Annastacia Palaszczuk says Queensland will not host the 2026 Commonwealth Games
The Queensland LNP says Victoria’s decision to can the 2026 Commonwealth Games makes it clear the state government needs an independent authority overseeing the 2032 Games’ infrastructure plans. VOTE IN THE POLL
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The Queensland LNP says Victoria’s decision to can the 2026 Commonwealth Games makes it clear the state government needs an independent authority overseeing the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games’ infrastructure plans.
Opposition Leader David Crisafulli on Wednesday said the Victorian government’s abandonment of the Commonwealth Games over cost blowout fears as the host state must be a “wakeup call”, and “demanded” the government immediately deliver an independent infrastructure delivery authority.
“These are calls which are no longer for the government to be able to dismiss,” he said.
“What we saw play out yesterday in Victoria has to be a wakeup call for every single state government in this country – it’s a big deal, not just for Victoria, but for our nation as a whole.
“It’s a wakeup call that the culture of cost overruns in Queensland has to end.
“It’s a wakeup call that the infrastructure that’s delivered in Queensland has to be done on time and on budget.”
Mr Crisafulli said Queenslanders “deserved” to have an independent infrastructure delivery authority – a body which was in the state’s original bid documents with the International Olympic Committee, but which was later scrapped by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.
At the time, the Queensland government pointed to a report by consulting firm Deloitte as the reason for the change, with Olympics supremo John Coates backing the change.
LNP Deputy Leader Jarrod Bleijie said “Annastacia and Dan Andrews have much in common with their governments, and certainly budget blowouts.”
“When the Olympic and Paralympics were announced, the government spruiked the long runway. Well, that runway is running out,” he said.
“We are over two years now since the announcement of the Olympics, and all we have seen from the Palaszczuk Labor government is the announcement of sports stadiums and building monuments to the Premier herself.
“What we haven’t seen is shovels in the ground – all we’ve seen is budget blowouts.”
Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon rejected calls from the state Opposition to employ an independent body to oversee the planning of the Olympic Games to avoid the cost blowouts of the Commonwealth Games in Victoria which ultimately destroyed the event.
“Games partners have already agreed to the model that we’ve put forward,” the Palaszczuk government cabinet minister said.
“We think the model being proposed by them will be costly and add another level of bureaucracy and, frankly, I’d rather see that money being spent on social housing.”
When pressed further about the potential comparisons needing to be avoided with the Andrews government’s failure to deliver the Commonwealth Games, Ms Scanlon said the circumstances were “vastly different”.
“Firstly, our budget positions are very, very different,” she told reporters in Ipswich on Wednesday morning. “We also have the majority of infrastructure already delivered.
“Of course, we will try and make sure that we minimise costs associated with the Olympics, but it’s nine years away – we’re confident we have the planning in place to make sure that we deliver a successful Olympics that not only is a great event but also delivers in terms of other legacies like housing.
“The athletes’ villages provide an opportunity for us to utilise that stock as housing after the games.
“The redevelopment of particular sites delivers urban renewal which again can unlock more housing.
“So there are so many legacy outcomes from the Olympics and I think our government is focused on making sure that we really capitalise on those opportunities.”
On Tuesday, former Queensland premier Peter Beattie said there was only one place in Australia that had deep enough pockets to salvage the 2026 Commonwealth Games after Victoria’s decision to pull out as host, as the Premier ruled out saving the event.
Speaking at a Women in Sport Summit on the Gold Coast yesterday, Ms Palaszczuk said she had been asked about the possibility of Queensland stepping in to host in 2026.
She categorically ruled it out, but also underlined the Victorian decision would have no bearing on Queensland’s Olympic position.
“In Queensland, our economic position is very good,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“I’ve had people say to me: ‘Can we run the Commonwealth Games?’.
“Well, no we can’t because we’re focused on the Olympics.
“And any extra money, we have to put into issues like social housing.”
Ms Palaszczuk said the decision to scrap the Games following the blowout in costs was a decision for the Victorian Government.
