Brisbane news live: Schrinner heckled over bid to move long-term homeless out of parks | Olympic sports decision delayed | Woman dies in crash south of Brisbane

It’s tough to get around parts of inner Brisbane today.

You can’t walk over the Story Bridge, you can’t ride up from the Bicentennial Bikeway, and you can’t get an escalator up to the platforms at Roma Street.

A spokesperson for Queensland Rail confirmed that damage from the heavy rains connected to Cyclone Alfred was behind the outage of all escalators, which has continued until today.

They said lifts at the station were prioritised and had been back in action since Wednesday last week, so anyone who can’t walk up the stairs can still get to their trains.

There’s no date for when the escalators will be fixed. “It’s a big job,” QR said.

A string of tobacconists have been broken into in an early-morning blitz.

The break and enters occurred across Brisbane and the Gold Coast this morning.

A group attempted to gain entry to a tobacconist on Aminya Road tobacconist at Mansfield about 2.30am.

About an hour later police were called to a break and enter at a Broadwater Terrace tobacconist in Redland Bay.

At 4.20am three people carrying machetes entered a Kumgum Street convenience store at Jacobs Well and stole cigarettes and cash.

Another tobacconist directly across the road was also broken into.

A grey sedan was seen near all the businesses and police are investigating if the crimes are linked.

Wynnum Library has been closed until further notice after the discovery of mould and moisture following Cyclone Alfred.

Annerley Library has also closed because of mould.

Brisbane City Council advises that the libraries will reopen as soon as it is safe for them to do so.

Its 31 other libraries are open as usual, as are online library services.

Queensland Health advises that exposure to mould may be dangerous to those with asthma, lung disease and allergies, as well as elderly people or people with chronic illness.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton claims the prime minister “isn’t mature enough” to engage in a citizenship debate, after Anthony Albanese dismissed Dutton’s proposal for a referendum on deporting criminal dual nationals as a “thought bubble”.

“When faced with this question, would you cancel the citizenship of somebody who committed a terrorist act or somebody who had committed acts of sexual abuse against 15 children, is the prime minister suggesting the person should stay on as an Australian citizen?” Dutton asked, speaking at a press conference in Perth.

Dutton said that if he were to win government, he would fight hard to keep women and children safe.

“I want a mandate for the Australian people to be able to implement laws which are necessary to keep us safe,” Dutton said.

“The prime minister dismisses it as a thought bubble.”

Defence Minister Richard Marles says it is “obviously very disappointing” that the Gaza ceasefire has ended, after Israel launched airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday killing more than 400 Palestinians.

“We wanted to see the entire terms of the ceasefire fulfilled. And to be clear, that does mean the return of hostages to Israel,” Marles told Nine’s Today.

Marles called on the international community to support the fulfilment of the full terms of the ceasefire.

“I think for all of us, there has been so much death in the Middle East over such a long period of time. We don’t want to see this continue and we’ll be exercising our voice to see that a ceasefire is maintained.”

Read more about the end of the ceasefire here.

McDonald’s will defend its plan to build a new fast food outlet at Hendra, hiring legal firm Clayton Utz to deal with a court bid to overturn the development approval.

After protests to block the development were unsuccessful, residents raised funds to appeal against Brisbane City Council’s approval in the Planning and Environment Court.

The appeal, lodged last week, argued that 436 of the 445 submissions to council opposed the project, which would prove disruptive and did not service a community need.

Within days of the appeal being lodged, McDonald’s confirmed its intention to defend the matter, with Clayton Utz hired to run its case against the residents’ law firm, Dentons Australia.

Brisbane needs to think about “legacy”, the city’s Lord Mayor says, as the public release of a 100-day review of Olympic venues looms and a decision on the sports to feature has been delayed.

“We’ve got six days to go [before] the state government will bring out their 100-day review,” Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said, speaking on Nine’s Today program this morning.

“[I’m] looking forward to getting some decisions made, getting shovels in the ground and getting on with it.”

Schrinner said inner-city venues such as Victoria Park made sense because of their transport links, and the proposed covered Brisbane Arena would be “a fantastic legacy outcome as well”.

“Ultimately it’s about what’s good in the long term. What leaves a great legacy, not for the two weeks of the games, but what about the cricket? The AFL? Major concerts?” he said.

“We don’t have a world-class stadium in Brisbane of an oval shape, and so we need that.”

The debate over venues has also forced the International Olympic Committee, which met in Greece this week, to delay its decision about the initial program of sports for the Brisbane event.

The IOC normally announces the program seven years before the Games are to be held. But, saying it needed more time to assess Brisbane’s infrastructure, the committee has delayed the announcement until next year.

Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor says a proposal to hold a referendum on deporting criminal dual nationals is “not Coalition policy”, but merely an option the opposition is “prepared to consider”.

Taylor told ABC’s RN Breakfast the Coalition would “always look at any option that might ensure that Australians are safe”.

“This is not our policy, but it is something, like any option that will ensure that Australians are safe, that we were prepared to consider,” he said.

Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor.Credit: Oscar Colman

Asked how the idea would increase safety given it could only be enacted once a serious crime had already been committed, Taylor claimed that people who commit offences are more likely to commit them again.

“That’s one of the reasons why we use detention to ensure that we don’t get repeat crimes, and that’s why we take action against people who are criminals and who do the wrong thing.”

Host Sally Sara pushed Taylor on how proposing another referendum fit with the Coalition’s criticism of the $400 million cost of the Voice referendum during a cost of living crisis. Taylor replied that the Coalition would “make sure that our budget position is stronger than Labor’s”.

Read our exclusive reporting on the referendum idea here.

Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie has ordered more consultation in relation to two wind farm projects awaiting state government approval.

“It’s only fair that the regions that play host to these large-scale new developments are consulted as part of any approval process,” Bleijie said.

“The [LNP] government will continue to consult on the implementation of its broader election commitment to provide the social licence that developers need when delivering projects of this nature, providing community and investor certainty.”

Applications for the Marmadua Energy Park and the Middle Creek Energy Hub – 23 kilometres east of Tara and 15 kilometres south of Wandoan, respectively – have been issued with proposed “call in” notices.

Bleijie took similar action in relation to three other projects and last week allowed one, the Bungaban Renewable Energy Farm near Wandoan, to proceed to a decision.

Defence Minister Richard Marles says Australia does not support peace in Ukraine “on any terms” and that Russia must not be rewarded in any deal.

“Obviously, any moves towards peace, we have to welcome, but I think our principles stay the same here,” Marles told Nine’s Today.

Defence Minister Richard Marles visits Ukrainian troops outside Lviv, near the Polish border, in April 2024.Credit: Department of Defence

Marles said Ukraine needs to be “empowered in this process” and that while America had involved Ukraine, it’s “really important that Russia is not rewarded in what is put forward and how this plays out”.

“We do want to see peace, but it can’t be peace on any terms. At the end of the day, Russia are the aggressors here. Russia are the ones who have done wrong,” he said.

“We need to be standing with Ukraine, and Ukraine need to be able to resolve this on their terms.”

Read more about the limited ceasefire Putin agreed to after a call with Donald Trump here.