As it happened: Brisbane on Thursday, July 31

Queensland’s rebooted Productivity Commission has turned in its first work for the Crisafulli government, with an interim report from its inquiry into the construction sector. An election pitch from the LNP, the commission and its first probe is one plank of the government’s efforts against the CFMEU, including reviewing the so-called “CFMEU tax”.

In the commission’s report released today, it laid out the wide range of issues those involved in consultation had raised, from inconsistent regulation and planning to the labour market. It found that the industry was not keeping pace with the pipeline of work in demand – from housing to major infrastructure – which has more than doubled since December 2020.

While productivity has fallen about 9 per cent since 2018, the report noted this only “may” be a unique problem to Queensland. The report has made a series of proposed recommendations, including permanently scrapping – and resetting – the former government’s major project procurement policies. Submissions are due by August 28, with a final report to be handed to the government by October 24.

Earlier this week, the official Queensland Police Union page on Facebook shared a post to mark the in-principle signing of a workplace agreement with the state government. Then the negative comments, from their own members, began to arrive.

Despite turning off the ability to comment on the post, and hiding those there, 630 of the 720 reactions are angry face emojis.

The post paints a picture of the frustrations within the ranks. In a note to members last night, union president Shane Prior reiterated the 3 per cent rise this year, and 2.5 per cent for each of the next two, was an “insulting” state wages offer to all public servants.

Prior said that despite this, the “completely inflexible” position of the government, and threats of withheld backpay if bargaining dragged on, he said the negotiation team had managed to win an extra $163 million above the initial offer through penalty rates, allowances, and an $8000 retention bonus “that are not being offered to the rest of the public service”.

He said the in-principle agreement had the unanimous support of the union executive, and “could not proceed without the endorsement of all regional representatives”. Presentations across the state will kick off from next week, where members will be able to ask questions.

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Prior also noted that members ultimately had the final say when they vote on the agreement in September. If rejected, talks would then enter arbitration via the Industrial Relations Commission – where the government has already sent stalled nurses and teachers talks.

Unlike the nurses, teachers, and all other union members in the state, police are restricted in what kind of industrial action they are allowed to take to pressure the government for better pay and conditions – including the ability to strike.

Queensland’s rebooted Productivity Commission has turned in its first work for the Crisafulli government, with an interim report from its inquiry into the construction sector. An election pitch from the LNP, the commission and its first probe is one plank of the government’s efforts against the CFMEU, including reviewing the so-called “CFMEU tax”.

In the commission’s report released today, it laid out the wide range of issues those involved in consultation had raised, from inconsistent regulation and planning to the labour market. It found that the industry was not keeping pace with the pipeline of work in demand – from housing to major infrastructure – which has more than doubled since December 2020.

While productivity has fallen about 9 per cent since 2018, the report noted this only “may” be a unique problem to Queensland. The report has made a series of proposed recommendations, including permanently scrapping – and resetting – the former government’s major project procurement policies. Submissions are due by August 28, with a final report to be handed to the government by October 24.

For those wondering, mysterious lights spotted in the sky over south-east Queensland and northern NSW, which prompted myriad social media theories on Wednesday night, were the result of rocket launched about 7000 kilometres away.

South Maclean resident Marion McLennan captured the moment when she took her bins for collection shortly after sunset at her home just south of Brisbane.

“[The lights] lingered and moved from north-west toward east and then finally disappeared,” she said.

While several theories – some more outlandish than others – circulated on social media, University of Southern Queensland astrophysicist Professor Jonti Horner confirmed the phenomenon was a result of a Chinese commercial rocket launch.

Read more from social media journalist Neesha Sinnya.

Brisbane’s music calendar for September is packed to the brim

Brisbane Festival has released its full contemporary music program for the year and September is shaping up to be a music-lover’s dream.

There are a number of festivals running – Tivoli in the Round, Brisbane Serenades and Night at the Parkland – with the likes of Mallrat, Sissy and 2Charm (September 5), Lime Cordiale and Jack River (September 6), Xavier Rudd (September 7) and Grinspoon (September 12) among the big acts taking the stage.

Sarah Blasko is also performing shows at The Princess Theatre (September 23) and The Tivoli (September 25).

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In other Brisbane Festival news, it was recently announced that Ebony Bott will step into the role of artistic director, replacing the outgoing Louise Bezzina.

Bott has worked for two decades at major cultural institutions including Adelaide Festival Centre and Arts Centre Melbourne, and comes to the Brisbane Festival from her current role as head of contemporary performance at the Sydney Opera House.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has said it is Labor’s “working assumption” that the Trump administration is still proposing a 10 per cent tariff on Australian goods, two days after US President Donald Trump suggested the trade penalty could rise to 20 per cent if a trade deal was not struck before the August 1 deadline.

Trump suggested sweeping tariffs of 15 to 20 per cent on all global trade partners unable to negotiate a deal with the US, as he signed a trade deal with the European Union in Scotland earlier this week.

Chalmers told Nine’s Today this morning that he understood a 10 per cent tariff, announced by Trump in April, remained the penalty American officials were levelling at Australian goods, describing that as Labor’s “working assumption” in what is an extremely fluid environment.

“From our point of view, the 10 per cent is too high. We think it should be zero because these tariffs are an act of economic self-harm.”

In the world of illegal e-bikes, Queensland police have confirmed they’re targeting illegal and dangerous use of e-bikes and e-scooters in the Maroochydore area, with parents potentially being handed fines for their children’s actions.

“The main issues we see on e-scooters and e-bikes are unlicenced driving of an unregistered vehicle, speeding and dangerous driving, including wheelies, swerving in and out of traffic, driving the wrong way on roads and illegal modifications of the devices,” said Sergeant Ryan Cole.

Operation Raptor Wheelie will be running until the end of December and will involve high visibility and covert patrols to reduce road trauma.

Additionally, the operation will focus on educating parents around their responsibilities as most illegal e-bike and e-scooter use is committed by children, according to police.

“Parents can and will be fined or charged for permitting their child’s dangerous or illegal use of an e-scooter or e-bike,” Cole said.

Unsure what makes an e-bike illegal? Our transport reporter Felicity Caldwell recently explained the difference here.

The organisation responsible for running Queensland’s first permanent pill testing sites has released a report examining the efficacy of the service, after the state government refused to make public the findings of a 12-month evaluation study.

The pill-testing trial, an initiative of the former Labor government, was launched in 2024 with the requisite of a 12-month evaluation of the service to be conducted by the University of Queensland. The LNP government scrapped funding for the trial, and the two sites at Bowen Hills and Burleigh Heads closed in April.

The government has since refused to publish the results of the evaluation study, despite calls from advocates and health officials to make the findings publicly available. A formal Right to Information request from The Loop Australia, a not-for-profit organisation, had been denied.

“Without drug checking in place, I know that we’ll see increases in overdose deaths in the community,” The Loop Australia chief executive Cameron Francis said.

More details from The Loop’s evaluation report to come.