Librarians and other Brisbane City Council workers will walk off the job between 2pm and 4pm today, as part of their union’s campaign for a new pay deal.

Earlier this week, the council disputed that the industrial action would force libraries, call centres and other public services to be closed.

But today they’ve released a statement acknowledging the public will be impacted by the strike.

“Residents are asked to avoid visiting libraries during the two-hour period of industrial action,” the statement says.

“Longer than usual wait times may be experienced at council’s contact centre during the industrial action.

“We thank residents for their patience.”

Bus drivers, also fighting with the council for a new pay deal, are planning their next strike for the afternoon peak tomorrow.

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

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

The Albanese government has tapped its $5.5 billion election war-chest so Labor can promise $200 million for a series of existing and co-funded projects in south-east Queensland.

A Gold Coast beach was closed down this morning after a torpedo was found washed up on the sand at the Spit, near Main Beach, shortly after dawn.

The first home dream is under siege in Brisbane, even for couples earning a typical salary and targeting a modest home.

The day after Marty Sheargold said he would rather “hammer a nail through the head of my penis” than watch women’s soccer, the comedian and presenter claimed endometriosis was “made up”.

Social media giant Meta has been profiting from hundreds of Facebook scam advertisements preying on Australians experiencing financial hardship, leaving taxpayers and charities to foot the bill.

Dolphins star Max Plath has been safeguarded from any potential poaching raid by the NRL’s newest incoming franchise, with the Redcliffe-based club moving to retain the young forward long-term.

Police are confident the fatal shooting of a woman west of Brisbane yesterday is not a random attack, but detectives are still trying to establish a motive in their homicide investigation.

Police swarmed Christmas Street, not far from Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, in North Toowoomba about 2pm after reports of a shooting.

When police arrived, a 27-year-old Wilsonton woman was found with serious injuries. She was taken to Toowoomba Hospital, where she died.

Police later said three associates of the woman were assisting police with their investigation, but as of this afternoon, no one had been arrested or charged.

Read the full story.

Underground tunnelling work on the Snowy 2.0 project in the Australian Alps has been halted after an industrial ventilation fan malfunctioned, sending parts flying, according to the Australian Workers Union.

“This latest incident represents a significant near-miss that could have resulted in workers being killed,” Australian Workers Union NSW Secretary Tony Callinan said.

Snowy Hydro said on Thursday it would conduct an immediate safety review and was considering changes to the leadership of Webuild, the principal contractor on the massive hydroelectric dam.

The project has experienced multiple cost and deadline blowouts since it was first spruiked by former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull in March 2017 with a completion date of 2021 and a price tag of $2 billion.

The project is now expected to cost $12 billion with a 2028 completion deadline.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the deal that will see Qatar Airways take a 25 per cent stake in Virgin Airlines was made “in the national economic interest”.

Speaking at a steel fabricator in Kurri Kurri in NSW’s Hunter region, Chalmers said the deal would put “downward pressure” on the price of flights and attract more tourists.

“It means more options and more flights for Australians. It means more competition in aviation, and it means more customers for our tourism businesses here and right around Australia,” he said.

“More flights is good for competition, more competition is good for prices and that’s been my motivation here.”

Chalmers said the agreement was subject to “some very strict, enforceable conditions” including around local jobs, data sharing and the number of positions the airline could hold on the Virgin board.

As part of the acquisition, Qatar can appoint two of the 12 Virgin board members, one of whom must be an Australian citizen, Chalmers said.

“We’re really confident this is the right call because more competition, more flights, more options puts downward pressure on prices,” he said.

In October last year, Virgin confirmed Qatar’s intention to take a 25 per cent stake in the Australian airline, and flagged it may soon fly to Doha from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth under a “wet-lease” agreement with its new backer.

Librarians and other Brisbane City Council workers will walk off the job between 2pm and 4pm today, as part of their union’s campaign for a new pay deal.

Earlier this week, the council disputed that the industrial action would force libraries, call centres and other public services to be closed.

But today they’ve released a statement acknowledging the public will be impacted by the strike.

“Residents are asked to avoid visiting libraries during the two-hour period of industrial action,” the statement says.

“Longer than usual wait times may be experienced at council’s contact centre during the industrial action.

“We thank residents for their patience.”

Bus drivers, also fighting with the council for a new pay deal, are planning their next strike for the afternoon peak tomorrow.

Reserve Bank deputy governor Andrew Hauser says the bank’s interest rate call is made first thing in the morning on the day of the decision.

Appearing before the Senate economics committee estimates hearing today, Hauser said the formal interest rate decision, which happens approximately every six weeks, is the first item of business on the second day of the RBA’s two-day meetings leading into every decision.

“What the governor likes, usually, to do is to go around the table in the morning on Tuesday,” he said, after board members had reflected overnight on what they’d heard both from staff and one another the day before.

“We usually have a discussion that can be short or can be a bit more extended, and the governor will then take the temperature at the table.”

Hauser said there was no ban on board members discussing matters with each other outside of the meeting but said that “frankly speaking, the substance of that conversation happens there”.

Nine News has revealed a closer-look at the suspicious device that washed up on a Gold Coast beach this morning.

Police were called to the scene before 6am and have set up a 100-metre exclusion zone at The Spit near Main Beach.

The device looks like a torpedo, but has not been formally identified.