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Energy relief measures have passed the parliament despite crossbench and opposition attempts to change the laws.

The measures are expected to cut $230 from power bills next year.

The laws cap gas at $12 a gigajoule, introduce a mandatory code of conduct for the gas market and roll out power bill support for welfare recipients.

Parliament was recalled for an extraordinary sitting day to pass the measures and MPs were given shorter time limits for debate.

The bill passed the upper house after the Greens, independent senator David Pocock and crossbencher Tammy Tyrrell backed the proposal.

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said the measures would help to lower the cost of rising energy prices, which had been driven up by the war in Ukraine.

"These bills are designed specifically to alleviate pressure on households, to stand up for jobs, to stand up for industry, to stand up for manufacturing," she told parliament.

"We have a responsibility as a government to deal with the situation that has been unfolding over the last six months."

Greens leader Adam Bandt sought an amendment to freeze power bills for the next two years by increasing taxes on gas and coal companies but was unsuccessful.

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie also supported a windfall tax on energy companies who were "shamelessly profiteering" off the war in Ukraine and soaring prices at the expense of Australian consumers.

An amendment from independent Monique Ryan requiring the government to explain how they reached their proposed price cap was also voted down.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the government was in discussions with the consumer watchdog about the best way to make the details that informed its decision public.

He urged MPs to choose to help Australians who are being confronted with unsustainable and unacceptable energy price rises by supporting the proposal.

"Without intervention, next financial year retail gas prices are expected to increase by a further 20 per cent and electricity prices by a further 36 per cent," he told parliament.

Dr Chalmers said the government respected the role the gas industry played in Australia's economy but had a responsibility to find a solution to protect Australians from increasing power bills.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, whose party voted against the bill, said he backed relief measures but did not want market intervention.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the former coalition government had been "addicted to power and hopeless on energy".

Jacqui Lambie Network senator Tammy Tyrrell said debate on the relief measures had been rushed and the bill had flaws but lowering power costs was needed.

"We can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good," she said.

Australian Energy Regulator chair Clare Savage said energy contracts for next financial year were already heading in the right direction, easing fears prices were set to skyrocket.

She said government modelling showing prices would be $230 less than expected was likely around the mark.

© AAP 2022

Three shooters rigged a sophisticated surveillance system to help them "take police out" at a remote Queensland property where they ambushed officers, killing two constables and a neighbour.

Forensic examinations are continuing at the Wieambilla house, in the Western Downs region, where constables Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow and neighbour Alan Dare were gunned down on Monday.

Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers says there's evidence killers Gareth Train, his wife Stacey and brother Nathaniel, who were all shot dead in a siege with officers, planned the attack and set up a camera system.

"It was a sophisticated surveillance system and that is very, very concerning to us - knowing that this ruthless, murderous trio went to this extent with a view, I firmly believe, to take police out," he told ABC Radio on Thursday.

Mr Leavers said he didn't want to hamper the police investigation into the incident, but police were very concerned about the attack.

"It's sickening to know the lengths that this murderous trio went to," he said.

Constable Keely Brough, 28, who escaped the ambush by hiding in long grass, which the shooters then ignited, is taking time off with her family, he said.

Her colleague, Constable Randall Kirk, who also got away, is recovering at home with his daughter and pregnant wife after having surgery to remove shrapnel from his leg.

Mr Leavers said Const Kirk may need further operations, but both officers were doing as well as could be expected.

Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll met with the families of constables Arnold and McCrow and said she had learnt a lot about the two officers.

"The families are amazing people who had children who wanted to do great things in life," she said on Thursday.

Details about a memorial service for the fallen officers are expected in coming days, while community gatherings are planned for Tara and Chinchilla, near Wieambilla, on Friday.

Western Downs mayor Paul McVeigh said the community was deeply saddened by the tragedy but had come together in tribute.

"The outpouring of support and gestures of sympathy and condolences from the residents and businesses of Chinchilla and Tara have been heartwarming at a time when such pain and sadness is being felt," he said.

Political leaders paused to honour the police officers killed in the shooting tragedy in federal parliament, including a tearful tribute from Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.

