Steven Miles: Disagreements over Games will fade away by 2032
Just as Paris’ debates and controversies have faded into the distance, the disagreements about Brisbane’s preparations will be overtaken and forgotten by the spectacle in 2032, writes Steven Miles.
Opinion
Don't miss out on the headlines from Opinion. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Watching the Olympics this week with my family has reminded me what a magical event it is – and what a special honour it is to host them.
Paris is wearing that honour well, and our athletes have been outstanding.
In 2032 people around the world will be looking at Brisbane as the world is looking at Paris right now.
Preparations for their Games were not without controversy. It’s hard to erase the image of Parisians protesting efforts to clean up the Seine, for example.
And just as their debates and controversies have faded into the distance, the disagreements about our preparations will be overtaken and forgotten by the spectacle in Brisbane 2032.
I grew up in the Moreton Bay suburb of Petrie, and we’re about to start building a $200 million indoor sports venue there to host boxing for the Games.
It will be a new home for a range of court sports and community clubs for the rapidly growing population.
It is incredible to me that the humble suburb I lived in will host part of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
There is no way we could build a venue like that without the transformational opportunity of the hosting rights. That is a legacy that will benefit the region for generations to come.
The Green and Gold Runway is already well and truly laid out.
The hunt for our homegrown athletes to compete on those big stages is well under way.
Just this week more schools in remote and rural Queensland benefited from our Go for Gold Program, supporting, and promoting participation in sports to prepare them to be stars tomorrow.
Hundreds of millions of dollars have been distributed to schools for sporting upgrades, infrastructure, and equipment to back them all the way to 2032.
And today I’ll meet future Olympians, identified by our YouFor2032 project, Australia’s biggest athlete talent search, to identify and nurture our next champions.
Youngsters with elite sporting dreams and the talent to match their ambitions.
Just as we are all taking in the sights of Paris, in 2032 the world will see our beautiful capital city, bracketed by green mountains and Moreton Bay, with the brown snake, the Brisbane River, winding between them.
Visitors will make their way, by active travel or rapid rail links or indeed along the river from events at the upgraded Suncorp and Gabba, the new Arena at Roma Street and events at South Bank.
Our eyes will be on the drop in pool at the Arena – a centrepiece for the sport we love and excel at.
Athletes will stay in the village at Hamilton North Shore, itself a world class urban renewal precinct.
TV viewers around the world will see the stunning beaches and hinterlands of the Gold and Sunshine Coast. The marathon itself is proposed to start in front of the iconic Alexandra Headland surf club – one of my favourite places.
Regional events in Toowoomba and Cairns and Townsville will highlight the sheer size, diversity, and natural beauty of Queensland.
We will showcase the Reef, rainforests and Outback, and all our wonderful wildlife to entice people in every corner of the world planning their once in a lifetime trip.
But the true stars will be our athletes. I am sure they will do us proud – they always do.
Steven Miles is Premier of Queensland
Time for truth telling about just how much treaties will cost us
We hear a lot about being able to catch the bus for 50c, but radio silence on the treaty that will prove costly, writes Mike O’Connor.
Greens’ politicking, pointscoring not helping housing crisis one little bit
It’s an outrage that legislation that could actually help alleviate the country’s housing crisis is being held to ransom for political mileage, writes the editor.