As it happened: Brisbane on Friday, January 31

Thanks for joining us for live coverage of today’s news. We’ll be back on Monday morning.

If you’re just catching up, here’s what made headlines today:

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has flagged that cultural diversity staffers would be in the firing line of a Coalition government, in a move that echoes US President Donald Trump’s decision to abolish federal diversity positions.

A missing four-year-old girl has been found with significant injuries south of Brisbane after allegedly being tortured by a woman over an extended period and hidden across multiple properties.

A West Australian father found guilty last year of raping 12 women over two years has been sentenced to nearly three decades behind bars.

The federal government has announced a medical review of Australia’s treatment of transgender children, with Queensland asked to halt its own review to await the national findings.

What will happen to the independently owned restaurants at Queen’s Wharf if the casino operator goes belly up? We asked a couple of operators for their views.

Michael Tassis’ Dark Shepherd restaurant at Queen’s Wharf.Credit: Markus Ravik

A basketball coach from Mango Hill, north of Brisbane, has been accused of using the role to groom and abuse a child over four years.

Two men abused by the late Cardinal George Pell in the 1970s have been granted compensation by the federal government’s National Redress Scheme.

The Broncos’ Pat Carrigan has confirmed a major change could be on the cards – and it may have a telling impact on the club and state.

A short-staffed air-traffic centre managing a notoriously congested and difficult airspace may have contributed to the deadliest US air disaster in nearly 25 years, a preliminary report has found.

Marianne Faithfull, the wild woman of London’s swinging ’60s who survived drug addiction, homelessness, two comas, cancer and COVID-19, has died at the age of 78.

Marianne Faithfull in 2009.Credit: Sydney Opera House

For the first time, the Supreme Court of Queensland will have reserve judges to help deal with its workload and ensure cases are dealt with on time.

Attorney-General Deb Frecklington on Friday announced retired judges Robert Gotterson KC, and Philip Morrison KC, had been brought back into service and appointed as reserves.

While judges are required to retire at 70, Frecklington said the appointments were necessary and may also lead to additional service on the Court of Appeal and the Mental Health Court.

“Both appointees are highly regarded former judges of the Supreme Court who are eminently qualified and well suited to these roles,” Frecklington said.

“The ability to call on them as reserve judges to address the fluctuating needs of the court will help manage the growing workload of the court.

“We are fortunate to have the benefit of their vast knowledge and experience on a needs basis and for that we are very grateful for their time and service on the bench.”

Gotterson, 75, most recently reviewed The Star Entertainment Group, as part of a two-state crackdown on the troubled casino operator, while Morrison only retired last year.

The premier has deflected questions about a potential bailout for the Star Entertainment Group, but says he wants Queensland casinos to remain open and workers to remain employed.

Star, which is a partner in Queen’s Wharf and also operates the Gold Coast casino, remains at risk of going into administration.

“I’m not concerned about Star, its shareholders, or the long-term liquidity of that company,” David Crisafulli said on Friday.

“I wish them well, but I’m just worried about the workers, and there’s a lot of them.

“I want whatever the future of that [business] looks like to make sure it’s focused on the men and women around the gambling tables, not those wearing suits around the boardroom tables.”

He confirmed the Queensland government has been in contact with representatives of Star, but declined to comment on the company’s fortunes.

“I’ve got every faith that long term, the viability of the casinos on the coast and indeed in Brisbane are very, very viable—of course they are,” he said.

His comments came after the United Workers Union called on the government to consider a bailout to protect Star jobs.

A central tenet of the LNP’s state election campaign last year is a step closer to adoption, with the Crisafulli government’s bill to reintroduce the Queensland Productivity Commission clearing a parliamentary committee.

Governance, Energy and Finance Committee chairman Michael Crandon tabled the report in parliament today.

The committee recommended the bill be passed, but Labor committee members recorded their reservation to the bill.

Queensland Treasurer David Janetzki.Credit: Markus Ravik

“This commission would be accountable to no-one except the LNP treasurer of Queensland, who would assume new powers through the Productivity Commission to inquire into any aspect of Queensland life, in our opinion,” Labor MPs Chris Whiting, Lance McCallum and Bisma Asif wrote.

“The commission would move beyond giving advice to being an active participant in setting and implementing the LNP government’s agenda. It is clear to us that the first aspect of the commission’s work would be to dissect the pay and working conditions of hardworking Queenslanders in the building and construction industry.”

The LNP has promoted the reestablishment of the Productivity Commission as a way to deliver infrastructure projects on time and on budget.

“The commission’s very first task will be putting the construction industry regulation under the microscope with a comprehensive review of the construction and building industry,” Treasurer David Jaetzki told parliament as he introduced the bill in November.

“An independent Queensland Productivity Commission is critical to the provision of quality economic and regulatory policy advice, and that will lift productivity, improve living standards and deliver economic growth.”

Fiona Cunningham has been elected Brisbane’s new deputy mayor by her LNP colleagues in City Hall.

Cr Cunningham, who will retain responsibility for finance and governance, saving the council money, has represented the Coorparoo Ward since 2019.