Mr Dutton, a former Queensland police officer, said three wonderful Australians had paid the ultimate price while serving their community.

"Three people who embodied compassion, commitment and courage during their lives and in their final moments," he said.

Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil said while authorities searched for answers, the national security implication of online extremism would have to be examined.

"There will be important questions we will need to consider on how our country deals with acts of violent extremism, but today is not the day," she said.

"Today is a day for grieving."

Police trying to identify the motive for the lethal attack have been tracing the brothers' online activities, including posts in the name of Gareth Train that featured a mix of conspiracy theory-laden material.

The Train brothers' father Ronald Train said he struggled to comprehend how his sons, who cut ties with him 23 years ago, could be responsible for the killings.

"They went down this track, this dark track, which we have no understanding of," he told Nine's A Current Affair program on Wednesday.

The now-retired pastor officiated at the wedding of Nathaniel and Stacey some years ago, adding he was surprised by reports his older son Gareth was now married to the same woman.

© AAP 2022

Queensland forensic services will be "rebuilt from the ground up" and double jeopardy laws may be reformed to re-prosecute serious crimes after a damning report into a state-run DNA laboratory.

A four-month inquiry into the state's embattled DNA testing system found it failed to properly test samples for years because of "grave maladministration involving dishonesty".

The inquiry report revealed lab managers had focused on speed rather than accuracy in DNA testing, to the detriment of quality science.

That "scourge had invaded many areas of the laboratory's practices", including the validation of processes and equipment used, time management and resourcing.

Forensic services will undergo radical, long-term structural change after the Labor government accepted all 123 of Commissioner Walter Sofronoff's recommendations, Health Minister Yvette D'Ath said on Thursday.

"Forensic services in Queensland needs to be rebuilt from the ground up and that's what we're going to do," she said.

Development of a new forensic unit will take place in 2023 and work has begun on an interim unit with an independent board and a new chief executive officer.

Director of Forensic Science SA Linzi Wilson-Wilde, who gave expert evidence to the commission, has been announced as the new CEO.

Professor Wilson-Wilde will be supported by an additional 41 ongoing and 22 temporary employees as part of $95 million in funding to implement the recommendations.

Three subcommittees will be established to advise on scientific and technical best practice, best practice for sexual assault response and the priorities for retrospective case analysis.

Sexual assault investigation kits, which were the focus of a significant portion of the inquiry, are also likely to be updated based on best practice in other jurisdictions.

New sample kits will arrive in January and undergo a month-long validation process.

Three staff members at the lab had been issued with show-cause letters and another two would be given please-explain letters regarding matters raised in the report, Ms D'Ath said.

Managing scientist Cathie Allen and team manager Justin Howes are on suspension.

Mr Sofronoff recommended Forensic and Scientific Services be restructured with an independent head scientist focused on scientific integrity and serving the criminal justice system.

"Thousands of cases" could be reviewed and crime scene samples retested for DNA, potentially by a panel including a scientist, a police officer, a prosecutor and a lawyer.

Queensland's double jeopardy laws, which generally prevent an accused person from being tried for the same crime twice, are also being examined.

"Queensland has some of the narrowest double jeopardy exception laws, and we want to look at broadening that fresh and compelling exception to double jeopardy so that it applies to more serious offences, not just murder," Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman said.

Rape and sexual assault are among the serious offences being looked at as part of the reform, Ms Fentiman said.

The commission's report attributes much of the blame for failures within the lab to Ms Allen and the way her role was structured.

Ms Allen tried to cover up mounting problems with superiors, lab staff and police using a "deliberately crafted series of lies and misleading dodges", the report says.

"This state of affairs has been caused by both the structure of her role within FSS and her personal performance of it," it says.

The report points to wider cultural problems within Queensland Health considering issues previously raised at Mackay and Caboolture hospitals, Ms D'Ath noted.

"It is very concerning that not only are staff not willing to speak up, but staff are scared to speak up in some areas of Queensland Health," she said.

The minister said she had already had conversations with senior members of Queensland Health, and there must be consequences if serious complaints arere ignored.

© AAP 2022