As it happened: Brisbane on Friday, August 30

The man wanted by police after scalding coffee was poured on a baby reportedly went to a nearby church and changed his clothes following the attack.

According to Nine News, the individual was seen outside the chapel, on Duke and Cornwall street in Annerley, before catching a rideshare car to Caxton Street near Suncorp Stadium.

The chapel where the man was said to be seen getting changed on Tuesday.Credit: Nine News

The attack occurred about midday on Tuesday at Hanlon Park near Stones Corner. The baby’s mother told Brisbane Times an unknown man came up behind her and poured hot coffee on the nine-month-old before running away.

He remains on the run. The baby is at Queensland Children’s Hospital after undergoing surgery for serious burns to his face, chest, back, legs and arms.

That’s where we’ll leave our live updates. We’ll be back with you on Monday morning. Here are the main stories making headlines today:

People have been ordered to evacuate from the site of a fiery crash after a semi-trailer carrying chemicals and a ute collided on a major highway and the large truck exploded.

A child was forced to call triple zero after two people died from an adverse reaction to cocaine allegedly supplied by a Brisbane man, who is now facing two counts of murder.

And the final hours of winter are shaping up as a massive weekend in Brisbane. From Riverfire to the Battle of Brisbane, here’s your guide to the biggest weekend of the year.

Speaking of Saturday, temperatures have been predicted to soar to within a degree of Brisbane’s record August maximum.

A former Rosmarino chef is doing a la carte during the week and degustations on weekends at this new Paddington Italian restaurant, with anywhere up to 18 plates. A week before it opens, we take a peek inside.

And in sport, here’s the story of the breakdancer who paid the price for the Raygun memes.

Also, Gout Gout’s dominant victories have made him world famous on social media, and the teenager just did it again.

Some Queensland landowners are resisting mandatory baiting programs to manage the spread of fire ants.

Signs are appearing on gates and along fence lines, proclaiming: “We do not consent to the poisoning of us, our properties, pets, livestock, wildlife and ecosystems”.

In response, the National Fire Ant Eradication Program has issued some landholders with notices warning they do not have the legal right to lock out treatment and surveillance teams, and obstruction could result in fines of more than $14,000.

A Facebook forum, titled Stop the Toxic Fire Ants Program, has more than 2000 followers and features posts urging objectors to confront workers attached to the baiting program.

Some posts identify public servants attached to the program, while others include footage of residents confronting workers.

Queensland Agriculture Minister Mark Furner says the science is clear, and fire ant treatments are safe and effective.

“This group is spreading misinformation that fire ant bait is a poison – it is not.”

AAP

The festival starts on Saturday with a literal bang as the annual pyrotechnic extravaganza Riverfire explodes from bridges, barges and rooftops. Find out everything you need to about viewing locations, bridge and street closures here.

Opera Australia’s new musical Straight from the Strait tells the story of the Torres Strait Islanders who broke records building vital railways in Western Australia. There are two more performances of this world premiere, tonight and tomorrow.

A brand new venue, the West End Electric, has just opened its doors with previews of acclaimed circus cabaret Limbo: The Return from Brisbane’s Strut and Fret company.

Lightscape has returned to the City Botanic Gardens with all-new lightworks and installations by local and international artists.

Last year’s Lightscape drew people out of their homes, and it’s sure to do the same this year.Credit: Lightscape

A free concert in the Festival Garden in South Brisbane, Meeanjin Songlinez goes from 3-7pm on Sunday with a line-up of Queensland First Nations artists headlined by Birdz & Fred Leone.

The Dream Weaver: Guardians of Grace is a free exhibition of works by Grace Lillian Lee, an artist with Chinese and Aboriginal heritage who is also contributing to Jean Paul Gaultier’s Fashion Freakshow. The show runs from 10am daily.

It’s not part of the festival but PIP Theatre is staging the Tony-winning musical Fun Home, based on the graphic novel by Ailson Bechdel of ‘Bechdel Test’ fame. Also the Quandamooka Festival takes place this weekend on Minjerribah/North Stradbroke Island with performances by Jem Cassar-Daley, Kunjiel (corroborees), food, crafts, panel discussions, and films.

A child was forced to call triple zero after two people died from an adverse reaction to cocaine allegedly supplied by a Brisbane man, who is now facing two counts of murder.

The two friends were found unresponsive by emergency services at a house in Kentville Street, Mitchelton, in the city’s north-west, about 9am on Thursday.

Steven Mataka Henry, 41, who police say knew the pair, was taken into custody at the scene.

Two bodies were found at a property in Kentville Street in Mitchelton on Thursday morning.Credit: Nine News

He was later charged by detectives with the murder of Stephen John Peters, 61, from Keperra, and Jasmine Lee Sloane, 35, from Mitchelton.

Read more.

A collision between a car and truck south of Gladstone this morning has prompted a large exclusion zone because of explosions from the crash site.

The B-double semi-trailer truck involved in a crash with a ute near Bororen about 5.30am was suspected to be carrying the hazardous flammable material ammonium nitrate, which ignited and spread to both vehicles.

