Andrew Ormsby never thought his pub story would plant his feet in front of the Governor of Queensland, Dr Jeannette Young.

Four years ago, the pub-goer was hailed a hero for thwarting an armed robbery at the Mermaid Beach Tavern on the Gold Coast.

On Tuesday, he was among everyday Queenslanders who received Australian honours and bravery awards for risking their lives to help others.

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"It's a huge honour, really it's unexpected," Ormsby told 9News.

"If you told me that night I'd be like 'whatever, get off the drink'," he added with a laugh.

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Ormsby was playing the pokies in 2019 when he grabbed a bar stool to stop a machete-wielding bandit who was terrorising a female bartender.

He then used pot plants to disarm the masked thief before chasing him out of the pub.

"Everyone's surprised, they're like 'out of all weapons, a pot plant?' and I'm like 'well it was the only thing I could see at the time'," he recalls.

Today, he was commended for his brave conduct and quick thinking.

"It's just something anyone else would do, you know, if you see somebody in distress your instincts kicks in kind of save whoever's there," Ormsby said.

Harley Schmith showed the same type of bravery when he risked his life to save four teenagers stranded on a light pole during the dangerous floodwaters that swept through Townsville in 2019.

"It was difficult but again we just had a job to do — we had to do it," Schmith told 9News.

"It's just humbling. I never expected to get anything like this."

All up, 115 Queenslanders from all walks of life were recognised across five ceremonies at Government House.

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A school bus carrying 45 children has collided with a truck and rolled west of Melbourne.

The crash occurred while the children were heading home from Exford Primary School, near the intersection of Exford Road and Murphys Road at Eynesbury about 3.40pm.

Police say all children have been removed from the bus and are being treated by paramedics, with some taken to hospital.

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A dozen people have been transported by ambulance to hospital, including 10 children with serious injuries, and an adult and a child in a stable condition, according to Ambulance Victoria.

Paramedics are assessing a further 25 people at the scene who do not require transport to hospital.

Victoria Police Superintendent Michael Cruse described the damage to the bus as "significant".

"The scene was chaotic," he said.

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"We had parents of children arriving on the scene (along with) lots of emergency services.

"The bus has significant damage and is overturned."

Cruse said the bus was attempting to right onto Murphys Road when the truck collided with the rear of the bus.

He said a 49-year-old truck driver stopped at the scene and is assisting police.

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Nicole Kirk's daughter was onboard the bus at the time.

"We raced down here, there was tears and emotion, (my daughter) was frightened, she has scratches, blood on her hands.

"She was more concerned about her friends, she had her seatbelt on and she was fine.

"We are one of the lucky ones."

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Eynesbury is located about 44km from Melbourne, near Melton, and the crash occurred near Exford Primary School.

Multiple crews from the CFA, Fire Rescue Victoria, Victoria Police and Ambulance Victoria remain on scene.

Aerial images from the 9News helicopter showed children being pulled from the overturned bus through its smashed windscreen.

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Queensland Health Minister Yvette D'Ath has been told she will be moved to a different portfolio as part of a wider cabinet reshuffle from Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, 9News understands.

Several senior government sources told 9News State Politcal Editor Tim Arvier that a meeting took place between Palaszczuk and D'Ath this afternoon in which the health minister was told she would be moved into a different role.

It is understood the housing and youth justice portfolios are also in line for a change.

Since D'Ath became health minister at the last election, she has had to endure several difficult issues, including the pandemic, ambulance ramping and the maternity health crisis.

D'Ath declined to comment when approached this afternoon.

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A man who went gay bashing at a park where another man was murdered concedes he should have told police a friend claimed responsibility even though he was a liar.

It was over three decades ago and a different man is on trial for murder.

Stanley Bruce Early, 77, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Raymond Keam in Alison Park at Randwick in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

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He's accused of bashing the 43-year-old martial arts expert, either alone or in a group, because he suspected Keam was homosexual.

Mark Stewart told the NSW Supreme Court he went to Alison Park several times, seeing men get chased "probably every time", and thrice participating himself.

"Just to scare them I suppose," Stewart said on Tuesday.

He and his friends wanted men out of the park after a story circulated that "apparently a young boy had been assaulted by someone".

He told police weeks after Keam's body was discovered in January 1987 he had begun frequenting the park the previous year to go "p—— bashing".

None of the people doing so intended to kill or seriously injure anyone, he said on Tuesday.

