Brisbane 2032 Olympics: 12-member taskforce to preserve legacy

The members of the state’s Olympic Legacy Committee have been revealed, charged with ensuring the benefits of the Games endure long after 2032.

Twelve Queenslanders, including a powerful businessman, will have the weight of the state on their shoulders after being hand-picked by the Premier to lead a critical Olympic Games taskforce.

In one of the most significant announcements in Queensland’s march towards 2032, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has revealed the 12 people who will sit on the state’s Legacy Committee and be responsible for ensuring the benefits of the Games continue long after the closing ceremony.

Ms Palaszczuk made the announcement on the eve of the first anniversary of Brisbane’s selection as host city.

The Legacy Committee was first floated during The Courier-Mail’s Future Brisbane series in November.

Ms Palaszczuk committed to establish the group after being questioned about it at the series luncheon one month later.

More than 400 applications were received to join the committee, with Wagner Corporation boss John Wagner, First Nations consultant Georgina Richters and respected Indigenous executive Cameron Costello headlining the 12-person team, which will be chaired by Sport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe.

Ms Palaszczuk said while the 2032 Games would be the largest single transformational event in Queensland’s history, the Legacy Committee would focus on the years after.

“This is Queensland’s time to shine … we are not going to waste this golden opportunity,” she said.

“We are not just looking at 2032 but the decades after that.

Sport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe

Businessman John Wagner

“I will be asking these Committee members to be the voice for their street, their community,

their school, workplace and for all Queenslanders, and to think big in imagining the positive

legacy these Games can have in transforming our state.”

The Legacy Committee will meet up to four times a year, with committee members

appointed for 12-month terms that can be renewed.

It will remain separate from the key Brisbane Organising Committee for the Olympic Games – which is responsible for the logistics of running the event.

Mr Hinchliffe said the Legacy Committee, announced by Ms Palaszczuk at The Courier-Mail’s Future Brisbane luncheon last December, would play a major role in shaping a post-Olympics Queensland.

“The guidance and experience of every member of the Legacy Committee will have a direct

bearing on the future of Queensland,” he said.

The committee includes seven women, four members from regional Queensland, two Indigenous representatives and one person living with a disability.

Its two youth representatives include 17-year-old Imogen Ruyg from Normanton,

who attends school at Charters Towers and is the Youth Member for Gladstone in the Queensland Parliament, and South Brisbane’s Siwei Zhu, a student representative and school council member.

“Members will provide expertise and advice on legacy and seek the views of other

Queenslanders on priorities for opportunities in their communities,” Mr Hinchliffe said.

“In developing the Brisbane 2032 legacy plan, the committee will be looking for partnership

opportunities and strategies to inspire community involvement.”

THE LEGACY COMMITTEE

* Chair: Stirling Hinchliffe, Sport Minister and Minister Assisting the Premier on Olympics and Paralympics Sport and Engagement

* Deputy chair: Georgina Richters, First Nations consultant

* Sharon Boyce, educator, author and disability advocate

* Cameron Costello, Quandamooka traditional owner and reconciliation advocate

* Wayne Gerard, Company director, CEO, founder and innovation advocate

* Danya Hodgetts, sporting advocate and sport and physical activity researcher

* Diaswati Mardiasmo, economist in the housing and property sector, diversity

and inclusion advocate

* Ashleigh Morris, internationally recognised expert in circular economy

* Cameron Pegg, communications consultant and inclusive sport advocate

* Ingrid Proud, experienced major event professional

* Imogen Ruyg, 17-year-old Normanton resident and Youth Member for Gladstone

* John Wagner, business leader, advocate for regional Queensland

* Siwei (Samuel) Zhu, 17-year-old school council member from South Brisbane.