Brisbane News Live: Tributes flow for Gold Coast developer after death at 39; Giant Qld stick insect ‘Australia's heaviest'
Latest posts
7.03am
Tributes for 'pioneer' Gold Coast property developer after sudden death at 39
Gold Coast property developer Tye Alroe has died suddenly at the age of 39.
The founder and chief executive of Alroe Constructions suffered a heart attack while exercising at a Burleigh Heads gym on Tuesday afternoon.
He collapsed after feeling unwell, and emergency service workers were unable to revive him.
Alroe initially embarked on a career in rugby league, being contracted by NRL side Melbourne Storm, but he left before making his debut and entered the construction industry instead.
In 2012, he founded Alroe, which currently has $250 million worth of projects under way or in planning, according to its website.
Several figures within the Gold Coast construction industry paid tribute to him after his sudden death.
'The loss of a pioneer, someone that never quits, never takes no as an answer! You will never be forgotten,' says an Instagram post from Capra Build Co.
'Unfortunately, we have lost one of the better people in this world,' begins an Instagram post by Callum Smith of Bluewater Interiors. 'I'm sure you will be missed by many. You have made a positive impact on so many people and will no doubt be remembered.'
Alroe is survived by his partner, Nikki, daughter Poppy, his mum and dad, Vicki and John, and his sister, Courtney.
7.02am
While you were sleeping
Here's what's making news further afield this morning:
The nation's top spy boss has revealed espionage is costing Australia an estimated $12.5 billion a year as foreign operatives mount increasingly audacious attempts to pilfer highly sensitive defence and business secrets.
Median house values across the country are gaining pace, with Brisbane now at $1.019 million.
A monster lightning strike that spanned the equivalent distance of Sydney to Melbourne has been confirmed as the largest flash on record.
Company tax could be slashed to 20 per cent for firms with revenue below $1 billion, but businesses would be hit with a world-first 'cashflow tax' to encourage them to invest in Australia.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's allies are scrambling to put a lid on an anti-AUKUS grassroots Labor move that threatens to complicate a US probe into the submarine pact.
If you have brittle nails, swollen hands or unusually pale fingertips, it could be a telltale sign of a more serious problem. This is what your hands can tell you about your health.
And in sport, Mollie O'Callaghan has equalled Ian Thorpe for the most world championship gold medals by an Australian swimmer after anchoring the Dolphins to a stirring relay victory over the US in the 4x200m freestyle final overnight.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
5 hours ago
- Perth Now
Perth businessman donates $100m to WA university
Perth businessman Ted Powell has made an unprecedented donation of $100m to Murdoch University's veterinary school. The gift is the largest donation ever received by a West Australian university and one of the largest received by any Australian uni. 'You can't spend $100m when you're 74 years old. It's just not possible,' Mr Powell, who made his fortune founding Offshore Incorporations Limited, said on Thursday. 'I've given almost as much as I can, but you know, I'm not going to go hungry. 'I know my late wife, Dee, an animal lover and a most generous person, would also be immensely proud of this project.' Mr and Mrs Powell, who did not have children, established The Ragdoll Foundation, which has provided financial support to more than 140 Murdoch students who completed their degrees through a scholarship program. The $100m donation will be used to redevelop Murdoch's veterinary school with a 9600 sqm facility that will be large enough to increase the number of vet students who can be trained in WA by 50 per cent. Mr Powell said there were many good causes in the medical and educational fields and encouraged anyone who was financially well-off to consider giving to worthy causes. Murdoch University's veterinary school will undergo a redevelopment thanks to an unprecedented $100m gift from Perth businessman Ted Powell. Credit: Supplied 'I am absolutely delighted that this gift will support the redevelopment of the Veterinary School,' he said. Vice Chancellor Andrew Deeks said Mr Powell's extraordinary act of generosity would help ensure WA continued its role as a leading hub for animal research, teaching and training. 'Veterinary Medicine was one of 10 foundation courses offered by Murdoch when we opened 50 years ago and a commitment to the environment and conservation are part of the University's DNA,' the vice chancellor said. 'The discipline has advanced significantly over that time, as have the safety requirements for biological laboratories and animal facilities.' The new facility will allow the university to build on its conservation, animal care and welfare programs, as well as provide more cutting edge research. It will also provide better service for the agricultural and scientific community and broader WA community. Murdoch University'Vice chancellor Andrew Deeks said the donation would help ensure WA continued its role as a leading hub for animal research, teaching and training. Credit: Supplied Professor Deeks said the development would strengthen research in animal health and the University's One Health agenda which recognised the links between human, animal and environmental health. 'On behalf of Murdoch University, I cannot thank Ted Powell enough for his generosity, support and foresight,' he said. 'He will leave a legacy for the Western Australian veterinary profession, animal research – and for animals great and small – which will resonate for generations to come.'
