As it happened: Brisbane on Monday, July 28

Brisbane punched above its weight in the 100 Australian songs of all time this weekend, but several classic bands and tracks inexplicably missed out.

The Saints – whose 1976 track (I’m) Stranded predated the Sex Pistols and arguably set the template for punk – was excluded, as were Custard, the solo work of the Saints’ Ed Kuepper, and Pangaea.

Ode to Queensland Cattle and Cane by The Go-Betweens also didn’t make the cut. Nor did any tracks from Kate Miller-Heidke.

The Bee Gees had no inclusions, though it’s unclear if they were eligible as an Australian act.

The River City was still well represented in the Triple J poll, with two tracks – Untouched by the Veronicas and My Happiness by Powderfinger – breaking into the top 10.

Covered In Chrome by Violent Soho, Wish You Well by Bernard Fanning, ! (The Song Formerly Known As) by Regurgitator, Streets of Your Town by The Go-Betweens, I Want You by Savage Garden, It’s Nice To Be Alive by Ball Park Music and a handful of other Powderfinger and Veronicas songs also made the top 100.

Thanks for joining us for live coverage of the news in Brisbane and beyond. We’ll be back tomorrow morning with another live blog. In the meantime, catch up on the stories making headlines today:

A single doctor at Australia’s largest medicinal cannabis company churned out 72,000 prescriptions to 10,000 patients in just two years, prompting fresh alarm about potentially unsafe prescribing practices in the booming sector.

A house that was abandoned for 30 years and rumoured to be haunted has sold at auction for $3.1 million, delivering its new owners a folklore-laced fixer-upper stacked with antiques older than the wiring.

A humble suburban bowls club may have thwarted a multibillion-dollar American casino company’s attempts to introduce its brand to Australia via its planned takeover of the embattled Star Entertainment Group.

Queensland’s major public sector union will push for a staff-led approach to artificial intelligence use in white-collar and administrative roles where it can help workers without undermining jobs.

After weeks of international pressure over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Israel said at the weekend that its military would now enforce secure aid routes for truck convoys and pause military operations daily to ensure aid can be distributed, with the first such efforts taking place on Sunday.

Passengers were forced to evacuate down an emergency slide from a smoking plane at Denver International Airport due to a possible problem with the jet’s landing gear, authorities said.

Three children missing south of Brisbane have been found after more than a week.

The trio – a 10-year-old girl, 6-year-old boy and baby from Pimpama on the Gold Coast – disappeared on the morning of July 18.

At the time police reported they may be with a woman they knew, and were possibly travelling to NSW in a white Nissan X-Trail.

Police confirmed today all three children and the woman had been found “safe and well”.

No further details were provided.

Outback Wrangler’s Matt Wright has pleaded not guilty to attempting to pervert the course of justice more than three years after a fatal helicopter crash.

The reality TV star was charged following the crash that killed co-star Chris “Willow” Wilson in February 2022.

Wearing a light blue shirt and blue jeans, Wright appeared calm when he fronted the Supreme Court in Darwin on Monday.

Matt Wright in action on Outback Wrangler.Credit: National Geographic

He entered not guilty pleas for three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice when he was arraigned, kissing his wife during an adjournment.

The 2022 crash in remote West Arnhem Land killed Mr Wilson, with pilot Sebastian Robinson also seriously injured.

The trial is scheduled to begin on Wednesday and is expected to take four weeks, hearing from about 25 witnesses.

Turning to news back home, and a house that was abandoned for 30 years and rumoured to be haunted has sold at auction for $3.1 million, delivering its new owners a folklore-laced fixer-upper stacked with antiques older than the wiring.

Read the full story here.

Now to Boston for the latest instalment in the kiss cam saga: Astronomer, the company whose chief executive resigned after being caught on kiss cam at a Coldplay concert, has hired actress Gwyneth Paltrow as its spokesperson.

