Police this morning located and recovered the body of a 23-year-old man who fell into the Brisbane River on the weekend.
The man’s body was found downstream of the Jindalee boat ramp, where he was last seen by friends and family on Sunday morning.
Search efforts began when the man failed to resurface, and involved water police and marine rescue vessels, police divers, SES volunteers and the police helicopter.
A report was being prepared for the coroner.
Thanks for joining us today for our live coverage of news in Brisbane. If you’re just catching up, here are a few of the stories that have made headlines today.
The LNP has quietly commissioned polling canvassing Queenslanders on their support for a new Olympic stadium at Victoria Park.
Police have located and recovered the body of a 23-year-old man who fell into the Brisbane River on the weekend.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers (right) has his address interrupted by a protester at the Queensland Media Club lunch.Credit: AAPIMAGE
Two protesters have crashed the stage at an address given by Treasurer Jim Chalmers at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.
A jury has been unable to reach a unanimous verdict in the trial of a man accused of murder after a young Queensland woman was fatally stabbed on an isolated beach.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner is hopeful another advertising blitz will attract enough tourists to support the businesses forced to close during the recent cyclone and floods.
Star chef Shane Delia’s first Brisbane eatery will be influenced by the cuisine’s trade routes and backed by 140 wines plus a “Single Bottle Club” reserve list.
Detectives have launched an investigation after a man’s body was found at a scaffolding business in Logan.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is considering an election pledge to hold a referendum next term on deporting criminal dual nationals.
And elsewhere, a ceasefire in Russia’s bloody three-year war in Ukraine hinges on Moscow accepting the US proposal of a 30-day pause in fighting as a confidence-building measure for both sides to hammer out a longer-term peace plan.
A jury has been unable to reach a unanimous verdict in the trial of a man accused of murder after a young woman was fatally stabbed on an isolated beach.
Toyah Cordingley, a 24-year-old organic food store worker, was found buried in sand at a beach outside Cairns in far north Queensland on October 22, 2018.
Toyah Cordingley was out walking her dog on Wangetti Beach when she disappeared. Her body was found the next day.Credit: Facebook
Former hospital nurse Rajwinder Singh, 40, from nearby Innisfail had pleaded not guilty to murder.
The jury had begun deliberating on Friday after being shown graphic autopsy photos during a 13-day trial in the Supreme Court in Cairns and hearing from hundreds of witnesses.
Crown prosecutor Nathan Crane told the jury nobody witnessed Ms Cordingley being killed or saw the murderer get away.
But Singh’s distinctive blue Alfa Romeo sedan could be linked to locations of Ms Cordingley’s phone as it contacted cell towers after being taken from her body, he said.
After more than two days of deliberating, the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict and was discharged.
Two protesters have crashed the stage at an address given by Treasurer Jim Chalmers in Brisbane this afternoon.
During the Queensland Media Club event at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, one man walked up to the stage with a blue sign that read “no new coal or gas”.
“Mr Chalmers, Australia cannot afford any more climate disasters,” the man said, while standing next to the treasurer.
“When will the Labor party stop funding more coal and gas projects?”
Security promptly pulled the man from the stage as he repeatedly shouted “when will the Labor party stop funding coal and gas?”
Within seconds, as Chalmers continued with his speech, another protester, a woman carrying the same sign, walked onto the stage and asked the same question before being escorted off the stage.
Despite its commitments to cut emissions and boost renewable energy, the government has copped criticism from climate activists for supporting Australia’s gas production industry and for continuing to approve coal mine developments.
More than 1000 people have signed a petition calling for Queensland’s age of criminal responsibility to be raised from 10 to 16, in line with the age at which young people can access social media.
“Kids are kids and we need one age to determine when a kid is a kid,” states the petition, tabled in parliament this week.
But Attorney-General Deb Frecklington said the LNP government had no plan to change the age of criminal responsibility, which she noted required prosecutors to prove beyond reasonable doubt the child had the capacity to know what they were doing was illegal.
“The Crisafulli government firmly believes that Queenslanders deserve to feel safe in their communities, their homes and their businesses.,” Frecklington wrote in response to the petition.
“Unfortunately, some children jeopardise Queenslanders’ right to feel safe when they commit crimes. That is why the Crisafulli government will not raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility in Queensland.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had dismissed a Coalition proposal to consider a referendum on powers to deport dual national criminals as “another thought bubble”, as internal division within the opposition emerges with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and shadow attorney-general Michaelia Cash making conflicting statements about the idea.
