Cairns rectangular stadium: QLD Premier’s office on Barlow Park upgrade
A sudden visit to FNQ by the state premier has unearthed some lucrative surprises in her upcoming budget. FIND OUT MORE
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UPDATE, JUNE, 2: THE QUEENSLAND Premier’s office said a temporary fix for Barlow Park is on the cards, confirming no proposal for a new rectangular stadium in Cairns has been put to the state government.
The city will host international football in the 2032 Olympics, but Cairns Regional Council has failed to kick-off a significant upgrade.
“No one – neither council, the former federal government nor the IOC – have proposed a new stadium is required in Cairns for the Olympics,” said a state government spokesperson.
This confirmation comes after Sport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe’s comments that Barlow Park is “fit for purpose” to host preliminary Olympic football events.
Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch says the council has been, until recently, the missing link in discussions on a new sporting precinct.
“In all the years I’ve been here, the one thing we’ve been missing is council support. We’ve not been able to get council to agree on a site,” he said.
Mr Entsch said a sporting precinct that complimented existing infrastructure and included an upgrade to Barlow Park was more appropriate than a stand-alone stadium.
“A sports precinct could be completed for less than $100m,” he said.
“It just needs to be done in one bloody go, it can’t be done piecemeal.”
The Premier’s office said Barlow Park would be upgraded ahead of the Olympics, but the improvements would include temporary overlay seating to be installed during the games.
EARLIER, JUNE 1: QUEENSLAND Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk snuck up to Wangetti Beach this morning and surprised Far North Queensland with a sneak peek of her upcoming budget, which Queensland parliament will release to the public on June 21, 2022.
The Queensland government will commit an additional $10m to boost the Reef Assist program, which will provide an additional 225 jobs to North Queenslanders in eco-tourism and ecological management.
“We want to see … people employed right up to the Far North,” said the Premier.
The Premier committed an additional $4m to a “First Nations tourism package.”
“What we want to do in the lead up to the Olympics is grow First Nations tourism experience across the state,” she said.
“If you’ve got a small company or you’ve got an idea, we are going to help so you can grow and employ more people and be ready for in ten years time when we see people come from all around the world and want to experience everything Queensland has to offer.”
Reacting to the announcement, Cook MP Cynthia Lui said this was an amazing announcement, one that promotes cultural experience and leadership en route to the 2032 Olympics as well as Path to Treaty, a Queensland government reconciliation initiative.
“Here in Far North Queensland we have around half of the 200 Indigenous businesses here in the state.
“We’ve got potential here in Cook; we’ve got industries that we need to build.”
Assistant Minister Tourism Industry Development and Cairns MP Michael Healy said this was a “fantastic announcement” for the local tourism economy.
“Tourism is a fundamental pillar of our economy and this investment goes to prove that we are expanding opportunities to broader sectors of our community.”
Premier Palaszczuk said her proximity to the Daintree Rainforest made her reflect on Far North Queensland’s pristine environment and signalled that expansion of the Daintree National Park could also be in focus to attract tourism in the lead up to and the wake of the 2032 Olympics.
“Now’s the time we should think about expanding our national parks estate,” she said.
“We’ve had some small programs in the past to look at purchasing land adjacent to some of our world heritage areas that have high conservation value.
“It’s something that we’re going to give some serious consideration to, especially in the lead up to our budget as well.
“I want people from all around the world, especially between now and the Olympics, coming here to experience what Far North Queensland has.”
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Originally published as Cairns rectangular stadium: QLD Premier’s office on Barlow Park upgrade
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