As it happened: Brisbane on Thursday, February 13

The Rail Tram and Bus Union has warned of industrial action next week if Brisbane City Council doesn’t improve its pay offer.

The union’s Tom Brown told 4BC his members wanted council to offer bus drivers a bigger pay increase when talks resume tomorrow.

“If there’s not an increase or a better offer, or something for us to consider, we will escalate our industrial action. It could mean stopping work,” Brown said.

Brown defended the union’s bid for pay increases of 4.5 per cent each year for two years, against council’s offer of 3.5 per cent, saying garbage truck drivers were paid more per hour.

“We are still at the bottom of the food chain,” he said.

Brown said drivers had dealt with an increase in passengers due to 50¢ fares, and sought to maintain on-time performance despite staff shortages and traffic congestion.

The union is already engaged in limited industrial action, with drivers not wearing official uniform, and would have to give notice of any strike.

The latest Translink customer experience survey showed bus performance in south-east Queensland declined in December.

Thanks for joining us today for live coverage of the day’s news, so far. We’ll be back tomorrow morning. If you’re just catching up, here are a few of the stories making headlines today:

Brisbane City Council has told developer Mirvac it would support the former Toombul Shopping Centre site being turned into a transit-oriented residential and retail precinct.

Detectives have arrested seven people over an alleged billion-dollar scam in which a crime syndicate coached former young offenders, inmates and school students to file false sex abuse claims.

The High Court has delivered billionaire mining magnate Clive Palmer another stinging loss, which could restrict his ability to play political chaos agent at the upcoming federal election.

Brisbane isn’t renowned for its reliable late-night dining scene, something we’ve all come to accept – but unconventional eating hours have become a central part of wider efforts to grow and diversify the city’s night-time economy.

With RFK Jr. set to take one of the world’s most powerful health jobs, the timing of new Netflix series Apple Cider Vinegar could not be more perfect. As lifestyle health editor Sarah Berry writes, wellness quackery is still big business.

And in sport, time is running out for a host of NRL veterans to live out their premiership dreams – including 34-year-old Ben Hunt, who has returned to Brisbane after his release from the Dragons.

After more than 200 fires sparked from discarded batteries were recorded last year at waste treatment facilities in Queensland, councils have received a funding boost to beat the blazes.

The state awarded $2 million in grants to councils across the state, which would increase the number of battery collection points in Queensland communities, as e-waste becomes more common.

Reporting from Clean Up Australia’s 2023-24 Litter report released today saw e-waste become the seventh most common type of litter in Australia, with batteries and vapes being the most common types of e-waste found.

Environment Minister Andrew Powell said the number of battery fires has “more than doubled” in the past five years.

“We know that for many people across the state, getting to a collection point is not as simple as it sounds,” said Powell.

“That’s why we’re working with councils to expand sites, bringing drop-off points closer to you.”

Battery fires occur in lithium-ion batteries – which can be found in phones, laptops, and e-scooters – when the battery is overheated, or when physical damage enables a chemical reaction between the outside air and battery components.

Workers are doing less unpaid work since right to disconnect laws kicked in, with a warning from unions that scrapping the measure would add 100 minutes of overtime each week for which employees aren’t compensated.

Under the laws, which came into effect for most workers in August 2024, employees are allowed to reasonably refuse to respond during out-of-work hours. This includes not having to take calls or answer emails.

Analysis by the Centre for Future Work found since the laws were introduced, the amount of unpaid overtime fell from 5.4 to 3.6 hours per week – a 33 per cent reduction.

Before the right to disconnect was introduced, average wage earners in Australia completed about 3.3 billion hours of unpaid work, with that figure dropping to 2.2 billion.

Young Australians aged 18 to 29 were the group who experienced the greatest decline in unpaid work they were previously doing.

YouGov’s latest poll found 86 per cent of Australians support the right to disconnect, including 75 per cent of Coalition voters.

For employees of small businesses, the laws will apply from August this year.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton pledged to wind back the laws should the coalition win the next federal election, due by May 17.

AAP

Charlotte has reclaimed the title as the most popular baby name for girls in Queensland, returning to the top spot for the first time since 2020, while Oliver was the number one name for boys for the 12th year in a row. But there is a city-country divide.

Charlotte was the most popular girls’ name in 2024 in Brisbane’s east, north, south, west, inner-city, Gold Coast, Ipswich and Logan.

