As it happened: Brisbane on Monday, February 17

A young boy is among 15 people who have been bitten by snakes in Brisbane over the past seven days.

The preschool-aged boy was bitten on the leg at a property in Albany Creek on Brisbane’s northside about 6.15pm on Saturday and was rushed to the Prince Charles Children’s Hospital in a stable condition.

Also on Saturday, a man in his 30s was bitten by a snake on the leg on Hawken Drive in St Lucia about 9.50pm. He was taken to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital in a stable condition.

On Sunday, a man who was bitten at a Morayfield property about 3.15pm was taken to Caboolture Hospital in a serious condition.

The Queensland Ambulance Service has warned residents to be vigilant after dealing with 45 callouts for snake bites across the state in the past week, including seven over the weekend.

Anyone who suspects they have been bitten by a snake should call an ambulance immediately.

Thanks for joining us today – we’ll be back tomorrow when the Reserve Bank is expected to announce its first official interest rate cut in five years.

If you’re just catching up, here are a few of the stories making news today:

A young boy is among 15 people who have been bitten by snakes in Brisbane over the past seven days, prompting warnings from authorities for residents to remain vigilant.

The embattled CFMEU has let its exemption from Queensland’s developer donation ban lapse, leaving doubts over its ability to fund any future political campaigns.

Troubled gaming company Star Entertainment is considering an offer from a US asset management firm to buy out its debts as it fights for survival.

A 12-year-old boy was bitten on the back by a dingo on K’gari while he was playing in shallow water near Yidney Rocks at the weekend. He suffered minor injuries.

Principals will have discretion over $44 million in state government funding to address behaviour issues in their schools.

A 20-year-old man has been charged with unlawful stalking and domestic violence offences after allegedly firing a shotgun into a parked car in Brisbane’s north.

Premier David Crisafulli has distanced himself from his pre-election pledge there would be no new stadium for Brisbane 2032 Olympics under his government.

The selection of a mascot for Brisbane’s 2032 Olympic Games is years away, but the Premier has revealed in an interview with the ABC that he is not a fan of the ibis, more affectionately known as the “bin chicken”.

And in today’s Perspective column, Cameron Atfield argues that the war against “woke” is really a war against empathy, at a time when kindness and understanding have never been more important.

Dolphins star Tom Gilbert is firming to announce a comeback that has been a year in the making when his side takes on the Titans in their final preseason clash.

At the end of what has been a harrowing 18 months for the State of Origin forward – he suffered a ruptured ACL this time last year upon his return from a dislocated shoulder – the 24-year-old is expected to take the field on Saturday night at Redcliffe’s Kayo Stadium.

Tom Gilbert and Felise Kaufusi of the Dolphins.Credit: Getty Images

Gilbert has been tipped to take over the club’s captaincy, with his teammate Ray Stone praising his mental strength.

“It’s been a long road for him, but it’s going to be heaps good having him back. He’s a big leader in the team, so having him come back in and lead like he does with his actions is going to be massive for us,” Stone said.

“They’re long stints on the sidelines, it’s hard to watch the boys all the time knowing you could be out there, but he’s done all the hard work and done all the right stuff, so having him back this week is going to be massive.

“He’s very mentally strong to come back after spending so long on the sideline, but he’s so professional in everything he does. He’s a tough dude.”

A young boy is among 15 people who have been bitten by snakes in Brisbane over the past seven days.

The preschool-aged boy was bitten on the leg at a property in Albany Creek on Brisbane’s northside about 6.15pm on Saturday and was rushed to the Prince Charles Children’s Hospital in a stable condition.

Also on Saturday, a man in his 30s was bitten by a snake on the leg on Hawken Drive in St Lucia about 9.50pm. He was taken to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital in a stable condition.

On Sunday, a man who was bitten at a Morayfield property about 3.15pm was taken to Caboolture Hospital in a serious condition.

The Queensland Ambulance Service has warned residents to be vigilant after dealing with 45 callouts for snake bites across the state in the past week, including seven over the weekend.

Anyone who suspects they have been bitten by a snake should call an ambulance immediately.

Embattled gaming company Star Entertainment is considering an offer from a US asset management firm to buy out its debts as it fights for survival.

In a statement to the ASX this morning, the Star announced it had received a $650 million debt financing proposal from Oaktree Capital Management.

The Star Casino in Brisbane’s Queens Wharf precinct.Credit: Joe Ruckli

The Star said it was considering the offer. The company’s shares are 8.3 per cent higher as a result.

The troubled casino operator has been battling a cash crunch that threatens to push it into insolvency and is looking to offload its 50 per cent share in Brisbane’s Queens Wharf entertainment precinct, which opened last August. The Star also operates casinos on the Gold Coast and in Sydney.

Last Monday, the Star said it had received offers from two Hong Kong-based entities to sell its stake in Queens Wharf. But talks reportedly stalled over a failure to agree on the fee payable to the Star to manage the precinct’s casino.

The Star has been struggling since the fallout from a high-profile money-laundering scandal in 2021 that steered lucrative high rollers away from its casinos.

It recently reported an $8 million loss and a 15 per cent fall in revenue to $299 million for the three months to December 31.

The jobs of about 9000 people are directly or indirectly at risk if the casino operator collapses, but both the Queensland and NSW governments have rejected a push to intervene.

AP, AAP

Two of Australian rugby’s most promising talents have secured their futures in Queensland, with national under-18s stars Kingsley Uys and Will Roos inking three-year deals with the Reds.

