Brisbane Hustle · Oct 04, 2026
Trivia ❓
What is the name of the artificial beach located in the heart of Brisbane's CBD along the South Bank Parklands?
Answer at the bottom
Former Bachelor star and fitness entrepreneur Sam Wood is in custody in Queensland after being charged with domestic violence offences, following an incident at a Noosa address on Saturday night.
Queensland Police confirmed they responded to the address at approximately 9pm on Saturday, charging a 46-year-old Victorian man with assault occasioning bodily harm (domestic violence) and strangulation in a domestic setting. The man was refused bail and was due to appear before Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Monday. A source familiar with the matter, though not authorised to speak publicly, confirmed the man charged was the Melbourne-based fitness guru.
Family Statement and Legal Context
A statement attributed to the Wood family was published on the Instagram pages of Sam Wood and his wife, Snezana Wood, on Monday morning. "This is a difficult time for all of us, we are working through this as a family and are cooperating with authorities," the statement read. Under Queensland law, the alleged victim cannot be identified.
Wood first came to public attention as the star of season three of The Bachelor in 2015, where he met Snezana. He subsequently built the online fitness and nutrition platform 28 by Sam Wood, which he sold to genomics group myDNA for $71 million in 2022. He remained the public face of the platform following the sale. More recently, Wood had been announced as a promotional figure for Ollo For Women, a telehealth, nutrition and medical weight-loss service targeting women aged 40 and over.
The arrest adds to a turbulent recent period for Wood. In November 2025, it emerged the Australian Taxation Office had pursued him for more than $7 million in allegedly unpaid taxes, with the deputy commissioner of Taxation launching civil action in the County Court of Victoria covering tax periods ending June 2022, 2023 and 2024. Court records indicate the matter was dismissed without adjudication following an agreement between the parties in September.
If you or someone you know needs support, contact the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
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Experts are sounding the alarm over sadistic and nihilistic online networks exploiting Australia's most popular gaming platforms to coerce children into self-mutilation and acts of violence against siblings and pets. The warning comes amid growing concern about the reach of predatory groups operating through mainstream gaming channels.
Reality TV star and fitness personality Sam Wood has been charged with alleged domestic violence offences in Queensland. Police said they responded to an address in Noosa at around 9pm on Saturday and subsequently charged a 46-year-old Victorian man with assault occasioning bodily harm (domestic violence) and strangulation in a domestic setting. Wood is currently behind bars.
Federal Government Flags Tobacco Trade Crackdown
The federal government has issued a challenge to state premiers over the spread of illicit tobacco, offering fresh funding and pointing to Queensland's enforcement efforts as a national model. Separately, tenant advocates are warning that renters who rely on credit cards to pay rent could soon face arrears after a major rental payment platform removed the option in response to a new ban on card surcharge fees.
On the international front, the Pentagon has withdrawn bombers from RAF Fairford in the United Kingdom following new threats linked to an alleged Iranian-linked terror plot. Six people were arrested in connection with the alleged plot, with five British nationals and one UK-Iranian national bailed after being held on suspicion of terrorism and explosive offences — a decision that drew criticism from US President Donald Trump.
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Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has launched a judicial review against Thames Valley Police, challenging the lawfulness of the search warrants used to raid his properties and his arrest earlier this year in connection with the Epstein files.
Legal historians note it is the first time a member of the Royal family has challenged the lawfulness of criminal proceedings since the trial of Charles I in 1649. The former Duke of York was arrested in February at Marsh Farm in Norfolk — on his 66th birthday — and driven to Aylsham Police Station, approximately 40 miles away, where he was questioned for nearly 12 hours on suspicion of misconduct in public office before being released under investigation.
Search warrants and the High Court
Detectives spent days searching both Marsh Farm and Royal Lodge in Windsor, removing documents and other items. His legal team is understood to be focused on whether those search warrants — granted by an Old Bailey judge following an application from Thames Valley Police — were properly issued. Mountbatten-Windsor applied for permission to judicially review the decision earlier this year, and a High Court judge subsequently granted the application. A private High Court hearing is reportedly scheduled this week to determine whether certain documents relating to the review should be released.
