‘Essentially a party for Brisbane’: Katters double down on call to scrap Olympics

As Labor and the LNP affirm their commitments to the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, the Katter’s Australian Party are doubling down on criticisms of the $7bn ‘party for Brisbane’.

The Katter’s Australian Party has doubled down on calls to scrap the 2032 Brisbane Olympics in favour of major infrastructure spending in the north.

The minor party has three of Queensland’s 93 state seats, but the deputy leader reckons they could hold the balance of power after the election in October.

That is despite just two per cent of respondents saying they would vote KAP in polling done late last year, leaving the party lagging behind One Nation (eight per cent), the Greens (13 per cent), Labor (33 per cent) and the LNP (41 per cent).

Brisbane’s LNP mayor and the party are for the Olympics but against a $2.7bn rebuild of the Gabba. Premier Steven Miles axed three ministerial roles related to the Games when he came into the Premiership, though remains fully supportive of the event.

KAP deputy leader, Hinchinbrook MP Nick Dametto, said both Labor and the LNP had cemented their support for the Olympics.

Hill MP Shane Knuth, Hinchinbrook MP Nick Dametto, Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter and KAP Mundingburra candidate Michael Pugh speak to media in Townsville on Tuesday. Picture: Evan Morgan

“We’re going to be spending over $7bn coming out of the state coffers, not taking into account what the federal government’s going to tip in, on what’s essentially going to be a three to four week party for Brisbane people to enjoy,” Mr Dametto said.

If the KAP held the balance of power later this year, the party would call for the Games to be scrapped, or a fund matching the $7bn cost of the Games to spend on infrastructure, he said.

Protesters gathered outside Parliament House in Brisbane in December during a protest against the Olympics plans, and saving the Gabba. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

“When you talk to regional MPs, slowly the tap is being turned off for those regional projects,” the Hinchinbrook MP said.

Specifically, the KAP wants to make sure Copperstring is “protected”, the Galilee Basin is opened up with a rail line and tunnels from Cairns to the tablelands so the roads are not cut off during floods.

The party also wants investment into North Queensland sugar mills for biofuels.

A third of Queenslanders “are done with the major parties”, Mr Dametto said, which the KAP believed opened the door to take more seats in the north.

However, the Greens are tipped to take seats above and beyond their two in and around Brisbane, which could cause a dilemma for the KAP: “I’d rather have a vasectomy than stand next to the Greens at a press conference”, Mr Dametto said, repeating a line he used previously.

Greens MP Amy McMahon speaks as protesters gather outside Parliament House in Brisbane during a protest against the Brisbane Olympics Games, late last year. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

The Greens and KAP found common ground last year in calling for a cap on Olympic spending, and the Greens also opposed the $2.7bn Gabba upgrade.

In Townsville on Tuesday, federal Kennedy MP Bob Katter had a more diplomatic answer than Mr Dametto regarding the Greens.

The two parties were aligned on industrial matters and foreign ownership, Mr Katter said.

“On everything else I’d agree with Nick (Dametto), we’re as far away as the North Pole and the South Pole.”

Speaking to media elsewhere in Townsville on Tuesday, Premier Steven Miles said the Games had become politicised and divisive.

“I believe that the Games will deliver for all of Queensland, but we need to make sure that the plan we have now is the right plan to unite Queensland and deliver a fantastic Games,” the Premier said.

Originally published as ‘Essentially a party for Brisbane’: Katters double down on call to scrap Olympics