2005 Brisbane bomb hoax

On 14 November 2005, several bomb threats were called in from payphones in Brisbane, Australia, threatening the public transport system. Under advice from Police Commissioner, Bob Atkinson, Lord Mayor Campbell Newman and Premier, Peter Beattie ordered all buses and trains to be shut down at midday, and again at 4:45pm, causing huge problems, with thousands of people waiting. After a thorough bomb search, the public transport restarted operation.

The following day, Rodney Bruce Watson, a 46-year-old trucker driver from Munruben, was arrested and charged on four counts of making bomb threats; his fingerprints having been found in three of the four phone booths. His lawyer, however, stated that "[Watson] had not been near a telephone booth in years." Watson later, reportedly, said to police that he had been "inspired by the recent arrests of terrorist suspects in southern states". In light of this, the court denied his bail request, because of a fear that he would "reoffend". He pleaded guilty to the charges and "was sentenced to three years in jail, to be suspended after 12 months." He is also to be "supervised for three years once he is released from prison".