Claims Palaszczuk told cabinet they would not leave without Olympics bid approval
It appears there was some “friendly” fire within Labor’s own cabinet in the lead up to Brisbane’s successful Olympics bid, writes Peter Gleeson.
Peter Gleeson
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It will be known as the Together Games, but it wasn’t always a bed of roses leading into the 2032 Olympic Games bid.
In fact, now that the dust is settling on Brisbane’s successful bid to host the 2032 Olympics, the real argy bargy can be revealed between the key stakeholders, including relations between the Prime Minister’s office and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s people.
But the real risk to this bid was actually “friendly’’ fire from within Labor’s own cabinet. When the 2032 Olympic bid needed to be ratified by cabinet, there were several detractors, mostly from the Left faction, including its then leader, deputy premier, Jackie Trad.
At the time, Trad was at the zenith of her power. She had the numbers in the caucus and cabinet. With the unions in her ear saying an Olympics would be too expensive and the money would be better off spent on more public sector jobs, the move was on to scuttle the bid.
But Palaszczuk – having eyeballed IOC boss Thomas Bach in Switzerland, assuring him we could host a successful games – was having none of it. Ms Palaszczuk made it clear – very clear – that they would not be leaving that cabinet meeting without a rubber stamp on the 2032 bid.
Two cabinet ministers recall her saying – “over my dead body are we leaving here without this being okayed’’.
The old saying that success has many fathers, and failure is an orphan will be a recurring theme in coming years. It is safe to say that Ms Palaszczuk was a late convert to the Olympics cause. Before 2018, the council of mayors, the Commonwealth and News Corp had been the primary cheerleaders.
To her credit, once a convert, Ms Palaszczuk did put the bit between her teeth and chase hard to secure the Games. Ms Palaszczuk has staked her premiership on this bid, as well as her hardline Covid-19 stance. But the public perception that it was all hunky dory throughout the process isn’t quite right.
The Commonwealth Government did get frustrated and there was one-upmanship, particularly over funding.
The feds were blindsided on the Gabba redevelopment project and the 50-50 funding arrangement was only approved after Mr Morrison made it clear the Commonwealth would have equal say in the make-up of who ran the Games.
It was the federal government’s Olympics representative Ted O’Brien, who told federal parliament about 12 months ago that he feared the Olympics would be a lost opportunity, imploring the Premier to get on her bike.
“As a country, we are highly internationalised, safe and secure, with a demonstrable track record for hosting major events,’’ he said.
“We have the opportunity to take first-mover advantage. The Commonwealth, council of mayors, the AOC … they are all on-board. That leaves one outstanding, the state government. We need them on board, to get together, with the AOC. Only with a united effort can we win the chance to host the Olympics.’’
It is now important that those tensions be consigned to the past. The commonwealth government must appoint an Olympics Minister to ensure the state doesn’t hijack the event.
Another important aspect of hosting the Games comes around the messaging. There are still many people – particularly in the regions – who do not support this event. They must be convinced.
There will be 32 venues all up, in three primary zones. Brisbane has 22 venues, the Gold Coast six and Sunshine Coast four locations. There are suggestions that the board will be at least 17 people, but that could be as many as 21, which seems excessive.
Maybe it’s worth cutting back that figure to an 11-member board because trying to keep 21 people focused would be like herding cats. Having covered this story since 2014, there are many, many reasons why we were chosen. And don’t let anybody suggest we were the only candidate. Cities such as Jakarta, Qatar, New Delhi, St Petersburg, Shanghai and Bonn in Germany all lined up.
The overwhelming vote for Brisbane was a triumph for IOC president Thomas Bach. This was a defining moment for the German president, who staked his reputation on the new Future Hosts Commission model.
My sense is that the icing on the cake for the Brisbane bid was the relationship that developed between Mr Bach and Ms Palaszczuk. Bach likes our Premier. Both lawyers, he saw in her a kindred spirit and a woman who he trusts to deliver. That’s what ultimately got us over the line.
