Few people in Queensland disagreed with the former state premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, when she described plans for the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane as a “hot mess”.
Tuesday’s announcement by the new LNP government was framed as an end to the sort of disarray that has plagued Olympic planning during the past four years.
But the city’s third venues plan – its third proposed Olympic stadium – might be the most problematic.
It will now almost certainly ensure protests and opposition north and south of the Brisbane River, with the new Victoria Park stadium and the demolition of the Gabba controversial choices for locals. There may also be opposition from the middle of the Fitzroy River, where the local freshwater crocodiles might not be too pleased about the idea of Olympic rowing at Rockhampton.
The premier, David Crisafulli, began with an apology of sorts for breaking an election promise. He had campaigned in October last year by saying there would be “no new stadiums”.
“I have to own that, and I will, and I am sorry, and it’s my decision, and I accept that decision,” Crisafulli said.
The premier’s attempt to justify the broken promise went like this: he had to choose between pushing ahead with the plan to host athletics at the 1980s-era Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre (an option derided as embarrassing), or building a new venue at Victoria Park.
“And I know which one would have been politically easier for me to make, but I’ve made the right choice,” he said.
That choice seemed plain well before the election. It was repeatedly pointed out that his position – “no new stadiums” but definitely not QSAC – was untenable.
Victoria Park has been pushed for more than a year in certain quarters of the city. The idea that the plan is simply an organic recommendation of a 100-day venues review seems unlikely.
As does the argument that, finally, the needs of the Olympics have been put ahead of local politics.
Crisafulli’s “no new stadiums” promise was largely pitched at voters in Queensland’s regional cities, which were critical to the LNP’s election win. Spending big money on Big Things in Brisbane is the sort of thing that brings up grievances in Townsville.
And so the LNP will send several sports – archery, sailing, football and rowing – up north, over the reported objections of those sports’ governing bodies and against the recommendations of the venues review.
The government also rejected the advice of the panel and will build a swimming centre of excellence at the site of the Centenary Pool, on the outskirts of Victoria Park.
There are some decent arguments for doing so. Hosting swimming events at an arena with a temporary pool doesn’t create much legacy for the sport. The new venue would create a permanent world-class facility for swimmers.
It is exactly the same principle behind the last government’s idea of using QSAC for athletics events. Athletics would get a permanent, top-level home.
Broken promises are dime a dozen in politics. There are those who will be sceptical that this plan is above politics, when it appears so clearly designed to appease regional voters and other interest groups.
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What happened to green space?
The original plan to redevelop the ageing Gabba stadium fell by the wayside a year ago. Then the Australian Olympics supremo, John Coates, said the Olympic movement was “on the nose” in Brisbane because the plan was not popular. People were upset about the mooted cost, and the impact on the local area.
Building a new (and more expensive) stadium at Victoria Park shifts that flashpoint north of the river.
But turning the Gabba area into a privately funded entertainment precinct, as outlined on Tuesday, will ensure that protests continue on the south side, too.
When Victoria Park was first mooted, the idea of building over the city’s largest green space – a 64-hectare parkland which, though close to the city is woefully underused– was pushed as a sort of trade-off.
“Brisbane city council has a policy of no net loss of green space in the city,” said Graham Quirk, the former mayor who has championed Victoria Park.
“Our proposal, as inferred in the report, was that you could potentially turn the Gabba, an area which is in drastic need of additional green space, into green space over there.
“There would be a loss in one location but a gain in another area”.
No one mentioned green space at the big launch on Tuesday.
It seems as if the big vision of the new government – complete with a slick presentation and uplifting backing music – is for an Olympics held in venues, but not a city.
For all the urgency and “the time has come to just get on with it” talk on Tuesday, it remains to be seen whether the people of Brisbane are willing to support it.