2032 Games offer endless opportunities for growth

Queenslanders know how to create lasting legacies. From State of Origin to the beautiful South Bank parklands, we have embraced opportunities for cultural, physical and economic change. And that will continue with the 2032 Games.

As Queenslanders we know how to create lasting legacies.

Think State of Origin. Before the inaugural series kicked off at Lang Park in 1980, it was dismissed as a gimmick, an exhibition. Except that the memo never reached Artie Beetson and his Queensland side, who used that platform to display the sort of passion and pride that has underpinned the success of Origin, and Queensland rugby league sides, ever since.

Then there’s Expo 88. Masterfully delivered by Sir Llew Edwards, it changed the face of Brisbane culturally, physically and economically – it connected Brisbane to the world and promoted Queensland as a tourist destination. The major redevelopment of South Bank saw heritage-listed buildings in South Brisbane refurbished and repurposed, with many retained post-Expo and still in existence.

World Expo 88 delivered Brisbane and Queensland the South Bank Parklands. Picture David Clark

As The Courier-Mail’s Future Brisbane 2022 campaign looks at the key issues and initiatives this city faces on the runway to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, legacy projects should be central to the debate.

It is not enough to just deliver outputs in time for that celebration in 10 years. We should be looking at the decade after, and the decade before.

We at The Star are passionate about the future of Brisbane and Queensland. I acknowledge we have work to do to rebuild trust and our reputation in light of the Gotterson review and the show cause notices issued upon us. We are committed to making this right and delivering the next major jobs and tourism uplift in the form of Queen’s Wharf.

The new Neville Bonner pedestrian bridge, part of the $3.6bn-plus Queen’s Wharf project, will create direct access from South Bank to the development precinct.

As a tourism hub, Queen’s Wharf will also attract locals and tourists from the CBD towards the riverfront, and its reinvigorated north banks. That will create the potential for an even more substantial two-way traffic flow between Queen’s Wharf and South Bank.

Star Entertainment Group managing director and CEO Robbie Cooke. File picture

Factor in the Albert Street station, the first CBD train station built in more than 120 years and a stone’s throw down the hill from QWB, and that connectivity will be further enhanced. The underground station will be a pedestrian feeder point not only for Queen’s Wharf but for QUT, the upgraded Eagle St business district and the parliamentary precinct.

It’s about recognising and creating legacies. The opportunities are endless.

Robbie Cooke is The Star Entertainment Group managing director and CEO.