“With the early arrival of warm weather there has been a small increase in numbers of both freshwater and saltmarsh mosquitoes,” council chief entomologist Dr Martin Shivas said in a statement.

Spraying will run from Friday to Sunday. Existing landing sides at Nudgee and Bald Hills will also be used.

Twelve devices have been seized by authorities in the case of an Australian soldier and her partner accused of accessing material on Defence computer systems to send to Russian operatives, a court has heard.

Russian-born Kira Korolev, 40, was charged this year in Brisbane alongside her labourer partner Igor Korolev, 63, with preparing to carry out an act of espionage, triggering concerns of foreign interference.

The Brisbane home and bank accounts of Kira (right) and Igor (left) Korolev were seized by Australian Federal Police in August.

It is alleged Ms Korolev, an information systems technician who held an Australia Defence Force security clearance, travelled to Russia undeclared while on long-term leave from the army in 2023, and while she was away, told her partner how to log into the Defence systems on her official work account from their Brisbane home.

Read more.

Pensioners, jobseekers and those on rent assistance will receive a boost to their payments from today, in line with the bi-annual indexation increase.

The increase will impact the more than five million Australians who receive some form of government welfare payment.

Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth told ABC’s News Breakfast that the increase was an “important cost of living relief”.

She also touted the additional increase to commonwealth rent assistance beyond indexation, which she says brings the cumulative increase under the Albanese government to 45 per cent.

Rishworth was asked if the increases were enough, given the $56-a-day allowance for JobSeeker still places the payment below the Henderson poverty line.

She said that many on JobSeeker were receiving additional support through rent assistance, and would benefit from energy bill rebates and other policies.

“There are a suite of measures. We’ll always look at where we can better support people,” she said.