As it happened: Brisbane on Thursday, September 19

Investigators are appealing to three motorists seen in CCTV footage prior to a single-vehicle crash in Coopers Plains around 4.50 this morning that killed a female pedestrian.

Emergency services declared the pedestrian – a woman in her 30s – dead on-scene after she received critical injuries from the crash.

Slowed-down CCTV footage of the three vehicles travelling on Kessels Road, Coopers Plains, before a fatal single-vehicle crash. Credit: Queensland Police

Police reported the vehicle was a Mitsubishi Lancer, indicated to have struck the pedestrian on the footpath near Kessels and Riawena roads, where it also rolled into a ditch and hit a pole.

The 19-year-old man driving the Lancer was taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries.

The three drivers believed to be potential witnesses were described as driving a sedan and two utilities.

Thanks for joining us for our live coverage of Brisbane news today. We’ll be back on Friday morning.

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

Queensland Premier Steven Miles has doubled down on his controversial plan for a no-frills Olympic stadium, while accusing an “Olympic big wig” of bullying the LNP into opposing the proposal.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said 20 people had been killed and 450 injured on a second day of blasts, this time involving “made in Japan” walkie-talkies.

The mother of a baby boy randomly attacked with scalding coffee says her confidence in the police investigation is waning amid a lack of updates. She still hasn’t been told what country the alleged assailant fled to.

Federal Greens campaigning for affordable housing in Canberra have opposed apartment blocks in their own inner-city electorates, distributing pamphlets instructing residents how to flood local councils with objections.

A woman who stole an 18-month-old baby told the girl’s mother she didn’t deserve children when confronted after a frantic car chase, a judge has heard.

And Craig Tansley writes about life on what he calls the best part of the Gold Coast – a part that many visitors drive straight past.

Noticing a bit of smoke around the city this evening?

The Queensland Fire Department issued some advice this morning about a hazard reduction burn they’re conducting near Walkabout Creek in the Enoggera Reservoir.

The advice says the fire is under control, and smoke is currently affecting Ferny Hills, Ashgrove, The Gap and surrounding areas.

We can smell smoke in the CBD.

Smoke on the horizon looking north-west of the CBD.Credit: Brisbane Times

Marine park rangers are monitoring a dead whale floating off Wellington Point, with officials warning locals to keep their distance due to the risk of sharks and diseases.

The carcass was spotted by locals and reported to the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation, which sent marine park rangers to inspect.

Marine park rangers found the whale carcass off Wellington Point in “poor condition”.Credit: Department of Environment, Science and Innovation

The rangers estimated the whale had been dead for several days, and said the carcass could not be towed away from the coastline because it was missing a tail. It has been marked with a buoy.

Strong winds and large tides forecast within the next 24 hours were expected to move the carcass along the coastline.

Migrating whales can die for a number of reasons, including illness and injury. Deceased and stranded marine life should be reported to DESI on 1300 130 372.

Investigators are appealing to three motorists seen in CCTV footage prior to a single-vehicle crash in Coopers Plains around 4.50 this morning that killed a female pedestrian.

Emergency services declared the pedestrian – a woman in her 30s – dead on-scene after she received critical injuries from the crash.

Slowed-down CCTV footage of the three vehicles travelling on Kessels Road, Coopers Plains, before a fatal single-vehicle crash. Credit: Queensland Police

Police reported the vehicle was a Mitsubishi Lancer, indicated to have struck the pedestrian on the footpath near Kessels and Riawena roads, where it also rolled into a ditch and hit a pole.

The 19-year-old man driving the Lancer was taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries.

The three drivers believed to be potential witnesses were described as driving a sedan and two utilities.

Queensland’s confidential drug-checking service has already helped hundreds of people determine what substances they might be consuming.

Since CheQPoint was introduced in March this year, it has been used by more than 600 people - two thirds of them at festivals - to test at least 830 samples.

Half of those people said it was their first discussion with a health professional about substance use.

“We want these services to drive informed decision-making and steer people away from using drugs – and that’s exactly what they’re doing,” Health Minister Shannon Fentiman said on Thursday.

According to the early data, 55 per cent of people agreed to implement harm-reduction strategies after testing their substances.

CheQPoint found one in ten samples were spiked with unexpected substances, including synthetic cathinones, an umbrella term for a group of long-acting stimulants including ‘fake ecstasy’ and ‘bath salts’.

