Sandy’s advocacy has continued on the unified crossbench statement made on 23 May 2023, which called for a number of commitments from the Queensland Government regarding the Olympics including the scrapping of the Gabba rebuild.
The Queensland Government has now announced the rebuild will not proceed, instead it will be replaced with a more modest enhancement of the existing facility in consultation with AFL, Cricket Australia, and other stakeholders. Welcomed in their response also is around ensuring costs remain within the agreed funding envelope of $7.1 billion to be shared between the State and Commonwealth governments, which Sandy and fellow Crossbench Members had also called for.
A copy of the Crossbench’s full May 2023 statement is available on our September 2023 Noosa 360 update available at www.sandybolton.com/brisbane-2032-olympics-paralympic-games-legacy-cross-bench-unity-statement-update-september-2023.
Sandy will continue to advocate regarding the other commitments not yet addressed including ensuring all Olympics athlete accommodation is transferred to community housing providers at the Games’ completion as supported by 81.30% of respondents to our latest annual Noosa MP Community Survey. A recent Question on Notice from Sandy to the Premier regarding is available at www.sandybolton.com/brisbane-2032-olympics-paralympic-games-legacy-update-december-2023.
The Queensland Government’s full announcement regarding the Gabba rebuild is below:
The Queensland Government will accept almost all the recommendations made as part of the Review into Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games venue infrastructure.
The 60-day Sport Venue Review of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games venue infrastructure was completed by an independent panel led by former Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk.
The final report was provided to the Minister for State Development and Infrastructure Grace Grace on Friday afternoon (15 March).
More than 900 submissions were received during the Review, while the panel held 130 meetings with stakeholders, assessed numerous studies, and conducted 28 site visits.
The findings have identified new opportunities to deliver value-for-money for Queenslanders, while supporting the government’s legacy vision. At its core, the government’s response prioritises community benefit while ensuring costs remain within the agreed funding envelope of $7.1 billion to be shared between the State and Commonwealth governments.
The Government will now explore upgrades to QSAC and Suncorp Stadium while continuing to deliver the new state-of-the-art Brisbane Arena, securing benefits for more than 30 sporting facilities across Queensland, and exploring exciting opportunities for new transport connections in Brisbane as part of a revamped plan to enhance community legacy.
The new Brisbane Arena is a much-needed piece of community infrastructure which will have multiple legacy uses for decades to come. It will feature within a connected precinct where accessibility and walkability will be a key feature to its position among the city’s cultural and entertainment centres.
Suncorp Stadium and QSAC are the two most highly used venues in Queensland, with QSAC hosting nearly 782,000 visits in 2022-23. More than 527,000 visits were community sporting groups and schools, with another 167,000 visits from training and aspiring athletes. This compares to community visits of less than 20,000 at the Gabba, and around 4,000 athlete visits. Any upgrades to QSAC will further broaden community access.
Investment at QSAC would also provide the opportunity to explore expanded transport links servicing not only the stadium but also Griffith University, the health precinct at QEII hospital, and the growing communities on the southside of Brisbane to provide additional legacy benefits.
The Moreton Bay community is also one of the winners, with their new Indoor Sports Centre being investigated for an expansion.
The Breakfast Creek Indoor Sports Precinct at Albion will not proceed with the panel recommending an indoor sports centre be located in Zillmere or Boondall instead. The proposed upgrades to the Toowoomba Sports Ground will not proceed, but opportunities to host other Games events in the region will be explored.
The Government will move quickly to complete due diligence on venues in the coming months, followed by construction. Around half of these venues are outside of Brisbane, providing an economic and jobs boost during construction and beyond.
The Review panel recommended a brand new multi-billion dollar stadium at Victoria Park. However, as the reviewers noted, significantly more work is required to understand the opportunity and before these preliminary findings can be relied upon.
The Government does not believe it would be possible to deliver any new stadium at Victoria Park within the existing agreed funding, and the IOC has noted that a new stadium for the Olympic and Paralympic Games sits outside the “new norm” of using existing or already planned venues.
The Government is therefore ruling out a stadium at Victoria Park, instead favouring investigating upgrades to QSAC and Suncorp.
The previously proposed re-build of the Gabba will not proceed, instead replaced with a more modest enhancement of the existing facility in consultation with AFL, Cricket Australia, and other stakeholders. Those sports will no longer be displaced from the Gabba, and East Brisbane State School will not need to vacate its current site by the end of 2025. However future works to the Gabba are expected to impact the school, and the government will work closely with the school community as those plans develop.
Any change of sports venue requires consultation with Games Delivery Partners, including the Australian Government, and final games approval from the Brisbane 2032 Organising Committee, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
Delivery of the sports venue program will be the work of the Independent Delivery Authority when it is established mid-2024.
Further Information
For Noosa Electorate Residents wishing to directly advocate regarding the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, please email the Queensland Premier via premier@ministerial.qld.gov.au & the Minister for State Development via Industrialrelations@ministerial.qld.gov.au. Please cc’ our office in via noosa@parliament.qld.gov.au, as well and forward any response you receive to us.
For our previous Noosa 360 updates on this, please visit www.sandybolton.com/?s=Olympics