As it happened: Brisbane on Tuesday, April 8

Medieval-style weapons were among the cache of illegal contraband found at a Queensland home on the weekend.

Guns, tasers, drugs and cash were also recovered when police raided the home at Longboat Drive in Biggera Waters on Saturday and arrested a 52-year-old man.

About 20 weapons including seemingly homemade axes and a mace were found inside.

The cache of weapons was seized on the Gold Coast at the weekend.Credit: Queensland Police

Four firearms, two tasers, a large quantity of ammunition, various bladed weapons, a crossbow, ninja stars, batons, knuckledusters, illegal and prescription drugs, and $15,000 cash were also seized.

“Illegal firearms and illicit drugs have no place in our community, and we will continue to target offenders and do everything we can to keep the community safe,” Detective Acting Inspector Adrian Sala said in a statement.

“We urge anyone who has information about these types of offences to contact police.”

The man has been charged with 28 drug and weapons offences and is due before Southport Magistrates Court on May 9.

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 that made headlines today:

The ASX has bounced higher after a wild night on Wall Street, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton are preparing for their first leaders debate tonight. Follow our rolling coverage of the election campaign here.

The heritage-listed Stock Exchange Hotel and F.H. Faulding Warehouse would be transformed into a two-storey wine bar, upmarket retail spaces and the lobby for a new 39-storey office building under the latest plan to revitalise the Brisbane CBD.

A key energy project that will connect regional Queensland to the national power grid has suffered another cost blowout, ballooning to more than double the original estimate.

Beijing has responded to Donald Trump’s threats of more tariffs with one of its own, calling the US trade strategy of inflicting higher duties on other countries blackmail and vowing to “fight to the end”.

And as the White Lotus wraps up its third season, the central mystery may have been solved – but did it live up to the hype?

With one in three children burned from campfires typically injured on the Easter weekend, specialists from the Queensland Children’s Hospital have urged parents to remain vigilant across the holiday break.

Queensland Children’s Hospital burns surgeon Craig McBride said 70 children were treated for campfire burns last year.

“Children most at risk are toddlers up to four years old, with hands and feet being the body parts most frequently injured when they unknowingly walk on or fall into hot coals,” he said.

“If a burn results in scarring, children may require ongoing surgeries throughout their childhood to maintain function in the injured limbs.”

The hospital advised parents to fully extinguish fires with water, as using sand or dirt could trap heat underground and pose a risk for up to eight hours.

If an injury does occur … the recommended first-aid treatment for a burn is to place the injured area under cool running water for 20 minutes and seek medical treatment immediately by phoning 000,” McBride said.

The Queensland Fire Department offers safety guidelines for a range of outdoor fire types on its website.

The heritage-listed Stock Exchange Hotel and F.H. Faulding Warehouse would be transformed into a two-storey wine bar, upmarket retail spaces and the lobby for a new 39-storey office building under the latest plan to revitalise the Brisbane CBD.

The striking proposal for Brisbane Place would see a “landmark building” rise above the corner pub, and continue the commercial gentrification of Edward Street, capitalising on the nearby Waterfront Brisbane project and Kangaroo Point Bridge.

Renders of Brisbane Place, a commercial tower proposed for the Stock Exchange Hotel site in the CBD.

Read the full story.

The Greens are demanding the Reserve Bank hold an emergency board meeting to slash interest rates.

Financial markets are tipping the bank will cut official interest rates by at least a quarter percentage point at its next meeting on May 19-20 as it seeks to offset the fallout from Donald Trump’s tariff war.

But Greens economic justice spokesman Nick McKim said the bank should meet much sooner.

“The RBA will cut interest rates at their next meeting, but they should not sit on their hands for another six weeks while the crisis unfolds,” he said.

Greens economic justice spokesman Nick McKim.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

“CPI [consumer price index] is already in the RBA’s target band and trending down, and economists are debating the size of the upcoming interest rate cut, not whether or not it will happen. There is no justification for the RBA to delay.”

The last time the RBA held an emergency board meeting was in March 2020 during the early stages of the COVID pandemic. It cut the cash rate from 0.5 per cent to 0.25 per cent.

For more news from the election campaign, follow our dedicated live blog here.

