As it happened: Brisbane on Monday, April 28

Two children in south-east Queensland and two children in the Philippines have been found by police after they were seen in child exploitation material seized north of Brisbane.

Investigators arrested a 31-year-old man in Kippa Ring in December last year, seizing several digital devices from his home, and charged him with a string of exploitation and drug offences.

The man was arrested at his Kippa Ring home last year.Credit: Queensland Police

With the help of Task Force Argos, Redcliffe police worked to identify and locate the victims depicted. Two were found to be in south-east Queensland, and two more were in the Philippines.

That pair were among four girls and one boy rescued by national police in the Philippines, after a bust on what police said were “abusive environments”.

The Australian children are also being provided support.

Today police said the accused Kippa Ring man had been hit with 24 more charges including grooming a child, indecent treatment of a child under 12 with impairment of the mind, distributing child exploitation material and supplying drugs.

He is due to appear at Redcliffe Magistrates Court on May 1.

Thanks for joining us for our live coverage of news in Brisbane today. We’ll be back tomorrow morning, so please join us.

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

A man has died after a confrontation with security staff in Fortitude Valley. He had been told to leave a business on the corner of Ann Street and Morgan Street about 12.20am.

Local musician Kita Alexander has been recruited to attract interstate holidaymakers to Queensland with a reimagined take on a Madonna classic.

An inquest has heard Joel Cauchi suffered from a treatment-resistant schizophrenia and had been unmedicated for about the last five years of his life before he killed six people at Westfield Bondi Junction. Look back on rolling updates from today’s hearing.

One of the world’s biggest credit rating agencies has put the major parties on notice that Australia could lose its triple A rating if their election promises result in larger structural budget deficits.

And a slice of Annerley history has sold under the hammer for $1.8 million after three determined bidders fought “tooth and nail” for one of the suburb’s last original Queenslanders.

A man is due to appear in court today, after police uncovered 20 kilograms of drugs, including cocaine and heroin, as well as ammunition and fireworks, at a commercial inner-city property last month.

Federal and state police officers raided the Newstead property in Brisbane’s north last month, finding 15.9 kilograms of methamphetamines, 2.4 kilograms of cocaine and 1.5 kilograms of heroin.

An undisclosed quantity of fireworks, 200 rounds of nine-millimetre ammunition, a small amount of anabolic steroid, and “items consistent with the packaging and distribution of drugs” were also found.

On March 19, police arrested a 50-year-old Manly West man who they alleged had access to the site.

He was charged with seven drugs and explosives offences, and one charge of contravening an order about information on a digital device.

Premier David Crisafulli says debate around Welcome to Country ceremonies at Anzac Day services is a “sidetrack” issue.

The Premier was asked again at a press conference this morning about his view on the issues after the incident at Melbourne’s Dawn Service on Friday when convicted neo-Nazi Jacob Hersant led several men in a co-ordinated stunt of booing and heckling during a Welcome to Country.

“The notion that somebody should be booed or heckled is poor form,” Crisafulli said, without offering his personal view on such ceremonies.

“The point I make about all of it is, it’s a sidetrack issue at a time when we need to be talking about things that are genuinely important.

“And that was my issue with the Voice referendum.

“We spent the better part of 12 months tearing the country in two, talking about something that in real terms wasn’t going to move the needle.”

Crisafulli suggested there be more discussion about housing and “which communities don’t have adequate running water”.

“That’s something that I’d welcome discussed in this country.”

Rugby league Immortal Wally Lewis has married his partner of four years Lynda Adams at a small ceremony in Brisbane.

The 65-year-old football great, known as the King, married at Adams at St Mary’s Anglican Church in Kangaroo Point on Saturday afternoon before friends and family including longtime Footy Show presenter Paul “Fatty” Vautin, before celebrating at Old Government House.

“Yesterday was a very special day for Lynda and I, surrounded by people we love. It begins a new chapter for both of us and we couldn’t be happier,” Lewis wrote on Instagram with a photo of his bride.

Lewis announced his separation from his first wife Jacqui, with whom he had three children – Lincoln, Mitchell and Jamie-Lee – in 2021, after 36 years of marriage.

He wrote recently about hiding his epilepsy during his playing days.

“My epilepsy diagnosis was hidden for years through my rugby league career and then through my role as a sports presenter on Nine News in Brisbane,” he wrote.

