Letters: Think outside box with Queensland Olympic Games bid

Today readers have their say on Queensland’s bid for the 2032 Olympic Games, the volcano tragedy in New Zealand and an inquiry into veterans’ suicide.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is supporting a Queensland Olympic Games bid.

I AGREE hosting the 2032 Olympic Games would be great for Queensland (C-M, Dec 10), but the State Government and local councils need to work together in submissions for infrastructure.

I see some of the proposals as parochial and shortsighted.

Thinking needs to be outside the box and only using existing infrastructure if it is correctly located and fits the need.

The fast trains to the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Toowoomba need to be on straighter dual lines that allow for speeds of 200km/h, stopping at only at a few stations en route.

Competition facilities need to be able to be accessed by both bus and train and the main stadium should

be located at Colmslie, adjacent to the river, to allow for access via ferry/CityCat.

We should start now on identifying the skills needed to build all this new infrastructure and train our people in those skills.  

There should be a special effort in upskilling local companies to be able to replace multinationals that tender to win these large infrastructure projects.   

Wagners built an international-standard airport so we have the expertise in Queensland to do it. 

Ken Whyte, Kenmore

I AM neither for nor against the concept of attempting to secure the 2032 Olympic Games.

But I do have some doubt about the economic values that have been put forward.

I accept that there will be a great deal of infrastructure development arising from the venture, but surely the financial wizards involved in this exercise can break it down so that the true cost of holding the Olympics can be segregated and disclosed.

Lee Rogers, Everton Park

PREMIER Annastacia Palaszczuk and her cabinet sitting in

air-conditioned comfort in William St have decided to bid for the Olympic Games.

What happens if the bid fails and taxpayers have spent millions of dollars on the exercise.

Perhaps the decision could have been made at a meeting with drought-stricken people in regional Queensland.

They may have a more realistic view about how the money should

be spent – on water security for example.

Tom Chown, Redbank Plains

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Volcanic activity on White Island. Picture: AAP Image/Supplied, Auckland Rescue Helicopter

RISK OF VOLCANIC ACTIVITY NOT HEEDED

THE volcanic eruption on White Island in New Zealand (C-M, Dec 10) is a tragedy and sympathy goes out to all those affected, including many Australian victims.

In time an inquiry will look into the tragedy and its causes, but one must ask why tourists were allowed to visit an active volcano that had recently showed signs of activity and for which warnings had been issued.

Less than a week ago GeoNet, which monitors geological activity for New Zealand, said observations indicated the volcano may have been entering a period when eruptive activity was higher than normal.

Associate Professor Derek Wyman, a geoscientist at Sydney University, said he was surprised tourists were allowed so close to the site given its recent history.

Bob Meadows, Mansfield

NATURE can be catastrophic and New Zealand has had its share of tragedies.

It would not be appropriate to claim this event may be related to climate change or God’s wrath, because it is not.

This was an unfortunate, uncontrollable freaky event which could not have been stopped.

Our prayers and hopes go to all involved, along with solace and calm support.

Susan McLochlan, Caboolture South

THE volcanic eruption on White Island in the Bay of Plenty again demonstrates the violence of natural forces against which humans are powerless.

New Zealand lies in the Pacific Ring of Fire, a zone of volcanoes and shifting plate boundaries causing earthquakes.

In the history of our planet, humans have adapted to natural forces, be they volcanoes, earthquakes, ice ages or warm periods. That is all we can do, although some zealots want to legislate against global warming.

There are two sides to each event. Volcanic lava eruptions destroy what lies in their path, but the lava weathers into rich soil for growing food.

The warm periods in our history coincided with increases in population, agriculture and wealth, whereas the cold periods caused crop failures, diseases and depopulation.

G.W. Hofmann, Forest Lake

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VETERANS’ INQUIRY NEEDED

PRIME Minister Scott Morrison would be making a big political mistake by heeding the views of columnist Renee Viellaris in not having a royal commission into veteran suicide (C-M, Dec 10).

One thing Viellaris gets right is that the politics of saying no to a royal commission will be difficult because grieving mums are demanding an inquiry.

A royal commission would not slow down the reforms suggested by Viellaris. In fact, those reforms, including the recommendations of the Productivity Commission, should already have been made by now and there is no excuse for further delay.

The cost of a royal commission is negligible compared to Defence Department waste in commissioning noisy submarines that may become obsolete before they are even built and aircraft that cannot fly.

Viellaris acknowledges the value of royal commissions into banking and aged care.

Veteran suicide is literally a life and death issue.

We put our servicemen and women in harm’s way and have a high duty to care for them when they come back.

It is ludicrous to suggest that a royal commission would be dangerous or premature.

More service people are dying and have been dying for some time by suicide than on the battlefield.

This madness must stop.

Anything less than a royal commission is a cop out.

David Muir, Indooroopilly

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