Editorial: It’s time to come clean on Gabba revamp

The federal and state governments need to detail negotiations on the proposed redevelopment of the Gabba, writes the editor.

IT IS seriously disappointing that federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King has blocked the release to the Senate of any detail of conversations between the federal and state governments over the proposed multibillion-dollar upgrade or rebuild of the Gabba for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Gladstone-based Greens senator Penny Allman-Payne is right when she says the release of at least some of the information is in the public interest, considering the expense and the significance of the decision. Beyond that, Labor won the election on a promise to end government secrecy. That didn’t last long!

It is yet another example of how what is said on the campaign trail not carrying over into the reality of government. That is a real shame.

The Albanese government has tried to walk both sides of the road when it comes to its contribution to the funding of the Brisbane Games.

On the one hand it has walked away from the former Morrison government’s 50-50 agreed funding split with the state, while also saying it remains committed to helping deliver an amazing event in 2032.

An artist’s impression of the proposed Gabba redevelopment.

It is understood several federal government figures have told meetings as significant as the latest get-together of the 2032 Organising Committee board that the Games will have to fight for its share of funding alongside all the other demands of sporting events – such as the 2027 Rugby World Cup. But that position is to ignore the significance of the event itself. Alongside FIFA’s soccer World Cup, the Olympics and Paralympics stand at the very top of the mountain when it comes to global sporting events. Full support for the Games is therefore very much in the national interest.

That said, it is fair enough for the federal government to demand that a robust business case be delivered for anything it is going to spend hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on. That is right.

But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has recently taken to pointing out that the last Olympics and Paralympics held in Australia – the Sydney 2000 Games – were funded primarily by the NSW state government. Mr Albanese is always quick to add: “We will discuss co-operatively with Queensland.” But his point is clear – a worsening global outlook means money is now tighter than it was 18 months ago when the 50-50 deal was struck, and so his government is by no means committed to delivering on it.

These issues will surely come to a head in coming weeks and months. The Palaszczuk state government is understood to be close to unveiling its decision on whether a rebuild or just an upgrade of the Gabba will be necessary – and all the talk is that the significant “back of house” demands from the International Olympic Committee mean that a full rebuild is really the only option.

That – and soaring construction costs – means the $1bn spend initially forecast to make the Gabba Games-ready is likely to at least have tripled. And that is going to be a seriously hard sell for politicians in both George Street and in Canberra.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has tied herself closely to the 2032 Olympics (she is, we note, yet to add Paralympics to her ministerial title) and so any of these big decisions will be hers to make and to own.

Two years out from an election where she will need to win votes in regional Queensland, the last thing the Premier will want is for the state to be carrying the can alone.