The first apartment development in the $600m Serenity 4212 community on the northern Gold Coast has topped out. Lakeside at Helensvale is being built by joint venture partners Keylin and Kinstone Group. Developers say 70 per cent of buyers so far are aged over 50. A new collection of top floor residences, with two and three-bedroom homes starting at $1.22m, has been released. Residents are expected to move in by spring 2027.
Shop owners on Gallery Walk were left shocked after a plant was stolen from outside their business on September 23. Kenneth Veitch, who owns A Wee Bit o' Scotland with his wife Laura, saw a woman take the plant and walk away up the road. Laura said the shop has often had cuttings taken from its plants, but removing a whole plant was different. Volunteers from the Tamborine Mountain Garden Club had recently revitalised the gardens ahead of Springtime on the Mountain. Kenneth said the theft has made him reconsider replacing the plant.
Shontae Iafeta is building practical experience while she studies journalism. She feels a strong commitment to regional reporting and believes it matters to the communities it serves. Iafeta is known for forming genuine relationships with the people she interviews. She holds the view that everyone deserves a chance to have their experiences shared publicly, and she often points to the idea that everyone has a story worth telling.
First-home buyers have been locked out of 169 previously affordable Queensland property markets since the federal 5 per cent deposit scheme was expanded a year ago. An analysis of Realestate.com.au data found that 852 of 890 house and unit markets have risen in value. Deagon houses jumped 31.2 per cent to $1.187 million. Since October, new Queensland mortgage lodgements have fallen 30 per cent, with first-home buyer applications down 18 per cent, according to Loan Market. Buyer's agent Lauren Jones said rising interest rates and living costs have cut borrowing power, leaving young buyers largely absent from the market.
A Queensland adjudicator has rejected an urgent bid to switch off an electric vehicle charger at The Pavilion Apartments in Bulimba. Resident Kin Chen argued that the basement car park lacked fire safety systems to deal with a possible electric vehicle fire. The adjudicator found there was no immediate urgency, noting the charger has operated since about 2020. The body corporate committee had granted retrospective approval last month, with conditions including annual servicing. The broader challenge to that approval has yet to be decided, and the charger remains in use for now.
Hope Vale angler Justin Convent won the adult prize, a Quintrex boat with a motor and trailer, at the Cooktown barramundi competition. More than 1100 anglers entered the event held from Friday to Sunday. Junior winner Nickalah Cobus also took home a boat. Thomas Hone caught the heaviest fish, weighing 7.4 kilograms. Local business owners said the weekend brought many shoppers into town.
Queensland's Attorney-General, Deb Frecklington, has introduced legislation that would make creating non-consensual, sexually explicit deepfake images or audio a crime. Current state law covers only the distribution of such material, leaving creators unpunished. The proposed maximum penalty is three years in jail for adults and 18 months for children. Frecklington said schools were on the front line, with students and teachers using deepfakes for cyberbullying. She cited the recent sentencing of Antonio Rotondo, who created sexualised fake images of Brisbane high school students and staff.
Fans of The Block have rallied around Queensland contestants Chantel and Wyatt, claiming they were mistreated by production and unfairly judged. Viewers on Reddit argue the couple was targeted, given a bad edit, and unfairly portrayed as the show's villains. Others believe the judges were harsh, as the couple did not win a single room reveal despite completing their renovations on time. Meanwhile, the cast is reportedly divided, with separate after-parties planned for the upcoming auction.
Logan has about 206 hectares of vacant industrial development land, the Property Council says, offering room for new investment as greater Brisbane faces a shortage of industrial space. Property Council Queensland executive director Jess Caire said infrastructure such as roads and water must keep pace with demand. The council is calling for a $500 million industrial infrastructure fund and a coordinated state strategy to unlock more employment land. Average sale prices for smaller industrial sites rose about 44 per cent over the year to June 2026.
Property owners and managers have been given the meeting sites and times for a 1080 baiting program running from 16 to 20 November 2026. Each day has a set location, starting at 7.30am, except Friday at Urandangie Airstrip, which starts at 8.30am. Landholders unable to take part in this round can register interest for the next program. All baits must be injected.