The investigation stems from material published in the Epstein files suggesting the former duke may have shared sensitive government information with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during his time as the UK's trade envoy between 2001 and 2011. Allegations include that he forwarded diplomatic reports on visits to Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam and China, and sent a confidential briefing note on investment opportunities in Afghanistan's Helmand province.
Investigation facing headwinds
The police inquiry is reported to be in serious difficulty after the US Department of Justice declined to hand over unredacted versions of the Epstein files. A formal request for that material could take more than a year to process, with no guarantee of compliance. In May, Thames Valley Police widened their investigation to include allegations of sexual misconduct — a move some interpreted as a sign that senior officers feared they had overplayed their hand. One senior Metropolitan Police source told The Telegraph the Met would not necessarily have taken the same approach, questioning why Thames Valley did not simply invite Mountbatten-Windsor in for questioning under caution. Friends of the former duke say he feels he is "living in limbo" as the investigation drags on, and he has been effectively based at Sandringham since his arrest. He is understood to have had no contact with the King since the arrest, though his siblings the Princess Royal and the Duke of Edinburgh have remained supportive.
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The Australian arm of KPMG is weighing whether to seek up to $100 million in loans from the consultancy's global network as it continues to deal with the financial fallout of a whistleblower scandal that has driven away several major clients.
A loan of up to $100 million is being considered alongside a request for KPMG International to waive its licensing fee — covering use of the KPMG name and shared resources — which is valued at roughly the same amount. No formal request has yet been lodged. A KPMG spokesman confirmed the two sides are in discussions, saying the firm "continues to work collaboratively with KPMG International to assess financial projections" and that any funding request would be considered "in accordance with its governance arrangements."
Scandal Origins and Client Fallout
The crisis traces back to an anonymous whistleblower who raised serious allegations against the firm in 2024 — including claims that senior partners misused confidential information to win work. Those allegations were reportedly dismissed internally until Senator Deborah O'Neill brought them to public attention in March. Since then, KPMG Australia has lost high-profile clients including Macquarie and ANZ, whose contracts were worth tens of millions of dollars annually, though some of those arrangements had not yet commenced or will take years to wind down fully.
KPMG Australia chief executive John Sams, who was appointed to lead the firm in July, has already overseen significant job cuts. According to reporting by The Australian Financial Review, the proposed loan would help the firm retain clients and maintain partner remuneration at current levels. KPMG is structured as a network of quasi-independent consultancies operating across different territories under the supervision of a global head office. No suggestion has been made that KPMG Australia faces any solvency risk.
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St Kilda has set a steep asking price for contracted ruckman Rowan Marshall, demanding Geelong's first-round draft pick — currently sitting at pick 14 — plus a player in return for any deal. The stance comes after the two clubs failed to agree on a trade for Marshall 12 months ago, when Tom De Koning arrived at the Cats.
Marshall, who is about to turn 31, remains under contract, giving the Saints leverage in any negotiation. Geelong is considered the primary suitor for the veteran ruckman.
Free Agency Moves Already Reshaping the Landscape
While the official trade period opened Monday morning, free agency got underway on Friday with several high-profile moves confirmed:
- Lachie Neale departed the Brisbane Lions for Collingwood.
- Joel Amartey left Sydney to join Carlton.
- Toby Greene departed GWS Giants to sign with Geelong.
Meanwhile, Collingwood great Scott Pendlebury is expected — though not yet officially confirmed — to head to Gold Coast on a four-year deal, comprising two playing years and two in a coaching capacity. Reports indicate Pendlebury is likely to be traded for a fourth-round pick from the Suns, a structure designed to avoid reducing Gold Coast's free agency compensation relating to Ben King, who is set to depart for Hawthorn as a free agent.
