As it happened: Brisbane on Thursday, December 12

With the LNP government’s controversial youth justice laws to pass parliament in hours, Premier David Crisafulli and key cabinet members have met with crime victims who have been vocal calling for change.

At a group media conference which followed, Crisafulli said through the groups’ “heartache, through their tragedy, they have driven change for Queenslanders”.

David Crisafulli, members of his cabinet and youth crime victims and advocates speak to media.Credit: Matt Dennien

The LNP’s newly elected Capalaba MP Russell Field – who lost son Matthew, his partner Kate, and their unborn child, Miles, when they were hit by a stolen 4WD in 2021 – said the laws “can’t come quick enough”.

Michelle Liddle, whose 15-year-old son Angus Beaumont was stabbed and killed in 2020 by two teenagers in 2020, said rehabilitation for offenders was key and “none of us up here want to see kids thrown away, or put away, for nothing”.

Advocates met with LNP MPs before the passage of the “Making Queensland Safer” laws.Credit: Matt Dennien

While opposition leader Steven Miles had indicated Labor would not vote against the bill, members have been highlighting personal and stakeholder concerns with the laws and held a snap meeting today to finalise plans.

Thank you for joining us today. We’ll be back on deck tomorrow morning with more rolling news coverage from Brisbane and beyond.

Here are some of the top headlines today:

A Brisbane man who allegedly displayed an antisemitic electronic scrolling sign from his apartment window which began “death to...” has been arrested and charged.

The deal to establish a PNG NRL team comes with a China “escape clause” for Australia, while ARLC chair Peter V’landys has revealed another NRL license could be granted before Christmas.

Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg is facing federal warnings against retaliating over a proposed levy to force tech giants including Facebook, TikTok and Google to fund journalism, which could raise more than $1 billion over four years for media companies battling declining revenue.

Rupert Murdoch has visited the Adass Israel synagogue in the Melbourne suburb of Ripponlea, six days after it was firebombed in what is being investigated as a terrorist attack.

Joe Daniher’s shock retirement after the Lions snapped a 21-year title drought posed a question for the premiers, leaving the club short a tall forward – but Brisbane might have found a winner in Sam Day.

The first person to appear on Queensland television screens, Hugh Cornish AM, has died at a nursing home in Hamilton, Brisbane, aged 90.

And Australian Test opener Nathan McSweeney believes he and Marnus Labuschagne have found their feet at the perfect time – a Gabba homecoming in which they will face a vengeful India.

Two years have passed but the disbelief, agony and grief remain raw for the families of two police officers slain in a “senseless and evil” crime at a remote property.

Constables Matthew Arnold, 26, and Rachel McCrow, 29, were among six people shot dead at Wieambilla west of Brisbane on December 12, 2022.

Both young constables loved Christmas and were just days away from spending it with their families when their lives were cut short.

Arnold may have playfully grumbled about the festive period yet when he returned home, he would climb the roof to string up the Christmas lights and take charge of decorating the tree.

But 2021 would be the last time he begged his mum for a Christmas ham with enough for leftovers.

“Matt was excited to come home for Christmas,” his family said in a statement today.

“He was just one shift away from being with us, but he never made it.”

McCrow also adored the festive season, each year hanging the tree and house lights, playing Christmas games with her family, dressing up and sharing Secret Santa presents.

A day before the Wieambilla shooting, McCrow and Arnold had pulled a Christmas office prank on their boss by wrapping his computer, keyboard and mouse in wrapping paper.

They never got to see his reaction.

Now Christmas marks a period of emptiness and unbearable sorrow for the two families.

“There will always be a void in our lives: a forever hole in our heart,” the McCrow family said.

Premier David Crisafulli said today that current and former officers across Queensland would walk with a “heavier heart”.

“The emotions of that day are still so very raw,” he told parliament.

“I want the families, friends and colleagues, Rachel and Matt and Alan, to know they are not forgotten, and they won’t be forgotten.”

A new party drug branded a dealers’ gimmick has police and health officials worried as increasing amounts of the illicit substance turn up across the nation.

Between March and July, police examined 133 kilograms of so-called “pink cocaine” across eight seizures, and has also been detected at pill-testing sites in Brisbane and Canberra.

The drug cocktail, also known as tusi, cocaine rosada, pink panther and pig nose, usually contains a mixture of ketamine, MDMA and other substances.

The AFP has charged a man for his alleged involvement in a plot to import 252kg of pink cocaine.Credit: AFP

AFP Commander Paula Hudson said the pink colour was an attempt to appeal to users who were naive to the risks of stroke, heart attack and death.

“Pink cocaine is a deadly concoction made up with a grab-bag of offcuts from other illicit drugs like MDMA, ketamine and methamphetamine in unpredictable purities,” she said.

Testing of recently seized packages of the drug revealed its most common and prominent components were typically ketamine and MDMA, purities ranging from 6.8 per cent to 51.3 per cent.

In November more than 250 kilograms of pink cocaine destined for Australia was seized by international police. A 21-year-old man was arrested and charged over the seizure, has been refused bail, and will return to court in January.

