Following the one-hundred-day infrastructure review, the plan for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games has been released and generally well received from initial feedback locally with many positives for Queensland, including the spread of events. Venues are now proposed for upgrade and use on the Sunshine Coast and in Cairns, Maryborough, Toowoomba and Rockhampton among others with upgrades to associated infrastructure including the Bruce Highway, from Brisbane to Cairns, to improve safety, flood resilience and capacity.

This will deliver benefits for regional Queensland as sought by the crossbench in its united statement of May 2023, and even though it is not in the realm of the equal spend with the majority remaining in Southeast Queensland, it is better than what was proposed previously in terms of ‘legacy’. To view the May 2023 statement, please visit https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/tp/2023/5723T680-1559.pdf.

The hosting of the Olympics in Brisbane has brought excitement and opportunities to so many, however as  Sandy has raised previously, government must get the basics right. With many pressing needs throughout Queensland including recovering from disasters and the COVID pandemic, with ongoing housing, rental and cost of living stress, health care shortfalls and crime impacts, substantial extra resources are required to address. These cannot be overlooked in the state budgets over the next years, nor infrastructure commitments already made.

We welcome the upholding of other requests in the crossbench statement, such as the halting of the Gabba rebuild and the continued commitment to adhere to the $7.1 billion budget. Even though announcements that any athlete accommodation, including in Maroochydore, will be utilised for housing after 2032, concerningly the words ‘affordable’ were absent in the government’s statements. This was also sought in the crossbench statement requesting that all built accommodations be transferred to either social or community housing providers. This is essential as part of making available genuine affordable housing for our working families, and Sandy and no doubt the rest of the crossbench will be seeking that the government give reassurances regarding all athlete accommodation and villages. In addition, that the entire Host City contract and all relevant business cases be made public.

Over the coming months we will continue efforts on requests from the community for the Noosa Shire to be utilised for team training activities to bring new and upgraded local sporting facilities, as well as infrastructure and services to manage the volume of games visitors that will be staying and visiting Noosa, some many months in advance. Examples include better train and transport from Gympie North to Nambour via Cooroy, hinterland bus services and the completion of the Tewantin Bypass amongst others contained in submissions to the Northern Sunshine Coast Public Transport Strategy, the one hundred (100) day infrastructure review, and Destination 2045.

Sandy has reiterated that we must ensure the legacy of the games is one we will all be proud of. One that will deliver to our community and all of Queensland, and that future generations can look on as an exemplar in multiple realms, including sustainable practices and ensuring that the basics are not overlooked in the excitement.

The state government’s outline of their plan is available at www.delivering2032.com.au.

Further Information

For our previous Noosa 360 updates on the Olympic and Paralympic Games, please visit www.sandybolton.com/?s=olympics.

To contact the relevant Ministers, email the following:

Please cc’ our office in via noosa@parliament.qld.gov.au and forward any response you receive to us.