But Amelia was number one in the Darling Downs - Maranoa area, Isla in Fitzroy, Olivia in Logan - Beaudesert, Harper in Mackay, Ivy in Moreton Bay North, Millie in the Queensland outback, Matilda in Toowoomba and Moreton Bay South, and Willow in Wide Bay.

Attorney-General Deb Frecklington, who released the list of top names today, sadly found “no variations of Deb in sight”.Credit: Matt Dennien

Oliver was most popular in areas including Brisbane’s east, the Gold Coast, and Ipswich. It was number one overall, followed by Theodore, Noah, Henry, Hudson, Luca and Leo.

Attorney-General Deb Frecklington said choosing a name was often a huge decision for parents.

“Oliver has been the number one pick for boys for more than a decade and I can just imagine how many Olivers there are, not only at mothers’ groups rights now, but also in kindy and school classrooms across Queensland,” she said.

“Unfortunately, having looked through the top 100 girls’ names, there were no variations of Deb in sight.”

More reports of suspicious activity are being submitted to Crime Stoppers, the latest data shows, with the organisation seeing a 15 per cent increase from 2023 to 2024.

Chief executive David Hansen thanked contributors, and encouraged anyone who had seen something suspicious to come forward.

“Some people hesitate to report suspicious activity … but the reality is, even the smallest piece of information could be the missing link in an investigation,” he said.

For every three to five tips, police say they find “actionable intel” which helps them solve cases.Credit: Queensland Police

There were more than 5300 reports last year, and two-thirds are now lodged online.

Hansen added the hotline was for non-urgent matters, and for every three to five tips, police found “actionable intel” which helped them solve cases.

Crime Stoppers Queensland can be contacted anonymously at 1800 333 000 or online.

The Rail Tram and Bus Union has warned of industrial action next week if Brisbane City Council doesn’t improve its pay offer.

The union’s Tom Brown told 4BC his members wanted council to offer bus drivers a bigger pay increase when talks resume tomorrow.

“If there’s not an increase or a better offer, or something for us to consider, we will escalate our industrial action. It could mean stopping work,” Brown said.

Brown defended the union’s bid for pay increases of 4.5 per cent each year for two years, against council’s offer of 3.5 per cent, saying garbage truck drivers were paid more per hour.

“We are still at the bottom of the food chain,” he said.

Brown said drivers had dealt with an increase in passengers due to 50¢ fares, and sought to maintain on-time performance despite staff shortages and traffic congestion.

The union is already engaged in limited industrial action, with drivers not wearing official uniform, and would have to give notice of any strike.

The latest Translink customer experience survey showed bus performance in south-east Queensland declined in December.

The Reserve Bank board meets next week with financial markets putting the chance of an interest rate cut at better than 90 per cent.

But some economists have noted the bank may hold rate movements given signs of a lift in household spending late last year.

CBA senior economist Belinda Allen said spending by people with a mortgage had climbed by 3 per cent, stronger than those who owned their home outright (2.8 per cent) and renters (up 2 per cent).

She said the RBA was likely to cut rates next Tuesday.

“We expect the RBA to lower interest rates at their first meeting of the year next week which will help provide a boost to consumer spending over the coming months,” she said.

“We anticipate a total of 100 basis points of monetary policy easing throughout 2025 to drive an improvement in the consumer spending pulse.”

Bulls batsman Jack Clayton will be sidelined for weeks with a hamstring injury.

As pressure mounts on Australian Test No.3 Marnus Labuschagne to retain his place at the top of the order, his 25-year-old Queensland teammate had set about thrusting himself into the selection mix with 134 in the first innings of his side’s Sheffield Shield triumph over NSW.

He fought his way to 76 in the second dig, before retiring hurt, and will not line up in Queensland’s one-day clash with the Blues at Allan Border Field today.

Former internationals Xavier Bartlett and Matthew Renshaw will have the chance to prove Australian selectors got it wrong when they announced their updated Champions Trophy squad, with the pair left out despite outstanding records in the 50-over format, and the absence of injured stars Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Mitch Marsh, and the recently retired Marcus Stoinis.

Bartlett took eight wickets in two ODIs against the West Indies, while Renshaw has averaged more than 60 with the bat across his past four seasons.

A child has been taken to hospital after suffering injuries to his head, abdomen, and hip from a collision with a car this morning.

Emergency services were called at 7.35am to Kent Street and Wadeville Street, in the south-west Brisbane suburb Heathwood.

The boy was taken by ambulance to Queensland Children’s Hospital in a stable condition.