Police may be called to construction sites to sort out union “thuggery” as the Queensland state government cracks down on the CFMEU.

Queensland’s Department of Industrial Relations has begun discussions with police to update or revoke a memorandum of understanding between the two agencies over construction site responses.

The CFMEU has been accused of criminal conduct, organised crime links on job sites and intimidation, resulting in the construction arm being placed in administration across Australia.

Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie told parliament he wants the police and Office of Industrial Relations to have a “fit for purpose” understanding of how to respond to construction site issues, particularly with the CFMEU, adding that it may lead to more policing on construction sites.

“If that means Queensland Police officers attend job sites to sort out the thuggery of the CFMEU, so be it,” he said.

“We will not stand for Office of Industrial Relations staff, Workplace Health and Safety officers being the punching bags of the CFMEU any more.”

With the LNP government’s controversial youth justice laws to pass parliament in hours, Premier David Crisafulli and key cabinet members have met with crime victims who have been vocal calling for change.

At a group media conference which followed, Crisafulli said through the groups’ “heartache, through their tragedy, they have driven change for Queenslanders”.

David Crisafulli, members of his cabinet and youth crime victims and advocates speak to media.Credit: Matt Dennien

The LNP’s newly elected Capalaba MP Russell Field – who lost son Matthew, his partner Kate, and their unborn child, Miles, when they were hit by a stolen 4WD in 2021 – said the laws “can’t come quick enough”.

Michelle Liddle, whose 15-year-old son Angus Beaumont was stabbed and killed in 2020 by two teenagers in 2020, said rehabilitation for offenders was key and “none of us up here want to see kids thrown away, or put away, for nothing”.

Advocates met with LNP MPs before the passage of the “Making Queensland Safer” laws.Credit: Matt Dennien

While opposition leader Steven Miles had indicated Labor would not vote against the bill, members have been highlighting personal and stakeholder concerns with the laws and held a snap meeting today to finalise plans.

Police have called off an extensive search and rescue effort on the Sunshine Coast hinterland, after finding the body of a missing man.

The 20-year-old from Mountain Creek was reported missing at 1pm on Sunday, prompting a search of the Mount Beerwah area on foot and from the air.

Emergency services crews found his body on the north-western face of the mountain today, and are working with police to recover it.

Police said they were treating the man’s death as non-suspicious, and would prepare a report for the coroner.

The first person to ever appear on Queensland television has died.

Channel Nine confirmed the death of its broadcasting pioneer Hugh Cornish today. He was 90 years old.

Hugh Cornish of Channel 9 Queensland. Credit: Nine News

Cornish appeared on the new Queensland Television station when it launched in 1959, and appeared on screens for the following three decades.

“His face and voice became a trusted presence in countless homes, and for decades, he brought warmth, professionalism,” an internal Channel 9 memo said.

Cornish was named a Queensland Great – awarded to residents who make a lasting impact on the state – in 2004.

Hugh Cornish with rugby league legend Wally Lewis.Credit: Nine News

Year 12 graduates received their final results yesterday – and almost one-third of the students recognised as “distinguished academic achievers” were from Brisbane State High School.

Out of the 35 students to receive the QCE award for distinguished academic achievers, there were also five from All Saints Anglican School at Merrimac on the Gold Coast and four from Churchie.

The Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority’s awards recognised 38 students in total, who represented the top performing 0.06 per cent of Year 12 graduates in 2024.

More than 55,000 students checked their grades yesterday morning, with 95 per cent of graduates achieving a QCE.

ATAR results, used for tertiary entry, will be released tomorrow morning.

The last question time of the Queensland parliamentary year is underway, and yesterday’s Cross River Rail delay claims from the LNP are along Labor’s focus.

Asked to explain how he arrived at the suggestion the major Brisbane transport project would not open until 2029, rather than 2026, Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg shared advice he said had come from the delivery authority.

He said “system testing” would take between 12 and 21 months, and “service testing” would take between nine and 12 months, for a total timeframe of up to 33 months.

“Labor cannot be trusted when it comes to major projects in Queensland,” Mickelberg said, after saying he stood by the new 2029 completion date he outlined.

Premier David Crisafulli was also asked whether the government had “gagged” public servants from giving factual advice to the media, after the delivery authority referred questions to Mickelberg’s office yesterday.

Crisafulli appeared to misunderstand the question as being about questions being directed to his office being referred to Mickelberg, before launching into a response focused on ministerial accountability that did not provide an answer.

A push to scrap the Gabba and build a new venue at Victoria Park for the 2032 Olympic Games has been backed by Cricket Australia.

The organisation told today’s Courier-Mail it hoped to move matches to the proposed stadium at Victoria Park after the Olympics.

“It’s clear the Gabba is coming to the end of its useful life,” boss Nick Hockley told the masthead.

Cricket Australia confirmed its position to Brisbane Times but declined to comment further.

A cricket pitch has existed on the Gabba site in Woolloongabba since 1895. It hosted the first Test match in 1931.