As it happened: Thursday, November 23

That’s where we’ll leave our live updates today. We’ll be back with you on Friday morning.
Here are some of the top stories today:

Bruce Lehrmann arrives at the Federal Law Court.Credit: Sydney Morning Herald

• Former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann has told a court his version of what happened after he and Brittany Higgins walked into their boss’ office late one night. Also, the court heard Network Ten had engaged a lip-reading expert to analyse CCTV footage of Lehrmann and Higgins at a bar before the alleged rape.

Also today, we reported that the rural Wieambilla site where two police officers and a neighbour were gunned down in a terrorist attack has been visited by the Queensland state coroner, as “a number of active lines of inquiry” continue to be investigated.

• In an unusual occurrence in Australia’s heated construction market, Brisbane City Council expects to spend less on two major projects without changing the scope or design.
• A system outage across Queensland hospitals that forced staff to revert to pen and paper was caused by a firewall hardware issue, according to the Health Minister.

Further abroad:

• The World Health Organisation has made an official request to China for more detailed information about an outbreak of respiratory illness and reported clusters of pneumonia in children.
• A vehicle has exploded on the Rainbow Bridge linking Canada with the US at Niagara Falls, prompting authorities to close that border crossing.

And in sport and leisure:

Min Woo Lee was the best Australian in the morning rounds.Credit: Getty

• No.1 in the world and on Instagram, Min Woo Lee has cooked up Qld PGA storm
• Our reviewer says the new Ridley Scott epic Napoleon falls short of being a masterpiece
• In another blow to the beleaguered game, Harvey Norman has decided it will no longer back rugby

A system outage across Queensland hospitals that forced staff to revert to pen and paper was caused by a firewall hardware issue, according to Health Minister Shannon Fentiman.

Some 24 hospitals were affected by the nine-hour outage on Wednesday which left staff unable to access patients’ digital records after experiencing log-in issues with the ieMR system.

“The cause of the outage was a firewall hardware issue - they have now moved to another firewall and that’s why the system is now working as it should,” Fentiman said on Thursday.

“There’s been no risk to cybersecurity and no patient confidentiality has been impacted.

“And for the most part, hospitals were able to continue to provide that world-class care for Queenslanders.”

Fentiman confirmed some specialist outpatient appointments were postponed and five minor elective surgeries were rescheduled.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles has dismissed community concerns about a bayside Olympic venue, talking up its post-Games use as a training ground for emergency services.

A petition to the Queensland parliament, which attracted 2574 signatures, called for the planned Redland Whitewater Centre to be scrapped because, they argued, it went against the International Olympic Committee’s “new norm” of using mainly existing facilities.

An artist’s impression of Queensland’s “Second South Bank” at Birkdale.Credit: Nine News

“[Redlands residents] want wild koalas, not a whitewater elephant,” the petitioners said.
Responding to the petition, Miles insisted the facility would have community use beyond the 2032 Olympic Games, when it would host canoe slalom competitions.

“The proposed Redland Whitewater Centre will be developed as a sustainable international standard whitewater venue, providing a unique addition to sport and recreation facilities for the Redlands community,” he said.

“Before and after the Games, the Redland Whitewater Centre will be used for high-performance sport, sport development, active recreation and adventure tourism and will provide an opportunity for a year-round swift water training facility for emergency services personnel.”

Miles said the venue’s project validation report would be completed next year.

Three Gold Coast men caught by undercover detectives allegedly trying to meet a “child” they met online have been charged.

Police alleged the men engaged with covert online profiles maintained by Taskforce Argos detectives, and when they visited various Gold Coast locations earlier this week, they were instead met by detectives.

A 73-year-old Currumbin Waters man, a 50-year-old Arundel man, and a 25-year-old Southport man were all charged with grooming-related offences with the intent to facilitate the procurement of a child to engage in a sexual act.

The men were scheduled to appear in the Southport Magistrates Court on December 5.
Argos Detective Inspector Glen Donaldson said the case highlighted that parents needed to have regular conversations with their children about online safety.

Clive Palmer’s bid to build 3,000 dwellings on a Gold Coast flood plain has been knocked back again, this time by a judge.

