Brisbane Olympic Games 2032 This article is more than 1 month oldNew Queensland Labor leadership hits pause on $2.7bn Gabba stadium rebuild
This article is more than 1 month oldIndependent body to review plans for Olympic and Paralympic games as new premier and deputy distance themselves from Palaszczuk-era policies
- Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
- Get our morning and afternoon news emails,free app or daily news podcast
Queensland’s new leadership team have signalled a “pause” on the controversial $2.7bn Gabba rebuild while they reconsider their approach to the 2032 Olympics.
In a backflip announced on Tuesday, premier-to-be Steven Miles said he would establish an independent body to oversee infrastructure for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic games amid mounting criticism of the Palaszczuk government’s in-house alternative.
On Tuesday, the treasurer, Cameron Dick, who will on Friday be elected Miles’ deputy, went further by committing to a review of the entire infrastructure program for the games.
He also refused to confirm the $2.7bn Gabba project was locked in. “I think we need to pause,” Dick said.
“I think that’s what the deputy premier has announced publicly. We’re going to pause on the projects. We’re just going to have a review. We’re going to take our time to consider that and we’re going to set up an independent authority.
“So there are some moving parts there that we’re going to reflect on as a new government.”
As planning minister and former deputy premier, Miles had been a strong supporter of keeping Olympics planning within the premier’s department. Just last month he unveiled plans for the surrounding precinct – dubbed “East Bank” after Brisbane’s South Bank, which was redeveloped following World Expo in 1988.
But Miles announced on Tuesday he had been “convinced” of the need for an independent delivery authority for games infrastructure.
“We’ll start work just as soon as I get my feet under the desk on that initiative, amongst all of the others which I intend to outline to Queenslanders once the caucus has met on Friday,” he said.
It was among his first announcements after winning the race to replace premier Annastacia Paluszczuk following her resignation on Sunday, which takes effect on Friday.
The politics of the rebuild of the Brisbane Cricket Ground – known for decades as the Gabba – has become a particularly sore point for the government. The plan will require the demolition of a neighbouring, heritage listed school. The multi-billion dollar price tag is also controversial.
And plans for relocating the AFL and cricket teams that use the Gabba as a home ground have also run into trouble, with the Brisbane lord mayor Adrian Schrinner withdrawing his support for the Gabba rebuild last week after the botched announcement of a replacement venue.
The International Olympic Committee has repeatedly declared that the Gabba redevelopment is not required to host the Games. The upgrade has been justified on the ground that the Gabba is ageing and needs a refresh.
The review will also look into other Olympics infrastructure, including the Brisbane live arena and a range of regional venues.
Dick did not confirm the government would guarantee they were committed to the Gabba project. “We’ll try and be as quick as we can with that, but we need to, I think, look at those projects,” he said.
Greens MP Amy MacMahon, who represents South Brisbane, in which the Gabba sits, wants the whole project scrapped. “Queenslanders don’t want billions of their taxpayer money wasted on the Gabba demolition while their schools fall apart, they can’t find an affordable place to live, and ambulances are ramping at their hospitals,” she said.
Sign up to Morning Mail
Free daily newsletterOur Australian morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it matters
Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotion
“A pause and a review isn’t enough - the whole Gabba stadium demolition needs to be scrapped”.
The opposition leader, David Crisafulli, pointed to 2021 press releases by the Liberal National party calling for the independent authority, to argue that he’d been pushing for the move “for two years”.
“What that means is the government’s wasted two years,” he said.
“In the last two years they have spent bucket-loads of money on reports to try and justify their decision.
“For the last two years, they haven’t listened to a single person who [has] been speaking about the need for legacy projects.”
Dick, who will remain treasurer when he becomes deputy premier, launched the government’s mid-year financial review on Tuesday. It showed the state has lower net debt than forecast as a result of higher coal production and export.
He also announced a freeze on public transport fares in 2023, expected to save Queenslanders as much as $210 a year if they regularly commute from the Gold Coast to Brisbane. It comes after Dick yesterday announced car registration would be frozen in 2023.
With a small net operating deficit of $138m forecast for 2023/24 – $2bn lower than expected earlier this year – Dick described the budget as “in balance”.
Coal royalties are expected to boost revenue by $9.4bn over the next five years.
“The strength of our balance sheet enables us to deliver more cost of living relief for Queenslanders,” Dick said on Wednesday.
“The number one priority of the government is to make sure we deliver as much cost of living relief to Queensland families and businesses as we can afford.”
Australian Associated Press contributed to this report
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEoKyaqpSerq96wqikaKugpL%2B1e5FpaWxnlJqwcH2SaJ6ampKWerTAwJ2grqVdp7Kjwcilm2appZqyr7%2FLmqWdZZ6axG680Z6kop2iYsC1sdWepWalmaGytHnPmqysnV2lv7C2xJyr