Medieval-style weapons were among the cache of illegal contraband found at a Queensland home on the weekend.

Guns, tasers, drugs and cash were also recovered when police raided the home at Longboat Drive in Biggera Waters on Saturday and arrested a 52-year-old man.

About 20 weapons including seemingly homemade axes and a mace were found inside.

The cache of weapons was seized on the Gold Coast at the weekend.Credit: Queensland Police

Four firearms, two tasers, a large quantity of ammunition, various bladed weapons, a crossbow, ninja stars, batons, knuckledusters, illegal and prescription drugs, and $15,000 cash were also seized.

“Illegal firearms and illicit drugs have no place in our community, and we will continue to target offenders and do everything we can to keep the community safe,” Detective Acting Inspector Adrian Sala said in a statement.

“We urge anyone who has information about these types of offences to contact police.”

The man has been charged with 28 drug and weapons offences and is due before Southport Magistrates Court on May 9.

A key energy project that will connect regional Queensland to the national power grid has suffered another cost blowout, ballooning to more than double the original estimate.

But the Queensland government remains committed to delivering the transmission line despite the toll on the bottom line.

CopperString, originally slated at $5 billion, will connect the state’s north-west to the grid through an 840km power line running from south of Townsville to Mount Isa.

The “true cost” of the power line from the coast to Mount Isa is now expected to be $13.9 billion.Credit: Paul Jones

The LNP government announced after the 2024 state election that the cost of CopperString had increased to $9 billion after receiving internal briefing documents.

Read the full story.

Star Entertainment workers are “cautiously optimistic” about the deal the embattled casino chain secured last night, their union says.

Andrew Jones, the casinos director for the United Workers Union, said the agreement struck with US suitor Bally’s was a “sensible resolution”.

The Star Casino in Brisbane.Credit: Joe Ruckli

“Nine thousand Star Casino workers have faced the prospect of imminent job losses since Star revealed its financial difficulties in January this year,” he said.

Jones said the closure of the chain would have had knock-on impacts for supporting businesses that rely on foot traffic from the casino giant, resulting in hundreds of additional job losses.

“Any deal that promises to keep venues in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sydney operating as a going concern is a good result for the Star workers, their families and the communities they live in.”

The Queensland state government had previously said it would protect jobs at the Brisbane Queen’s Wharf and Gold Coast casinos if the chain entered administration.

A man has died after a neighbour interrupted an fight at a Maroochydore property yesterday afternoon.

Police said two men – aged 49 and 82 – were involved in a confrontation at a Deejay Street property yesterday when a neighbour overhead them and attempted to “render assistance”.

Emergency services were called about 1.30pm, but the 49-year-old died at the scene.

Paramedics reported a second patient was taken to Nambour Hospital in stable condition.

Police did not suspect any weapons were involved, and maintained there was no threat to public safety.

The 47-year-old neighbour was assisting police with inquiries.

A crime scene has been declared, and investigations were continuing today.

The board of Star Entertainment has secured a deal that will keep the casino operator’s doors open.

In an update announced to the ASX last night, Star says it will hand the keys to US suitor Bally’s in return for a $300 million cash injection that might also include pokies billionaire Bruce Mathieson.

Bally’s will inject up to $300 million, as proposed last month, but this will be reduced if Star’s majority shareholder, Mathieson, agrees to tip in $100 million.

The Star at Queen’s Wharf in Brisbane.Credit: Courtney Kruk

With its cash running out within days, Star said it expects to receive $100 million by Wednesday, although this is still subject to the consent of its lenders.

Bally’s chairman Soo Kim inspected Star’s casinos this year when Bally’s was considering bidding for assets if Star entered administration.

Bally’s runs 19 casinos that Kim has acquired in distressed sales over the years. Star would be the latest.

A train breakdown was behind commuter disruptions across Brisbane yesterday afternoon.

Delays of about 60 minutes were reported in both directions on the Caboolture, Sunshine Coast, and Redcliffe Peninsula lines.

Services were backed up for more than two hours.Credit: Tammy Law

It came after a train loaded with passengers lost power near Virginia about 4.11pm.

Services were backed up for more than two hours.

The broken-down train was towed to Sunshine station in Geebung where passengers were able to get off.