As it happened: Brisbane on Tuesday, February 18

The Reserve Bank has cut the official interest rate for the first time in more than four years, delivering a quarter of a percentage point relief for mortgage holders.

The RBA cut the cash rate to 4.1 per cent in a move that was widely anticipated by markets and the major banks after more than a year of rates being on hold at 4.35 per cent.

The decision, if passed on in full by the country’s retail banks, will reduce the interest repayments on a $600,000 mortgage by about $100 a month.

Since the bank started lifting rates before the 2022 election, repayments on that mortgage have risen by almost $1500 a month.

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

The Reserve Bank has cut the official interest rate for the first time in more than four years, delivering 0.25 percentage points of relief for mortgage holders.

Hundreds of dedicated Billie Eilish fans have set up camp at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, hoping to secure a front-row seat when the gates open.

A man in his 60s has been charged over an allegedly threatening email sent to freelance journalist and presenter Antoinette Lattouf as a result of a counter-terrorism investigation.

One of Australia’s most notorious paedophiles, Gerald Ridsdale, has died, after serving decades in prison for the sexual abuse of more than 70 children while he was a parish priest in western Victoria.

Back in Brisbane, plans to “transform” Mount Gravatt with new housing and a refreshed business hub have been unveiled by the city council.

And Julianne Moore says she was “truly saddened” to learn that the Trump administration was banning the children’s book she wrote, Freckleface Strawberry, from schools run by the US Department of Defence.

Three teenage boys have been arrested in underground drains after an alleged crime spree through north Brisbane.

Homes in Paddington, Auchenflower and Red Hill were broken into on Sunday night and Monday morning. A Lexus and Land Rover were stolen from one of the properties.

The vehicles were tracked by police to Herston early on Monday, where police tore the tyres with road spikes. They were abandoned on Northey Street, Wilston a short time later.

A 16-year-old boy from Alexandra Hills was arrested at the scene, while three others ran away into nearby parkland.

The dog squad tracked the group into an underground drainage system. A 16-year-old boy was arrested inside near Newmarket Road and a 17-year-old boy caught near Noble Street.

A police dog bit the 16-year-old, and he has been taken to hospital under guard.

The other boys have been hit with a string of charges including unlawful use of a car, break and enter and receiving tainted property. Both will appear at Brisbane Children’s Court.

Brisbane City Council is warning commuters of public transport disruptions on Thursday when bus drivers are set to take industrial action over stalled pay negotiations.

In a statement, the council said rolling stoppages were expected between 4am and 6am, with up to 436 bus trips affected and the potential for flow-on delays and congestion throughout the morning peak.

At this stage, no school services will be affected.

The council’s transport chairman, Cr Ryan Murphy, called on the union to accept the offer of a 7 per cent pay rise over two years.

“Brisbane bus drivers do a fantastic job and we have a fair and reasonable pay offer on the table that is above inflation,” Murphy said.

“Unfortunately if union bosses continue to drag this out they will only force Brisbane bus drivers to wait longer for a pay rise, and hurt the travelling public.

“We have to make sure we strike a balance by delivering the services our city needs while keeping costs down for every Brisbane resident.”

The Reserve Bank has cut the official interest rate for the first time in more than four years, delivering a quarter of a percentage point relief for mortgage holders.

The RBA cut the cash rate to 4.1 per cent in a move that was widely anticipated by markets and the major banks after more than a year of rates being on hold at 4.35 per cent.

The decision, if passed on in full by the country’s retail banks, will reduce the interest repayments on a $600,000 mortgage by about $100 a month.

Since the bank started lifting rates before the 2022 election, repayments on that mortgage have risen by almost $1500 a month.

Cameras have been allowed inside the Reserve Bank’s Sydney offices as the board meets to make the most highly anticipated interest rate decision in years.

It’s the final decision of the central bank’s board under the current arrangement. The new monetary policy committee will take over rates decisions at the next two-day meeting on March 30 and April 1.

The market, banks and top economists all expect the board to cut rates for the first time in nearly five years.

Tuesday’s board meeting of the Reserve Bank of Australia.Credit: Oscar Colman

The decision will be handed down at 1.30pm Queensland time, followed by a flurry of press conferences from Treasurer Jim Chalmers, shadow treasurer Angus Taylor and finally, RBA Governor Michele Bullock.

Student enrolments in private schools has surged again, despite the cost of living crunch affecting Queensland families.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures reveal non-government student enrolments increased 2.6 per cent in Queensland last year, while state school enrolments decreased by 0.4 per cent.

The independent sector, not including Catholic schools, grew by more than 5000 students in the past 12 months, giving it a market share of 17.3 per cent of all Queensland students, and setting a new record.

It was the sixth year in a row that independent school enrolments had grown at a higher rate than any other sector.

Independent Schools Queensland chief executive Chris Mountford pointed to rising construction costs and the surge in enrolments as reasons government funding should be reviewed.

“For every dollar of capital funds the Queensland government provides non-state schools in Queensland, the sector spends an additional $6 from other sources to build school facilities,” he said.

Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie has outlined the timing for the release of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games review.

While the LNP government will soon be able to provide confidential feedback on a draft report, ahead of receiving the final report on March 8, it will also set aside a fortnight for private stakeholder consultations.

Cabinet is due to sign off on the report, and government’s response, on March 24 and it will be released to the public the following day.

In parliament today, Bleijie reiterated the LNP’s intention to deliver a workable venue and infrastructure plan.

“This government will build a legacy that all Queenslanders can be proud of,” Bleijie said.

If the axing of its 2025 program wasn’t enough, the QUT Art Museum has closed to rip up its gallery floors, after storms caused flood damage to the building at the university’s Gardens Point campus.

“No artwork has been damaged, and we are currently working with insurers,” a QUT spokesperson said in a statement.

The free-to-visit museum, part of QUT, describes itself as one of the state’s premier visual arts institutions.

It’s still not known when the gallery will reopen, but even if it does its 2025 exhibition program has been halted due to a funding shortfall.

Among the displays currently closed to the public is an exhibition by Bigambul artist Leah King-Smith that was slated to run until March.

The art musuem’s temporary closure comes as the university undertakes a broad review of its performing arts courses, due to what it says is an ongoing decline in enrolments, and has halted its dance student intake for 2025.

Back now to today’s expected interest rate cut from the Reserve Bank of Australia: amid the Coalition’s attack that Labor is exerting political pressure on the RBA to cut rates, Secretary of Australian Council of Trade Unions Sally McManus has made her view on the decision clear.

In a post to X, McManus said the RBA “has been known to make the wrong call a[t] key moments”.

After citing two examples, McManus wrote: “Let’s hope they don’t stuff it up again.”