Brisbane Mayor shuns stadium talk as city, state agree on transport funding deal

Brisbane’s Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has shied away from reigniting debate over Brisbane’s 2032 Games venues as the city and state do a deal over transport funding.

Brisbane’s Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has shied away from using a joint press conference with Premier Steven Miles to criticise the government’s decision to upgrade QSAC for the 2032 Olympic Games.

They have publicly clashed over the best venue for athletics at Brisbane’s Games, and Mr Schrinner has repeatedly called for investigations into a new stadium at Victoria Park. But Mr Schrinner avoided making comment as he joined Mr Miles on Monday to announce a significant 75-25 bus network funding deal between the state government and Brisbane City Council.

Premier Steven Miles and Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner. Picture: Liam Kidston

Instead, the Lord Mayor said he and the Premier “have said all we need to say”.

“You know, there’s a lot of work that needs to be done when it comes to transport planning, that’s our focus today,” he said.

“That’s our focus going into the future and obviously it’s one of the key things that we wanted to see out of the Olympics as well.”

Mr Schrinner said a new transport deal with the state would deliver extra cash needed to have more buses and improve public transport ahead of the 2032 Olympics.

His refusal to speak about the 2032 Olympic Games on Monday comes despite Mr Schrinner remaining a vocal advocate for a new stadium being built at Victoria Park.

He has previously said the state government’s decision to upgrade Nathan’s Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre for the 2032 Olympics and Paralympic Games could leave the city with “two poor outcomes”.

Mr Miles has repeatedly slapped down calls for a new stadium while Queenslanders face cost-of-living challenges, declaring he “cannot justify to them spending $3.4bn on a new stadium”.

“I thought it was a plan where we can have more certainty about its costs, where we can utilise our existing facilities and where we don’t displace any sports from the government,” he said.