“This is another thought bubble from Peter Dutton that has not made it to lunchtime. This morning, you had Peter Dutton on one TV channel calling for a referendum and Michaelia Cash on another TV channel ruling it out,” Albanese told a Queensland press conference.
Dutton told Seven’s Sunrise this morning that Coalition was proposing “a discussion about whether we have adequate laws and whether the constitution is restrictive”.
“Ultimately, what I want to do is keep our country safe and community safe,” Dutton said.
Meanwhile, appearing on Sky News, Cash said all options were on the table “when it comes to protecting our country and keeping Australians safe” but that the Coalition “has no plans to hold a referendum at this stage and would only look to that option as a last resort”.
Albanese said the idea had “not been thought through”.
“It is not clear where this has come from. Peter Dutton wants to talk about anything but the cost of living,” he said, claiming Dutton had “no plans, just thought bubbles”.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner is hopeful another advertising blitz will attract enough tourists to support the businesses forced to close during the recent cyclone and floods.
The “Brisbane Favours the Bold” campaign, originally launched a year ago, will be given another run interstate and in New Zealand, coinciding with cheap flights facilitated by the state government.
Billboards, posters, online advertising and cinema promos will again declare “Brisbane Favours the Bold”.Credit: Brisbane Economic Development Agency / Brisbane City Council
“This campaign will continue to support local operators by highlighting the people and places that make Brisbane one of the best places in the world to live and visit,” Schrinner said.
Tourism and Environment Minister Andrew Powell said the government was also supporting advertising campaigns promoting other parts of south-east Queensland, such as the Sunshine and Gold coasts.
“Our tourism and hospitality operators are resilient, and they’re ready to welcome you back with open arms,” Powell said.
Brisbane restaurant operators have spoken of the revenue lost due to the recent wild weather and street closures.
Opposition transport spokesperson Bridget McKenzie is leading a push for a “pay on delay” policy that would force airlines to compensate passengers who face delays in a move designed to mirror similar laws overseas and boost competition.
Speaking to ABC’s RN Breakfast this morning about the senate hearing currently probing the issue, McKenzie suggested the Labor government hadn’t effectively regulated the industry, pointing to increases in airfares since the last election.
McKenzie continued: “You shouldn’t have to have a law degree to actually be able to access a refund of your own money, and we’ve seen egregious behaviour by the airlines, in particular, Qantas over recent years and the Coalition believes that customers, travellers deserve to have protections.”
She said it wasn’t acceptable for passengers on cancelled flights to be offered replacement flights days later, because travellers often buy tickets for specific events.
“There’s a whole range of issues with our current system, and we think that the frustrations of the Australian public need to be heard, and we need a set or minimum standard of protection, such as is seen in the UK, Europe and North America.”
A flood-battered region is facing the renewed threat of a days-long deluge leading to still-swollen rivers rising again.
Northern Queensland is in the firing line for rainfall totals exceeding triple digits through to the end of the week just a month after floodwater subsided.
The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast rain extending across the tropical coast, inland to central Queensland and south towards Mackay.
Townsville and the coastal range will likely see the heaviest falls on Tuesday through to Thursday.
It follows the region being drenched by heavy rain over the last day around Tully, Innisfail and Townsville.
Some of the highest rainfall totals include 248mm at Paradise Lagoon with 75mm of that within an hour this morning.
February 2025 was the wettest month in history for some north Queensland towns, with Paluma near Townsville recording more than two metres of rain – double what Sydney receives in a year.
At one stage, 70 schools were inundated and more than 30,000 homes lost power.
There are growing signs Donald Trump’s tariff plans and his broader agenda are buffeting the Australian economy.
The ANZ-Roy Morgan measure of consumer confidence dropped 3.1 points over the past week, falling to its lowest level since October 2024.
There had been sharp lift in confidence after the Reserve Bank cut official interest rates in mid-February, but there’s now been a 3.9 point fall in the index over the past fortnight.
Cyclone Alfred hit consumer confidence in Queensland, but Trump’s tariffs had impacts across the country.Credit: Dan Peled
That includes Trump confirming tariffs on all American steel and aluminium imports, including almost $1 billion worth of purchases from Australia. He has also signalled more tariffs from April 2.
ANZ economist Sophia Angala said Tropical Cyclone Alfred delivered a hit to consumer confidence in Queensland, but global trade uncertainty was weighing on sentiment across the country.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers will deliver a pre-budget speech in Brisbane today where he will note there has been a “seismic” shift in the global economic order since Trump’s inauguration in late January.