While popping up in Caloundra today with an $400 million election pledge for five local road projects to address congestion in the growth area, LNP leader David Crisafulli was also looking beyond his own poll in October to the next federal one due by May.

Amid frustration among state governments about Commonwealth efforts to wind back a 80-20 funding split for projects of national importance to a 50-50 share, Crisafulli said he would make this “the defining issue of the next federal election” if elected.

“Whoever is looking to govern, I would suggest to them, if they’re looking to do well in Queensland, they’re looking to give Queenslanders their fair share,” he said.

Premier Steven Miles wrote to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese this month, making a particular case for Bruce Highway works to be mostly federal-funded, putting a $9 billion figure on work to bring it to a three-star safety rating.

But, appearing at a media conference with Albanese to announce a social and affordable housing project in Cairns, Miles said he would “not let that dispute over the funding share get in the way of us accepting the funding that’s on the table and getting projects started”.

Quizzed about the dispute himself, Albanese said the 50-50 arrangement was in place when he was federal infrastructure minister and joked he would reinstate 80-20 Bruce Highway funding as long as the state “agreed to take away all funding” for a range of other projects.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says today’s employment figures show the federal government is managing to create jobs while bringing inflation down, but noted cost-of-living pressures remain a burden on Australians.

Albanese held a press conference alongside Queensland Premier Steven Miles in Cairns shortly after midday today, where he was asked about the likelihood of the RBA cutting interest rates soon, given the US Federal Reserve did so overnight.

Here’s Albanese’s response, edited for clarity:

We know that global inflation is something that we have been dealing with. Global inflation has impacted the whole of the Western world. We saw economies like the United Kingdom, Japan and New Zealand go into recession. We saw double-digit inflation in places like the United Kingdom. And we saw interest rates go far higher in other countries than they were here in Australia.

What we are managing to do is to try to land a decrease in inflation – which we have cut in half – while continuing to create employment.

Today’s figures show 978,000 jobs created on our watch and unemployment rating remaining steady at 4.2 per cent, while we are seeing wages increase, while we are seeing people being able to not just earn more, but keep more of what they earn through our tax cuts for every taxpayer...

Interest rates are, of course, a matter for the Reserve Bank. But what we’re doing is putting that downward pressure on inflation whilst we are, as well, making sure that we address cost-of-living pressures because we understand that they are very real.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has updated its tally of the number of people moving north for a better life.

The Queensland population went past the 5.5 million mark in the March quarter, when another 134,596 people were either born here or moved here.

The state’s annual growth rate is running at 2.5 per cent, which is above the national average (2.3 per cent) and kept high by interstate migration.

Greater Brisbane had a net increase of 3040 people from other states in the quarter, while Greater Melbourne recorded a 1397 increase, although the Victorian capital was still shrinking due to the number of people moving to the regions.

Greater Sydney, Australia’s biggest city, lost 5,101 people to other states and also had a large number of people opting for a regional shift.

The unemployment rate has remained steady at 4.2 per cent, in line with consensus expectations, with the economy adding 47,500 jobs.

ABS head of labour statistics Kate Lamb said the number of unemployed people fell by about 10,000, keeping the unemployment rate steady and the participation rate – the proportion of working-age Australians in jobs or looking for one – at its record high of 67.1 per cent.

“There are still large numbers of people entering the labour force and finding work, as employers continue to look to fill a more than usual number of job vacancies,” she said.

Hours worked rose by 0.4 per cent, even as a larger proportion of people reduced their work hours compared to pre-pandemic levels because of sickness.

Meanwhile, the proportion of people working fewer hours than usual due to economic reasons, such as no work or less work available, is still below pre-pandemic levels, which Lamb said pointed to “relative tightness in the labour market.”

Work has started on the $176 million Linkfield Road Overpass upgrade at Bald Hills on Brisbane’s northern fridge.

The overpass, on the Bruce Highway entrance to the city, has been repeatedly hit by trucks, prompting road closures, reinforcement works, and temporary digital billboards to warn drivers of its low height.

The upgrade will lift the clearance over Gympie Road from 4.7 metres to 6 metres, and widen the Linkfield Road Overpass to four lanes with extra room for active transport.

“With the start of underground utility relocations, we are seeing the next steps towards construction of this significant piece of infrastructure,” said Queensland Transport Minister Bart Mellish.

The state and federal Labor governments renegotiated the funding split for the project after a cost blowout.