As it happened: Brisbane on Monday, August 19

The alliance behind a proposal to build a mega, riverside Games precinct at Northshore Hamilton says it would only require the $1.6 billion in public money currently allocated to refurbishing the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre to realise its vision.

However, Andrew Colling, director of stadium specialists HKS Australia, has also said the government would need to hand over about 150 hectares of land between Bretts Wharf and the Royal Queensland Golf Club, and also upgrade public transport links, for a Northshore Games precinct.

Colling told ABC Radio Brisbane this morning it was unrealistic to expect zero taxpayer funding for the proposal.

“What we’re suggesting is rather than spend $1.6 billion at QSAC, where there will be some legacy value after the Games, how about the state actually reallocates that $1.6 billion to Northshore,” he said.

Colling said funding could go into much-needed public transport and electricity, water, and drainage infrastructure to accommodate an expected population increase of 24,000 people in the next 10 to 15 years.

“Then we’ve got the bones where the state could unlock a $6 billion project … with that contribution,” he said.

Thank you for joining us on this Monday. Please join us again tomorrow as we bring you news updates from across Brisbane.

Here is what has been making headlines today:

Premier Steven Miles cast doubt on claims that an ambitious new Brisbane stadium at Northshore Hamilton could be built without any taxpayer funding. But the private-sector alliance behind a proposal to build a mega, riverside Games precinct at Northshore Hamilton says it would only require the $1.6 billion in public money currently allocated to refurbishing the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre to realise its vision.

Queensland Cricket has said it is “deeply disappointed” the 2026-27 Gabba Test has become a “casualty of uncertainty” around the future of the Brisbane stadium. The decision to axe test matches at the Gabba for the first time in almost half a century prompted Queensland Cricket to renew calls for certainty on the venue’s future.

A man has pleaded guilty on Monday to the 2019 manslaughter of Dr Peter Dunne, who was struck by a vehicle in Tarragindi in what was described as an “evil” hit-and-run.

A Defence report into last year’s fatal helicopter crash found there was a switch of pilots just two minutes before the Taipan smashed into the sea off Hamilton Island, killing all four army airmen.

A 20-year-old man died after falling from a balcony in South Brisbane overnight. The man, from Logan Central was with a group of people on the balcony of a unit on Manning Street when he fell shortly after midnight and died at the scene.

An extended run of wet weather took its toll on this year’s Ekka turnout. About 345,000 people attended the 2024 show, down almost 14 per cent from the 400,000-strong crowd last year.

Booktopia has been rescued by the owner of online camera store digiDirect, Shant Kradjian, who is adding 100 jobs back to the collapsed bookseller.

Westpac’s profits climbed to $1.8 billion in the June quarter, chief executive Peter King revealed, as he noted many businesses were experiencing lower demand for their goods as the cost-of-living pressure bites.

Logie winner Larry Emdur proved he is a man of his word this morning by getting the initials of his fellow nominees tattooed on his buttocks live on-air.

And, Brisbane author of Boy Swallows Universe, Trent Dalton, moved the nation last night with his Logies acceptance speech in which he thanked Brisbane.

A dingo that became entangled in a large set of gang hooks and fishing line on K’gari has been rescued and released by rangers.

The adult female dingo was seen to be in obvious distress with two hooks embedded in her jaw and another in her right paw in the Orchid Beach region last Sunday.

The revelation comes after news on Saturday that a four-year-old girl had to be taken to hospital after being bitten by a dingo while with a fishing group on the island.

The gang hooks had become deeply embedded into the dingo’s jaw, and as she tried to use her right foot to remove them, the third hook snagged her leg.Credit: Department of Environment, Science and Innovation

Rangers captured and sedated the dingo, who was then released back to her den of pups.

Ranger Dan Novak said the hook injury was among the worst he had seen on the island.

“She could not walk properly, could not hunt nor eat, and was obviously in distress,” he said.

“Without intervention, the injuries had the potential to be fatal.

“To make matters worse, the dingo is feeding pups, so rangers had to act swiftly to remove the hooks.”

He said within 24 hours of the original report, the animal had been sedated, the hooks removed, the wounds sterilised and she ran free to return to her den.

Novak said it was crucial fisherman check their fishing gear, remove bait from hooks and cover hooks with a protector when they return to camp.

“Dingoes are extremely opportunistic, and they will scavenge around camping areas, which is why it is so important to remove bait from all hooks.”

He said dingoes have even been known to grab a fisher’s catch as it’s reeled in.

Premier Steven Miles says he cannot promise the Queensland Council of Unions that a re-elected Labor government will give public servants 18 weeks of universal paid parental leave.

But Miles said Labor would be “making a range of commitments to a range of organisations” before the October 26 election.

The council of unions has embarked on a pre-election push to increase paid parental leave to 18 weeks for the state’s 300,000 public sector workers.

Currently, public servants are entitled to 14 weeks’ paid leave for the primary caregiver and only one for their partner.

“It would be very generous,” Miles said of the new leave proposal.

“I’m happy to talk to the QCU about that campaign. The one thing that I know is that our government will always deliver better conditions for our public servants ...

“The way progress happens is organisations like unions put forward proposals. They don’t often win everything that they ask for … but they do often make progress.”

Andrew Colling, director of stadium designer HKS, insists there is “private equity interest” in a $6 billion US-style stadium precinct for Brisbane at Northshore Hamilton.

