‘Time wasted, confidence lost’: Mayor fires parting shot over Olympics

One of the architects of the original bid for the Olympic and Paralympic Games – one of four south-east Queensland mayors retiring next month – has fired a parting shot at the Queensland government.

In 2015, Sunshine Coast Mayor Mark Jamieson worked with former Brisbane lord mayor Graham Quirk to make a formal bid to the International Olympic Committee for south-east Queensland to host the 2028 Games.

Retiring mayors Karen Williams (Redlands) and Mark Jamieson (Sunshine Coast) with Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner (left).Credit: Jocelyn Garcia

Brisbane later secured the 2032 Games, only for the planning and preparation to be mired in controversy. Quirk is now reviewing the venues and will deliver a report to the Miles government after the March 16 council election.

“I’ve been very close to that since the earliest engagements with the IOC, and I feel very disappointed that the state – quite frankly, without the necessary skills – decided they’d take it over,” Jamieson said.

“All that time has been wasted, and all the confidence has been lost.”

Jamieson is retiring at the election, along with Logan Mayor Darren Power, Redlands Mayor Karen Williams and Somerset Mayor Graeme Lehmann.

As president of the Local Government Association of Queensland, Jamieson has sought to share the benefits of the Games, and has criticised the slow pace of infrastructure upgrades in his area.

“From a Sunshine Coast perspective, we are no closer to getting a rail connection between Brisbane and Maroochydore,” he said.

The Department of Transport and Main Roads is completing a $14 million detailed business case, but Jamieson says “the clock is ticking”.

“We initially had what we would consider to be plenty of time, but now we’re down to less than 10 years, and that work really needs to be underway.”

Jamieson said the rail line – first promised when Peter Beattie was premier – was an important legacy for the Sunshine Coast.

“It is really important that it goes all the way to Maroochydore, otherwise decades and decades of land-use planning on the Sunshine Coast will get chucked out the window,” he said.

The retirement of the three mayors also signifies a changing of the guard at the Council of Mayors (SEQ). Jamieson said their experience would be missed in the short term.

“But I think every organisation needs to be refreshed, and there will be new ideas coming from people,” he said.

Jamieson ranks his greatest achievements in council as the delivery of faster internet access to the Sunshine Coast, kick-starting a new Maroochydore CBD, driving controversial changes at Mooloolaba and a second runway at the council-leased Sunshine Coast Airport.

In Redlands, Williams also pushed for more infrastructure investment, arguing the region was part rural, part urban and should not be overlooked by governments.

Williams backed the Toondah Harbour project but fought to prevent bushland being cleared. She also gained notoriety over a drink-driving incident.

In Logan, Power is set to end his 27-year career in local government. He stood as mayor because he was worried about the region’s future after a bruising era of corruption inquiries and lawsuits.

Lehmann is also bowing out at the election, while former Toowoomba mayor Paul Antonio retired last year and was replaced by Geoff McDonald.

The other mayors in south-east Queensland are recontesting the election, with only Moreton Bay’s Peter Flannery set to be re-elected unopposed.

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