Sunshine Coast Council Mayor slams federal election candidates for ‘mirages’

A Sunshine Coast LNP MP and election candidate said he would not be drawn into “petty games” after the mayor slammed his vision for an entertainment and convention centre.

Sunshine Coast’s mayor has been accused of not acting in the community’s best interests after blowing up at a federal election hopeful on the first day of early voting.

Mayor Mark Jamieson said residents should look closely at the substance of what election candidates were committing, before they cast their votes.

He also criticised a proposal for a Maroochydore entertainment and convention centre to also host basketball preliminaries at the 2032 Olympics, floated by Fairfax MP and re-election hopeful Ted O’Brien.

Mr Jamieson also spoke out against Mr O’Brien’s comments that the convention centre at Maroochydore would help the business case to extend rail from Brisbane into the new CBD.

“The suggestion that Olympic basketball has to be staged in the Maroochydore city centre in order to gain a commitment from the State Government to contribute funding to the Beerwah to Maroochydore rail solution, is ridiculous,” Mr Jamieson said.

Sunshine Coast Mayor Mark Jamieson has taken aim at federal election candidates including LNP candidate for Fairfax Ted O’Brien.

“The state is unlikely to base its decision on whether to provide a matching commitment to the rail solution on whether basketball is going to be hosted in Maroochydore for 10 days in 2032.

“A 10-day event in one location does not provide the justification for a permanent, multi-billion dollar public transport commitment.”

Mr O’Brien said the reason South East Queensland wanted to host the 2032 Olympics was to accelerate infrastructure funding.

“One of the reasons we secured the rights to host the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games was to accelerate the delivery of infrastructure for our region,” Mr O’Brien said.

“I refuse to be drawn into petty games about whose plan for an entertainment centre in the Maroochydore CBD is better. Instead, we should all be working together for a common end goal.”

Mr O’Brien said the best opportunity for funding for an entertainment centre was through the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“I am concerned about the Mayor’s lack of comprehension about how such a community asset could be funded,” Mr O’Brien said.

“I’ve been telling him for over a year that the best opportunity for securing state and federal government funding for this sort of asset would be through the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“Rather than leveraging the 2032 Games and fighting to secure the funding required for legacy infrastructure, the Mayor is rolling over and giving the Labor Party a free pass not to deliver the infrastructure the Sunshine Coast needs.”

Mr Jamieson said the region did not need “grand election visions” from candidates not backed by their party or other contributors.

“We have had too much of that in the past and the Sunshine Coast is sick and tired of being treated as second rate,” Mr Jamieson said.

He said the recent promotion of an entertainment centre at Maroochydore to host Olympic basketball was “little short of a mirage”.

Mr O’Brien first revealed his plans in November, 2021 with calls for private investors.

It was understood about $5m had been raised.

Mr Jamieson said there was no commitment to host Olympic basketball at Maroochydore – rather two potential locations were being investigated, the Kawana Sports Precinct and Maroochydore.

He described Kawana as “the logical home for Olympic sporting facilities”.

He said the entertainment centre was likely to cost $300m, well above the $85.2m the state and federal governments had earmarked for an Olympic basketball centre.

“Council will not be making up the difference,” Mr Jamieson said.

Mr Jamieson also raised concern there was no business case developed for Mr O’Brien’s proposal.

“Council has always been an advocate for the development of an appropriate and flexible convention and exhibition centre in Maroochydore,” Mr Jamieson said. 

“It is council’s expectation that the state and federal governments fund the capital cost of the centre in Maroochydore.”

He said any candidate who “wants to do something worthwhile” should get a firm financial commitment for council’s proposed convention and exhibition centre.