The trade period runs until Wednesday, October 15, with live coverage each weekday. Key storylines to watch include whether Zach Merrett will make a second attempt to join Hawthorn, where Melbourne's Jack Viney will land, and whether Gold Coast will match Hawthorn's free agency offer for Ben King to force a trade.
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Steven Moffat, the British television writer behind Sherlock and Doctor Who, has made a confident leap into live theatre with his debut stage play, The Unfriend, now running at Roslyn Packer Theatre as part of the Sydney Theatre Company season until October 31.
The comedy's central engine is Elsa Jean Krakowski, a middle-aged American from Denver who is, in the words of reviewer John Shand, "as absurdly optimistic as a golden retriever who can smell a treat." Helen Thomson plays Elsa in a performance described as guaranteeing the character commands the stage whenever present. The plot turns on a darkly comic conceit: London couple Debbie (Alex Lee) and Peter Lindell (Tim Walter) meet Elsa on a cruise, reluctantly agree to host her, and then discover via a Google search that she is the prime suspect in six murders of close family members — by poisoning.
The sharp comic premise
Rather than confronting their potentially lethal houseguest, the Lindells — who have two teenage children, Alex (Ty Arnott) and Rosie (Brooklyn Davies) — find their terror for their children's safety vastly outweighed by their quintessentially English terror of causing embarrassment. Falseness and hypocrisy, Shand notes, are their defaults. Elsa, meanwhile, is painted as a figure somewhere between Mary Poppins and a wicked witch: capable of leaving only "jolly innuendoes" about her alleged crimes while simultaneously drawing out the best in those around her. The teenage Alex, described as a "flopping, farting, parent-scorning, computer-game-obsessed pest," is eventually tamed by her presence.
The production is directed by Simon Phillips on a set designed by Isabel Hudson, which the review calls "eye-popping." The supporting cast includes:
- Huw Higginson as a neighbour "who would drive anyone to drink and/or fence heightening"
- Ben Wood as a character likened to "a bloodhound with a nosectomy"
- Ty Arnott and Brooklyn Davies as the Lindell teenagers
Shand awards the production four-and-a-half stars, comparing Moffat's comedic range to early Tom Stoppard, Monty Python, Carry On films, and David Williamson — and noting that the play's ability to pitch humour across levels of taste is reminiscent of Shakespeare. The verdict: Sydney Theatre Company "just might have a hit on its hands."
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The United States has pulled all of its bomber jets from RAF Fairford, a base in south-west England, after British counterterror police uncovered a suspected plot to attack the facility last weekend.
The Pentagon confirmed the withdrawal in a statement to The Telegraph, saying: "All US bombers that were deployed to RAF Fairford have redeployed to their home stations in the United States." Officials added that the aircraft remain ready "to deliver precision global strike capabilities" from the continental US. US officials separately told the Wall Street Journal the decision was driven directly by security concerns over the suspected plots against the base.
Six People Arrested, All Subsequently Bailed
Six people have been arrested in connection with the alleged plot:
- Five British nationals, arrested on suspicion of terrorism and explosive offences
- A British-Iranian dual national, arrested on suspicion of "preparation of terrorist acts"
- All six have since been bailed pending further investigation
Police said they found a quantity of petrol in three vans linked to the five suspects, but no explosives were discovered. Counterterror investigators are examining whether Iran was behind the alleged plot.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Wednesday there were "strong indications that Iran played a part" in the suspected attack. The Telegraph also reported that Israeli intelligence had warned MI5 about an imminent Iranian-backed attack on the base. RAF Fairford, situated on the Gloucestershire and Wiltshire border, has hosted US heavy bombers — including B-1s and B-52s — since at least March 1, when US aircraft began flying what the military described as defensive missions to strike Iran's missile capabilities. In July, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had warned that any British base used to strike Tehran would be considered a "legitimate target."
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Security is always excessive until it's not enough.
💡 Answer: Streets Beach
