Former lord mayor questions 2032 transport legacy as new stadium looms

Former Brisbane lord mayor Graham Quirk has cast doubt over the city’s ability to reap the full benefit of hosting the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Only days before the Crisafulli LNP government releases its new venue plan, Quirk has lamented the failure to use the Games as reason to fast-track city-building infrastructure.

That is despite 9News revealing Cabinet will on Monday look to sign off on a new 60,000-seat stadium at Victoria Park – a year after Quirk made a similar recommendation to the Miles Labor government that was immediately rejected.

Former Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said governments “might have missed the boat” on delivering key transport legacies from the Olympic Games.Credit: Tammy Law

Quirk said the Games bid was originally intended to provide the impetus for public transport upgrades that would serve Brisbane well into the future.

“We didn’t need any specific Olympic public transport or infrastructure built, we needed those things that would keep up with population growth,” he told the ABC on Thursday morning.

The latest independent review has recommended a new oval stadium be built at Victoria Park, despite Premier David Crisafulli’s previous vow there would be no new stadiums. There is also local opposition, and concern over the cost of the necessary earthworks and new links to the CBD, Kelvin Grove Urban Village, and the RNA Showgrounds.

While Cabinet is considered likely to accept that recommendation, a separate proposal to shift the Brisbane Arena from Roma Street Parkland to Woolloongabba, where it would host swimming events in a drop-in pool, is more contentious.

Once the government finalises its plan, Brisbane 2032 President Andrew Liveris will embark on further stakeholder consultations, and the Commonwealth-state funding agreement will likely become an issue for the federal election campaign.

Quirk said the original bid for Brisbane to host the Games came with three “essential outcomes”: improved transport infrastructure; greater awareness of the city as a tourism and investment destination; and inspiration for young Queenslanders to be healthy and sporty.

“We might have missed the boat a little bit, I think, in terms of the public transport infrastructure ... the other two, though, are certainly still very achievable,” Quirk said.

The Olympics has long been ear-marked as a “catalyst” for improving public transport across Brisbane and Queensland’s south-east.

Projects like the Cross River Rail, Metro, Sunshine Coast heavy rail line, and extensions on the Gold Coast light rail have all been routinely earmarked as legacy projects.

Construction delays and design complications have thrown plans into doubt, with the Metro only recently becoming operational, years behind its original deadline.

The government also began looking for alternatives for its coastal railway projects after finding current funding levels fell short of expected costs for the two major upgrades.

The Commonwealth-state funding agreement for the Games will have to be renegotiated, and there is still no transport and mobility strategy.

Quirk – who led a 2024 review of venues for the Labor government, which rejected his central recommendation of a stadium at Victoria Park – said the stadium debate had become a distraction.

Former Brisbane Lord Mayor and leader of the 2024 independent review of Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic venue infrastructure Graham Quirk.Credit: AAP

“All of the focus and all the discussion has been around sport venues, and that wasn’t what it was about originally,” he said.

Asked about Quirk’s comments, and the strategy, Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg pointed to the pending release of the review and the government’s response.

“The Crisafulli Government will announce the Games delivery plan on March 25, which will finally put Queensland on track to make the most of this once-in-a-generation opportunity,” he said.

Brisbane City Council transport chair Ryan Murphy said the Metro was poised to support the Games, through works to add up to 22 stations, which it had pitched late last year.

“With the Australian government’s support, we are now progressing a rapid business case to progress the expansion of Brisbane Metro to Carseldine, Capalaba, Springwood and out to the airport,” he said.

Murphy said the Metro was key to Games transport as it was “no longer practical or affordable to build above-ground heavy rail routes”.

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