‘Bowed to wishes’: Claims minister backed politics over oversight
Federal Sport Minister Anika Wells went against the wishes of her own department to accommodate Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk in a controversial Olympics move, the Opposition claims.
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Federal Sport Minister Anika Wells “bowed down to the wishes” of Premier and Olympics Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk in allowing plans for an independent oversight body for the Games to be scrapped against the advice of her own department, the Opposition is claiming.
It can be revealed that federal officials previously advocated for the 50:50 funding split for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games to be “contingent on joint governance arrangements including an independent co-ordination authority”.
The department took this position to a workshop lead by consultant firm Deloitte, which later advised the Queensland government to drop the proposed independent infrastructure authority in favour of keeping oversight within the premier’s department.
But Ms Wells’s spokeswoman said the federal government was confident it would be appropriately represented at all levels of decision making, relevant to its funding and responsibilities.
Ms Palaszczuk has previously defended the governance arrangement, saying it cut red tape and avoided bureaucratic double ups while still providing input from Games partners.
International Olympic Committee vice-president John Coates has also said the model made sense and avoided adding layers of bureaucracy.
Representatives for the federal Health Department, which includes the sport portfolio, attended a workshop hosted by Deloitte to discuss governance arrangements on July 13, 2022.
“The Department’s contributions to the workshop were consistent with the previous Prime Minister’s position that 50:50 infrastructure funding was contingent on joint governance arrangements including an independent co-ordination authority,” a department spokesman said in response to questions on notice from the Senate inquiry into the Olympics and Commonwealth Games.
Opposition sports spokeswoman Senator Anne Ruston said the Albanese Government had refused to act on calls to establish an independent oversight authority.
“The Minister for Sport has clearly bowed down to the wishes of Premier Palaszczuk instead of listening to the advice of her own department,” Senator Ruston said.
“In doing so, she is prioritising politics over ensuring there is appropriate oversight of sporting infrastructure.”
A spokeswoman for Ms Wells said she would continue to have oversight as a vice-president of the board of the Brisbane 2032 Organising Committee, along with three other directors nominated by the Federal Government.
“The Opposition seems to be directing the Commonwealth to intervene in areas of state responsibility – this is neither appropriate in terms of state government budget practices, nor in terms of roles and responsibilities as the host, and contracted party, for major international sporting events,” she said.
She said the Coalition had not delivered any funding for the Olympics while in office.
“As was their form, they announced billions of dollars in Olympic funding and then never put the money in the forward estimates or appropriated a cent from Treasury to spend on the Olympic Games,” she said.
Later this week Ms Wells is also expected to update the International Olympic Committee about Australia’s preparations for Brisbane 2032.
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