The former actress and founder of Goop was married to Coldplay’s frontman Chris Martin for 13 years.

Astronomer found itself in an uncomfortable spotlight when two of its executives were caught in an intimate embrace at a Coldplay concert — a moment that went viral.

Watch Paltrow’s official (yet very tongue-in-cheek) video posted on Astronomer’s social media page below:

Read more here.

If you are just joining us, here is what is making news in Canberra today:

The Albanese government will introduce legislation to cap the price of medication under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) at $25 in the second sitting week of parliament.

Liberal senator Jane Hume has indicated that the opposition will back the legislation once it is tabled.

Labor’s childcare reform legislation is also expected to pass parliament with bipartisan support this week, while Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has also appeared receptive to the government’s student debt reduction bill.

Meanwhile, maverick Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce has introduced a private member’s bill to remove Australia’s 2050 net zero emissions target.

Addressing parliament, Joyce said many Australian industries, including aluminium, are “holding on by their fingernails, only with government subsidies” as a result of net zero policy.

The private member’s bill to remove net zero targets has been seconded by Coalition MP Colin Boyce, who told parliament that net zero will spell the demise of the gas and coal industries in the regions.

Opposition energy spokesman Dan Tehan has said gas will be a priority as the Coalition develops its energy policy in the months ahead.

And, Independent MP Kate Chaney says existing laws are failing to protect against the use of artificial intelligence to create child abuse material, and has called for an “urgent” response to address the issue.

Chaney, who will table legislation today to propose additional guardrails to prevent AI and deep fakes being used to produce child abuse material, said there was awareness within government circles that the current laws weren’t keeping up with the latest threats posed by new online technologies.

After years of decline, smoking rates could rise among adolescents due to the popularity of vaping, new research in the Medical Journal of Australia warns.

The research analysed 172,406 secondary students aged 12 to 17 years between 1999 and 2023.

Vaping has increased among young adults in Australia.Credit: iStock

It asked participants if they had ever smoked, or smoked in the past year, past month, or past week.

Between 1999 to 2022-23, there were significant reductions (74 to 89 per cent) in all smoking behaviours.

However, rates of decline slowed significantly from 2010 onwards, coinciding with the emergence of vaping.

Researchers cited studies showing people younger than 20 years who used e-cigarettes were three times as likely to subsequently start smoking compared with those who had never used alternative tobacco products.

In Queensland, only pharmacies are permitted to sell vaping products, with legislation introduced last year making it illegal to purchase vape products containing nicotine without a prescription.

According to Queensland Health, vaping rates among high school students tripled from 2017 to 2023, with data showing more than 1 in 10 students had smoked tobacco in the past 12 months.

Brisbane shoppers made a citizen’s arrest after a woman was allegedly sexually assaulted at a suburban shopping centre last week.

A 22-year-old woman was at Fairfield Gardens Shopping Centre, in Brisbane’s inner-south, about 10am on Friday when she was approached by a man, who allegedly sexually assaulted her.

He tried to run, but was restrained by members of the public who held him until police arrived.

“It is also alleged the man had entered a nearby grocery store and stolen a number of groceries,” police said in a statement.

The 29-year-old Moorooka man has been charged with one count each of sexual assault, stealing and common assault.

He remains in custody and is expected to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on August 6.

A 50-year-old woman has been charged after allegedly making bomb hoaxes against a Brisbane childcare centre and high school.

The woman allegedly sent threatening messages to a Redland Bay childcare centre and a Runcorn high school, in Brisbane’s south, last Thursday and Friday.

She was arrested on Friday by detectives from the Bayside Criminal Investigation Branch and charged with two counts of “making a bomb hoax – falsely inform bomb present”.

“Investigations have concluded that the alleged threats were unsubstantiated, and that there was no risk to any children or the community,” police said in a statement.

Police said the woman has no connection to the childcare centre or the school.

She remains in custody and is due to appear in Cleveland Magistrates Court today.