“Our economic record here is very strong and we have an agreement with the Federal Government that was reached before the last election and was honoured by the last Prime Minister and this Prime Minister about the money that we need for key projects, which are legacy projects, not just being built for the Games,” she said.
Those capital projects include the redevelopment of the Gabba and the new Brisbane Arena and $1.6 billion shared between the state and federal governments for regional infrastructure projects across Queensland.
“The operation of the Games is also cost neutral and both Minister Wells and I are on the organising committee to make sure that that runs to what it has to.
Federal Sports Minister Annika Wells said the decision was disappointing for all athletes but she felt no responsibility for the decision despite speculation a lack of funding from the Federal Government was part of the reason for the Games being scrapped.
“It’s disappointing for all our Australian athletes, coaches, officials and volunteers who want the opportunity of representing their country on home soil,” Wells said.
“I think every athlete can say that’s the dream and it’s disappointing they won’t experience that in regional Victoria.
“I understand the reasoning of the Victorian Government, we’re all facing a cost of living crisis and you have to justify where every dollar goes and I guess I am comforted by the fact that they will at least be spending that money on the community sport infrastructure that was promised as a legacy of the Games.”
But asked by journalist Tracey Holmes during a panel discussion at the Women in Sport Summit on the Gold Coast whether she felt responsible given the Victorian Government’s funding request which was not met in the recent federal budget, Wells did not.
“I do not because Victoria agreed to host … before the Albanese Government was elected and in good faith, we were still in the process of negotiating with them what Federal funding might look like,” she said.
“Obviously the decision this morning has overridden those negotiations.”
Gold Coast acting mayor Donna Gates said it was “ludicrous” to expect her city to pick up the Commonwealth Games baton dropped by Victoria “with just a couple of years to go”.
Ms Gates said facilities built for the “very successful” 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Coast, including the athletes village at Southport, were fully tenanted and occupied.
She said cost of living pressures was the major focus of all levels of government, including local councils.
“Our focus needs to be our ratepayers and looking after their needs, as well as the 2032 Olympics,” she said.
Ms Gates said she hoped Victoria’s decision to dump the Games might free up more federal cash for projects like the light-rail extension to Gold Coast Airport.
Gold Coast Commonwealth Games chair and former Premier Peter Beattie said Queensland can’t host the event in 2026 because the focus needs to be on the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. But Western Australia, with its healthy budget bottom line, could.
“The only state government in Australia that’s got deep pockets is basically the Western Australian government … whether they pick it up, it’s really a matter for them,” Mr Beattie said.
Mr Beattie said Australia’s reputation on the global stage would undoubtedly take a hit from Victoria’s surprise decision to pull out.
But he was confident there wouldn’t be “any ramifications” for Queensland on its road to successfully hosting the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Comparing a hosting of the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics was “like chalk and cheese” as the funding models were different he said.
The state government ultimately spent $1.2bn on the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, which was slightly under budget.
“The truth of the matter is this, Queensland does do very well at running big events,” Mr Beattie said.
“We’re good at it.
“We were good at the Commonwealth Games in 2018, we’ll be good at the Olympics.”
Queensland officially launched its bid for 2018 hosting rights in March 2010 and were deemed successful in November 2011 — giving the state a run up of about 6.5 years.
Victoria in January 2022 announced it was giving serious thought to a late request from the Commonwealth Games Federation to host the 2026 Games.
A fast-tracked bid process ended with the state being handed the hosting rights in April that year, giving Victoria a four year lead up to host a decentralised version of the Commonwealth Games.
Mr Beattie said timing was always an issue, and the longer you had the better to organise “difficult” events like the Commonwealth Games and it’s even harder when done outside major capital cities.
Aside from Western Australia, Mr Beattie said the 2026 Commonwealth Games could be pulled off perhaps by India and “maybe” Malaysia.
Western Australian Premier Roger Cook has already ruled out a bid, labelling the sporting event “ruinously expensive”.
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