As it happened: Brisbane on Friday, November 15

Christmas market season is here already, and tonight it’s the turn of Beenleigh Town Square, which is hosting the Beenleigh Christmas Twilight Markets. Find gifts and street food, and entertain the kids with the petting zoo and stilt walkers.

Fans of bizarre old children’s show Round the Twist need to see the musical version, which has opened at the Playhouse at QPAC. Ghosts, bodily functions, greedy real estate agents and school bullies abound in this nostalgic Queensland Theatre production.

The queens have got their Claus out for Christmas. Stars of Rupaul’s Drag Race are appearing live at the Princess Theatre on Sunday for Slay Belles on Tour 2024 – they include Kween Kong, Alyssa Edwards, Karen From Finance and more.

Kween Kong is a Pasifika New Zealander drag queen who competed on Rupaul’s Drag Race Down Under Season 2.Credit: ID Events

The annual Irish Film Festival is on at Dendy Cinemas Coorparoo till Sunday. Highlights include Brendan Gleeson’s Farewell to Hughes’s, in which actor Brendan Gleeson interviews denizens of a famous pub in Dublin noted for its traditional music.

For more big-screen thrills, Ridley Scott’s long-awaited sequel Gladiator II is also in cinemas, with another Irish actor, Paul Mescal, taking over from Rusty Crowe as a new-generation warrior kicking arse in the Colosseum.

If you’re on the west side of town you might like to go see the film at the brand new Hoyts Cinemas that just opened in Ipswich. Or you could snag a free ticket to the Ipswich Art Gallery’s Saturday opening showcasing a $116 million Rothko on loan from the National Gallery.

Thanks for joining us for today’s live coverage of news in Brisbane and further afield. Have a great weekend and we’ll be back on Monday morning.

Here are some of the stories that made headlines today:

Queensland’s LNP government believes it can find cost savings on looming 2032 Olympic Games venue projects by bypassing Labor’s previous union-friendly procurement policies.

A Brisbane divorce lawyer engaged in unsatisfactory professional conduct while representing a man facing a domestic violence protection order, the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal has found.

Kevin Rudd has highlighted his close ties to US politicians from across the political spectrum as the Trump adviser who taunted him about his future as Australia’s top diplomat in the United States was appointed to a senior White House role.

A 1957 masterpiece by American abstract expressionist Mark Rothko – valued at $116 million – will hang in the Ipswich Art Gallery for two years on loan from the National Gallery of Australia.

Nick Kyrgios still cannot do a push-up, and does not believe he will ever be able to again. But one of the all-time greats – once a bitter online sparring partner – has revived his career.

Schoolies Week has a reputation for alcohol-fuelled reckless abandon, but research shows the nation’s school-leavers are moving away from excessive binge-drinking.

The exclusion zone set up after “a suspicious substance” was found at a Queensland police station this morning has been revoked.

A member of the public found the substance at Nambour Police Station on Currie Street before 6am.
Brisbane Times understands tests of the material are ongoing and no charges have been laid.

Emergency services were alerted at approximately 6am after a member of the public located a suspicious substance at Nambour Police Station along Currie Street.Credit: Nine News

The exclusion zone covered the surrounding areas of Currie Street, Arundel Avenue, Daniels Street and Mitchell Street.

“There is no ongoing threat to the public,” a statement from police said.

The Queensland Reds’ New Zealand connection has received another boost, following the signing of outside back Heremia Murray on a two-year deal.

The 24-year-old arrived at Ballymore as a player of interest to coach Les Kiss, having played three times for the Crusaders in the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific campaign, and scored in his first appearance for the side in a 42-28 win against Japanese side Saitama Wild Knights.

Murray’s acquisition will inject further depth into the club’s wing stocks, following the loss of Wallabies Suliasi Vunivalu (La Rochelle) and Jordan Petaia, who has reportedly been eyeing a move to America through the NFL’s International Player Pathways.

Murray joins former All Blacks Alex Hodgman and Jeffrey Toomaga-Allen at the Reds.

“I love being busy from the wing. Touring Japan was a little taste of what the Reds are capable of and that was with a young team. It’s an exciting opportunity and more so to be playing in a team style that suits me well,” Murray said.

A man has been seriously injured and police have launched an investigation after a crash in Brisbane this morning.

Two trucks collided at the rail crossing on Eagle Farm Road in Pinkenba just before 7.45am.

A 23-year-old Regents Park man driving one vehicle was taken to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital with significant injuries.

Anyone who witnessed the crash or has relevant footage is urged to contact police.

Christmas market season is here already, and tonight it’s the turn of Beenleigh Town Square, which is hosting the Beenleigh Christmas Twilight Markets. Find gifts and street food, and entertain the kids with the petting zoo and stilt walkers.

Fans of bizarre old children’s show Round the Twist need to see the musical version, which has opened at the Playhouse at QPAC. Ghosts, bodily functions, greedy real estate agents and school bullies abound in this nostalgic Queensland Theatre production.

The queens have got their Claus out for Christmas. Stars of Rupaul’s Drag Race are appearing live at the Princess Theatre on Sunday for Slay Belles on Tour 2024 – they include Kween Kong, Alyssa Edwards, Karen From Finance and more.

Kween Kong is a Pasifika New Zealander drag queen who competed on Rupaul’s Drag Race Down Under Season 2.Credit: ID Events

The annual Irish Film Festival is on at Dendy Cinemas Coorparoo till Sunday. Highlights include Brendan Gleeson’s Farewell to Hughes’s, in which actor Brendan Gleeson interviews denizens of a famous pub in Dublin noted for its traditional music.

