Pay talks between Brisbane City Council and the Rail Tram and Bus Union will continue today amid the spectre of strike action.The union has warned of industrial action next week if the council does not improve its pay offer of 3.5 per cent a year over two years.LoadingSeeking 4.5 per cent raises, the union’s Tom Brown on Thursday said garbage truck drivers were paid more per hour.“We are still at the bottom of the food chain,” he said.But the council’s transport spokesman, Ryan Murphy, said the union was delaying pay increases by holding out for more money.“Our bus drivers’ pay has increased by almost 30 per cent since 2012 and they are some of the best-paid in the country,” Murphy said.The union is already engaged in limited industrial action, with drivers not wearing official unions, and would have to give notice of any strike.The latest Translink customer experience survey showed bus performance in south-east Queensland declined in December.Latest postsLatest postsWe reported earlier about a series of break-ins and armed robberies south of the city – following resident concerns, Queensland police have set up a command centre.Police Minister Dan Purdie said both he and Youth Justice Minister Laura Gerber met yesterday with residents in Rochedale South – who had formed their own collective to report and manage local crime – to assure them of the state measures.“I think it’s disappointing when innocent members of the community who have got their own jobs and their own families feel like they have to give up their time to patrol their own street,” Purdie said.He said police had set up an incident command centre and would set out covert and uniformed patrols to deter crime. He added that the state flying squad had also been deployed in the area.Following reports of vigilantism, Purdie also confirmed the Rochedale group was only reporting and patrolling streets.“There’s no suggestion or indication that they’re trying to apprehend these people, which would be potentially quite dangerous,” he said. “While community policing is a big part of policing, we want people to share that information with police – we certainly don’t want anyone taking these matters into their own hands.”On national matters now, and the Coalition is criticising the government for a perceived delay in the public announcement of an international incident between Australia and China.This morning Defence Minister Richard Marles is explaining the reason for the two-day wait for the encounter to be made public.Asked by ABC News Breakfast why the incident on Tuesday, when a Chinese fighter jet dropped flares close to an Australian military patrol plane, was only revealed to the public yesterday, Marles said there was a process to observe.Loading“The incident happened on Tuesday at about 1am Australian time. When an incident of this kind happens, we go through a process, firstly of assessing all that occurred, to really make a judgment as to whether we regard the interaction as being unsafe,” Marles said.“That is a process in and of itself and, on this occasion, we did deem it to be unsafe, and I can explain that to you, but we then go through a process of raising our objections with the Chinese government, which we did during the course of Wednesday and Thursday.”Marles said the public was alerted as soon as the process was complete, suggesting a two-day delay was “relatively swift” for an international incident.“It’s important that you get your facts straight when you make an attribution of this kind, and we don’t do it lightly,” Marles continued.“But we do do it when Australian personnel are put in danger. And that is what has occurred here, because these flares were released, as you said, at a very close distance to our P-8 aircraft in international airspace.” Fourteen members of a church group who killed a young girl by withholding her diabetes medication are due to face sentencing for manslaughter.Eight-year-old Elizabeth Rose Struhs died on January 7, 2022, at her family’s home in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, after her parents, brother and 11 other members of “the Saints” religious group gathered to pray around her.The 14 defendants are due to face the Supreme Court in Brisbane on Friday for the start of their sentencing.LoadingElizabeth had slipped in and out of consciousness, suffered unquenchable thirst and lost the ability to talk during the six days without her prescribed insulin for type-1 diabetes.During the whole ordeal, the rapid-acting injection kit that could have saved her life was just metres away in a pink zip-up case.Elizabeth’s father, Jason Richard Struhs, 53, mother Kerrie Elizabeth Struhs, 49, and brother Zachary Alan Struhs, 22, were among 14 members of the church group who on January 31 were found guilty of manslaughter.Justice Martin Burns reached his verdicts following a judge-only trial that was held over nine weeks from July 2024.All 14 defendants represented themselves, refused to enter pleas and claimed they were acting on their religious beliefs that included rejecting modern medicine as “witchcraft”. Advertisement Dozens of people are believed to have been targeted in a months-long series of linked break-ins and armed robberies.The offences date to at least December, and have spanned multiple suburbs south of Brisbane including Carindale, Eagleby, Underwood and Manly West.Knives have been used in home and business robberies.“Any time people are going about their lives conducting honest employment or living peacefully in their homes, any violence that they experience is completely unacceptable,” Detective Inspector Chris Knight says.“I would encourage members of the public, if you see behaviour that catches your attention and stands out … pick up a telephone and make a phone call.”The offenders are believed to use gloves, masks and stolen cars to hide their identities.Anyone with information on the crimes is urged to contact police.Pay talks between Brisbane City Council and the Rail Tram and Bus Union will continue today amid the spectre of strike action.The union has warned of industrial action next week if the council does not improve its pay offer of 3.5 per cent a year over two years.LoadingSeeking 4.5 per cent raises, the union’s Tom Brown on Thursday said garbage truck drivers were paid more per hour.“We are still at the bottom of the food chain,” he said.But the council’s transport spokesman, Ryan Murphy, said the union was delaying pay increases by holding out for more money.“Our bus drivers’ pay has increased by almost 30 per cent since 2012 and they are some of the best-paid in the country,” Murphy said.The union is already engaged in limited industrial action, with drivers not wearing official unions, and would have to give notice of any strike.The latest Translink customer experience survey showed bus performance in south-east Queensland declined in December.A cloudy week that threatened with an occasional shower continues today, as the Bureau of Meteorology forecasts a 30 per cent chance of rain in Brisbane.We’re expecting a top temperature of 31 degrees, while Saturday should be a few degrees cooler before Sunday ramps back up again to an expected top of 33. The chance of a wet day is much higher tomorrow, before an overcast but dry start to next week.Here’s the outlook for the next seven days: Advertisement Here’s what else is making news further afield today:The Australian Defence Force has sounded the alarm about Chinese warships operating close to Australia.What would falling interest rates mean for the property market? Even if the cash rate doesn’t fall on Tuesday, cuts are widely tipped this year – and some punters are trying to get ahead of the curve.An artistic duo selected to represent Australia at the Venice Biennale has been unceremoniously dumped by the federal government’s arts funding body after early works were discovered to feature images of a former Hezbollah leader.In the US, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the turncoat scion of the great Democratic family and a prominent vaccine sceptic, has been confirmed as health secretary.Good morning, and welcome to Brisbane Times’ news blog. Today the city can expect a cloudy day and a top temperature of 31 degrees.In local news you need to know:The federal government has splashed more than $600 million on community infrastructure projects in Queensland and other battleground states, as part of Labor’s re-election strategy.Meanwhile, Peter Dutton will launch an assault on once unwinnable outer-suburban Labor heartland seats such as Blair in south-east Queensland, as Anthony Albanese throws money at the Greens seats including Griffith in Brisbane.The Gold Coast’s hospitality scene has never been better. Here’s a cheat sheet on what to check out next time you’re in town.Courtyard entry of Paddock Bakery and Café in Burleigh Heads, one of several top Gold Coast food destinations.Credit: Brooke DarlingThe most popular tuckshop orders in Brisbane are garlic bread and sausage rolls, but this bayside school’s pasta recipe makes kids want to eat vegetables.After Bryan Adams rocked the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Thursday night, it was announced the musical adaptation of Pretty Woman – with a soundtrack written by the Canadian superstar – would make its debut in Brisbane.Injuries have derailed Hunter Paisami’s ascent, but dual-code great Lote Tuqiri has declared the Queensland wrecking ball should be key to Australian rugby’s future.And catch up on the week’s local, national and international news with the Brisbane Times Quiz.