Sydney Morning Herald
5 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Albanese shies away from reforms as Treasury says company taxes are hurting wages
Those shifts include a drop in the share of revenue raised from indirect taxes such as the GST, tobacco and fuel excise, which Treasury warned were likely to fall further due to technological change over the coming years. Ordinary workers, who already account for more than 50 per cent of government revenue through personal income tax, face even more tax pain. Young workers would be worst hit as the number of people over the age of 70 paying tax had fallen over the past three decades due to previous governments' policies. 'A smaller share of the Australian population are set to shoulder the burden of generating income tax revenue as the population ages,' it said. Not only will fewer workers pay more, but without government intervention, bracket creep will push up effective tax rates on those who are in employment. Those high rates would act as a disincentive to some people from taking on a job or improving their skills, while they would also encourage people to engage in creative tax planning. Loading Chaney, the WA independent MP, has proposed a 'progressive GST ' to overhaul the tax system and increase revenue to the Commonwealth, adding to the push from people outside the government for substantial tax reform. This week, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said it would be a 'great outcome' if after the roundtable the government had a series of ideas that it 'could work through in the context of the next couple of budgets'. On Thursday, Albanese, who has effectively rejected any GST changes, noted a range of ideas would be floated before the roundtable, which starts on August 19. 'Governments make government policy, and our tax policy, the only tax policy that we're implementing, is the one that we took to the election,' he said. The ACTU and the social service sector have called on the government to wind back property tax concessions including negative gearing and capital gains tax. But Albanese made clear the government was focused on its current tax settings. 'I've said what our tax policy is, it's very clear what it is. It's very clear what it isn't as well,' he said. Greens economic justice spokesman Nick McKim described Chaney's proposal as a 'lazy idea'. 'If we want to make people's lives better, we should make big corporations pay their fair share of tax and use the revenue to provide genuine cost of living relief,' he said. One key area of the economic roundtable will be ways to reduce red tape and cut bureaucracy costs. The Productivity Commission, in a report to be released on Friday, found aligning product safety standards used in Australia with international standards could lift GDP by between $1.9 billion and $3.8 billion a year. It found most standards used in state or federal legislation were specific to Australia when existing international standards could be used instead. The commission used the example of bicycle helmets, which are almost all imported. Loading The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission estimated in 2016 that businesses would save $14 million a year if helmet standards mirrored those imposed by the European Union and the United States. But it was not until 2024 that the standard was revised in line with the EU and US, with most states and territories yet to adopt the change. 'The net result is that eight years after realising the value of harmonisation, most Australians are yet to see benefits from this harmonisation,' the commission found. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said regulatory reform was high on the government's agenda as it could make the economy more productive and competitive. 'Standards reform could save Australians billions of dollars every year and ease the burden on businesses,' he said.
Perth Now
5 hours ago
- Perth Now
Calls for revamped charge to hit drivers
The federal body tasked with boosting Australian living standards has reissued calls for a national road user charge to help fund major infrastructure projects, which would also force drivers of electric vehicles to contribute to road maintenance. As it stands, EV drivers are not subject to the 51.6 cents per litre fuel excise drivers ultimately pay when refuelling at the bowser. The call to arms was detailed in the Productivity Commission's (PC) analysis of the National Competition Policy – the fourth of five reports handed to Jim Chalmers ahead of the Economic Reform Roundtable later this month. This follows long-term calls by the PC to enact a road user charges on all vehicle types, with a current charge only applied to heavy vehicles through a diesel excise. 'Road infrastructure should be funded through user charges (prices) that reflect the efficient cost of providing and maintaining that infrastructure,' the report said. 'By giving drivers a clear signal about the cost of infrastructure, they would have an incentive to use it more efficiently. 'Moreover, there will be a signal to infrastructure providers where changes in road capacity are warranted.' The Productivity Commission urged the federal government to consider national reform to funding roads infrastructure, which includes the use of a road user tax on all vehicles. NewsWire/ Tertius Pickard Credit: News Corp Australia It said national reform should be prioritised following the High Court challenge which overruled the Victorian government's attempt to put in place a 2 cents a kilometre on EV drivers in 2023. The PC also noted that the 'growth in use of electric vehicles' should be 'added impetus' for priority reform, with the commission set to give its final report to the Treasurer in late October. 'The decision of the High Court rules out state-based distance road user charges and means governments need to consider a national approach to road funding,' it said. 'This opens the opportunity to design a system that is less fragmented and better reflects the costs of providing and using road infrastructure.' In an earlier report released this week, the PC urged Labor to scrap subsidies on EVs, like the fringe benefits tax exemption on electric cars and plug-in hybrids. Instead, it said the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard should be the 'main tool for promoting clean vehicles'. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has previously doubted issuing a road user charge for EVs, but flagged tax settings may have to change as EV take-up increases. NewsWire/ Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia Previously Mr Chalmers has said the government has no immediate plans to tax EV users, however he said discussions with the sector and states had been ongoing. 'Over time, the use of fossil fuels in our car fleets will come down, and EV use will go up,' he told reporters in July. 'We've seen that, and we're making a contribution to that with our policies and that will have implications for the tax base.' However, despite lags at a federal level, the NSW state government has flagged a distance-based charge for eligible EVs set to come into place from July 1, 2027, or when EVs make up 30 per cent of all new vehicle sales. The PC's analysis of competition policy also found regulating Australian standards with overseas standards could boost GDP by up to 0.2 per cent a year – a nominal increase between $1.9bn to $3.8bn. Occupational licensing reform, which would make it easier for workers to move interstate, was noted as a competition-boosting change which would result in the biggest affect on the economy, which could deliver between a $5bn to $10bn boost to GDP. This comes after the government flagged changes to design a national scheme for people in electrical trades in the March federal budget.
