As it happened: Brisbane on Thursday, October 16

The Crisafulli government has claimed the Cross River Rail project cost has blown out by another $2 billion in the past 10 months – an increase it blamed on the Labor Party, which has been in opposition over that period of time.

During ministerial statements in state parliament this morning, Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg – who last December put a $17 billion price tag on the project – said “extensive negotiations with contractors” had resulted in a revised total cost of $19.04 billion.

It was a far cry from the former Labor government’s $5.4 billion cost, but by the LNP government’s own admission the new figure included additional work throughout the train network that had not initially been included in Cross River Rail’s line-item costs.

“Our government has also made it clear that contractors would be held to account for their performance,” Mickelberg told parliament.

“That’s why there are now elements of funding conditional on exceptional performance, and contractors meeting major milestones on time. If they don’t deliver, they won’t get paid.”

Brisbane Times has asked Mickelberg’s office for a full rundown of its $19.04 billion estimate. Comment was also sought from Labor.

Images of three people allegedly linked to the serious early-morning assault of a woman in Fortitude Valley earlier this year have been released by police.

The 22-year-old Kingston woman sustained a head injury during an altercation between two groups at a Brunswick Street nightclub about 4am on August 24.

Police say two men and a woman fled the area on foot as the woman was transported to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.

Anyone who recognises the pictured trio is urged to contact police.

Thank you for tuning into our live coverage today. We’ll be back tomorrow with continuing live coverage. Here’s a quick recap of what we reported on today:

• Soldier dies after vehicle rolls during ADF training in Townsville
• Neighbours heard screams before mum, son and friend died in Gladstone house fire
• Miles sheds support but major parties neck and neck
• Unemployment rate hits four-year high, putting pressure on RBA to cut rates
• Queensland Ballet’s new plan to bring world’s best
• Brisbane’s best sandwiches? Here are our top picks of the past year

Queensland Police say they are dealing with a “challenging” crime scene following the deadly fire in Gladstone.

“The whole community of Gladstone is in shock,” Detective Acting Superintendent Luke Peachey said at a press conference this morning.

He said a number of people were trying to get into the home as it burned.

It took five crews hours to put out flames that were so intense they caused the top floor of the two-storey home to crumble.

Police are working to recover the bodies from the home with the “utmost respect”, Peachey said.

Specialists from Brisbane were helping, and heavy earth equipment was needed to remove the roof of the home, which was expected to occur this afternoon.

An Australian soldier has died after they were involved in a crash during an ADF training exercise in North Queensland.

In a statement, an ADF spokesperson said the soldier was fatally injured in a vehicle rollover during a training course at the Townsville Field Training Area yesterday evening.

The soldier was airlifted to the Townsville University Hospital after paramedics arrived at the crash on Hervey Range Road just before 7pm.

Two other army personnel were hospitalised, but have since been discharged.

Queensland’s corruption watchdog says there is a “clear public interest” in releasing the public report of its probe into former Townsville mayor Troy Thompson, but is uncertain if this will be available for voters before the November 15 byelection.

Parliament’s powerful crime and corruption committee called a snap meeting this morning after the watchdog’s public statement yesterday it had finalised a draft report and was now working through procedural fairness provisions.

Crime and Corruption Commission chair Bruce Barbour told the committee the alleged conduct of Thompson was “serious”. He said that after handing the draft report to relevant people on October 8, the earliest it could be tabled was November 7.

“So in the Act, there is a 30-day timeline. That is in relation to certain aspects of a person affected, and that person can seek an extension of time for up to 60 days. If the CCC does not agree to grant the extension, there is the possibility within the Act for an individual to seek that to be reviewed by the Supreme Court,” Barbour said.

“There is a possibility that it could be tabled before the election date – and certainly from our perspective, we can see a clear public interest in that happening – but, unfortunately, we must act according to law and follow the steps that are set out in the Act.”

Barbour declined to be directly drawn on whether the watchdog had sought to prosecute Thompson, but said – by way of a hypothetical – that by law there would “in all likelihood not be a public report” if such proceedings were going to be launched.

Queenslanders love coal, according to a survey commissioned by the Queensland Resources Council to check people’s opinions about mining.

The survey found three in four Queenslanders (75 per cent) agreed mining, including coal, was very important to maintaining our way of life.

That number increased to 77 per cent in the regions.

More than four in five Queenslanders, according to the survey of 1500 people, believed there was an important long-term role for the mining and resources sector.