I'm in Brisbane yes. I don't know the area WELL where the crime happened, but have been out that way a few times, so I have a bit of a feel for what the area, terrain is like Makara. I don't think it makes too much difference though, because even if something like that happened anywhere near me, I wouldn't know anything because I haven't seen the crime scene, and if I didn't know the person intimately who was killed, I would consider myself "not in the know". If it was someone I knew personally, I'd probably be too distraught to talk about it, or if I actually found the body, even more less likely to talk about it.
The canoeist certainly hasn't been on this site.
I consider if I went to the hairdresser in my area and the topic came up, I'd get every theory through Tom, Dick and Harry, through the hairdresser. Tom, Dick and Harry who would post on a site like this. I'm sorry but I lose patience very quickly when the rumor mill starts turning. The bus stop story, then , oh....magically someone comes along and knows someone who knows someone, who knows someone.
BBM.
Yes, I know Scraps the dog exists, but unless he can speak human, I'm not taking his word for anything either, oh and he also has to be verified as a local . Which won't give him credibility either.