After the Gold Coast council rejected the development application in 2016, on the basis that the site was unsuitable and any homes would be too close to a sewage treatment plant, Palmer appealed to the District Court.

Palmer had argued that the site, previously used as a wedding reception venue, was the last remaining opportunity for a medium density development near Merrimac train station.

But Judge Amanda McDonnell backed the council’s decision, saying there were still questions over water issues and prospective residents would be “subject to adverse odours”.

“Even if there is a need, I am not satisfied that such need and the net ecological benefit arising from the rehabilitation of the site are such as to overcome the adverse impacts of the development on the character and visual amenity of the flood plain,” McDonnell found.

Palmer may yet appeal to a higher court. He once took a council all the way to the High Court over a development application and still lost.

In an unusual occurrence in Australia’s heated construction market, Brisbane City Council expects to spend less on two major projects without changing the scope or design.

The Breakfast Creek Green Bridge was estimated to cost $67 million but Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner now expects it to come in $7 million under budget.

This is after the Kangaroo Point Green Bridge had a cost blowout of more than $100 million.

The new Everton Park library was expected to cost $11.6 million but Schrinner is now banking on $750,000 in savings.

A spokeswoman for Schrinner said council expected “to deliver both these projects under budget without scope changes”.

“The savings will be directed elsewhere in our record infrastructure program,” she said.

The bridge and library are due to open in early 2024, with a council election to be held in March.

Please Explain, the daily podcast from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, has taken out the top prize in the daily podcast category at the 2023 Australian Podcast Awards.

Held at Sydney’s Sofitel hotel at Darling Harbour, the awards, sponsored by iHeart, handed out gongs in 30 categories to audio content crafted by the Australian podcast industry.

The top prize in the spotlight category went to Hannah’s Story, produced by 9News Queensland presenter Melissa Downes and producer Jess Lodge.

The six-episode podcast tells the story of one of the worst acts of domestic violence Australia has ever seen – the day Hannah Clarke and her three children were set on fire and killed in their car in a quiet Brisbane street.

9News Queensland is part of Nine Entertainment, which also owns The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Brisbane Times.

The daughter of Wayne Irving, the man who died after being ramped in an ambulance at Ipswich Hospital last week, has spoken out about her loss of faith in Queensland’s health system.

Lauren Handscombe appeared at a press conference this morning with Opposition Leader David Crisafulli and LNP MPs Deb Frecklington and Jon Krause, calling for urgent action.

Crisafulli pointed to new figures provided in answer to a question on notice about ambulance ramping, including one incident in June when a patient waited for 9 hours and 54 minutes outside Ipswich Hospital, and another incident in July when a patient waited 9 hours and 52 minutes.

“Imagine the frustration. Imagine being that family. Imagine being that paramedic. Imagine being the doctor or the nurse inside desperately trying to free up a bed.

“That is the result of a system that is broken, a system that is coming apart at the seams,” he said.

The rural Wieambilla site where two police officers and a neighbour were gunned down in December 2022 has been visited by Queensland State Coroner Terry Ryan and several legal representatives.

Today, during a second pre-inquest hearing for the case, Counsel Assisting Ruth O’Gorman told the court Ryan had visited the Wains Road property in October as part of the investigation.

The Train property in Wieambilla, Queensland, where several police and a neighbour were shot dead in December 2022.Credit: A Current Affair

She said the investigation was continuing and the coronial report and full brief of evidence was expected by February next year. It was expected the material would then be distributed to the inquest parties in March.

“A number of expert reports are expected to be completed by the end of December 2023 and there are still a number of active lines of inquiry that are still under investigation.”

Read the full story.

Three men have escaped from a north Queensland prison.

Authorities are searching for Trent Darby Ryan, Damien Gary Richard Izzard and Dallas Wayne Quakawoot, who absconded from the Townsville correctional centre on Wednesday.

Queensland Correctional Services (QCS) said Ryan was serving one year and three months for assault occasioning bodily harm and Quakawoot was serving four years and three months for armed robbery.

Izzard was serving two-and-a-half years for driving under the influence of alcohol or other substances.

“If you have seen these men, you should not approach them and contact police immediately by calling Triple Zero,” QCS said.

It is the second time in a month the correctional facility has had prisoners escape after two men fled in late October. They were subsequently arrested and returned to custody within two days.