Editorial: Poor planning at the Gabba leaves us with an empty feeling
HOW did we lose the opportunity to host a national grand final that was ours for the taking?
Opinion
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WHAT a shambles. Here we have an allegedly great southeast region that boasts five stadiums and six football teams from four different codes, yet the organisational skills are so patently lacking that we lose the opportunity to host a national grand final that was ours for the taking.
The move of the AFLW grand final to Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast is a travesty of poor planning and cack-handed utilisation of the assets we have at our disposal.
Yet yesterday’s inspection of The Gabba pitch – on which the first Ashes test against England will be played in November – has rendered the fact the Brisbane Lions women’s team finished their season at the top of the table irrelevant when it comes to playing the final in front of a home crowd.
The whole saga has been a comedy of errors from start to disappointing finish, and all involved – from the AFL to Stadiums Queensland and the State Government – have emerged looking weak and disorganised.
For the AFL, where it is hard not to believe there was not an automatic assumption that two Victorian teams would be playing the decider, the shemozzle has done immense damage to the AFLW competition in its inaugural year.
Fans, sponsors and the players in particular have every right to be angry and disappointed. So, for that matter, do supporters of the Lions’ opponents, the Adelaide Crows, who must be asking why, if Brisbane can’t manage to stage the final, can’t it be held at Adelaide Oval where a bumper crowd is guaranteed?
Nor has Stadiums Queensland covered itself in any glory when it comes to poor scheduling and venue decisions. Yes, we staged two very successful Adele concerts at The Gabba recently, but surely someone should have cast their mind to the potential damage that tens of thousands of music fans crammed into the stadium would have on the turf – especially just a couple of weeks out from the start of the AFL season proper?
Successive state governments don’t escape blame here either, given an inability to plan and design for major events such as visiting international artists and football finals.
Again, did no one consider balancing the competing demands being placed on The Gabba with the fact we have other stadiums in the form of ANZ at Nathan, Suncorp at Milton, and Cbus and Metricon on the Gold Coast?
Have successive governments paid no thought to the fact that while they crow about attracting event tourism and the growing presence of southeast Queensland sporting teams in national competitions, little has been done to have the infrastructure in place to handle increasing demand? Or that arbitrary event restrictions dictate that world-class stadiums such as Suncorp sit empty, with event promoters forced to look elsewhere?
However, despite the decision, as Queenslanders everyone should get behind Saturday’s grand final and pay a fitting tribute to the end of an amazingly successful inaugural season.
The Lions have done the state proud and deserve a strong crowd to cheer them on to a premiership.
Hunting native species must reflect sensible compromise
WHEN personal freedoms and rights are abused it is almost inevitable that the sometimes heavy hand of government will intervene to impose restrictions.
In many cases this should be totally avoidable, certainly if people abide by the spirit of the law, rather than taking liberties with its letter.
This would appear to be the case among some indigenous coastal communities in Queensland when it comes to the right to practise traditional hunting of sometimes endangered species that would otherwise be totally off limits.
As The Courier-Mail reports today the Federal Government has been warned that indigenous hunters are using the Great Barrier Reef as a “supermarket” for dugong and turtle meat in an uncurbed practice putting both species in danger.
The exemptions allowing indigenous hunting in traditional lands came in as part of the Native Title Act more than 20 years ago, and in essence are a sensible recognition of culture and practices that have existed for many thousands of years. The problem appears to arise in the fact that the latitude granted is, in some instances, being abused either for sport or motivated by the high prices that turtle or dugong meat can attract.
As north Queensland MP Warren Entsch points out, there may be “serious issues” along the eastern coast with some families selling to people who just “want to taste a bit of dugong or turtle meat”.
While some wildlife activists such as the Bob Irwin Foundation are campaigning for a total ban on hunting of all vulnerable and endangered species, it would be hoped that a sensible and community-based compromise can be found that preserves environmental standards while also respecting cultural heritage.
The key is to preserve both wildlife and indigenous culture, and sensible co-operation can achieve this.
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