As it happened: Brisbane on Wednesday, February 19

Hundreds of construction workers have converged in Brisbane’s CBD to protest the LNP government’s changes to Best Practice Industry Conditions.

Members of the CFMEU and other unions rally in the Brisbane CBD before marching on state parliament to protest changes to Best Practice Industry Conditions (BPIC).Credit: Courtney Kruk

Workers are rallying in Queens Gardens on George Street, opposite the old Treasury Hotel, before marching on to Parliament House.

The LNP sensationally suspended the Best Practice Industry Conditions (BPIC) for new major government projects when it took office late last year.

The BPIC deal set out the pay and conditions for construction union workers – including provisions for downing tools when the temperature exceeded 35 degrees and a 5 per cent annual pay rise until 2027 – and was brokered with the construction unions and the former Labor state government in 2018.

It was initially negotiated for the construction of the new Townsville Stadium, but was later applied to all major state government projects over $100 million.

The LNP was a harsh critic of BPIC, labelling it a “sweetheart” deal negotiated between the CFMEU and the former Labor government.

Thanks for joining us for our live coverage of today’s news. We’ll be back tomorrow.

If you’re just catching up, here are some of the stories making headlines today:

Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie has taken advice on how to manage a personal conflict of interest over the Sunshine Coast rail project, telling parliament he owned a property at Aroona which was adjacent to the rail corridor

US President Donald Trump has falsely accused Ukraine of starting the war with Russia while demanding President Volodymyr Zelensky hold elections – which could oust him from office – as the price of a peace deal.

A small Catholic parish in Brisbane’s south is asking for the right to demolish a 77-year-old asbestos-laden building that has been condemned by safety officials despite its heritage protection.

A 38-year-old US woman has filed a civil lawsuit this week against the fertility clinic she used to become pregnant, alleging it was negligent in mixing up her embryos with those of another couple.

Pope Francis has developed pneumonia in both lungs, the Vatican says, after new tests showed a further complication in the condition of the 88-year-old pontiff.

And our food and culture editor Matt Shea visits The Fifty Six, where heritage digs, a star chef, an opulent design and a menu that creatively updates Cantonese food make this CBD diner a must-visit.

CFMEU leaders have turned the blow torch on Jarrod Bleijie in a gathering of thousands outside Parliament House, dubbing the deputy premier a “grub”.

The protest was organised in response to government changes to Best Practice Industry Conditions, which took effect last year, and began at Queens Gardens on George Street before members marched to parliament.

CFMEU members rally outside the Queensland parliament.Credit: William Davis

“Jarrod Bleijie is a grub because he’s sat in there on this fat, shiny arse for the last 15 years on your taxpayer dollar, while you’re out there working your ass off in heat like this,” Electrical Trades Union state secretary Peter Ong told the crowd from the building’s front entrance.

“He’s taking the tax dollars out of your pocket and putting it in his.

“He’s a dangerous grub, because he spent his whole life playing politics. He hasn’t worked a day in his life. He spent his whole life playing politics, and now he wants to play politics with your lives.”

More rain has lashed Queensland’s flood-hit region as a potential tropical low looms.

Areas still combating floodwater after weeks of wet weather have been impacted by rainfall totals of up to 130mm.

A potential tropical low is also being monitored in the Coral Sea. It is a low chance of developing into a tropical cyclone by Friday, increasing to a “moderate” possibility by early next week.

While the potential cyclone is not expected to affect Queensland’s coast, more rain is still falling in the not-so-Sunshine State as sodden communities try to bounce back from downpours.

Showers and storms are expected throughout the far north today with rainfall up to 100mm, before easing off in the coming days.

This month is officially the wettest month in history for some north Queensland towns, with Paluma near Townsville recording more than two metres of rain.

Queensland’s “best practice industry conditions” (BPIC) are pejoratively dubbed by some critics the “CFMEU tax” – a reference to the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union.

The conditions were negotiated for the construction of the new Townsville Stadium with the former state Labor government in 2018, but later applied to all major government projects over the value of $100 million.

Conditions laid out in the policy, including a 5 per cent annual pay rise for workers on major projects until 2027, extra pay for working in the rain, restrictions around working in hot and humid conditions, and allowances for using a personal phone for work or having to travel to a site, have made headlines.

Construction workers rallying in Brisbane on Wednesday.Credit: William Davis

The conditions were heavily criticised for being over-the-top and responsible for major cost blowouts on government projects and construction across the state.

The LNP claimed that budgets for big government projects were inflated by 30 per cent as a result of BPIC, although there was little concrete evidence behind the assertion.

Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie announced in November last year that BPIC would be suspended “effective immediately” to “get construction sites in Queensland working again”.

But Queensland Council of Unions general secretary Jacqueline King said the move would likely push workers to other industries or states.

“If the LNP want to get serious about improving productivity on government jobs they should review their contracts with the majors to ensure they are prevented from gouging Queensland taxpayers for alleged cost blowouts,” King said.

You can read more about Queensland’s BPIC here, and here.

Construction workers have marched from Queens Park on George Street to Parliament House, where they are protesting the LNP government’s suspension of Best Practice Industry Conditions (BPICs).

Queensland parliament sits today for the first time this year, with question time scheduled for 2.45pm.

Workers were chanting, “When I say Jarrod you say grub,” in reference to Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie’s decision to suspend BPICs late last year.