A smoke plume is seen near the Bruce Highway after the collision this morning.Credit: Facebook/Queensland Ambulance Service

Queensland Ambulance Service acting senior operations supervisor John Hodson-Gilmore said the exclusion zone was a 2.5-kilometre radius around the crash zone.

He said a large explosion near the Bruce Highway had prompted its closure.

“That explosion has possibly damaged part of the highway,” Hodson-Gilmore said.

“There’s significant debris across the highway for approximately 50m onto the other side of the highway.”

The truck driver was pulled from his vehicle by bystanders before it ignited.

He has been flown to Bundaberg Hospital for treatment, and was said to be “suffering some abdominal and right abdominal and leg injuries and a small head injury”.

Paramedics were working on the scene and were yet to confirm the status of the car’s driver.

The man wanted by police after scalding coffee was poured on a baby reportedly went to a nearby church and changed his clothes following the attack.

According to Nine News, the individual was seen outside the chapel, on Duke and Cornwall street in Annerley, before catching a rideshare car to Caxton Street near Suncorp Stadium.

The chapel where the man was said to be seen getting changed on Tuesday.Credit: Nine News

The attack occurred about midday on Tuesday at Hanlon Park near Stones Corner. The baby’s mother told Brisbane Times an unknown man came up behind her and poured hot coffee on the nine-month-old before running away.

He remains on the run. The baby is at Queensland Children’s Hospital after undergoing surgery for serious burns to his face, chest, back, legs and arms.

The NSW casino regulator says it needs more time to decide what to do about the struggling Star Entertainment Group after receiving the findings of a damning report into its culture, while the group’s executives scramble to keep the casino business financially viable.

Adam Bell, SC, was commissioned by the regulator to launch a second probe into The Star following concerns it had not adequately committed to cultural reform since it was disgraced for extensive anti-money laundering and counterterrorism failings in 2022. The Star was due to issue its full-year results today but entered a trading halt after receiving a copy of the report.

In Brisbane, the long-awaited Queen’s Wharf development, Star casino and The Star Grand hotel opened this week.Credit: Matt Dennien

Bell’s report found The Star was without “appropriate leadership” for 10 months over the past year and was helmed by “dysfunctional” executives. It also found its board had competing priorities who could not juggle between trying to stay fiscally afloat, juggle its remediation demands and appropriately engage with the executives.

The Star received a copy of the report today, one month after Bell issued it to the regulator.

Read more on this breaking story here.

NAB chief executive Andrew Irvine says cost-of-living pressures continue to be the greatest source of stress for households with some parts of the economy coming under heavier pressure.

Appearing before the House of Representatives Economics committee inquiry today, Irvine said the economy should grow more quickly in the second half of the year but that it was a challenging environment for now.

CEO Andrew Irvine.Credit: Eamon Gallagher

“Growth is weaker than it has been for many years, though still positive,” he said.

“The job market continues to show resilience but is softening ... my view is that there are two Australias, and a two-speed economy operating at present.”

Irvine said the bank’s consumer sentiment survey showed cost-of-living remained the biggest source of stress for households.

Customers in certain sectors and certain geographies are doing well and are ambitious to grow, Irvine said, including mining and resources businesses and consumers living and working in parts of Western Australia and Queensland.

Meanwhile, he said retail and parts of the construction industry were doing it tougher and that states such as Victoria and NSW were under more pressure than others.

“Our data shows people are having to make tough decisions about where they spend their money,” he said.

“They are getting by, but it is hard.”

Charges have been laid after two bodies were found in a Brisbane home yesterday.

A 61-year-old Keperra man and a 35-year-old Mitchelton woman were declared dead at the Kentville Street property in Mitchelton after 8.50am.

Officers arrested a 41-year-old Greenslopes man at the scene. The man was allegedly known to the two victims.

He is charged with two counts of murder, supplying dangerous drugs and possessing dangerous drugs. The man will front Brisbane Magistrates Court today.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese “got a bad rap” when his conversation was recorded by a journalist on the sidelines of a major Pacific forum in Tonga.

Albanese was filmed by a New Zealand journalist while he was speaking with US diplomat Kurt Campbell, expressing his delight at locking in support for the Pacific Policing Initiative from members of the Pacific Islands Forum, joking about the US paying half of the $400 million Australia will spend on the pact.

Speaking on Nine’s Today program about the incident, Dutton said Albanese’s reaction to the incident was more of an issue than what was said on camera.

“To be honest, I think the PM’s probably getting a bit of a bad rap in relation to the hot mike incident and it’s generally the cover-up, not the crime that causes the problem and I think … the PM’s got a bit of a temper, as we know, and I think it’s his reaction and the way that he’s overreacted to it,” Dutton said.

“That’s now overclouded the government’s announcement and that’s unfortunate because what he said and the discussion he had with Kurt Campbell, who’s a great friend of Australia, as you know, I don’t think there was anything too exciting in that.”