She replaces Cr Krista Adams, who stepped down as deputy mayor and has denied speculation of a tilt at federal politics. Her portfolio responsibilities around economic development, the nighttime economy and 2032 Games will be shared among other civic cabinet members.

Cunningham said on Friday she would continue fighting for her “incredible city,” something Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said remained the LNP’s focus.

“Today marks an exciting new chapter of renewal in our team as we maintain our focus on keeping costs down for residents and keeping Brisbane moving now and in the future,” he said.

Meanwhile, former councillor Kara Cook has been named the Labor candidate for the federal seat of Bonner.

A missing four-year-old has been found with significant injuries after she was allegedly hidden across multiple addresses and tortured.

The girl was reportedly suffering from bruises, burns, fractures and disfigurement when located by Logan investigators on January 9.

She has since been taken to Logan Hospital for treatment.

“The alleged physical abuse this little girl endured is among the worst I have seen in my career,” Detective Acting Inspector Kent Ellis said in a statement.

“Her injuries are horrific and highlight the unimaginable suffering she has experienced.

“The initial response … saved this child’s life.

“A 32-year-old woman has been refused bail and will appear in court again on March 19, facing more than two dozen charges.”

Police alleged the child was tortured over an extended period, and the adult moved her across multiple addresses to avoid detection.

Australia’s treatment of transgender children and adolescents will be put through the scrutiny of a thorough medical inquiry after the federal government announced a landmark review today.

Health Minister Mark Butler said that interim advice on the use of one part of that treatment, puberty blockers, will be completed in the middle of next year.

Health Minister Mark Butler announced the review into transgender treatment on Friday.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Butler has appointed Australia’s peak medical body, the National Health and Medical Research Council, to develop new national guidelines in place of state guidelines that have seen an explosion in the number of young people transitioning gender.

The review will examine the prescription of both puberty blockers, which stop young adolescents from developing secondary sex features, and also so-called “cross-sex” hormones used to transition young people so their appearance matches their gender identity.

Much of this work has been done in specialised gender clinics based at state children’s hospitals.

The government has not yet indicated whether the use of either puberty blockers or hormone therapy has been paused nationally while the NHMRC inquiry takes place.

Butler’s review follows the Queensland government’s move, announced on Tuesday, to pause the prescription of puberty blockers for young people and order public health facilities to cease offering such interventions to new patients.

Read the full story.

Hugh Cornish was remembered as “a household name” and “the gentleman of television” at a funeral service held at St John’s Cathedral in Brisbane today.

Hugh Cornish was the first person to appear on TV in Queensland.Credit: Nine

Cornish, who died in December aged 90, was Queensland’s first TV celebrity and the first person to appear on local television when he welcomed viewers from the recently built QTQ-9 studio on Mount Coot-tha in 1959.

Cornish’s surviving son Tim said his father was “the Swiss army knife of Australian broadcasting”, referencing Hugh’s multiple roles as newsreader, pianist, comedian, actor, publicist and ultimately producer and programmer during 25 years at the station.

Veteran TV producer John Stainton (The Crocodile Hunter) credited Cornish, his neighbour in the early 1970s, for giving him his start in the industry.

Granddaughter Amy Anderson paid tribute to the family man she knew as “Doll”, saying her mother never forgot the time Cornish brought John Farnham along to a school fundraiser.

Premier David Crisafulli did not attend but sent a handwritten message of sympathy to Tim Cornish thanking him for “sharing your dad with our state”.

A coronial inquest into the death of Toowoomba girl Elizabeth Struhs, who was killed by a fringe religious group, will be launched by the Queensland government.

Child Safety Minister Amanda Camm said the eight-year-old, who was killed by her parents and 12 members of their fringe religious group, was a beautiful innocent girl taken too soon.

“Today I can announce there will be a coronial inquest into her death. I welcome this process and the findings and recommendations that can help fix the broken system we inherited,” Camm said.

The religious group, who called themselves the Saints, were this week found guilty of Elizabeth’s manslaughter, after failing to get her medical help as she lay dying on a mattress on the floor of her home.

The group had refused modern medicine for years, and believed God would raise Elizabeth from the dead.

The union representing casino workers is calling for the Queensland government to consider bailing out Star Entertainment as it teeters on the edge of collapse.

About 5000 jobs would be lost across Brisbane and the Gold Coast if the business goes into administration, the United Workers Union says.

“Collapse would create a devastating ripple effect through our major cities,” director Andrew Jones said in a statement.

“Casino workers should not bear the brunt of management’s failures, nor should the thousands of adjacent businesses and workers who depend on these venues remaining operational.“

The publicly-listed company is reportedly burning through about $35 million a month, with one analyst this month estimating it has a 50 per cent chance of collapse.

In an editorial last year, the Australian Financial Review said the “disgraced casino operator” should does not deserve to be saved from “its self-inflicted” financial woes.

“Casinos operate on a wafer-thin social licence,” the masthead argued. “Any government-subsidised bailout would be an abuse of taxpayers’ money given the question marks over Star’s business model.”