The pair, both signed on development opportunities, were instrumental when Australia’s youth side shocked New Zealand last year, with Uys proving particularly damaging at prop.

The 120kg 17-year-old scored a try, set up another, and showed great strength in the scrum.

“I’m excited. The facility I train in at Ballymore is amazing, I’m always learning from the coaching staff and I want to do something with this club at the Reds,” Uys said.

“There’s always so much to learn as a prop so it’s really good experience to have the chance to scrum with top Reds props like Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, Massimo De Lutiis and Sef Fa’agase.

“I think it is really positive that young players are being locked to rugby. You can see where Rugby Australia is going.”

The 2026 Census will ask for “sex recorded at birth”, introduce non-gendered terms when asking about household and family relationships, and include a section on sexuality in the latest raft of updates to the national survey.

The changes announced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today come after the Albanese government last year backflipped on its decision to scrap questions on sexuality and gender identity after facing strong backlash.

The question on sex will, from 2026, be worded to specifically collect “sex recorded at birth”, while there will be a separate question on gender. The next Census will also include the topic of sexual orientation for people aged 16 years and older, with details about the wording yet to be determined.

Other changes to the Census include updating the list of long-term health conditions to include liver disease and increasing the number of ancestries collected from two to four to better reflect cultural diversity.

Changes that were rejected include adding “migraine” to the list of long-term health conditions and updating marital status to options to include de facto relationships.

The final questions for the 2026 Census will be published on the ABS website in late 2025.

A boy has been bitten by a dingo on K’gari, formerly known as Fraser Island.

The 12-year-old suffered minor injures near Yidney Rocks, just south of Happy Valley, about 12.15pm yesterday.

He had been playing in shallow water when the dingo came up behind and bit his back.

Several people fishing nearby swung a stick at the animal, but it followed them back to their accommodation.

The boy was treated by paramedics for superficial puncture wounds and a laceration.

Rangers are monitoring the dingo, which is tagged.

Principals will have discretion over $44 million in state government funding to address behaviour issues in their schools.

The money will flow to Queensland state schools as soon as next week, with Premier David Crisafulli saying principals will be able to decide how best to use it in their classrooms.

The funding will be distributed on a per-capita basis, based on enrolments.

Premier David Crisafulli with Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek at Sunnybank State School on Monday morning.Credit: Catherine Strohfeldt

“I would suspect that within the next 24 hours schools will find out what their allocation is, certainly by the end of this week, and money will flow within about a week.

“It might be bringing in some new specialists into the schools, things like behavioral management teachers, occupational therapists, speech therapists … or it might mean training existing people to develop a skill set in that area.”

The Premier said the issue had been put in the “too hard” basket, with teachers and parents becoming increasingly frustrated about the lack of action when it came to addressing behaviour.

“Teachers deserve the right to be able to go to school and teach in a safe environment, and students deserve the right to be at school and not have a projectile thrown at them while they’re trying to learn,” he said.

Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek said there were about 40 behaviour-management experts currently working in Queensland schools.

He said schools could use their portion of the funding to hire new staff, increase the working hours of existing behaviour-management experts, or upskill teacher aides or teachers.

“Small schools with [a] very small enrollment are going to get a base level of about $1000, but for other schools, it averages out at about $35,000 per school,” he said.

The selection of a mascot for Brisbane’s 2032 Olympic Games is years away, but the Premier has revealed he is not a fan of the ibis, more affectionately known as the “bin chicken”.

In his wide-ranging interview with the ABC at the weekend, David Crisafulli said he would prefer another animal be the Games mascot.

“I’m not a big fan of the ibis,” he said.

“I don’t think it represents the clean and fresh image that I see in Queensland.”

An ibis … on a bin.Credit: Janie Barrett

Sydney’s Olympic mascots were Syd, the duck-billed platypus, Olly, a kookaburra, and Millie, the echidna.

Now to sport and the Broncos’ pre-season challenge match in Toowoomba on Sunday:

Cory Paix has made a compelling case at hooker to be included in Brisbane’s round-one NRL side after shining in a 50-12 trial win over woeful Gold Coast.

Lock Kobe Hetherington, pushing to be the new No.13 for the Broncos, was also outstanding in a dominant display in Toowoomba on Sunday.

Cory Paix during the Pre-Season Challenge match.Credit: Getty Images

Paix, a Toowoomba junior, recovered from a lower-leg injury to take his place as starting hooker and was sharp.

It was a strong showing all-round from the 25-year-old, who darted over from dummy-half to score in front of family and friends.

Paix backed it up with a superb second try of his own in a crafty run-around move with prop Corey Jensen in a short but sensational stint when the best players from both sides were on the park.

The Broncos have three hookers – Paix, Billy Walters and Tyson Smoothy – in the battle to be No.9 against Sydney Roosters in round one now that Blake Mozer has a shoulder injury.

Paix was overlooked by former coach Kevin Walters for the entire 2024 season, but has already become a favourite of new coach Michael Maguire for his outstanding work ethic and speed. He produced his A-game on Sunday when the pressure was on.

“I went out and did my job. Madge [Maguire] gave me clear instructions to go out and front-load. I felt really good and I felt comfortable,” Paix said.

“I always thought I had to go back [to Queensland Cup in 2024] and work really hard. I did that at Wynnum. To train well in pre-season and play well today was pleasing.

“It is a clean slate here. I knew if I went and worked hard I would give myself a chance to be there round one.”

AAP