Brisbane 2032 Games: Independent Olympic body immune to scrutiny

The formation of an independent authority to build Brisbane’s 2032 Olympic Games infrastructure could create more secrecy, the state’s information commissioner has warned.

The formation of an independent authority to build Brisbane’s 2032 Olympic Games infrastructure could create more secrecy, the state’s information commissioner has warned.

Under current laws, documents held by the Organising Committee for the 20323 Olympic Games that were communicated in confidence from the Australian and International Olympic committees are exempt from the state’s Right to Information Act.

The exemption was controversially granted in 2021 by then premier and Olympics minister Annastacia Palaszczuk, who said it was justified given the sensitive nature of some of the documents.

Now the establishment of an independent authority to deliver Olympic Games-related infrastructure has sparked fears the culture of secrecy could expand.

Amendments to the legislation governing Brisbane’s Games planning – introduced to parliament by the government on April 17 – notes the infrastructure authority will work closely with the current organising committee, which is stacked with Australian and International Olympic Committee representatives.

In a submission to a committee considering the changes, Information Commissioner Joanne Kummrow raised fears more information would become exempt from the Right to Information process and noted exemptions to it were used sparingly.

“Given the close relationship between the authority and the corporation, more documents would potentially be subject to this exclusion,” she wrote.

“The RTI Act has a sufficient framework to protect sensitive documents and any legislative proposal to add further exemptions should be considered in that wider policy context.”

Ms Kummrow said the exclusion was inconsistent with the 2008 Solomon report that resulted in the adoption of the RTI Act in 2009.

State Development and Infrastructure Minister Grace Grace, who is responsible for the delivery of the Games, declined to comment while the Bill was before the committee.

The committee is due to report back on the proposed changes by May 17.

In 2021 the LNP’s integrity spokeswoman Fiona Simpson declared exempting documents from the Right to Information Act did not allow for transparency.

“It means all aspects of Queensland preparing for the Games cannot be scrutinised – this is political trickery at its worst,” she said.

In a submission to the committee’s inquiry, the Property Council of Australia also raised fears about Brisbane’s preparedness for the 2032 Games.

Its research found fewer than 2000 apartments were delivered each year between 2020 and 2023, and fewer than 3000 apartments were under construction in 2024.

Property Council Queensland executive director Jess Caire said: “These figures are well short of the 7500 attached dwellings needed for Brisbane each year according to the government’s South East Queensland Regional Plan, raising serious concerns about the viability of the Brisbane housing market.”