CFMEU members rally outside Queensland parliament.Credit: William Davis

Construction workers march to Parliament House on Wednesday.Credit: William Davis

Hundreds of construction workers have converged in Brisbane’s CBD to protest the LNP government’s changes to Best Practice Industry Conditions.

Members of the CFMEU and other unions rally in the Brisbane CBD before marching on state parliament to protest changes to Best Practice Industry Conditions (BPIC).Credit: Courtney Kruk

Workers are rallying in Queens Gardens on George Street, opposite the old Treasury Hotel, before marching on to Parliament House.

The LNP sensationally suspended the Best Practice Industry Conditions (BPIC) for new major government projects when it took office late last year.

The BPIC deal set out the pay and conditions for construction union workers – including provisions for downing tools when the temperature exceeded 35 degrees and a 5 per cent annual pay rise until 2027 – and was brokered with the construction unions and the former Labor state government in 2018.

It was initially negotiated for the construction of the new Townsville Stadium, but was later applied to all major state government projects over $100 million.

The LNP was a harsh critic of BPIC, labelling it a “sweetheart” deal negotiated between the CFMEU and the former Labor government.

Wage growth in the final months of 2024 continues to outpace inflation but slowed to the lowest rate in nearly three years.

Fresh data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics today showed that wages climbed 0.7 per cent in the December quarter - the lowest quarterly growth since March 2022 - and 3.2 per cent over the year.

It comes after the Reserve Bank yesterday made the first cut to the cash rate in more than four years, but dampened hopes of further rate cuts, citing the unexpectedly strong jobs market and continued vigilance around price pressures.

Wage growth continued to climb faster than inflation which came in at 0.2 per cent in the December quarter and 2.4 per cent over the year.

Private sector wage growth, at 0.7 per cent, was higher than that of the public sector at 0.6 per cent, with annual wage growth in the private sector also outpacing public sector pay rises.

Information media and telecommunications was the sector with the strongest quarterly growth in wages at 1.4 per cent, while accommodation and food services saw the lowest growth at 0.1 per cent.

By state, WA, South Australia and Victoria saw the highest wage growth in the December quarter at 0.7 per cent. Tasmania (0.5 per cent) saw the slowest rate of wage growth.

The data came in broadly in line with the Reserve Bank’s latest forecasts released yesterday.

Billionaire Clive Palmer misspoke and called his party the “Trumpet of Parrots” before correcting himself in the press conference.

Speaking about the name of his new party, The Trumpet of Patriots, Palmer acknowledged he had a bit of a stutter before accidentally saying parrot.

“The idea of an election, of a democracy, is to have a battle of ideas. You don’t have to agree with all of them, but we have to defend that in Australia, that’s a very important thing. That’s the name of the party when we joined it, it’s very appropriate for this election, because it’s the trumpet of patriots,” Palmer said.

Palmer stands before the insignia for his new party.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“It’s the trum-pet, I stutter a little bit, so I say the trum-pit of patriots, that’s what it is, it’s a clear definition of what you’re voting for,” Palmer said just before he misspoke.

“They want to vote for the Greens, I can’t see that, do they want to vote for the Teals? They shouldn’t, but do they want to vote for the trumpet of parrots … patriots, of course they do, especially the trumpet part. That’s if they believe in Trump’s policies.”

Keeping with Clive Palmer, the billionaire is launching his Trumpet of Patriots party, listing his policy priorities as recognising two genders and bringing Kevin Rudd back from Washington.

Speaking in Canberra, Palmer said he would put Australians first and “make Australia great again”.

“Our policy is to recognise that there are two genders, a male and a female. We don’t want men in women’s sports, and we don’t want males dressed as females confusing our children in our schools,” Palmer said.

Clive Palmer during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“All children should be entitled to a normal, safe environment in our schools and public toilets. All children must be entitled to decide who they are and what their sexual orientation is when they’re adults, not have it forced ... on them.”

Changing course, Palmer then criticised Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd.

“It’s time to bring Kevin Rudd back from Washington. There’s not too many ambassadors in Washington that insult the president of the United States – Kevin Rudd ranks alone in that – and Australia needs an effective representative in Washington,” he said.

“There’s over 3.7 million Australian households in this country that don’t have enough food, that can’t afford it because of the cost of living that the Labor Party has brought upon them because of the excess spending and waste in our public service. We find Australian children going to bed at nights hungry, ask the chairman of Foodbank.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has dismissed the threat of Queensland billionaire Clive Palmer’s latest venture, a new political party called Trumpet of Patriots.

After failing in his High Court bid to register the United Australia Party for the upcoming election, Palmer was forced to start a new outfit, forming the Trumpet of Patriots in what appears to be a nod to US President Donald Trump.

Clive Palmer at the official launch of the Trumpet of Patriots.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Albanese quipped that it “wasn’t value for money” to spend “over $100 million to deliver one senate seat to a bloke who sits in the corner and engages in conspiracy theories”, referring to United Australia Party’s sole representative, Victorian Senator Ralph Babet.

“People are entitled to run, but it’s a distortion of democracy when you have an individual spending $100 million on a campaign right around the country,” Albanese said in Sydney a short time ago.

“If you’re a serious political party, then you have to have serious policies. At the moment, there’s only one political party in Australia that has serious policies,” the PM said, before listing Labor’s policy platform.