Editorial: Premier’s double speak in stadium farce

Premier Steven Miles’ only response to questions about his appalling Olympic stadium solution is that the Games will be fantastic, writes the editor.

The former QEII Stadium in Brisbane’s Nathan

Premier Steven Miles is missing the point when responding to questions about his appalling solution for athletics at the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games by saying only the event more broadly will be “fantastic”.

The point, Mr Premier, is the stadium debate should not be about the Games themselves.

This is about the opportunity presented by the Games to deliver for our state’s capital city a new sporting and concerts venue that its growing population demands – in a location that can have a multiplier effect in terms of broader economic benefits.

The Premier’s ridiculous option of a $1.6bn temporary facility at the old QEII Stadium site in the southern suburbs does not even come close to this, as he well knows.

It was just 11 months ago that as the deputy premier to Annastacia Palaszczuk that Mr Miles himself announced the Project Validation Report into the rebuild of the Gabba had shown its value – as an anchor to a broader major redevelopment of the entire precinct at Woolloongabba.

Mr Miles said at the time: “This isn’t just about a stadium upgrade. This is about anchoring an urban renewal project that will see Woolloongabba transformed like South Bank was transformed for Expo 88. We’re going for the best bang-for-buck and giving Queenslanders a new, modern stadium with all the finishes, because it is the best value for money, and it will deliver much more than a stadium.

Having a modern, safe, accessible, and globally recognisable stadium will help draw more national and international events, and we know one concert can produce up to $5m in visitor spending in our economy.”

He was absolutely correct. But when asked this week at The Courier-Mail/Sky News Peoples Forum debate event whether his plan to host athletics at the smallest venue since the 1928 Amsterdam Games was embarrassing for Queensland, Premier Miles said: “Brisbane 2032 is going to be fantastic, but it can’t be bottomless and you have to draw the line somewhere ... we will still deliver a fantastic Games”.

And you wonder why people are cynical about their politicians.

Premier Steven Miles on Wednesday. Picture: Adam Head

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli has laid the groundwork for a fresh start on this critical Games legacy project with his promise of a 100-day venues review should the LNP win on Saturday, as all the opinion polls suggest.

And while it has been seriously frustrating watching Mr Crisafulli repeat ad nauseam during the four-week election campaign that this review is his answer to any stadium questions, he has a point.

As the Premier shows, politicians have no qualms in shamelessly changing their position when the political wind shifts – no matter how vigorously they have defended the previous facts-based stance.

The good news is this truth about politicians should allow Mr Crisafulli to navigate his way out of his “no new stadiums” promise when the review inevitably comes to the same conclusion that Mr Miles and his Project Validation Review did last year – that a new stadium is necessary not just for the few weeks of the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics, but for the next few decades as Brisbane continues to grow into the new world city that is now its destiny.

The Premier’s own review of venues – overseen by former Liberal lord mayor of Brisbane Graham Quirk – recommended a new stadium be constructed at Victoria Park, for all the same reasons Mr Miles had used to justify his backing of the Gabba a year ago.

With the inevitable smoke and mirrors of an election year behind us after Saturday, hopefully sanity can prevail and this critical debate can get back on track.

MADGE A WELCOME ADDITION

It was good to see new Brisbane Broncos coach Michael Maguire set the tone yesterday in his first appearance at Red Hill with the promise of a new era of accountability and performance.

We wish him well in addressing the “rock star mentality” identified by the vast majority of thousands of our readers who voted in a recent online poll asking what they think is the biggest issue facing the club – after the team went from minutes from a premiership win last year to finishing 12th out of 18 this year.

Maguire is a great choice to lead this cultural rebuild, as he has the runs on the board – most notably at South Sydney, where as coach he broke that club’s 43-year title drought in 2014 on the back of a now-famous pursuit of excellence among the playing group on and off the field.

It was also promising to hear him say that he believes the current playing roster is strong enough to snap Brisbane’s own premiership drought, which now extends for a somewhat unthinkable 18 years.

As we have said before in this column, Brisbane is stronger when the Broncos are winning. There is something special about how the NRL team’s success sets the tone. We wish Maguire well.

Responsibility for election comment is taken by Chris Jones, corner of Mayne Rd & Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006. Printed and published by NEWSQUEENSLAND (ACN 009 661 778). Contact details here