"They were just trying to deter people from the park."

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Before speaking to police in February 1987, Stewart had a conversation when the murder was discussed.

"What you've recorded is that (your friend) says 'I've done it, I killed him,' and that's something he clearly said to you," Early's barrister Jeffrey Clarke said.

The person cannot be named as they were under 18 at the time.

Stewart did not tell police because his friend "was a big mouth that lies," he said.

Clarke questioned why he did not think it worth mentioning the claim.

"I should have," Stewart said.

The "big mouth" also introduced Stewart to an older man whom they called "Spider", which the jury has been told was Early's nickname.

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Crown prosecutor Ken McKay SC read a police statement to the court from a since-deceased person who recalled Alison Park being an after-school meeting place for high school students.

One afternoon, they went to the nearby home of "a male person I later found out was nicknamed Spider" with some others, including the "big mouth".

"Spider" showed the students a black, 18-inch baton.

"And I think, but I'm not sure, that he told us he was 'bashing p—-' in the park with it," the statement recorded.

Keam's unsolved death was one of 88 killings between 1976 and 2000 recently reviewed by police probing potential gay-hate violence and allegations of prior inaction.

He identified as heterosexual, was divorced from one woman and in a de facto relationship with another, having a child with each.

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Early went to Bundaberg for his brother's birthday the day Keam's body was discovered in the park across from his house.

He told police he learned of the murder when he returned from Queensland five days later.

The case is circumstantial and Clarke told the jury on the first day there is no evidence anyone saw Early have any contact with Keam.

The trial continues on Wednesday.

Crisis support is available from Lifeline on 13 11 14.

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Day two of a tribunal hearing into an alleged privacy breach.

Motorists are advised to delay travel or take an alternate route.

Bruce Lehrmann's lawyer has taken another swipe at the conduct of the ACT's chief prosecutor, accusing Shane Drumgold of "aligning" himself with Brittany Higgins.

At an inquiry examining how the case was handled, Steven Whybrow said he wasn't happy with a public statement given by Drumgold on the day the DPP announced it would not proceed with a retrial.

In December, Drumgold told the media he still believed there was a "reasonable prospect of a conviction", but was dropping the rape charge due to concerns about the impact of a second trial on Higgins' mental health.

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Whybrow said it was a "moot point" from Drumgold, describing it as a "pejorative stab" at Lehrmann.

"It was just an unnecessary statement that could only serve to be picked up and with the imprimatur of the DPP, taken by people in the community to suggest that he had thought he [Lehrmann] was guilty," Whybrow told the inquiry.

The original trial was abandoned due to juror misconduct, and there have been no findings against Lehrmann.

The inquiry also heard further details today of the tense relationship between police and prosecutors.

"My impression was that it was Mr Drumgold who was hostile towards the police," Whybrow said.

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The lawyer representing Drumgold, Mark Tedeschi, said Drumgold was troubled by suggestions ACT police were "undercharging" in sexual assault matters.

Tedeschi told the inquiry police had a "bizarre approach" to whether Lehrmann should have been charged in the first place.

"We want to prove that it's true that [police] did have this attitude to sex cases generally and that [the Lehrmann case] was a classic example of it," he said.

"Had it not been for all the publicity, had it not been that the alleged offence occurred in Parliament House, this matter would have been dealt with like the other matters that have been, in effect, just ignored by the police."

The inquiry continues on Monday, when leading ACT investigators will give evidence.

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Waste disposal workers in parts of Sydney and Victoria will hold a one-day strike tomorrow as part of a campaign for better pay and conditions.

Members of the Transport Workers Union (TWU) plan to walk off the job for 24 hours n the City of Sydney and Victorian local government areas of Greater Geelong, Surf Coast, Golden Plains, Moonee Valley and Hobsons Bay.

The strike means bins will remain uncollected in the affected areas through tomorrow.

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The strikes follow similar industrial actions in Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory over TWU claims waste management company Cleanaway reduced overtime entitlements and extended rosters.

The union claimed the changes had resulted in workers being forced to work weekends for less take-home pay.

There will also be a separate industrial action in New South Wales on Thursday after the Health Services Union said today paramedics and patient transport officers will refuse to transfer patients from hospitals to homes or residential aged care facilities.

The union said their will be exceptions made for end-of-life patients and people on dialysis.

The strike will run for 24 hours from the first shift tomorrow at 6am.

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