For more big-screen thrills, Ridley Scott’s long-awaited sequel Gladiator II is also in cinemas, with another Irish actor, Paul Mescal, taking over from Rusty Crowe as a new-generation warrior kicking arse in the Colosseum.

If you’re on the west side of town you might like to go see the film at the brand new Hoyts Cinemas that just opened in Ipswich. Or you could snag a free ticket to the Ipswich Art Gallery’s Saturday opening showcasing a $116 million Rothko on loan from the National Gallery.

Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie and Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg have spent a second day touting the new LNP government’s dumping of Labor’s major project procurement policy.

Speaking from the Centenary Bridge duplication site where a worker was impaled by a piece of metal mesh in September amid ongoing union tensions, the pair brushed off fears site safety would slide.

“I’d make the observation that that particular incident happened on this site under the former government with [Best Practice Industry] Conditions in place,” Mickelberg said.

A crowd of about 30 to 40 men in CFMEU-branded clothing at the Centenary Bridge upgrade site on May 14.

Bleijie dismissed concerns from the state’s peak union body that abandoning the policy could itself lead to cost overruns and delays.

“Queensland is now open for business – we have suspended the CFMEU tax,” he said of the policy that had broader coverage than the CFMEU.

He also sought to dismiss similar concerns raised by the Electrical Trades Union by claiming, without evidence, it had hired ousted CFMEU bosses Michael Ravbar and Jade Ingham.

“We can check this, but I’m pretty sure the ETU have just taken on board both Ravbar … and Jade Ingham … so maybe they’re writing the ETU speeches and press releases now,” Bleijie said.

ETU assistant secretary Chris Lynch told Brisbane Times “there’s not a chance in hell that would happen” because the federal laws ousting the pair made clear they could not work for any other union.

“There’s no way myself or (ETU state secretary) Peter Ong would in any way shape or form put the ETU in harm’s way. I dare say he’s trying to paint us in a dark picture – and the only way he can do that is painting us in with Jade and Michael. Jarrod should definitely check his information source.”

A Brisbane divorce lawyer engaged in unsatisfactory professional conduct while representing a man facing a domestic violence protection order, the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal has found.

The lawyer, Mills John Kirin, has been ordered to pay a $2000 penalty, undertake specialist domestic violence training, and pay the costs of the Legal Services Commissioner who took action against him.

Brisbane divorce lawyer Mills John Kirin in a promotional video on his website.

The tribunal heard Kirin, 51, emailed the opposing lawyer as the case unfolded in 2022, using unsubstantiated and unprofessional language that described her client as “postnatally depressed” and “mentally ill” and suggested she was “wandering the earth” with his client’s daughter.

He accused the lawyer of putting forward “blatant lies” and acting in an “overzealous” manner to run a “legally aid (sic) funded crusade” against his client.

“The DV your so-called aggrieved alleges is at the low scale of what we see every day,” he wrote to the other lawyer, who the tribunal found was bullied and threatened by Kirin.

Tribunal member Duncan McMeekin KC found Kirin’s “complete lack of prior experience in cases of allegations of domestic and family violence in this area of practice was admitted and evidently contributed to his insight into his discourteous, offensive and thoughtless comments”.

A 1957 masterpiece by American abstract expressionist Mark Rothko will hang in the Ipswich Art Gallery for two years on loan from the National Gallery of Australia.

Titled 1957 #20, the work is more than two metres high, nearly two metres wide, and depicts a composition in red, brown and black.

The Rothko is on loan as part of the federal government’s Sharing the National Collection program and is valued at $116 million.

Mark Rothko’s painting ‘1957 #20’.Credit: National Gallery of Australia

Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding described getting the work as “an amazing coup”.

Read the full story.

An exclusion zone has been set up after “a suspicious substance” was found at a Sunshine Coast police station this morning.

A member of the public found the substance at Nambour Police Station on Currie Street before 6am.

Brisbane Times understands tests of the material are ongoing.

Emergency services were alerted at approximately 6am after a member of the public located a suspicious substance at Nambour Police Station along Currie Street.Credit: Nine News

The exclusion zone covers Currie Street, Arundel Avenue, Daniels Street and Mitchell Street.

“Members of the public are advised to avoid the area and those within the exclusion zone are asked to remain indoors until further notice,” a statement from police said.

Australia’s two dominant supermarkets will defend themselves against a class action brought by law firm Gerard Malouf & Partners (GMP Law) on behalf of customers seeking to be reimbursed for what the competition watchdog has described as “illusory” discounts.

GMP Law’s class action is suing for damages on behalf of up to 13.5 million Woolworths and Coles loyalty customers, a spokesperson told this masthead in late October.

“Since the commencement of our investigation, GMP Law has had tens of thousands of group members register their interests with us in our proposed class actions. This large influx of registrations reflects a clear indication of harm across a broad spectrum of Coles and Woolworths customers,” the spokesperson said.

Coles and Woolworths have indicated they will defend against the class action.Credit: Getty

“Our investigations are different to the ACCC proceedings. Our claim will be for the losses occasioned by customers seeking reimbursement for the allegedly illusory discounts. The ACCC proceedings would likely reflect in a deterrent penalty to discourage these major supermarkets from acting in this way again but would not seek a refund for customers.”

This morning, Coles and Woolworths issued statements to the ASX confirming the class action proceeding had been launched.

“Coles announced on 23 September 2024 that it is defending the ACCC proceedings, and also intends to defend the proceedings commenced by Gerard Malouf & Partners,” Coles said in its statement.

“Woolworths Group intends to defend the class action proceedings,” the dominant supermarket stated.