Brisbane news live: Huge marine dinosaur fossil found in outback Queensland; AI assistants rolled out across Queensland schools

Health Minister Tim Nicholls has accused Labor of trying to “distract” from the government’s efforts to address health issues with continued questions about the issue of the dumped hiring of a new chief health officer.

Dr Krispin Hajkowicz is seeking legal advice after his selection through an external recruitment process was rescinded. Premier David Crisafulli had raised concerns with the Health Department head.

Giving a statement to parliament before question time on Tuesday, Nicholls sought to get ahead of the looming questions from Labor.

“We can expect today that Labor will try to distract from their decade of decline,” he said. “Labor have been trying to distract for weeks in relation to the Chief Health Officer recruitment process, trying their hardest, selling their little stories, trying to get this story up.”

Nicholls then confirmed details which had emerged that the recruitment was a decision for director general David Rosengren alone, and “the appointment of the chief health officer is not considered by cabinet”.

Premier David Crisafulli was then asked in question time why he sought to “influence” Rosengren to reverse the decision, an accusation he did not deny. Crisafulli reiterated that the government deemed him unfit because he had withdrawn from the role in 2021.

“I don’t think it would be acceptable for the state, in a forward-facing role like this, to put the individual there, and I don’t think it’d be right for him either … I don’t believe that Dr Hajkowicz is suitable for that role.”

In question time, Labor cited “whistleblower” information that the recruitment panel considered this decision, which Hajkowicz said at the time was for personal reasons, and still selected him.

A cohort of Australia’s largest tech companies including Atlassian, Canva and Culture Amp are backing calls for the federal government to adopt a 75 per cent emissions reduction target by 2035.

Modelling by Deloitte Access Economics prepared for Future Group shows Australia could unlock a $370 billion economic windfall by 2035 if it commits to the aggressive target, with an estimated 69,000 extra jobs created each year over the next decade. More than 350 businesses have signed an open letter arguing that a stronger climate target would be better for business, and make net zero by 2050 far easier.

“Australian businesses are already stepping up, cutting emissions and building the industries our kids will inherit. It’s vital that the government matches this pace as our ecosystems are being impacted at an alarming rate,” Canva co-founder Cameron Adams said.

“A national target of at least 75 per cent by 2035 is how we ensure Australia stays competitive even as our trading partners move ahead. This is our moment to lead, and the next generation deserves nothing less from us.”

Australia’s current target is a 43 per cent reduction in net emissions by 2030, and most experts believe that while Australia will fall short of reaching its 2030 target, a more ambitious 2035 target of 65 to 75 per cent will still be set by the Albanese government in the coming months.

Childcare provider G8 Education has said the impact of sexual abuse allegations against one of its former employees has not led to a widespread withdrawal of enrolments, with the impact on occupancy localised to the affected centres in Victoria so far.

This morning, G8 announced net profit after tax of $22.5 million in the half year to the end of June - an increase of 12.4 per cent on the corresponding period in 2024 - as company revenue dropped 3.7 per cent to $465.4m. G8 also announced a 2c fully franked dividend per share for investors.

The results reflect the period just before bombshell allegations of child sexual abuse rocked the sector and brought about turmoil for providers such as G8 who had employed alleged abuser Joshua Dale Brown across its centres.

G8’s market capitalisation was slashed by hundreds of millions within days of the revelations, with its share price of $1.18 before the police announcement dropping significantly to currently trade at 92c.

“We would like to acknowledge the profound impact the situation in Victoria has had on our community,” G8 managing director Pejman Okhovat said.

In the aftermath of the revelations, G8 announced a range of measures to boost safety, including rolling out CCTV to its 399 centres across the country that operate under various brand names. On Tuesday, the company noted that 94 per cent of its centres in the first half of 2025 were rated as “meeting” or “exceeding” national quality standards.

Queensland’s peak youth justice body has now also spoken out about new gags on front-line organisations speaking to media, after revelations by this masthead at the weekend.

On Friday, we revealed community leaders were concerned critics of the Crisafulli government could be “silenced”, or risk losing crucial funding, under new restrictions to be written into the contracts of front-line youth justice organisations.

Today, we can confirm, the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak will join the Queensland Council of Social Service in a meeting with departmental officials later this week. The purpose of the meeting is to seek changes to the new contract terms.

QCOSS chief executive Aimee McVeigh has backed concerns raised by other community leaders about the changes, and detailed a shift in even the enforcement of existing contracts – denied by government – also worrying the sector.

In a statement on Sunday, QATSICPP deputy chief executive Murray Benton said: “It is vital organisations can speak as openly as possible and contribute to public discussion and reform”.

The two organisations will seek to better understand the reasoning and impact of the contract changes, QATSICPP said.

Parliament is back this morning for the first regular sitting since before the June budget, and we already have some news from it.

Victim Support Minister Laura Gerber has told parliament that inaugural Victims’ Commissioner, Beck O’Connor, has written to advise of her resignation – effective September 23.

Acting arrangements will be in place, Gerber said, thanking O’Connor on behalf of the government just weeks after Premier David Crisafulli said the former DVConnect chief executive had “questions to answer” from her previous role.

“I wish to acknowledge Miss O’Connor’s work as the Victims’ Commissioner and her efforts to promote the charter of victims rights and advocacy on the issues affecting victims. In her time as Victims’ Commissioner, Ms O’Connor raised awareness of victims rights and ensured victims of crime have had a priority voice at the table.”

If you’re heading for a walk in Moreton Bay, you’re likely to hear dog-owners calling for Bella the border collie. That’s the most popular dog name registered and the most popular breed, according to data released by Moreton Bay Council for International Dog Day.

Of the 66,844 dogs registered with the council, the top three breeds were border collies, Labrador retrievers and Maltese, and the top three names were Bella, Charlie and Luna.

Did you know that all dogs and cats need to be registered by 12 weeks of age or within 14 days of being brought into the City of Moreton Bay?

“Dog registration helps Council quickly reunite you with your pet if they ever get lost and also supports our responsible pet ownership programs,” Mayor and proud canine owner Peter Flannery said.

“Every lost pet deserves to come home and registration is what helps make this happen.”

Opposition industrial relations spokesman Tim Wilson says Australia Post’s suspension of most parcel postage deliveries to the United States, announced in the past hour, will be “very concerning” for the nation’s small businesses, and has called on the Albanese government to resolve the matter with the Trump administration “as quickly as possible”.

Parcels will be suspended indefinitely from today ahead of the Trump administration’s closing on Friday of the de minimis “loophole” that allows for goods below $US800 (about $1200 today) to be sent duty-free. It follows a similar move made by several European countries.

“It’s very concerning because lots of small businesses depend on Australia Post to ship small goods internationally and domestically, so small business is going to be the ones most impacted by this decision,” Wilson told Sky News moments ago.

“My expectation is that the Albanese government will sort this as quickly as possible … I suspect Kevin Rudd [Australian ambassador to the US] will be off to the White House, Congress, quick smart because we need to make sure this relationship is sorted because this is a very bad sign.”

The suspension will impact Australia Post’s Business Contract, MyPost Business and retail customers who send goods through Australia Post, while letters, documents and gifts under $US100 will be unaffected by the change.

Read more here.

In some lighter news, Queensland icon Robert Irwin has had an “awesome” moment in Los Angeles, spotting his dad’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

“Look who I found. How cool is that? That’s so awesome, how good,” he said in the video shared to his social channels.

The wildlife warrior is in the US to follow in his sister’s footsteps and compete on Dancing with the Stars.

Watch the wholesome moment below.