Chicago is one of the lauded and awarded musicals of all time, seen by more than 31 million people around the world and now it is coming to Brisbane.

The show debuts in Sydney in August before moving to the Lyric Theatre at QPAC in November.

The production stars Natalie Bassingthwaighte as Roxie Hart, Alinta Chidzey is Velma Kelly and Casey Donovan plays Matron ‘Mama’ Morton and they joined Mark in the studio.

The state’s building industry says it has been blindsided by the Palaszczuk Government’s proposal to increase two building levies.

The government says the extra money will go towards workers’ long service and suicide prevention.

Paul Bidwell from the Master Builders explains to Mark that now is not the right time and the increased costs will have to be passed on to customers.

If you are looking for a great steak it simply does not get any better than a Kiwami Wagyu from Stockyard at Jondaryan on the Darling Downs.

At least that’s the verdict of the judges at the Royal Queensland Food and Wine Show Beef and Lamb Competition who have now given it the top prize three years in a row.

Awards advocate Pete Lewis tells Mark this year’s competition was also special for a Queensland lamb producer.

Last year more than half a million Australian tourists visited Japan, an 11 per cent increase on the year before and a new annual record.

Japan is also very much in the news at the moment with the installation of a new emperor to sit on the Chrysanthemum throne.

Kirsten Wallis from Journeys Worldwide tries to convince Mark to visit the land of the rising sun and to enjoy a dip in an onsen.

The Queensland government has passed new laws which redefine murder to include life sentences for killers who show reckless indifference to life.

The laws, which stem from community outrage over inadequate sentences handed to child killers, also introduce an aggravating factor for the manslaughter of a child aged under 12.

While the laws were passed with the full support of the state opposition, Bill Potts from the Queensland Law Society says the legal fraternity has concerns about unintended consequences in some cases.

The criminals behind the long running Australian Tax Office phone scam have become even more brazen and are now ringing targets impersonating Queensland police.

Detectives believe the new version of the scam has only emerged in the past few days but is operating state wide.

Detective Superintendent Terry Lawrence from the Financial and Cyber Crime Group tells Mark they are using sophisticated technology that makes it appear that they are using genuine police phone numbers.

The days of reaching into the fridge to find the milk is past its use by date could soon be a thing of the past.

A food technology company at Coolum on the Sunshine Coast has developed a method that extends the shelf life of milk from about a fortnight to a long as three months.

Naturo founder and CEO Jeff Hastings tells Mark his technology offers Australian producers incredible potential to export milk overseas, especially to Asia.

Mandatory sentencing does nothing to reduce crime and it is time to consider Community Correction Orders to take the pressure off Queensland’s overcrowded prisons.

They are some of the findings and suggestions contained in an options paper released by the Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council.

Council chair and former district court judge John Robertson is now seeking public feedback and tells Mark the key thing people should appreciate is that things are never black and white.

Last month newly installed Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner put the kibosh on the controversial Mt Coot-tha Zipline development after a public backlash.

The final act in the long running saga has now played out with the Brisbane City Council formally withdrawing its defence in a Planning and Environment Court challenge against the project.

Mt Coot-tha Protection Alliance president Dr Peter Hale says the community can finally breathe a sigh of relief that the zipline is dead and buried

The era of driverless autonomous vehicles may still be some way down the road but work is increasingly underway to prepare for that transport future.

Toll road operator Transurban has just completed a two month trial of partially autonomous vehicles to look at how its roads will cope.

Transurban Queensland general manager Chris Poynter tells Mark that after seven cars travelled more than 5,500 kilometres it was realised Brisbane presents some unique issues.