“It couldn’t be hidden when I had a seizure in front of hundreds of thousands of people as I read the sports bulletin on Channel 9 in Brisbane. That was November 16, 2006.”

He has also been frank about his diagnosis of suspected chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) – “a type of dementia associated with repeated head injuries, concussions or sub-concussions”.

Rugby league fans with tickets to the Magic Round in Brisbane this weekend have been urged not to forget their democratic responsibilities amidst the excitement.

The Australian Electoral Commission says 150,000 fans, including many from interstate, were expected to travel to Suncorp Stadium for the series of games this weekend.

Early voting centres are available to all voters, including interstate travellers. But on the day, “not all polling places facilitate interstate voting”, the commission said.

People travelling from outside of Queensland and voting on the day are encouraged to go to three large interstate voting centres in Brisbane City, West End and Indooroopilly.

For local voters planning to cast their ballots on Saturday, the commission has increased capacity for 11 polling places near Suncorp: Paddington, Paddington East, Paddington South, Red Hill, the Brisbane City super booth, Auchenflower, Bowen Hills, Fortitude Valley, Hamilton East, South Brisbane and West End.

Two children in south-east Queensland and two children in the Philippines have been found by police after they were seen in child exploitation material seized north of Brisbane.

Investigators arrested a 31-year-old man in Kippa Ring in December last year, seizing several digital devices from his home, and charged him with a string of exploitation and drug offences.

The man was arrested at his Kippa Ring home last year.Credit: Queensland Police

With the help of Task Force Argos, Redcliffe police worked to identify and locate the victims depicted. Two were found to be in south-east Queensland, and two more were in the Philippines.

That pair were among four girls and one boy rescued by national police in the Philippines, after a bust on what police said were “abusive environments”.

The Australian children are also being provided support.

Today police said the accused Kippa Ring man had been hit with 24 more charges including grooming a child, indecent treatment of a child under 12 with impairment of the mind, distributing child exploitation material and supplying drugs.

He is due to appear at Redcliffe Magistrates Court on May 1.

Premier David Crisafulli says Anzac Day should focus on servicemen and women, but has stopped short of saying a Welcome to Country should not be performed at dawn services.

The issue came to the fore over the weekend after convicted neo-Nazi Jacob Hersant led several men in a co-ordinated stunt of booing and heckling during a Welcome to Country at Melbourne’s Anzac Day dawn service at the Shrine of Remembrance on Friday.

Police take Jacob Hersant away from Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance on Friday.Credit: Getty Images

Speaking to Peter Fegan on 4BC Radio this morning, Crisafulli said he wanted the focus to be on Indigenous issues, not Welcome to Country.

“What I want is for us to start talking about the real conversation we have to have, and that’s not the Welcome to Country,” he said.

Crisafulli was asked a second time. “But do you think it has a place though, Premier, in an Anzac Day ceremony?” Fegan asked.

The Premier replied: “Well ... my view is the RSL [runs] dawn services, but I think the commentary from the diggers is pretty clear. We want that day to be something that focuses on their service. And ... I think that’s the least we can give them after a lifetime of service.”

Crisafulli said he wanted governments to be focused on initiatives for Indigenous communities “that actually can get real outcomes, not the same rubbish that we just continue to go through time and time again without turning things around”.

Queenslanders have dug into their wallets to support life-saving research, care and equipment at Mater Mothers’ Hospital, and raised a record figure.

The 2025 Nine Telethon collected a total of $10,005,545 for Mater Little Miracles on Saturday night, beating its goal of $9 million.

Mater Foundation CEO Andrew Thomas and Nine’s Melissa Downes, Tim Davies and Kylie Blucher.Credit: Nine

The money will go towards the Mater Little Miracles campaign, which strengthens Mater’s work in neonatal intensive care and maternal-fetal medicine.

“I am thrilled that these life-saving funds will help Mater Little Miracles to continue their critical work, giving our tiniest Queenslanders the best start to life,” said Nine Queensland’s managing director Kylie Blucher.

Donations can still be made at www.9telethon.com.au.

Premier David Crisafulli, Attorney-General Deb Frecklington and Police Minister Dan Purdie are addressing media at 1 William Street in Brisbane.

A man is fighting for his life after an e-scooter crash south-west of Brisbane.

The man fell while riding on Springfield Parkway, Springfield, shortly before 7.30pm on Sunday.

He sustained a significant head injury and multiple abrasions.

He was taken by paramedics to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in a life-threatening condition.