Queensland has maintained public ownership of its major sporting stadiums.

But Colling told ABC Radio Brisbane this morning, an alliance of architecture, engineering and planning firms, including HKS, believes the city can have a privately funded Olympic stadium.

Optus Stadium in Perth was built under a public-private partnership.Credit: Getty Images

“It’s a public-private partnership, it’s the state and private enterprise trying to come together to find a solution,” he said, adding the $6 billion project would become necessary as the Gabba’s utility fades.

“The Gabba isn’t really capturing it for us beyond the Olympics,” he said.

“This is not a time [for the government] to spend $3.5 billion on a new stadium, but we do need a new stadium.”

Colling said a stadium precinct could be built at Northshore Hamilton with limited public money and pointed to Perth’s Optus Stadium as a potential model. That project required the West Australian government to cover 60 per cent of the construction cost for the $1.8 billion venue.

Queensland’s one-time tennis wonder-kid Bernard Tomic has been bizarrely booted from the stands of an ATP Challenger event in the Dominican Republic for allegedly heckling the player who ousted him in the quarter-finals two days earlier.

The former world No.17 was eliminated from a tournament in Santo Domingo in straight sets 6-2 6-2 by Andres Andrade but refused to shake the Ecuadorian’s hand post-match.

Tomic, 31, returned to the venue - wearing a cap and glasses - for the final match between Andrade and Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Damir Dzumhur.

During the match, Tomic became involved in a flare-up with the umpire and was ultimately asked by tournament officials to leave.

Tomic, who has slid down the rankings to 250, was also embroiled in drama at a tournament in Arkansas in June when he quit mid-match after getting into an argument with his girlfriend in the stands.

Read more here.

Brisbane author of Boy Swallows Universe, Trent Dalton, moved the nation last night with his Logies acceptance speech.

The Netflix series based on Trent Dalton’s semi-autobiographical novel won five awards, more than any other show.

When accepting the Logie for Best Miniseries, Dalton thanked his hometown of Brisbane and expressed his love for his family who played an instrumental role in creating characters including Frankie and Gus Bell.

“You [the viewers] went and showed the world why I love my mum, why I miss my dad and why I worship my brothers and why I’d be nothing without my wife,” Dalton said.

“I want to send a shout out to all the mum’s who are a bit like Frankie Bell and are out in the suburbs tonight and they’re feeling a bit lost in the darkness … when your children look at you in the darkness, all they see is your light.”

Author Trent Dalton with actors Felix Cameron and Lee Tiger Halley.Credit: Getty Images

As well as winning the best miniseries/telemovie category, Boy Swallows Universe won individual awards for three of its cast.

Fifteen-year-old Felix Cameron won both best lead actor and most popular new talent, while veteran Bryan Brown won best supporting actor, and Sophie Wilde collected the best supporting actress award.

Former lord mayor Graham Quirk sees merit in the latest proposal for a new, privately owned Olympic stadium for Brisbane.

On Saturday, a private consortium called the Brisbane Design Alliance put forward its proposal for a new $6 billion, 60,000-seat stadium to anchor the 2032 Games. Premier Steven Miles was not entertaining the idea.

But Quirk was intrigued, saying the idea was “worthy of investigation”.

A consortium called the Brisbane Design Alliance has proposed a new $6 billion, 60,000-seat stadium precinct to anchor the city’s 2032 Games and replace the ageing Gabba.Credit: Brisbane Design Alliance

Quirk conducted the review of potential Olympic venues for the Miles Labor government that recommended the planned $2.7 billion rebuild of the Gabba be abandoned in favour of a new stadium being built at Victoria Park at an estimated cost of $3.4 billion.

“But it’s then a matter of how quickly the details can be brought together,” he told ABC Radio Brisbane this morning.

“It depends how far advanced Brisbane Design Alliance are in terms of their corporate backing ...

“The key thing that is against all of us now is time. So when we talk about 2032, facilities really need to be in place by 2031, so that gives us a seven-year timeline.”

Quirk said the consortium’s proposal for a stadium at Northshore Hamilton was “creative”.

“It’s based a bit more on the American model,” he said, noting that many of the venues hosting the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games are privately owned.

“LA facilities will be privately owned facilities. They’ll be using universities for the athletes’ villages, the stadiums are all basically privately owned ... large clubs and sporting organisations own those facilities,” he said.

Booktopia has been rescued by the owner of online camera store digiDirect, Shant Kradjian, who is adding 100 jobs back to the collapsed bookseller.

The business and all its assets were transferred over to Kradjian on Friday evening and the website has been able to resume trading.

Struggling online bookseller Booktopia has been rescued by the founder of digiDirect Shant Kradjian.

Read more here.

Westpac’s profits climbed to $1.8 billion in the June quarter, chief executive Peter King revealed, as he noted many businesses were experiencing lower demand for their goods as the cost-of-living pressure bites.

“The cost of living and high-interest rates remain a challenge for some customers while many businesses are facing cost pressures and experiencing lower demand. We encourage customers to call us if they need help,” he said.

Household deposits grew 3 per cent and home loans increased 8 per cent.

Westpac chief executive Peter King.Credit: Louise Kennerley

Mortgage holders who were 30 days behind their repayments rose to 1.9 per cent, while those 90 days behind increased to 1.12 per cent. Westpac said 1.42 per cent of its lending book was delinquent, or on a watch list.